Page 45 - Making Instruction Work

chap 4 3/4/97 4:56 PM Page 33

performance analysis 33

How to Do It

Here’s a brief description of the steps in the procedure.
Figure 4.1 offers a visual picture of the procedure in the form
of a flowchart.
1. Name the category (job title) of the person or people
whose performance is at issue.

2. Describe as specifically as possible what it is they should
be doing.

3. Describe equally specifically what it is the performers are
doing that causes someone to say there is a problem.

4. Estimate what the discrepancy is costing in aggravation,
frustration, turnover, scrap, insurance rates, time lost,
money lost, equipment damage, customers or good will
lost, accidents, cost of a supervisor’s time to fix the prob-
lem, and so on. Decide whether the discrepancy is worth
doing something about.

5. If the estimated cost of the discrepancy is small, stop. In
other words, if it’s only a problem because you say it is,
and it isn’t having any impact on the rest of the world,
stop.

6. Next, explore fast fixes. There are several reasons why
people don’t perform as expected, and some of them are
so common and so easy to fix that they should be con-
sidered early in the procedure. So check to make sure
that people (a) know what’s expected of them, (b) have
the resources (tools, equipment, supplies, etc.) needed to
perform as desired, and (c) can recognize when they’re
performing to expectations. Make necessary fixes before
proceeding.