Guide to key terms
To help participants use the C3Perform tools effectively and complete the workbooks provided, we have included this guide to key terms to help you establish common understanding among your team or group at the start of the process. This guide can be copied and shared with participants before beginning work on the C3Perform tools.
LEADERSHIP - How the organisation is steered by its decision makers and vision.
This section is about the way leaders and decision makers set and communicate the direction of the organisation, establish values, ethics, culture and a governance structure for the organisation. It is also about leading by example, encouraging and enabling people to achieve targeted results, while providing a constant sense of purpose and steadiness that inspires the confidence and commitment of staff and other stakeholders.
• Leaders - include managers at every level, deputy managers, team leaders, supervisors, trustees, members of the board and anyone with direct responsibility for setting the direction of the organisation.
• Stakeholders – include anyone who has a direct interest in the organisation and what it does. For example: staff, managers, volunteers and trustees, customers, service users, supporters, the local community, partner organisations, local and central government, shareholders and investors.
• Mission and vision – together mission and vision set out an organisation’s reason for being. Mission describes what the organisation exists to do i.e. ‘to involve
people in identifying solutions to poverty’. Vision usually describes the desired future situation, for example ‘to create a world without poverty’.
• Values – the ethical considerations that an organisation identifies to help govern the way if fulfills its mission and vision and the quality and integrity of its operations.
• Diversity – embraces differences in ethnic background, sexual orientation, ability or disability, skills, knowledge, age, cultural perspectives, beliefs, values, attitudes and life experiences of each individual in any group of people. Valuing diversity refers to demonstrably valuing diverse users, paid staff, volunteers or customers by having policies and procedures that take their needs and preferences into account.
• Equality – with reference to specific communities on the themes of: race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion and belief, and age. The UK has statutory frameworks to protect these groups from discrimination. Equalities also refer to the range of work aimed at ensuring the full and fair participation of marginalised or under-represented groups arising from discrimination and disadvantage.
• Inclusivity – refers to the removal of barriers to participation and/or achievement based on a commitment to diversity and equality and an understanding of needs. It means everyone has the opportunity to take part in everything on equal terms. Inclusivity does not mean that services treat all adults and children in the same way but takes account of people’s various life experiences and needs. In the process of inclusivity, people are welcomed and valued and provided with adequate support and resources to participate.
POLICY & STRATEGY – How you develop, implement and communicate plans and policies.
This section is about the way an organisation sets out what it wants to achieve and how it will do it. It looks at how mission, vision and values become a clear strategy based on the needs of customers and stakeholders. It then asks how policies, plans, objectives and processes are developed and deployed to deliver the strategy. It also assesses the extent to which plans are updated according to results and feedback.
• Market - refers to the factors that affect the sale or provision of your products and services. This includes the beneficiaries of your product and service (actual and potential), market conditions and trends, partners and competitors.
• Plans and Strategies – there are a range of plans that an organisation might have including a business plan, strategic plan, development plan, marketing plan, product development plan, recruitment plan,
operational plan.
• Policies – refers to the policies that an organisation writes to govern its procedures and the way that it works. Common policies cover equal opportunities, recruitment, environmental, health and safety, disciplinary and grievance, data protection, IT, Training.
• External Influences – can involve a wide range of influences, but consider national legislation and regional/local policies, plus environmental, technical and social factors that relate to your activities.
PEOPLE – How you support and reward your people (paid and unpaid).
This section is about the way the organisation develops and releases the full potential of all its people (paid and unpaid) and plans the way people work to deliver its values, mission, policy and strategy. It also addresses the care, reward and recognition of people in a way that builds commitment, encourages loyalty and active involvement, in a culture of trust, openness and empowerment.
• People - includes anyone who works for the organisation in any capacity including full time, part time paid staff, volunteers and trustees or board/committee members. It includes sessional, relief, project and temporary staff.
• Performance Appraisal - an opportunity for a member of staff or volunteer and their line manager to discuss satisfaction, performance, development and support needs. It should be a two way process that focuses on improvement by reflecting on past performance plus the needs of the organisation and may be linked to pay.
