Page 287 - Psychological Management of Individual Performance

272 enhancing performance through training
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Customer feedback is a source of highly credible data and is often taken very seriously
by management. Customers are in an excellent position to appraise both the quality of
service and the competence of the people with whom they interact. In certain circum-
stances they are also able to evaluate management behaviour, especially if they have
occasion for direct interaction with a manager, for instance with the branch manager
of a local firm. Managers can positively influence the quality of service and customer-
orientation of their staff. Also, a positive working climate, created by effective manage-
ment and team interactions, has a positive effect on customer treatment (Gebert et al.,
1987).

USING FINANCIAL DATA TO IDENTIFY TRAINING NEEDS

Financial indicators may also reveal areas in need of improvement. Unsatisfactory sales
figures are a clear indication that the sales part of a business is faltering. Training might
be a way of indirectly improving sales figures through the improvement of sales skills.
A thorough analysis is required to clarify all possible means of improving sales figures.
Once this has been done, sales managers and employees could be interviewed in order
to identify more accurately the reasons for the low sales figures (e.g. Are problems the
result of product changes? ... changes in customer needs? ... the skills level of the sales
team?).

NEW TRAINING MEASURES AS A RESULT OF NEW STRATEGIES
The implementation of a new strategy often necessitates the need for new skills and
learning processes. Management might therefore find it beneficial to try to determine
training needs from the perspective of someone attempting to change behaviour and
company culture through the implementation of a new strategy. In the firm, for instance,
changes in management behaviour were required when a new strategy which focused on
more sales-driven behaviour was introduced. Instead of the top-down style of leadership,
managers had to adopt the new role of coach in order to bring about an improvement in
the sales-driven behaviour of their staff. The following paragraph highlights the needs
analysis process used in our example.

INTRODUCTORY-LEVEL LEADERSHIP TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS
The training needs analysis for newly appointed managers was conducted in a variety of
ways.
1. Approximately 20 managers in their first management positions were systematically in-
terviewed using the critical incidents technique (Flanagan, 1954), which revealed that
many of the interviewees’ responsibilities revolved around communication (e.g. giving
feedback, facilitating meetings, helping their staff to solve problems); but planning and
controlling were also cited, as well as representing the firm, dealing with difficult cus-
tomers, and implementing both new work processes and structural changes.
2. An employee satisfaction survey revealed important areas where management skills
were lacking. The employees pointed out inadequacies in the managers’ communication