SAVING TIME AND MONEY as well as other resources can be a part of your perfomance solution. Many performance technologists are often asked to develop training solutions; however, instead of immediately committing vital resources to a "training" solution, performance technologists can analyze the situation utilizing three criteria: expectations, resources and feedback.

Your organization has already determined there is a performance problem. The next logical step is to undertake an analysis of the entire situation.

Before you launch that analysis, Mager (1997) suggests investigating three aspects for possible easy and quick fixes to the problem. Expectations, resources and feedback are often the cause of performance issues. If explored at the outset, these three areas may provide answers to the problem.

In well-organized companies, employee duties are clearly defined; however, in other organizations the duties may be assumed. Furthermore, when a job title changes or transfers take place, duties often change, too. Employees might not be sure what the job entails. 
For example, a new dock worker is piling boxes near the entrance as she unloads them from the trucks blocking access for others. Her supervisor might think, " What’s wrong with her? She’s working on the receiving dock. She ought to be stacking the boxes at the back of the dock." She probably doesn’t know that procedure. The job expectations don’t match. 

If you discover a performance problem, check the job expectations of everyone involved to avoid any misunderstandings. Make sure that everyone is working from the same set of expectations.

Employee resources can often result in performance problems . Employees should have the proper tools for a job as well as access to the tools. 
For instance, your manager is always breathing down your neck because you can never finish your market analyses on time with your calculator, a pad of paper and a pencil. If you use a company computer, you can create your reports in minutes.

If low productivity is creating a performance problem, consider the tools the employees are using or not using. Equipping them with the right tool for the right job may clear up the problem. 

A lack of feedback can lead to performance problems in all organizations. If people don’t perform a task properly, they need to be told that and how to perform the task properly. 
Consider the son who completes his mathematics homework on rounding perfectly every night, but each day he brings home failed assignments with no comments from the teacher. You tell the teacher your son rounded to two decimal places perfectly. The teacher responds she wants the students to round to three decimal places. You, of course, ask the teacher why she couldn’t put that comment, or feedback on his homework. 

If a performance problem arises, check to make sure you are giving effective feedback. 

If you investigate these three aspects of performance as suggested by Mager (1997) before you start your formal analysis, you may be able to save your organization time and money by solving the problem right from the start. Of course, if the performance problem isn’t caused by the three, you’ll need to complete further analysis of the problem.

Other related articles in the EET:
Conducting performance analysis
Finding solutions to performance problems
Performance analysis: an overview
Training needs assessment
Why performance analysis

Visit The Center for Effective Performance to find more of Mager’s publications about performance. 

Mager, R. F. (1997). Analyzing performance problems. Atlanta, GA. Center for Effective Performance.

Matthew Warwick, Student ，Instructional Technology Certificate ，San Diego State University