Learning to Prevent Problems Before They Occur
By Seth N. Leibler, CEO, and Ann W. Parkman, President

As training professionals, we spend an awful lot of time trying to solve performance problems. In fact, many might argue that dealing with problems is the heart of our profession. Clients very often come to us once a performance problem already has begun to occur, and we are trained to identify the true cause of that problem and recommend cost-effective solutions.

Yet while finding solutions is valuable, solving problems once they have occurred is a very expense way of achieving the performance organizations require. Indeed, prevention is always more cost-effective than eliminating existing problems, but we rarely spend time trying to prevent these obstacles to performance from occurring in the first place.

Put simply, we should. Performance problems are extremely costly. Organizations suffer lost revenue and production time, irritated customers, declines in employee morale, increases in industrial accidents and ultimately, even loss of competitive advantage when their workforces are unable to perform at the levels of proficiency required. While it is impossible to anticipate every problem that could possibly arise, many problems can be avoided by using some of the same techniques we use to solve them when they already exist.

Though you may feel overwhelmed with the problems you are already working to eliminate, prevention is worthy of your valuable (and limited!) time. It can build your credibility, save you time and extra work in the long run, and prove to be an extremely valuable service for your clients and your organization as a whole. To help put you on the path to prevention, here is a proven Potential Problem Analysis technique that, when combined with your imagination and experience, can be employed to identify and prevent potential problems.

Step 1: Describe an objective that is important for you (or your clients) to achieve.
When writing your objective, be sure to do so in specific terms. The more precise you are, the easier it will be to anticipate what factors may interfere with its achievement. Your objective should describe an activity to be accomplished clearly enough so that anyone reading it would be able to understand its meaning as you intend it, and recognize when it has been accomplished. For example: Implement a new performance appraisal system by Jan. 1, 2004.

Step 2: Identify what factors would be likely to interfere with achieving that objective if you did not intervene.
To prevent potential problems, it is essential to anticipate factors that could interfere with achieving your objective. However, when dealing with potential problems, there are no real causes that can be concretely identified. Therefore, you will need to rely on your experience and imagination. Think about past experiences and objectives you have encountered, and the obstacles that got in the way.

As with existing performance problems, the causes of potential problems fall into three categories:

• Lack of skill or knowledge: Think about the skills and knowledge that will be necessary for achieving your objective. Will you or anyone else who is essential to achieving your objective lack the skill or knowledge required to meet your goal? If so, it's important to identify who these people are and describe the essential skills or knowledge they lack. For example: Supervisors will not know how to develop objective, measurable performance standards to support the new performance appraisal system.
• Motivational factors: To identify potential motivational inhibitors to performance it is essential to put yourself in the shoes of the performer. Motivational inhibitors may arise if people perceive that they would be punished if your objective were achieved, that they would be rewarded if it were not achieved, or that there would be no consequences to them either way. If you feel that someone may lack the motivation to do what is necessary to achieve your objective, describe why. For example: Supervisors may perceive the new performance appraisal system to be punishing to them because it will be time-consuming to implement and cause them more work to maintain.
• Environmental factors: Sometimes, environmental factors such as a lack of time, space, equipment, people, or information may interfere with the achievement of your objective. It is important to document these factors and describe why you perceive them as obstacles. For example: There are only four months left before the end of the year and there is only one individual allocated part-time to this project. It will be challenging to create the necessary forms and manuals, print and distribute them, and implement the new system by the Jan. 1 deadline.
  

Step 3: List actions to be taken (preventers) to decrease the likelihood that each factor will occur.
Preventers are actions that prevent future problems, or at least minimize their effects. Whenever possible, at least one preventer should be identified to address each factor you have determined may interfere with the achievement of your objective. If this is impractical, pick out those factors that are most likely to interfere and concentrate on identifying preventers for those. For example: The environmental obstacles are the most immediate and pressing concern. Instead of printing and distributing the forms and materials, we can consider distributing them electronically via email as well as adding them to the company's Intranet.

Step 4: Sequence the preventers into a plan of implementation.
In the final stage of Potential Problem Analysis, create a plan for implementing your preventers. Use your judgment about when problems are likely to occur and, assuming you have the time and resources to implement them, continue placing preventers in sequence until you have a plan for implementing all of them. For example: Immediately solicit buy-in from supervisors, making sure they understand the importance of the new appraisal system and how it will help them manage their employees. In November, train supervisors to develop objective and measurable performance standards. In December, distribute the forms and materials via email and add them to the company's Intranet.

By using Potential Problem Analysis, you can build credibility and further increase your value by avoiding costly performance problems and by providing a worthwhile and beneficial service to your clients.

For advice or support on Potential Problem Analysis, contact Kim Homa at 770-458-4080 or khoma@cepworldwide.com.