Course: Performance Measurements, Continuous Improvement & Benchmarking

The Programme Content

Performance Measurement: The Starting Point for Improvement

• seminar benefits
• The Trilogy
• The Need for Measurement
• Data Use and Abuse: Using Data Constructively
• Methods of Selecting Performance Measures
• Developing a Framework for Measurement
• Understanding Variation: The key to understanding performance
• What histograms, run charts and control charts tell us about performance
• The Rods Experiment

Continuous Improvement

• Understanding Variation: The Range and Standard Deviation
• The Rods Experiment Part 2: Understanding the Results
• Taking Appropriate Action on a Process: Improvement or Investigation?
• An Introduction to Control Charts: The Key to Taking Appropriate Action
• The Juran Trilogy©
• How to Improve a Process: An Introduction to the 12 step Methodology
• The Power of Teamwork
• Problem and Mission Statements

The Tools of Continuous Improvement

• Understanding and Analyzing a Process: Flow Diagrams
• Identifying causes of problems, and potential solutions: Brainstorming
• Demonstrating the link between a cause and its effect: Cause-Effect diagrams
• Understanding the Process: Quantitative Display Tools (line charts, bar charts and pie charts)
• Selecting the key aspects to focus on: Pareto Analysis
• Investigating Relationships between Variables: Scatter Diagrams and Correlation
• More Advanced investigations: An Introduction to Regression

An Introduction to Benchmarking

• What is benchmarking?
• Why we need to benchmark?
• The Benefits of benchmarking: Why organisations benchmark
• History of benchmarking
• Different Methods of benchmarking and how they relate to each other
• How to identify potential benchmarking projects
• An overview of the benchmarking process
• Advice on selecting your first project

Running a Successful Benchmarking Project

• Scoping a benchmarking study
• Planning and resource scheduling
• Normalising
• Identifying and selecting benchmarking Metrics
• Identifying and selecting benchmarking partners
• Securing benchmarking project support
• Inviting organisations to join the benchmarking study
• The Invitation Pack: What it is, why we need it, and how it`s used
• Participant meetings: Planning and running effective meetings to attain the aims of the study
• Data capture:
  • Generating clear data collection schemes
  • The Help Desk
  • Coping with problems
  • Data validation
• Data analysis and reporting: the starting point for improvement
• The Improvement phase
• Running effective Best Practice Forums
• Benchmarking project management
• Management support activities
• Codes of conduct
• Legal issues
• Independent facilitation and benchmarking club

The Scandinavian Academy for Training and Development adopts the latest scientific and professional methodologies in training and human resource development, aiming to enhance the efficiency of individuals and organizations. Training programs are delivered through a comprehensive approach that includes:

• Theoretical lectures supported by PowerPoint presentations and visual materials (videos and short films).
• Scientific evaluation of participants before and after the program to measure progress and knowledge acquisition.
• Brainstorming sessions and practical role-playing to simulate real-life scenarios.
• Case studies tailored to align with the training content and participants work nature.
• Assessment tests conducted at the end of the program to evaluate the achievement of training objectives.

Each participant receives the training material (both theoretical and practical) in printed form and saved on a CD or flash drive. Detailed reports, including attendance records, final results, and overall program evaluations, are also provided.

Training materials are prepared professionally by a team of experts and specialists in various fields. At the end of the program, participants are awarded a professional attendance certificate, signed and accredited by the Scandinavian Academy for Training and Development.

Program Timings:

• 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM in Arab cities.
• 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM in European and Asian cities.

The program includes:

• A daily buffet provided during the sessions to ensure participants comfort.

The Course

The use of performance measures is of paramount importance to all organisations wishing to improve business performance. Whilst Japanese organisations led the way in implementing effective performance measurement, many companies world wide are now catching up as performance measurement is seen as key to effectively managing organisations.

Having implemented performance measurement systems in an organisation, management naturally requires that processes are continually improved. Many organisations have adopted a continuous improvement approach to running their organisations in which they continually strive for better and better performance levels.

A key element to continuous improvement is Benchmarking. Without benchmarking it is we do not know how competitive we are or where we need to focus improvement efforts. Benchmarking helps organisations to balance their internal problem solving and improvement activities with the realities of external environment. This includes other industries that perform similar functions, similar businesses that are geographically separate, and non-profit or public institutions. Under the right conditions, benchmarking can be performed by direct competitors, resulting in improved performance benefiting all stakeholders. Benchmarking not only provides awareness of what and where "best" performance lie, but more importantly, it enables the paradigm shift that internally focused teams sometimes fail to achieve. It fosters creative adoption and adaptation of "best" practices to help organisations gain and maintain a competitive advantage.

