Performance Problem Solving: Improving Performance by Influencing People

 

Builds skills to help people solve problems, improve commitment, and strengthen working relationships.

Overview

This program builds concrete tools for solving the kinds of problems that undercut performance. Key to the success of this program is its use of systems thinking and a decision model rather than action steps. Participants learn to diagnose the causes of performance problems and to respond to what they have learned. This approach allows participants to go beyond simple listening, communication, and feedback skills to deal with the tough business problems that make a difference to the bottom line.

Objectives

Participants are able to:

• Confront performance problems without creating defensiveness

• Diagnose whether problems are due to ability (internal skills or external obstacles) or motivation (person doesn't understand the impacts or doesn't care about them)
• Resolve motivation problems-explain the reasons behind priorities and get the other person to explain the reasons behind their different priorities
• Resolve ability problems-seek input, establish criteria, evaluate options
• Involve managers, peers, customers, suppliers and employees in participative problem solving
• Set clear action plans and follow‑up times
• Use a range of listening skills to reduce anger and defensiveness
• Use positive reinforcement to build and support performance

Tailored to Schedules and Participant Needs

Interact has two standard versions of Performance Problem Solving, each designed to work optimally within a different set of time parameters. In addition, Interact creates custom versions to meet customers’ exact needs.

“One-Day” Program

This version is designed to be trained in a single day, and includes a three-hour optional session that covers additional advanced skills and can be trained at a later time. This is the program to use when you’re bringing participants together for a single day.

Five “Two-Hour” Sessions

This version is designed to be trained in 5 two-hour sessions held about a week apart. Having a week between sessions gives participants time to practice and consolidate their skills.

Other Versions: Tailored for Specific Customers

Interact has tailored versions to meet the specific needs of a particular customer that fit a variety of different time constraints and integrate with a variety of different skill sets. Performance Problems Solving has been integrated together with programs from AchieveGlobal, Alamo, Blanchard, Covey, DDI, and Kepner Tregoe. It has also been integrated into a wide variety of in-house training programs.

Tailored to Categories of Employees

Executives, Managers, and Supervisors: The focus of this version is the manager-to-subordinate relationship. They include some manager-to-manager and manager-to-superior applications.

Project Managers, Individual Contributors and Team Members: The focus of this version is peer-to-peer and peer-to-manager relationships.

Tailored to Types of Industries

Interact has tailored versions of Performance Problem Solving to specific types of industries. Some of the tailoring comes from video scenes shot with an industry “look” in mind. Much of the tailoring comes from practice cards that have been developed using focus groups from within companies for a particular industry. Below is a list of applications that Interact has already created-that are ready for you to use. In addition, Interact also creates custom versions to meet customer’s exact needs.

·         Manufacturing-used at places like Ford Motor Company and  Menasha Paper Company

·         Retail-used at places like Carl’s Jr and Kinko’s

·         High-Tech and Software Development-used at places like Visa and Hewlett Packard

·         Banking and Financial Services-used at places like American Express, Northern Trust Bank, and Comptroller of the Currency

·         Health Care-used at places like Covenant Health and Cedar Sinai

·         Call Centers-used at places like Speigel and Convergys

·         Prisons-used at places like Mule Creek State Prison and the California State Corrections Academy

·         Pharmaceutical-used at places like Takeda Pharmaceuticals