CASE STUDY

International Management School Chooses Performance Impact

Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management

“We are trying to instill in our managers an understanding that performance management is an ongoing process — not a once-a-year event.”

When a leading graduate management school chooses your performance management system for reviewing, coaching and developing its employees, it's high praise indeed. For Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management, obtaining a more effective way of conducting performance appraisals was only one of the reasons they chose KnowledgePoint's Performance Impact last year.

"We are trying to instill in our managers an understanding that performance management is an ongoing process — not a once-a-year event," says Andy Quinn, director of administrative affairs. "We believe this system will help facilitate greater communication between managers and staff, which will, in turn, help us to retain employees and stay competitive."

Having competition is a brand new challenge for this veteran management school. With the advent of globalization, other prestigious schools are also developing international management programs around the world. This fundamental change in the marketplace has prompted Thunderbird to move quickly into Internet-based distance learning. "We now have sites in China, Russia, France, South America, and more," says Quinn, "which is why it was essential for us to purchase a performance management system that is browser-based."

Thunderbird has installed Performance Impact on its intranet so that managers at all of its locations can utilize the program. Quinn reports that virtually everyone who has used the software over the past year has liked it and found it easy to learn. "Managers have told me that it's user-friendly and a unique and comprehensive piece of software." The managers also appreciate the system's ability to keep track of employee progress toward goals and the coaching ideas that are provided to develop employees.

Quinn stresses that Thunderbird's overall plan for using Performance Impact is to create more communication throughout the organization. "Like most companies, we need to do a better job of communicating with our employees and making them feel valued. We're looking forward to utilizing the goal achievement function more completely and generating more employee involvement in the entire process."

"It's exciting to me," he adds, "because I see a lot of optimism on the part of our managers. They understand that this program can help them achieve their own strategic objectives."