System focuses on how human performance affects organizational performance
In most organizations, goals are achieved through work. Organizational performance is measured by the efficiency (resources used) of work as well as its effectiveness (goals achieved).

Things that make work hard decrease the organizational performance. Things that make work easy increase performance. Too often, though, the only people who really know what makes work easy or hard are the actual people charged with doing the work.

The Issue Identification and Improvement (I³ - pronounced "I Qube") Diagnostic has helped hundreds of organizations and business units realize measurable operational gains. I³ exposes the hidden issues in an organization, the issues that typically are not asked about in standard surveys or questionnaires. These hidden issues influence both employee and organizational performance. The impact of these issues on employee behavior and resulting productivity and organizational performance is too often either underestimated or invisible to management's eyes.

The I³ System consists of a three-part process that includes:

1. A comprehensive organizational diagnostic
2. A detailed and actionable roadmap for improvement, and
3. A quarterly measurement process that provides accurate feedback on the extent to which initiatives are perceived as accomplishing their objective.

The system is most effective when implemented in its entirety, but can be utilized as independent components to supplement an organization's existing process.

Diagnostic Component
The diagnostic component of the System starts with two simple questions:
“What are those things that make work hard?” and, “What are those things that make work easy?”

These open-ended questions allow employees at any level of the organization to identify any issue impacting performance. Candor is facilitated by making all responses anonymous. Employees are clustered in groups according to common interests in the organization (work shift, position, labor category, etc.) and provide their input in one of two ways.

• Data Input Groups - a focus group type process where like-employees meet for 90 minutes in an anonymous small group setting. Here, under the guidance of a skilled facilitator, they are asked questions and provide written, unstructured responses. The responses are affinity-sorted and ranked by the input group and then entered into a proprietary database for further sorting and analysis.
• The I³ Assessment - a web-based or paper-based tool developed from over a half million employee I³ comments from over 300 studies during the last 10 years. Employees are provided with a series of statements with multiple-choice responses written at an 8.2 grade level. There is also plenty of space for open-end responses. Each statement reflects an issue within the organization affecting employee performance. The issues are clustered into predetermined categories developed from the half million past responses. The assessment presents these issues as baselines which are supplemented by the open-ended responses. Employees typically require 15 to 20 minutes to complete the I³ assessment.

Once the data is collected, there are several options for receiving the results of the I³ Diagnostic.

Management can receive access to the I³ Online Results web site with an IRI consultant guiding them through a detailed interpretation of the data. Management’s internal consultant can create the narrative for his or her own report and include the graphics that are on the web site. The internal consultant or the management team can create his or her own roadmap for organizational improvement. This is a fixed price option based on organization size.

For an additional investment, management will receive a comprehensive report created by IRI senior business analysts. This report answers the question, “What does it mean?” and provides Conclusions & Recommendations. The report is delivered in electronic format. This report includes a customized narrative, charts and tables that best represent the significant data, conclusions, recommendations, and an actionable roadmap. The IRI senior business analysts bring extensive and proven organization development and performance improvement experience to their assessment. These consultants will also, within the fixed fee of the service, meet with management to explain the report and help management define its action plan.

A printed, bound master copy of the report—including all of the employees verbatim comments is available if desired.

Performance Improvement Component
The I³ Roadmap identifies opportunities for organizational improvement
based on three levels of issues identified by the input groups, each requiring its own treatment.

First, there are “Global” issues, which employees perceive need to be addressed, but at the present time are beyond the organization’s short-term control. Depending on the level of organizational authority, these Issues are typically capital-intensive issues that require substantial investment. While management might seek to influence these issues, and cause long-term change, they may not be able to cause short-run change due to capital limitations or other constraints. These decisions and their rationale need to be communicated to the workforce to increase an understanding of organizational dynamics and develop a greater acceptance of leadership decision-making.

Second are unit-level issues. These are Issues that can be addressed by one group without impacting the effectiveness of other groups. Examples include Issues surrounding Leadership and/or Teamwork within the Work Unit, and so on.

Third are general operational issues. These issues are most effectively addressed on a business unit-wide basis. Examples include many issues surrounding organizational Leadership, Equipment, Systems/Procedure, and Staffing. For these issues, management must determine if changes will be entertained and, if so, must identify the mechanism by which change will be explored and initiated.

Through facilitated Action Planning meetings, management creates the initial high-level action plan to determine the most appropriate means of addressing the highest priority issues, then cascades the plan to the next level of leadership to gain their support and share various implementation responsibilities.

Implementation activities may include such initiatives as:

• A Fastrack Teamssm to resolve work issues on a short-interval, real time basis,
• A new or revised policy or procedure,
• An organization-wide communication strategy,
• A compensation study,
• Leadership or employee training and development,
• A new or upgraded performance management system, etc.

Consulting fees to support the implementation of targeted initiatives are typically determined through the mutual creation of specific project plans with roles, responsibilities, deadlines, and expected outcomes clearly defined.

Progress Measurement Component
Many organizational performance improvement systems measure the success of their actions through the re-administration of a survey or questionnaire one or two years after the initial administration. Costs and other factors typically drive this decision. To be useful to management, however, progress must be measured on a shorter time frame. If an initiative is working, it needs to be nurtured. If the initiative is failing, it needs to be reexamined before additional resources are invested.

IRI’s quarterly Progress Evaluations are used to determine the visible level of performance improvement. These evaluations are low cost with minor intrusion, but add essential value to the overall system. Critical and timely feedback from impacted employees provide useful information about what to continue doing, what to stop doing, and what to change in order to reap the full benefits of the results of the I³ Performance Improvement Component of the system.

Why Use the I³ Diagnostic?
Clients who have chosen to follow the I³ Roadmap have realized substantial improvement gains, such as:

• Reducing new hire turnover rates from 55% to 4%
• Saving close to $1 million in training costs within the first year of implementation
• Successfully increasing span of control from 7:80 to 1:80 with improved communication
• Measurably improving customer satisfaction by improving employees’ perception about customers
• Making significant process improvements to equipment maintenance schedules to reduce operational down time
• Being honored with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the Wisconsin and Missouri Quality Award after using the I³ Diagnostic

Successfully Implementing Change
Most performance improvement efforts fail because the organization is not equipped to manage both the business and the improvement effort. To overcome this barrier, IRI can provide you with a complete improvement management service that includes employee communication, progress tracking, process management, technical expertise, and much, much more.

How much does it cost?
The I³ Diagnostic is priced according to the number of participants and number of groups from which data is collected. As a fixed fee process there are no hidden or unanticipated costs. Excluding support with the implementation of targeted initiatives, the following decisions determine the overall investment:

• The number of participants and groups that will participate in the study. (Volume discounts are available)
• The method for data input. (Electronic or paper and pencil response)
• The method for receiving the results of the study. (Electronic or hard copy, and the extent to which additional consulting support is used)