e2 quality assurance ocasi performance management 2012
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to the Session on Quality Assurance, Program Evaluation and Performance Management in Settlement Services – OCASI Conference June 2012
Faed Hendry
Manager – Training and Outreach
Findhelp Information Services
543 Richmond Street West Suite 125
Toronto, Ontario
416-392-4544
Session Learning Objectives
To identify and apply resources and tools to effectively enable settlement services to evaluate the quality of both their services and staff.
To briefly discuss the Modernized Approach to Settlement work and how to measure outcomes.
To identify strategies for performance management including setting objectives, assessing progress and providing on-going coaching and feedback.
What is all of this?
Quality
Assurance
Pro
gra
m
Ev
alua
tion
Key Performance Indicators
Metrics
Serv
ice
Levels
Performance Management
Outcome Measurement
Client Satisfaction
Coaching
SMART Objectives Standards
Modernized Approach
Logic Models
Accountability
What we Know
The Settlement Program is an outcome-based program. The logic model identifies both: outcomes to achieve, and settlement activities (streams) to achieve outcomes.
Results in terms of outcomes, outputs, and financial resources will be gathered and monitored to ensure activities continue to achieve expected results and link services to specific settlement outcomes.
From a suite of programs… … to a single program……using a suite of services that can
be combined to achieve results
The Settlement ProgramAn outcome-based program
Needs Assessment and Referrals
Information & Awareness Services
Language Learning & Skills Development
Employment-Related Services
Community Connections
Support Services
Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC)
Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP)
Host Program (Host)
A. Orientation – Newcomers make informed decisions about their settlement and understand life in Canada
B. Language/Skills – Newcomers have language/skills needed to function in Canada
C. Labour Market Access – Newcomers obtain the required assistance to find employment commensurate with their skills and education
D. Welcoming Communities – Newcomers receive help to establish social and professional networks so they are engaged and feel welcomed in their communities
E. Policy and Program Development - To ensure effective delivery and achieve comparable settlement outcomes across Canada
The Modernized Approach
The Modernized Approach is outcome-based aimed at supporting newcomers in their settlement by providing:
the information they need to better understand life in Canada and make informed decisions about their settlement experience;
language training so they have the language skills to function in Canada;
the required assistance to find employment that corresponds with their skills and education; and
the help to establish networks and contacts so they are engaged and feel welcomed in their communities.
What is a Customer Service Culture?
• A customer service culture in a settlement agency exists where services are planned and delivered in ways that maximize positive impressions and outcomes for clients
• Customer satisfaction is a measure of the degree to which a product or a service meets the customer’s expectation.
• It involves responding promptly and accurately to client requests in such a way that each client feels valued, respected, and understood.
• A settlement service should be conceived and executed from the outside-in – not inside-out approach.
Customer service culture exists where:
• staff care to know what results they produce
• those results relate to client expectations
• A strong customer service culture should be reflected in your mission, vision, values, strategic plan, policies and procedures, performance management system and your training and orientation
Five Drivers of Satisfaction
The five “drivers of satisfaction” are the elements that most strongly influence citizens’ perceptions of service quality across the many services provided by government and SPO’s including settlement agencies.
1) Timeliness
2) Knowledge/Competence
3) Courtesy/Comfort
4) Fairness
5) Outcome
Mission, Vision and Values in a Customer Service Culture
• Client service cultures exist where organizational mission, vision, values and systems support behaviours that improve their capability to serve clients. Effective organizations identify and develop clear, concise work values that inform and impact every aspect of their organization.
• All agencies have a mission, vision and values and a charter of expectations, all of which contribute to its organizational culture
What’s Yours?
Write down your organizations mission statement?
Write down your organizations values?
Examples
Our MissionWe provide learning and training opportunities for
immigrants and refugeesto access and fully participate in the workplace and
wider community.
Our VisionWe envision a Canada where every immigrant
succeeds.
Values
Cultural Diversity, Integrity, Compassion, Solidarity
So what now?
How well are your settlement staff performing?
