Introduction to Inspire
Inspire is a web based platform, developed in collaboration with HR/OD directors, managers and specialists that uses social media principles to really solve the problems of how to make performance management meaningful, pain-free (!), and a source of data to inform personal and organisational development.
The platform exists as contemporary and intuitive support for individuals to meet, talk, create, and perform. Like all successful modern technologies, it’s easy to use, has a point, and works as it should. It therefore has value to the user who holds it dear.
The combined approach of Inspire and contemporary OD approaches means three simple things:
- “I” – Staff are truly involved in creating their performance standards and performing to them thereafter
- “A” – All staff throughout the organisation have a natural alignment to the organisation’s goals, as well as helping change and shape them
- “M” – As part of day-to-day practice, performance is owned by the individual and measured to ensure a standard of performance is being attained or developed towards
With connotations of command and control, big brother, and mind-numbing bureaucracy, performance management has become a dirty phrase in many organisations. Managers dread the ‘big push’ as they near their deadlines, staff dread the impersonal ‘box ticking’. It happens once a year – if at all – and the process is driven by complex spreadsheets and frustrating paper chases that result in dispersed and largely “non-get-at-able” information tucked away in managers’ drawers and hard drives across the organisation.
Neither organisations nor staff are any better off... yet we persist!
We think we’ve solved that though...
Inspire addresses the challenge of balancing organisational control and staff empowerment (accountability/responsibility vs creativity/innovation), removes the pain and bureaucracy of existing paper-based systems to build on existing enthusiasm from staff for performance management and development (yes, it exists!), and collects organisational data that is “real-time” and can be used to drive performance, development and even strategy.
Picture this...
Imagine if every member of your staff managed their own performance and development.
With Inspire every member of staff has their own unique ‘page’ from where to do precisely that.
- Understanding, agreeing and manage their own behaviours:
In Inspire staff can assess ‘how’ they’re working against the organisation’s values and behaviours (and compare this with their manager’s view) – and then choose from automatically shortlisted personal development that has been selected depending on their seniority/job type/development need. And if they find personal development elsewhere, they can easily bring that to the organisation’s attention. But THEY choose.
- Interpret their work and focus on their own delivery:
Staff can produce and review their personal objectives – linking each of them to the organisation’s corporate objectives through the ‘golden thread’, as well as managing their progress against organisationally mandated objectives. Think of the potential of your staff having the confidence to suggest how they deliver your objectives. Imagine if they then quickly gathered support from colleagues/peers who thought it was a great thought too – ideas from the front line anybody?
- Own their personal development and career:
Staff can upload photos, letters, videos, plans etc to evidence their own development – a picture with a happy customer, a letter of appreciation, a video explaining a potential service development – it’s amazing what that level of interactivity has!
Big Brother Vs Lunatics running the Asylum?
Of course managers, and ‘the organisation’, need to have their say too; the balance between autonomy and control...!
Vertical Integration
Managers can oversee and coach performance, but they can also act. They can veto objectives if they really are irrelevant to the organisation’s goals, they can mandate objectives, they can push personal development to whole groups of staff at a time – and they have the most extraordinary communication tool with which to engage the whole staff group.
Horizontal Integration
Staff, especially those from recent generations who are clearly the future of all our organisations, demand more from organisations than ever before, including the right to breathe, express themselves and draw value from those they work for.
360° feedback, employee of the month, buddying, and coaching are all included in Inspire too – really giving the opportunity to break down silos – connecting and liberating staff. Communities are also enabled to swarm around key themes they want to be involved in such as projects, lessons from the customer and new development tracks. Harnessing the power of crowds and listening to those that are closest to your customers.
What’s behind the idea?
It has of course taken us years of development to get to this stage (over four to be precise), but all along we have been true to the fundamentals behind the idea:
- The theoretical stuff:
- OD principles (doing ‘with’ organisations rather than ‘to’ them, and leaving them with a sustainable solution and the internal capacity to self-manage it)
- Human Relations Theory (appreciating that organisations aren’t machines, and are in fact groups/systems of people with differing and sometimes unpredictable reactions)
- Action Research Theory (there should be no action without research – important for not only the development of Inspire, but for understanding its potential for organisational benefit)
- Social Constructionism (people support what they help to create – think engagement!)
- And the social stuff...
- Social media principles of choice, simplicity, and intuitiveness really driving buy-in and empowerment. If you can navigate your Facebook page you can navigate Inspire. And if you don’t have Facebook – you’ll appreciate that it wouldn’t be the success it is if it wasn’t intuitive and simple to use...
What it delivers...
So, by working with HR/OD Directors and managers – or maybe Transformation/People/Workforce Directors? – we simply tailor Inspire and our service to ensure a sustainable solution that supports and develops a high performance culture, empowers staff to innovate and deliver, and informs organisational development across the life cycle of their transformation. Our approach and software grows in tandem with clients’ direction and pace.
We understand that fundamental to the success of any platform like Inspire is understanding the existing culture (including both formal and informal principles and practices) – as well as the organisation’s readiness to embrace it. And that’s why we have designed our own organisational readiness checklist – and insist that before Inspire is launched in any organisation this thinking and development work has been done and included in any evaluation criteria. We also have a draft communications and engagement strategy that starts at least two months in advance of launch!!
By building on social media principles, Inspire reduces bureaucracy and duplication, makes the whole performance management process easier and more ‘user friendly’, and helps build a culture of true openness, transparency and creativity.