• Reward and Recognition – reward includes pay and salary alongside other benefits such as pensions, flexible working, training allowances and bonuses. Recognition concerns how the organisation expresses respect and gratitude towards staff. Reward and recognition should be transparent and equitable within the organisation and may be compared to other similar organisations.
PARTNERSHIPS & RESOURCES – How you develop partnerships and manage resources.
This section is primarily about how your relationships with other organisations and your own resources contribute to the success of your enterprise. All levels of partnership and all management of resources should be evaluated in this context by assessing their contribution to delivering your strategy successfully.
• Partnerships - include policy type partnerships, which often require a mutual and collaborative approach, but also relationships with suppliers, agencies, landlords, experts etc., which clearly need to deliver immediate value.
• Partners - are any external group, organisation or individual the organisation works with to enable it to achieve its purpose and add value to what it does, including: funders; suppliers of goods and services; partners in joint projects; contractors; consultants etc.
• Resources - refer to all of the resources that your organisation has and uses,
other than people. It includes buildings, equipment, materials, information systems, knowledge and money.
PROCESSES – How appropriate and effective your products, services and processes.
This section is about your products and services and about designing and managing a way of working that enables products and services to be delivered efficiently and effectively to your customers and other beneficiaries. It also relates to how the organisation develops, manages and continuously improves its products, services and processes to satisfy, meet and exceed the needs and expectations of customers.
• Process - a way of working, activity or procedure that converts information, knowledge, materials or any other resource into a product, service or benefit. It includes processes used for meeting customer needs as well as internal processes such as staff supervision and appraisal.
CUSTOMER RESULTS – How you know what you are achieving for your customers.
This section relates to the systems you have in place for understanding how customers experience and perceive their products and services and the way they are delivered. Feedback and results can be collected through surveys and other formal feedback processes. Other results can be collected from within the organisation such as repeat custom, product returns and complaints. By monitoring and reviewing the experiences and perceptions of customers, organisations can respond effectively to build, maintain and improve relationships with
all their customers.
• Customers - can include any individual or organisation that receives products or services, or in some way benefits from the organisation’s activities. This might
include service users, paying customers, beneficiaries, members, funding providers, the general public or anybody who commissions your services or products.
• Indicator - something that can be regularly measured and which tells you
how well you are performing, for example number of customers, income and speed
of service.
PEOPLE RESULTS – How you know what you are achieving for your people (paid and unpaid).
This section is about the way the organisation uses information to monitor and predict the performance and perceptions of its people. By monitoring perception we can understand how the organisation is viewed and experienced by people who work within it, including trustees and other voluntary directors, this might include views on induction, appraisal, working conditions and pay. This section focuses on measuring what the organisation achieves for its people using indicators to measure performance in key areas e.g. training, internal communication, absenteeism, sickness and stress levels, staff retention, motivation and satisfaction.
SOCIETY RESULTS – How you know you are environmentally and socially responsible.
This is about your ability to understand and demonstrate how your organisation performs in relation to society and the environment, over and above its core purpose. It considers the organisation’s social and environmental impact, how it is measured and compares with other organisations. It also considers how the organisation is perceived by society, for example, whether they are a good employer, supportive of local campaigns, work with ethical suppliers, respectful of the environment etc.
KEY PERFORMANCE RESULTS – How you know you are achieving your plans and aims.
This section is about monitoring how well the organisation achieved what it planned to achieve so that its robustness, value and capacity to develop in the future can be assessed. This includes non-financial goals such as the organisation’s social impact or the introduction of a new service. Also, financial outcomes including increase in income, sales, member fees and management of assets. This section is concerned with what performance indicators show and the way they are used to monitor, understand, predict and improve the likelihood of key performance outcomes being achieved. This is done by checking against the performance in earlier sections including processes, partnerships, financial, buildings, equipment, technology, information and knowledge.
• Outcome – a result that indicates that an organisation has made progress towards achieving its aims and objectives and the difference the interventions are making. It
is a long-term measure of success or strategic effectiveness and distinct from outputs which is a measure of the activities that have been carried out, For example,
an output of an employment support agency might be that 3 training days were held. An outcome would be that 5 people went on to find sustainable employment.
• Impact – A broader term than outcome. It covers all the changes resulting from an activity, project or organisation. It includes intended as well as unintended effects, negative as well as positive and long term as well as short term.