How do you know if your staff are performing well?
How do you measure outcomes?
How do you evaluate the knowledge, skills and attitudes of your settlement workers?
What systems do you have in place to assess performance?
Examples of Outcomes for Settlement Programs
Clients have timely, useful and accurate information needed to make informed settlement decisions
Clients understand life in Canada including laws, rights, responsibilities and how to access community resources
Clients have the official language skills needed to function in Canadian society
Clients have knowledge of the Canadian work environment and are connected to local labour markets
Clients have the skills to find and apply for employmentClients are connected to the broader community and
social networks
Examples of Possible Indicators
% of clients who report that they received information which helped them learn more about Canadian laws, community resources, life and culture.
% of clients who report that they have the language ability and skills needed to participate socially, culturally and economically in Canada.
% of clients should report that they are connected to local labour markets, have knowledge of the Canadian workplace, and have the skills to find and apply for employment
% of clients who report that they feel connected to the broader community and social networks
Quality Assurance
A system of procedures, checks, audits and corrective actions that are undertaken to ensure that an organization’s products and services meet the expectations and needs of the people they serve.
For information and referral programs, quality assurance relates to compliance with the Standards for Professional Information and Referral.
Program Evaluation
The systematic process of reviewing services provided by an organization in relation to its objectives and standards to assess how well the program is working, and to identify ways to improve overall operation of the individual I&R or settlement service.
Program evaluations may conducted by experts external to the program, either inside or outside the agency, or by program managers.
Performance Management
Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities.
The Performance Management process provides employees and managers with the tools and support to plan, manage and evaluate performance.
Discussion
Working in small groups with staff from different organizations, discuss what systems you have in place at your settlement agency to monitor:
• Quality Assurance
• Program Evaluation
• Performance Management
Performance Management
Before you embark on the development of an effective performance management system, you should take a moment to consider whether or not your organization has HR management practices in place to support the performance management process. These include:
* Well designed jobs and written job descriptions
* Effective supervision
* Comprehensive employee orientation and training
* A positive and supportive work environment
An Effective Performance Management System will:
Be job specific, covering a broad range of jobs in the organization
Align with your organization’s strategic direction and culture
Be practical and easy to understand and use
Provide an accurate picture of each employee’s performance
Include a collaborative process for setting goals and reviewing performance based on two-way communication between the employee and manager
An Effective Performance Management System will:
Monitor and measure results (what) and behaviors (how)
Provide constructive and continuous feedback on performance
Provide training and development opportunities for improving performance
Establish clear communication between managers and employees about what they are expected to accomplish
Critical Considerations
Effective performance management system requires dedicated time and resources.
It is critical that you communicate the purpose and the steps in the performance management process to employees before it is implemented.
Management support to act upon the outcomes of the performance management process is also necessary to ensure that good performance is recognized and inadequate performance is effectively handled.
Performance Management and Program Integrity
Step 1: Plan
The planning phase is a collaborative effort involving both managers and employees during which they will:
Identify, clarify and agree upon expectations.
Agree upon how results will be measured
Agree on monitoring process
Document the plan
Setting Objectives and Measurements
Often the most difficult part of the planning phase is finding appropriate and clear language to describe the performance objectives and measures or indicators of success.
Settlement Program Managers need to ensure that the objectives are a good representation of the full range of duties carried out by settlement workers.
Objectives should be SMART
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-Bound
SMART Objectives
Specific – Be clear and unambiguous, avoid general statements, focus on specific accomplishments that you want to achieve and focus on end result.
Measurable – Agree on how objective will measured
Achievable – Does the employee have the necessary skills, abilities, tools and resources?
Relevant – Does the goal move the organization towards the vision/mission?
Timely – When do results need to be achieved?
Exercise: Writing SMART Objectives
Please break up into small groups, 2 to 4 people.
Please discuss and write down a couple of SMART objectives for some of your specific programs.
Examples: Increase the number of JSW by 25% in 2012 with a satisfaction rate of 90%.