With staff leading the development of their objectives and L&D, and managers inputting and feeding in their own and the organisation’s priorities too – the emergence of real two-way conversation presents the opportunity for staff to not only take responsibility for their own performance, but to also register ideas for future developments – and to really engage with the purpose and direction of the organisation. Again, you only have to look at all the Generation X/Y and now Z data to realise the world has changed. Gone are the days where a “boss” asks a “subordinate” to jump and they say “How high”? The days are here where the staff member will ask “why”? The challenge to attract and retain the best is a real one that Inspire gives organisations a competitive edge for.
And what makes Inspire stand out even more is the balance of that personal staff engagement with organisational benefit – through the data it provides for example. Data that can be used to build a performance culture, to provide an organisation-wide learning needs analysis, to drive efficient L&D spending (by targeting and evaluating existing L&D), to inform talent management/succession planning, and ultimately feed into strategy development.
And, as with all Social Networking platforms, Inspire reacts and adopts the ‘nudge principle’ to its offer, ensuring the user is always informed and prompted to take the next step.
Where we’re up to...
So as you’d expect, we’ve had our ups and our downs developing Inspire! Especially as we officially launched in the height of the recession [June 2009] and targeted the public sector as our key market... And here we still are, thriving!
In early development we worked in partnership with HR/OD specialists from across the sectors, testing Inspire in a safe (demo), and then live environment – with early adopting clients who saw the potential and need for Inspire and really wanted to make sure it was a success providing feedback and development ideas; Inspire is the epitome of a child raised by a village.
And for the past few years we’ve been live in the marketplace – hearing that clients are enjoying more meaningful performance management and the benefits of engaged and empowered staff.
As well as having clients in the commercial and public sectors, we’re also boasting a regional NHS partnership where we are now ending a six month pilot that’s being independently evaluated by Manchester Metropolitan University (Paper due Feb 2014). The region’s interest is driven by the meta-data that has the potential to be used to better serve those employed in an entire sector/geography in terms of targeted development and education as well as aligned effort and energy.
Not only are we providing support for the Trusts in these pilots, but, in accordance with ‘best practice’, we have facilitated the development of a Community of Practice for them – in which Trust peers are sharing successes, problems, and best practice. One of our proudest achievements… and the most impactful. Amazing what happens when you seamlessly connect people who are working on similar challenges. Without Inspire, they likely would never have met.
Results to date!
We are convinced that using Business Social Media principles to balance autonomy and control, and drive meaningful performance management, really works. Achieving the balance of vertical/horizontal integration in an aligned way is a powerful mix indeed and is producing data that is real-time and usable instantly.
We are experiencing ongoing results and on the basis of anecdotal evidence are looking forward to sharing them!
From our early adopting clients to date, we’re already looking at performance management engagement rates of:
Commercial –95%
NHS – 80%
Public – 75%
Those that have not engaged – yet – are known and being supported to engage. Their potential choice to not engage is being explored.
This engagement and use of Inspire to drive conversations/performance is delivering wider benefits through the data it drives:
- Immediate identification of High Performer, High Potential. Talent retained and investment used wisely and tracked.
- Poor performers managed up... or out.
- Organisational priorities weighted to ensure the whole workforce is aware of where the big push is needed. Activity is tracked and measured. Development investment is deployed wisely... or withdrawn.
- Efficiencies are gained in development spend.
- Internal matching through a coaching programme is targeted and tailored.
- Newly identified learning opportunities are shared quickly.
And an example of some quotes we’ve been sent:
“Why has it taken you [Organisational Leaders] so long to give us something so simple”
“Its [Inspire] about me. It makes sense”
“Inspire opens effective feedback between line managers and staff”
“Inspire is less time consuming and [there is] less confusion”
“At a glance I know what is happening in my team, including the new stuff they are thinking about that I have not mandated!”
“Inspire is visually appealing and simple to use”
“Inspire is a good way to ensure staff are performing”
Clients are already seeing the benefits of engaging with Inspire... As well as now having access to up-to-the-minute organisational data, staff are becoming more values driven, and organisations are starting to realise the potential for wider benefits.
As adults, they have taken the opportunity to align their organisational learning and development portfolio for example – engaging with staff to streamline the service, ultimately making it more efficient and fit for purpose.
In September 2013, Shadow Secretary of State for Health Andy Burnham visited one of our pilot Trust clients to see Inspire working in a live environment – engaging staff and leaders to discuss its functionality in practice, and its potential regional impact. He is due to return to coincide with wider regional results and further roll out in Q1 2014!
Summary
The system needed disrupting, and we have bitten off a chunk and joined in.
Inspire is an innovation. As such, evidence is emerging as we embed new thinking into solid working practices.
Too many people, across different levels of seniority and different sectors/geographies, have seen Inspire and reacted with intrigue and positivity for this not to be something we should be serious about.
To Transform is to change how we do things, hopefully for a better outcome. Inspire appears to be doing both. For an Inspire approach – supported by a Business Social Networking platform – to be driving up performance, efficiency, engagement, culture whilst driving down costs is transformation in action.
Why is it working? Well, if you can use a laptop, smartphone, facebook, twitter, pinterest, Linkedin, weather app etc etc, then you are already trained to use Inspire. If you care about your customers, your job, your future, your career, then why wouldn’t you engage? If you don’t care about any of these things, should you really be working for your company?
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