One aspect that many organisations find difficult to manage is shared services. The first step in managing this and any other aspect of an organisation is to measure it. Once it has been measured it can be benchmarked and improved.

The Goals

Seminar objectives include:

• To identify the specific difficulties of controlling shared services.
• To explain the importance and benefits of performance measurement, continuous improvement and benchmarking.
• To explain the vital role that these activities play in helping organizations perform at superior levels.
• To explain how performance measurement, continuous improvement and benchmarking relate to one another.
• To explain methods of generating and implementing effective performance metrics.
• To explain a proven 12 step process improvement methodology.
• To provide an overview of the most common tools and techniques used for continuous process improvement.
• To explain the benefits of benchmarking.
• To explain the vital role that only Benchmarking plays as part of a continuous improvement program.
• To explain in detail the benchmarking process and assist participants to manage and run their own benchmarking studies.
• To give delegates the opportunity to explore the issues raised in the seminar by means of examples, discussion and workshops.

This includes, for example:

• Professionals & Leaders who will be responsible for authorizing and over-seeing shared services activities within the organization.
• Those involved in the management of specific performance measurement, improvement or benchmarking projects such as project selection, planning, monitoring and steering of projects.
• Key people in the areas likely to be involved in affected by these activities so that they understand the importance of benchmarking and their own role in the projects.
• Technical staff who will be involved in developing benchmarking metrics and those involved in data analysis and reporting.
• Quality management / improvement personnel who need to support these activities.

The Process

This seminar is highly participatory and your seminar leader will present, guide and facilitate learning, using a range of methods including discussions, case studies, workshops and experiments. Participants will have the opportunity to begin planning aspects their own performance measurement, improvement and benchmarking activities.

The Benefits

Delegates will learn:

• How to set about implementing an effective performance measurement system for shared services.
• How to interpret results from performance measurements and therefore whether or not the process is ready for improvement.
• In the case that a process is not ready for improvement, delegates will know what actions are required to prepare it for improvement.
• How to use an effective improvement methodology to improve process performance.
• What benchmarking is and why it is becoming increasingly important for organizations to become involved in benchmarking activities.
• How to select, define, plan and implement successful benchmarking projects.
• How to ensure that best practices are identified and implemented within the organization, being adapted if appropriate.

The Results

Once delegates have attended the seminar they will be able to support/lead the organization in effective performance monitoring, improvement and benchmarking activities.

In particular as the ideas and methods explained on the seminar are implemented, the organization will be able benefit from:

• Knowing how shared services suppliers are performing.
• Being able to benchmark and quantify the gap between their own and others shared services performances.
• Knowing how to improve shared service performance.
• Knowing how to take effective action to learn from benchmarking partners with superior performance levels.

The Core Competencies

This seminar builds on existing skills and experiences. It develops the competency to be able to advise on, facilitate and manage the implementation of performance measurement systems as well as continuous improvement and benchmarking activities in the delegate`s own organisation. The delegate will be able to take an active and effective part in all aspects of implementing and running a successful performance measurement system, as well as continuous and benchmarking projects.

Specific competencies gained include, but are not limited to the following areas:

• To be able to explain the importance and benefits of implementing effective performance measurement, continuous improvement and benchmarking systems to others in the delegate`s own organization.
• To be able to advise/support/lead implementation of effective performance measurement, continuous improvement and benchmarking systems.
• To be able to explain the improvement and benchmarking processes and adapt them to meet the organization`s specific needs.
• To be able to advise/support/lead the selection of appropriate improvement and benchmarking projects and to be able to scope and set objectives for them.
• To be able to plan and schedule improvement and benchmarking project.
• To be able to advise on, select and structure appropriate benchmarking metrics, ensuring that they are clear, concise and appropriately defined.
• To be able to manage and facilitate participant support, data submission, data validation, analysis and reporting.
• To be able to guide "best practice" adaption and adoption within the organization. How to ensure that best practices are identified and implemented within the organization, being adapted if appropriate.

The Scandinavian Academy for Training and Development is committed to hosting all training programs in dedicated and well-equipped hotel facilities specifically designed for conducting and delivering training sessions, unless explicitly stated otherwise on our website. Participants will be notified of the program venue within 7 to 21 days prior to the programs start date, based on the Academys assessment and the programs circumstances. The Scandinavian Academy for Training and Development emphasizes that it holds no responsibility for any force majeure events that may prevent the program from being held at the designated venue. Nevertheless, the Scandinavian Academy for Training and Development will make every effort to provide suitable alternatives and extend the necessary support to participants in the event of a venue change due to unforeseen circumstances.