To answer 85% of our calls within 30 seconds and achieve an abandonment rate of less than 10% in the month of June.
Set Goals and Define Expectations
• Goals must be determined before expectations can be set and expectations have to be set before a settlement worker can be held accountable for meeting them.
• In performance management terms, the expectation is the minimal acceptable performance level and a goal is some point beyond the expectation that the manager and the settlement worker have agreed to target.
• These goals should be defined with corporate and business unit objectives in mind and then be defined down to the individual behaviours that you want to see demonstrated by the settlement worker.
Guidelines for Defining Performance Measures
Quantity (how many clients served, number of JSW workshops)
Quality (accuracy or error rate, level of client satisfaction)
Timeliness (completion dates, time spent)
Cost (how are finances affected by work performed)
Behaviours (do behaviours reflect organizational values)
What are Performance Expectations?
Performance Expectations = Results + Actions & Behaviours
What goods and services should the settlement workers job produce?
What impact should the work have on the organization?
How do you expect settlement staff to act with clients, colleagues, and supervisors?
What are the organizational values the employee must demonstrate?
Performance Dimensions
Performance dimensions are the range of behaviours employees must exhibit to successfully meet or exceed job expectations and help answer the question: “How does someone act and/or behave when s/he does the job well?” Examples include:
• Customer Service Orientation• Teamwork• Valuing Diversity• Assessment and Problem-Solving Abilities• Interpersonal Skills• Fostering a Safe and Secure Environment
What is a valid measure of good client service?
If the measure used only considers the number of clients served (i.e. quantity), then the quality of service or how well it was done is not captured.
To assess quality of information provided, the supervisor could do spot checks to listen to or look at the information that the employee provides to clients. The supervisor would then assess accuracy and completeness of the information.
Step 2: Monitor
For a performance management system to be effective, employee progress and performance must be continuously monitored.
Assess progress towards meeting performance objectives
Identify any barriers that may prevent the employee from accomplishing performance objectives and what needs to be done to overcome them
Share feedback on progress relative to the goals
Effective Monitoring
Monitoring includes coaching settlement staff to address concerns and issues related to performance.
The main purpose of constructive feedback is to help people understand where they stand in relation to expected and/or productive job and workplace behaviour.
Feedback should be provided frequently and not just at performance appraisal time.
Performance Coaching
• Performance coaching is a role and expectation of the Settlement Program Manager.
• Coaching is a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. It should be done with all settlement workers, not just the ones that may be struggling or require additional support.
• Performance coaching involves setting clear expectations for the settlement worker.
Some Suggestions for Providing Feedback
• Effective feedback always focuses on a specific behaviour, not on a person or their intentions.
• Successful feedback describes actions or behaviour that the individual can do something about.
• Use a soft entry• The best feedback is straightforward and simple• Effective feedback needs to be well-timed• Reach agreement about what the individual will do to
change his or her behaviour
Step 3: Review
The performance assessment or appraisal meeting is an opportunity to review, summarize and highlight the employee’s performance over the course of the review period.
Self-assessment is a standard part of most performance appraisals.
Managers should review their performance management notes and documentation generated throughout the year in order to more effectively assess the employee’s performance.
Important – An Appeal Process
Even with a well-designed and implemented performance management process, there may be situations when an employee has a serious difference of opinion with the manager about his or her performance assessment.
A procedure for the employee to discuss disagreement with the process should be established. This can include:
Step Review System Peer Review System Ombudsperson
Common Errors and Rating Bias
When a person evaluates someone else, his or her evaluation reflects both the person being assessed and the evaluator's built in biases. Managers should be aware of their possible evaluation biases, so they can try to eliminate them from the assessment process. Common biases may include:
Halo Horns Central Tendency Leniency bias / Strictness bias Same-as-me
Questions?
Thank you for attending this session!
Faed Hendry
Manager – Training and Outreach
Findhelp Information Services
543 Richmond Street West Ste 125
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1Y6
416-392-4544
Enjoy the rest of the Conference!