Human & Organizational Performance 

Unlock sustainable, industry-leading performance with an organization that is resilient to (and learns from) inevitable human errors

An effective approach to Human & Organizational Performance (H&OP) reduces accidents, increases profits, and strengthens company culture

Try as you might, you’ll never stop people from making mistakes. Unfortunately, that’s what organizations try to do, and, predictably, people keep making costly mistakes that weigh down the business. The much more effective approach is to make the business resilient to inevitable mistakes. Focus on catching mistakes earlier—when their impact is much lower—and ensure the organization and people learn from mistakes.

Getting H&OP right means reducing risk in all areas of your business, including cyber, operational, and financial risk. It also means getting all levels of the organization working together to control risks and improve performance outcomes. If your business has people in it, it will benefit from H&OP.

framework

 

Complexity creates opportunities for error

The primary challenge to human and organizational performance is complexitya multidimensional issue that also adds tremendous unanticipated costs. Complexity consumes disproportional resources, slows organizations down, and adds significant operational risk. WP&C’s H&OP expertise is rooted in a deep understanding of complexity and how it affects organizational performance.

LEARN MORE ABOUT COMPLEXITY

Complexity Cycle 2

WP&C Partner Ernie Spence's H&OP presentation at the American Manufacturing Summit

CONTACT ERNIE SPENCE

Effective H&OP practices target the reasons errors and failures occur

Failures typically result from a breakdown of capabilities, planning, or communications. Addressing failure requires first identifying what went wrong and why, and then taking action to prevent those errors from occurring again.

TOP 5 CAUSES OF PERFORMANCE FAILURES 

  1. Procedure was not followed
  2. Material was not available
  3. Scheduling was unrealistic or planning was poor
  4. Equipment broke down
  5. An issue wasn't noticed until it was too late
Prevent Errors

WP&C’s framework for H&OP transformation ensures the approach and solution are custom fit to your needs

Our approach connects the five H&OP principles to your operating model, operational culture, management system(s), and leadership. We engage the team at every level—leadership, management, and workforce—and we minimize the time it takes to get real results.

H&OP 4 Stages 2

What organizations that benefit from H&OP understand that others don’t

Businesses that successfully implement H&OP practices recognize there is no single lever to drive improvements. Instead, leaders at these organizations recognize a shared set of truths about how to improve and sustain performance:

  • It is not possible to know all the ways failure may occur
  • Systems that require everything to go right will be broken
  • Those doing the work often better understand how it’s going than those managing the work
  • Precursors to catastrophic failure can be hard to sense beforehand, but someone in the business probably sees them with enough time to intervene
  • High-quality feedback from the organization is required to improve
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3 Essential Steps Leaders Take to Leverage H&OP Principles

Get Feedback

Install easy-to-use systems, processes, and tools to elicit feedback from every level

Get Feedback

Find Answers

Be open to receiving honest feedback and actively seek out the drivers of error

Find Answers

Take Action

Be nimble and responsive to employee feedback and indications of pending failures

Take Action

Traditional approaches to performance improvement fail while H&OP succeeds

Companies that focus on H&OP take a different approach to improving performance and sustaining the gains. Key to this approach is addressing the effects of complexity on your operations.

TRADITIONAL APPROACH (hard to sustain and do at scale): Train people to do their jobs; managers give direction and hold people accountable; eliminate opportunities for errors to be made; and manage risk.

H&OP APPROACH (gives leverage at every level): Train with a focus on learning and improvement; leaders and employees collaborate to get the job done right; accept that errors will happen and build resilience into operations; manage the sources of risk.

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Is your company ready to
transformation its performance?

“WP&C is helping us transform our business. Their insights are phenomenal!”
Dave Hoogmoed
Dave Hoogmoed, President Land O’Lakes Purina Feed
“Wilson Perumal & Company's approach treats complexity as the enemy. Declaring war is the most direct route to an efficient, profitable enterprise. We declared war on the complexity in our portfolio, resulting in streamlined customer offerings and a more nimble business.”
Ed Lonergan
Ed Lonergan, President and CEO Diversey, Inc.
“This was a quick and painless way to understand our true product profitability, and it challenges how we think about our business. I am extremely pleased with the results.”
Fernando Palacios
Fernando Palacios, EVP and Chief Integrated Supply Chain Officer MillerCoors LLC
“WP&C’s insights into our portfolio, cost structure and growth drivers have changed the way we think about our business. The brand management playbooks they developed for the business will be critical to how we make decisions going forward.”
Hilliard Lombard
Hilliard Lombard, Managing Director Valeo Foods Group Ltd.
“I have been more than pleased with what you have been able to accomplish in this time. Beyond my expectations...Spectacular!”
Peter Benton
Peter Benton, COO Worldwide Clinical Trials, Inc.
“Fantastic piece of work! You’ve really shed a lot of light on our business. Inmarsat will benefit enormously from your contribution and we will be using your structured thinking to guide us through the decision-making to come.”
Rupert Pearce
Rupert Pearce, CEO Inmarsat plc
“If you take all six times [past projects] where we looked at this, over the past ten years, and rolled them all up together, and multiplied by ten, it would still not be as good as this work.”
Bill McNabb
Bill McNabb, CEO Vanguard Group, Inc
“Army personnel credit the collaboration between Joint Munitions Command, CAAA's higher headquarters, and consulting firm Wilson Perumal & Company for identifying areas to improve the munitions distribution process.”
U.S. Army News
U.S. Army News
Growth in the Age of Complexity
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Growth in the Age of Complexity

In our latest book, learn how to navigate the Sirens of Growth and build true scale in today’s new era of competition.

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