Do you need Critical Friends, Co-creation Partners, or simply to Get Stuff Done?

If you need to think about improving how performance is managed, you need to think about what sort of support will create the most value for you.  After all, even if your CEO is pressing you to ‘get managers dealing with poor performance’, the budget won’t be bottomless.

When we started 3C, there were very few HR professionals who had been through major performance transformation programmes, research into drivers of organisation and individual performance was not well understood, and case studies were thin on the ground.    We set out to fill this gap, providing knowledge, resources and expertise.

Now, there are some OD professionals who have been through performance management transformations and have the skills and knowledge needed to lead those programmes themselves.     Of course, many organisations don’t have the headcount to recruit such knowledge internally, but for those who do…

…the way that 3C engages has changed based on client demands over the years.  Here are some examples:

Do you just need to ‘get the basics done’?

Take poor performance for example:  Some of our clients simply needed us to provide skills and toolkits to help managers get a grip on performance across their teams.    The ‘get it done’ requirement.

Or advanced support – e.g. Safe spaces for coaching and mentoring real issues?

Other clients have given managers the essentials, and instead needed us to run a performance clinic for individuals or very small groups to explore the knottiest poor performance issues in detail, and in confidence.  A performance clinic is a blend of advising (giving input), coaching (empowering the individual to decide what approach will deliver results) and encouraging – building their confidence to take action.

Or experts to re-vitalise your whole approach?

We’ve worked with other clients on designing a whole new approach to performance management.  Some clients wanted to brief us on the problem, then ask us to engage their workforce with our discovery and design methodology to come up with a fresh approach.

Or a Co-creation partner to support your in-house teams?

Other clients seek a co-creation approach, with us working alongside their in-house OD professionals to develop the right solutions for their organisation

Or a Critical Friend offering insights – are you on the right track?

And a few clients seek to use our expertise to validate what they are mostly doing themselves, inviting us to be the critical friend – sharing best practices from elsewhere, and offering insights to inform their thinking and plans.

So, as you think about the performance challenges your organisation faces in 2025, let’s have a conversation about whether you would get the most value from a critical friend, a co-creation partner, or someone to just get some tools and training delivered.   Or even a mix of all three!

To explore what might work best for you, drop us a quick email, and we can fix a short teams call.

Hedda

01491 411 544

info@3cperform.co.uk