Performance analysis should begin with the business goal because the practitioner cannot meaningfully define desired performance until the organizational outcome is understood. The business goal establishes why performance matters and provides the reference point for determining what employees, teams, or processes must accomplish.
After the goal is defined, the TD professional can determine the performance required to support it, identify the current level of performance, and compare actual results with the desired state. That comparison reveals the performance gap. The practitioner can then analyze causes and determine which interventions are appropriate.
Beginning by comparing "ideal" and actual performance without first connecting ideal performance to the business goal risks optimizing activity that does not materially contribute to organizational results.
Stakeholder identification is important for analysis and implementation, but it is not the fundamental starting point for defining the gap. Likewise, determining which accomplishments are not being met requires an established business outcome against which those accomplishments can be assessed.
A business-centered approach ensures that talent development interventions address meaningful organizational performance rather than isolated learning activity.
Study Guide Topics: Performance Improvement; business goals; desired performance; performance-gap analysis; root-cause analysis.