Performance management at Southern Cross Hospitals

A Stratus Consulting case study

Summary of needs

  • Southern Cross Hospitals needed to create a performance management system which was integrated with the nurses’ professional development framework and the business planning cycle
  • They also needed to upskill their managers to manage performance more effectively, which included being able to set effective performance objectives aligned to the organisation and business units’ objectives and improving their ability to coach their people to develop their competence

Stratus Consulting’s approach

  • Focus groups were run with managers and employees to assess the current understanding and practice of performance management, introduce best practice concepts and develop the understanding of the need for change
  • Working closely with the Chief Executive and the professional leader of nursing, the system was designed to ensure it linked to the Nurses Professional Development programme and the business planning cycle
  • The system was designed to ensure it was best practice – both “what people needed to deliver” (performance objectives) and “how they needed to deliver” (competencies) was included
  • 80 managers participated in a 2 day workshop which included training in the new system, effective performance planning, coaching skills, development planning, and addressing performance issues
  • On-going training was offered to new team leaders and managers to ensure all were able to effectively manage performance

The results

  • Dramatic improvement in managers performance management and coaching skills
  • Individual performance planning aligned to the business units and organisation’s objectives
  • A significant improvement in the quality of individual development planning and capability development
  • A robust system that supports the organisation to get results through the alignment of its people’s efforts