Private Banking: Building a Culture of Excellence

Chapter 12

Measuring and Managing Performance

Without targets you cannot measure achievements, deviations from stated objectives, or performance. There is a need for both quantitative and qualitative targets. A performance culture is rooted in defining objectives and creating a results-oriented approach. But it involves more than just looking at financial numbers. It also has to do with the type of delivery achieved and its quality. Measuring performance requires accountability in order to obtain a result that provides information about a given quality at a certain point in time. Resources that can be invested are finite. It is necessary, therefore, to take a structured approach to make best use of these limited resources. This mentality is important to ensure that people respect and invest the resources wisely within the time constraints available and from the standpoint of the company’s objectives. Once this process has been established, then and only then should performance be examined in terms of results and numbers.

UNDERSTANDING PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

If performance management is neglected, the best-crafted strategies and visions will be to no avail. Even when a company has a credible vision, it will not achieve it if it cannot implement the steps to fulfil its goals. As discussed in Chapter 11, “Defining and Growing Leadership and Culture,” leading is about creating a credible vision. But it doesn’t stop there. Equally important is the execution, which has to be right. ...