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An agency can be working towards and monitoring the progress of one goal or of several goals at the same time.
Each goal (and its progress) might be at different points in the cycle.
For example, an agency might have an annual target of recruiting 10% more learners than it did the year before. The target date to achieve
this goal might be March 31. The agency will be incorporating new recruitment methods to help them achieve this goal throughout the year.
They will need to monitor their success on a regular basis. If, for example, they have not increased their enrollment numbers after a few
months, they will try some new recruitment methods. They may do this every two months throughout the year. They will document each of the
methods they tried and the results they achieved. By March 31, they will know if they have or have not achieved their recruitment goal,
and they will have evidence of the processes used and any changes made. They will be able to know which recruitment efforts were successful
and which were not.
At the same time, the agency might also have a goal of increasing learner participation in small group sessions over a period of three months,
ending December 31. Staff will implement ideas to encourage learners to join small groups and they will monitor the challenges and successes.
Although they will be following the same cycle of goal-setting, implementing, monitoring and adjusting activities as they did when trying to
increase learner recruitment, they will not be at the same point in the CIPMS cycle for both targets. |
The key to successful
CIPMS implementation is deliberate and purposeful action, being aware of where you are in the cycle and ensuring that all of
the steps do get done, documented, reviewed and revised.
The more goals and targets that an agency is working towards achieving, the
more complex performance management can become. It is best to start with
just one or two manageable targets and become familiar with the process rather
than trying to tackle everything your agency would like to achieve all at once! As
everyone becomes familiar with the cycle, more targets can be added.
The CIPMS cycle does not just happen. It requires deliberate selection of areas
for improvement, incorporation and formal opportunities to review the processes
you use, your evaluation, your planning, your review, your agency assessment,
your targets, etc. The key to successful CIPMS implementation is deliberate and
purposeful action, being aware of where you are in the cycle and ensuring that all
of the steps do get done, documented, reviewed and revised.
The Benefits of Performance Management
Why should an organization worry about performance management? What is the point of a continuous improvement performance management system? What
difference will managing for results make?
These questions need to be addressed in order for the transition to a performance management system to be successful. It is important that literacy
agencies understand the many benefits that CIPMS can bring and how this system will help programs to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively,
ultimately providing better programming for Ontario’s adult learners in literacy programs.