The Workflow Performance Competency Model - a Simple Framework For Measurable Results!
With over 20 years' experience coaching business leaders, designing + delivering innovative learning solutions for tech companies around the world, leading a global sales enablement team (National Instruments) and being the #1 seller for a tech company, I've developed a simple framework that will yield measurable benefits throughout your organization.
In the Workflow Performance Competency Model, an employee’s performance is measurable - through business KPIs, leading to a clear definition of competency and enablement needs - all that the employee needs to be successful.
The Worklfow Performance Competency Model has 5 core elements:
Motions
Goals
Key Performance Indicators
Competencies
Coaching
5 Steps to Defining Your Workflow Performance Competency Model
Step 1: Define the key motions along the Persona's workflow.*
Remember to write the activities as action verb phrases (not noun phrases). Actions are measurable. Noun phrases are too abstract to measure.
Here’s an example for a Direct Seller:
Motions Along the Direct Seller Workflow
Prospect for Leads
Qualify the Lead
Present Your Solution
Close the Deal
Ensure Success
* You may find it helpful at this stage to interview sellers and write a Seller Journey Story": a fictionalized account of the key motions or activities of their work, their goals, KPIs, and the challenges they encounter when reaching a goal. I realize real life isn't so linear, however, you will be able to put together a story that everyone will agree with.
One result of this work will be a clearly defined "Seller Persona." Keep this persona and their needs in mind whenever creating your enablement.
Sellers love talking about their work and sharing their frustrations with someone who is in a position to help them (especially over lunch!)
This story will have value beyond your enablement organization including making operational processes more efficient, strengthening the communication between marketing and sales and bringing front line seller needs closer to sales executives.
Step 2: Define the persona's goal for each of the motions.
(You may find the goal easier to write by posting the question the seller needs to answer.) Note how the definitions for terms are clearly define (for example, how the company defines a lead, an opportunity, a win...) for the seller.
Goals Along the Direct Seller's Workflow
Prospect for leads
Goal: Find leads from contact. A lead is a contact that has expressed interest in my company's products/solutions.
Qualify the lead
Goal: Create an opportunity by asking qualifying questions. To be qualified, the lead must have all the following:
a problem/need may company can solve
a large enough problem/need
the resources (technical, people and budget)
a need for a solution that fits the strategic direction of my company
Present Your Solution
Goal: Present a simple, concise and value-driven solution (in words and graphics) that solves the customer's specific problem/meets their needs
Close the Deal
Goal: Overcome objections and handle concerns to close the opportunity as either won or lost. For a win, I must receive their P.O.
Ensure Success
Goal: Follow up with customer to make sure the product/solution meets or exceeds their expectations
Step 3: Define the persona’s KPIs for each of the motions.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are what drive sellers. However, the only KPIs that are effective are those that have clearly led to success for other sellers in the company and are measurable using the company's systems. If sellers have to measure up to a KPI that they have little control over or don't trust, they'll become frustrated. Our job is to make the seller's job as easy as possible, to reduce any friction.
Note: your organization may have different and more than one KPI for each motion. The following KPIs are meant to get you started. An effective seller dashboard will show at least one KPI for each motion.
Define success with specific numbers within the KPI so that the seller is always trying to reach 100% or more.
KPIs Along the Seller Workflow
Prospect for leads
Goal: Find leads from contact. A lead is a contact that has expressed interest in my company's products/solutions.
KPI: touches to contacts a day = 60 (a touch= an email, a LI contact, a call, a meeting...)
Qualify the lead
Goal: Create an opportunity by asking qualifying questions. To be qualified, the lead must have all the following:
a problem/need may company can solve
a large enough problem/need
the resources (technical, people and budget)
a need for a solution that fits the strategic direction of my company
KPI: Opportunity worth at least $10k a day = 1
Present Your Solution
Goal: Present a simple, concise and value-driven solution (in words and graphics) that solves the customer's specific problem/meets their needs
KPI: PPT file opens per lead = 1. Time spent in PPT file
Close the Deal
Goal: Overcome objections and handle concerns to close the opportunity as either won or lost. For a win, I must receive their P.O.
KPI: Time to close = 90 days. Win rate = 75%
Ensure Success
Goal: Follow up with customer to make sure the product/solution meets or exceeds their expectations
KPI: at 3 months, customer is receiving value from the solution by answering "above average" on a satisfaction survey
Step 4: Define the persona's competencies.
From your defined Motions/Goals/KPIs, you can easily see what the seller needs to do to be successful. These are your competencies.
Define seller competencies by: "How to Be Successful Doing XYZ." Once critical competency is "How to Enter a New Opportunity in the System." Another would be "When to Enter a New Opportunity in the System."
Here's another trick I've learned to designing the competencies: each is defined by what a seller would search for while in a specific motion in the workflow. For example, a common google search term is "sales overcoming objections."
These are micro-learning modules - each serves one purpose/one competency. Always start each module with the value statement: why should the seller care to watch this module.
Video enablement is best at demonstrating best practice for activities/goals; while infographics work well for processes.
Be as literal as possible. Employees are very busy people and just need answers fast. I even provide the specific language (questions, statements) top sellers use during critical conversations. Some questions lead to success faster than others, for example. Also, providing the specific language helps to keep marketing and sales aligned.
Step 5: Coach the persona on how to improve performance based on KPIs on the their dashboard.
When you have a dashboard showing the data for all the KPIs listed above for the seller, managers can compare that individual's performance against the team's or the company's. KPIs will show you exactly where in the workflow the seller is underperforming. You should already have enablement pieces that show the seller what success looks like.
Coaching will look multi-level: the seller may coach themselves through enablement, the seller may submit their pitch through the system for feedback from others, their manager may guide them through the best practice, and/or a SME may provide on demand coachi
The best teacher is practice, however, so give sellers many opportunities to role play or record themselves for feedback. Ideally one should practice before every call.
Identify the best coaches across the sales organization for a specific competency to act as SME so that that person could prepare your seller. For example, if the seller has a sales presentation coming up, have your "Presentations SME" provide a coaching/role/playing/strategy session to help them prepare.
I hope you find this Workflow Performance Competency Model valuable. It comes from my many years' struggles to figure out what works best. I've found that this simple framework makes my job as a Sales Enablement leader easier and more rewarding. Management is happy because it provides very specific data, enablement and coaching to improve performance where it is needed - saving time and directly impacting sales revenues (the top line) and sales operational efficiency (the bottom line). Your sellers are happy because they have clearly define performance metrics that are proven to help them succeed along with enablement and coaching on demand to support them exactly when they need it.
Your questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome!