Learn to solve employee performance issues through best practices in training, performance management and coaching systems.

You'll be able to confidently support line managers and executives to diagnose and resolve performance challenges using effective feedback and coaching methods. You will also learn to design and deliver practical learning solutions to advance organizational objectives.

Core syllabus include: systematic planning for training design and delivery, measuring performance expectations, and using relevant methods to reflect the value of training, development and performance management programs.

"If you're attacking your market from multiple positions and your competition isn't, you have all the advantage and it will show up in your increased success and income." Jay Abraham
With globalization and competition on the increase future business leaders must have the ability to do what Jay Abraham said. An all-round outlook increases the chances of making well-informed decisions with guaranteed good results.

This is what the CIMA professional qualification offers: a broader business perspective which enables a CIMA graduate to have his/her finger in every pie whether it is management, finance or strategy. CIMA chartered management accountants' area of expertise lies in management and finance combined with the knowledge of making first-rate decisions. In today's world the principle of "the survival of the fittest" still holds and a well-trained CIMA graduate has the edge.

The Imperial College of Business Studies makes its grand entry here as being one of the most sought after educational institutes which has produced many "well-trained CIMA graduates. ICBS has established itself as a reputed business college since its start in 1985 and has continuously maintained the highest standards which is evident in their constantly high pass rates at all levels.
ICBS offers CIMA students a diverse panel of lecturers who are both academically and professionally qualified with a wide range of corporate and lecturing experience. In line with Imperial College's motto "Nurturing tomorrow's Leaders" ICBS's lecturers coach the students not only on the subject matter but also on the techniques to maintain strict professional standards which will differentiate them from others in the field i.e. to be the "fittest".

This is why ICBS brings multi-faceted lecturers with diverse qualifications into the classroom so that students learn firsthand how to become "tomorrow's leaders". The panel of lecturers for the November 2009 session for the foundation level consists of; Pravinth Rajaratnam (ACMA) (ACCA) - He has lecturing experience for more than seven years and is the most celebrated Finance lecturer in Sri Lanka and South East Asia. He has an exemplary academic record being a Sri Lankan and World Prize winner and has produced many Prize winners. He is very popular for his amazing lecturing style and many students when asked to comment on his classes have just one word: "PERFECT!"

K. Guruparan(LLB), - an excellent orator and very well-versed in Business Law has experience in lecturing Law at the certificate level for more than two years. He is a debater and has represented Sri Lanka internationally. He has a wide range of experience in various departments and students benefit from his firsthand experiences.

Gino Jeyanayagam (BSc. CIMA Passed Finalist) - His area of expertise is in Management Accounting and is yet another popular lecturer especially for his student-friendly approaches in teaching where he ensures that each student in his class has grasped the subject matter. He is a Financial Analyst at Amba Research Lanka and has more than four years of lecturing experience in both foundation and managerial levels.

Shanmmugam Sivabaskaran (B.B.A.) - He is currently the Director Operations of Imperial College and has contributed greatly to the institute's success. He has lecturing experience of over 5 years and has an excellent rapport with the students.

Chathura Liyanage (B.B.Mgt.(Acc)sp,ACMA,PMP,MBA-1st Year,University of Colombo) - He has three and a half years of experience lecturing CIMA subjects and has maintained a high pass rate. He has varied corporate experience ranging from Caltex Lanka Ltd. to Aitken & Spence Hotel Management Ltd.
Thilanka Hewage(CIMA Passed Finalist, Dip. M, ACIM, BBA) - is one of ICBS's most successful CIMA Passed finalists being awarded the Sri Lankan and World Prize. He has a passion for teaching and is a successful lecturer.

Rajab Afzal(CIMA Passed Finalist,DCSD) - Currently attached to Aitken Spence as the Finance Manager and his work enables him to deliver the subject matter very simply to his students. He has had excellent feedback from his students throughout the last three years. They have produced some of the highest pass rates giving ICBS the proud status of being the institute that can show the highest pass rate at certificate level today.

Ladies stole the show at the 2nd semi final competition last week, when four young ladies from a group of 50 mixed contestants succeeded at the CIMA Spellmaster, the all island schools spelling competition organised by CIMA.

Students from Ave Maria Convent Negombo, Sacred Heart Convent Galle, Vishaka Balika Madhya Maha Vidyalaya Bandarawela and Holy Family Convent Jaffna qualified for the top 20 spots in the competition.
In the competition where only 4 students could make it to the top 20 from a group of 50, the competition spanned five rounds, with 13 contestants getting both words given to them in the first round correct. At the end of the second round, 9 contestants emerged. In a strange series of events, contestants number 7, 8 and 9, namely, M.M.S. Perera of Ave Maria Convent Negombo, Mulaika Mafaz of Sacred Heart Convent Galle, and Nilakshi Prasadika Gunathilake of Vishaka Balika Madhya Maha Vidyalaya Bandarawela, were the only spellers to spell the word accurately and automatically secured 3 spots to the Top 20. With just 1 spot remaining and 6 contestants still competing, the tension and excitement could be seen not just in their faces but in the audience as well.

It was a battle of nerves for the six spellers in the fourth round, with all of them trying their best to spell correctly. S. Aarabi of Holy Family Convent Jaffna and Rehana Dole of St.Bridget's Convent Colombo 7 were the only two contestants who spelt the words "Gerontologist" and "Keister", respectively, given to them correct. The two girls took the stage, Aarabi was given the word "Orthopaedics" and spelled it spot on, Rehana got the word "Amelioration" and spelt it "Amilioration", misspelling by one letter. Which meant Aarabi secured the last seat available in this competition to the Top 20.

On qualifying to the Top 20, Mulaika Mafaz of Sacred Heart Convent Galle said "I am overjoyed! Spellmaster is very competitive but makes us learn spelling in a way that is fun because most of us are very careless." M.M.S. Perera of Ave Maria Convent Negombo had this to say, "It is a great opportunity for all of us, especially Sri Lankans because we rarely go through the dictionary".

"This is an inspiration for me to come from Jaffna and I'm really excited because I didn't expect to be selected till the last minute. I'd like to tell the children in Jaffna to participate in this kind of competition next year also", declared S. Aarabi of Holy Family Convent Jaffna.

Eight places have been taken up in the finals of Top 20; watch Sirasa TV this Sunday at 6 pm as another group of 50 contestants vie in the 3rd semi final competition.

Learning and development (L&D) teams are critical in helping organizations achieve their goals. The business suffers when employees don't have the training and skills they need to do their jobs well. But L&D leaders sometimes struggle to show how their education initiatives impact the organization's bottom line, especially when training doesn't align with company goals in a way that mutually benefits the employee and the business. 

In 2023, L&D professionals must examine their operations from the inside out. One way they can do this and drive performance is by finding ways to partner with business unit leaders. 

Harnessing the true power of L&D

Learning is critical in helping employees acquire new skills to keep up with the fast-paced changes in today’s world of work. Additionally, employees want to work at companies that invest in their development. Employers recognize this. Last year, employers spent an average of $1,207 on training per employee, up from $1,071 in 2021. Overall, U.S. training expenditures exceeded $100 billion for the first time in 2021-22, according to Training magazine data.

When companies make those kinds of investments, they expect it to pay off. However, new data from Emergn, a global digital business services firm, reinforces that while training can be a powerful retention tool, it often fails to effectively support organizational success. In fact, only 35% of HR leaders said training at their company was completely connected to the team's goals. 

The cost of this disconnect can be great, said Ryan Arshad, Chief Strategy Officer at Emergn. “When employees are being asked to learn or Improve a skill, but don’t understand how this endeavor will Improve performance, it dilutes the impact on employees and the organization,” he said.

Investing in learning that helps employees feel purpose and creates opportunities for growth is one of the top ways to create performance that matters in the workplace. L&D teams are in a unique position to make that connection. But to do so, they must find ways to better align and measure L&D with employee growth and business outcomes.

Connecting through partnership

The first step L&D leaders looking to create connection can take is working closely with leaders of other business functions within the organization. "If you are an L&D leader, you should push hard to have a seat at the top table where strategies and business decisions are made,” Arshad said. “As companies develop objectives, if they're not also thinking about how to incorporate people in that plan, build competencies and measure development and execution, it’s an oversight at the top.”

“Being a good business partner means L&D leaders must understand the overall business goals and challenges, while demonstrating how the L&D function supports that outcome,” Arshad said.

They must also be proactive and deliver value early and often. "If you can show that the work you do has a material or directional impact on teams, companies, products or experiences, then you can command more attention within the business because you are helping to shape the outcome for that organization," Arshad said.

L&D leaders must also have measurement and reporting frameworks in place to demonstrate the value of their work. That process can include:

• Measuring performance right after training and then 12, 18 or 24 months later.
• Implementing knowledge- and practitioner-based assessments in real-time on projects through work-based learning.
• Setting team and business goals based on learning.

This step is critical, but not always easy, Arshad said. "Being able to understand how your partners define value and then being able to deliver that value measurably, is challenging."

Developing training that demonstrates value and drives change

L&D leaders can demonstrate value when they align and create training that addresses the organization’s priorities. Blended learning models that leverage multiple modalities can help employees learn and keep them engaged and work-based learning offers significant benefits in connecting employees to business goals.

Work-based learning personalizes the training experience specifically to each person’s role. "When they understand why they are receiving training and how the training helps them achieve their individual and team goals, employees stay motivated to learn because they see the value right away,” Arshad said. “What's more, they deliver a better outcome." 

Teams that learn new skills and can immediately apply them on the job will solve problems more quickly. Keep the following considerations in mind when building work-based learning experiences:

• Close the expectation gap between current learning offerings and new skills employees want to learn.
• Make learning part of employees’ work-based objectives.
• Ensure learning is personalized to individual roles.
• Allow opportunities for people to learn together.
• Provide “just-in-time" learning.

Taking steps to make a difference in 2023

For L&D leaders who want to embrace a partnership role, Arshad suggested looking holistically at corporate goals, strategies and direction for 2023. Then, think about how to deliver against those objectives and what role learning will play. Shape your L&D strategy based on this and focus on building relationships, so you can ensure that the work you do is aligned with what your business partners need," Arshad said.

Create a baseline for 2023 that reviews the current state of the company and its employees. Look at existing programs to determine whether their structure will deliver the business's desired outcomes. If not, consider reshaping them for this year.  

Evolving the L&D leader's role won't happen overnight. However, when L&D leaders can demonstrate directional change, business leaders will be more open to having strategic conversations.

Change can be challenging, but it’s also necessary. L&D leaders need to know how to tackle this shift head-on. And they don’t have time to waste, Arshad said: “In 2023, the status quo for L&D isn’t good enough anymore – this is an opportunity to add value and effect real change.”

To learn more about how Emergn can help your L&D team incorporate learning to support your organization’s strategic goals and offer employees a sense of purpose in their work, visit emergn.com.

• Performance-based pay is compensation that’s tied to employees’ contributions to a company.
• This form of compensation is great when both the company and employee perform well, but it’s a double-edged sword.
• Although many employers believe performance-based pay structures motivate employees and encourage positive attitudes, employees often feel that it puts too much pressure on work.
• This article is for business owners considering performance-based pay models for their employees.

Performance-based pay has gained popularity among employers over the years. Unfortunately, it might not be as effective as some believe. Rather than motivating employees, certain types of incentive-based pay structures end up having negative effects, research finds.

What is performance-based pay?

As the name suggests, performance-based pay is compensation that’s tied to employees’ contributions to a company. Think of a car salesperson who works on commission: If no cars sell that day, the business doesn’t generate revenue, so the employees don’t either.

This pay structure ensures that only the top-performing employees survive. Many businesses say it’s a great way to Improve employee performance.

However, people in careers that use this payment structure don’t necessarily make more money. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that retail sales workers make only $24,340 per year on average. Real estate and advertising sales agents average twice that amount, which is less impressive when you consider that a house costs around $200,000 and a Super Bowl ad costs $5.6 million. The commissions on these sales are few and far between, split up among a large sales force. In short, performance-based pay is great when both the company and employee are performing well, but it’s a double-edged sword.

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Performance-based pay can also be difficult for employers to track, as employee performance may ebb and flow. Companies that want to keep better tabs on their payroll should consider using one of the best online payroll software solutions, especially when transitioning to a structure like performance-based bay.

Key takeaway: Performance-based pay is compensation directly tied to an employee’s contributions to a company, or the company’s financial performance over the pay period. This can be a way to provide high-performing employees with additional compensation, but overall, employees compensated this way don’t earn more than hourly or salaried employees.

Research examines performance-based pay models

A study published in the Human Resource Management Journal revealed that workers who receive performance-based pay, such as those whose pay ties into individual or companywide performance, work harder but end up with higher stress levels and lower levels of job satisfaction.

The research found that employees who receive performance-based pay or know how well their employer performs financially are more likely to feel that they are being encouraged to work too hard. That pressure offsets the gains in employee productivity that the pay structure is designed to produce, the study’s authors said.

The study is the first to reveal the flaws with performance-based pay models, said Chidiebere Ogbonnaya, the study’s lead author and a research fellow at the University of East Anglia at the time of the study. He added that many employees receiving performance-based pay feel immense pressure or do not have enough hours to complete work tasks.

“By tying employees’ performance to financial incentives, employers send signals to employees about their intention to reward extra work effort with more pay,” Ogbonnaya said in a statement. “Employees, in turn, receive these signals and feel obliged to work harder in exchange for more pay.”

Although employees may value these earnings and see the pay structure as a positive, the ultimate beneficiary of their extra effort is the company.

“As a consequence, performance-related pay may be considered exploitative, or a management strategy that increases both earnings and work intensification,” Ogbonnaya said.

What about organizational performance-based pay?

When the researchers looked specifically at pay tied to company profits, they found that performance-based pay positively impacted job satisfaction, employee commitment, and trust in management if the profit-related pay was distributed equitably across the organization. When profit-related pay was given only to a small portion of the workforce, the study found lower levels of job satisfaction, employee commitment and trust in management. In other words, sharing the wealth is highly popular.

Kevin Daniels, one of the study’s authors and a professor at Norwich Business School in the U.K., said the study shows that employers should implement efficient, equitable processes for distributing organizational profits to ensure deserving employees are not overlooked.

“If profit-related pay is spread across the workplace, employees may show greater acceptance and respond with positive attitudes,” Daniels said.

The study was based on surveys of 1,293 managers and 13,657 employees at 1,293 workplaces in the U.K.

Key takeaway: Employees respond better to performance-based pay when it’s based on company profits (rather than individual performance) and distributed equitably across all levels of the business.

Does pay increase performance?

Many studies have shown that pay does not contribute to performance, at least not directly. No matter how much you pay employees, they’ll eventually cycle through their normal routines. If those routines include slacking off and underperforming, then that’s what will happen.

Moreover, a study from Harvard Business School found that not all employees respond well to incentive-based pay. For example, accounting or human resources professionals may want a steady salary instead of being paid commission for each report they complete. Still, pay increases and bonuses for bulk work, even in operational environments, can be beneficial.

There’s also a chance of corruption: If employees get in desperate financial situations outside of work, they may cheat the system to get more pay. This issue caused Wells Fargo retail bank employees to fraudulently open customer accounts to meet aggressive sales quotas, resulting in a $575 million lawsuit at the end of 2018.

Key takeaway: Not all employees respond well to incentive-based pay, though there are ways to implement it without damaging employer-employee relationships.

Pros and cons of performance-based compensation

There are advantages and disadvantages to adopting a performance-based pay model.

Pros

• It improves recruitment and retention of high-performing talent. For top performers, understanding what’s expected of them and achieving or surpassing those expectations (and reaping the rewards) incentivizes them to stay. In turn, your HR team can analyze the qualities of these top performers and identify those traits in prospective candidates to build the ideal workforce.

• It reveals areas for improvement. Performance-based pay affords business leaders the insight to find the “weak links” by assigning quantifiable values to team members’ contributions. By first identifying the low performers and then analyzing why they’re performing below expectations, you can discover areas in your business that need improvement, such as training processes, supervision and communication.

• It can increase productivity. By nature of this compensation structure, employees who contribute more to the company are paid more, encouraging higher productivity. Companies that use pay-for-performance compensation usually use a calendar or schedule to track deadlines, and team members can use those expectations to complete work more efficiently.

• It sets clear expectations. Performance-based pay puts the control of compensation largely in the employee’s hands, enabling them to increase their own wages. This not only affords the employee more power over their pay, but also establishes clear expectations for raises, reducing miscommunication and fostering transparency around the subject of pay.

Cons

• It risks valuing quantity over quality. Businesses that decide performance-based pay is right for them should be painstakingly aware of the adage “quality over quantity.” Because quantifying accomplishments is the natural rubric for this pay structure, you should impress the importance of high-quality work on your team when giving assignments to avoid rushed, subpar work.

• It can negatively affect company culture. Not everyone is built to flourish with performance-based compensation. Team members who aren’t comfortable in a competitive environment may not appreciate the structure. It can break down collaboration and teamwork, as performance-based pay tends to focus on an individual’s achievements over a team’s accomplishments. As the study above mentioned, it can also lead to higher stress and lower employee morale, both of which greatly hurt company culture.

• It’s hard to change. Once a team has adjusted to performance-based pay and the benefits it affords – especially for go-getting team members who thrive on the challenge of surpassing a goal – it’s very hard to change. Even if you find another pay structure would work better for the company as a whole, attempting to change it may cost your company its top performers.

Tips for making performance-based pay work

If you want to implement performance-based pay in order to motivate your employees, it helps to make it fun. Remind your team members that their success and paychecks are in their own hands, in a way that empowers and excites them. Put up leaderboards and set goals, displaying progress toward those goals to motivate your team.

You could also purchase prizes, like a bicycle, the latest gaming console, Bluetooth headphones, a laptop, gift cards or event tickets. Put all of the prizes in a display case. This will keep employees excited and supply them something to focus on to work harder.

Alternatives to performance-based pay

Performance-based pay is expected in the investment industry, such as for hedge fund and portfolio managers, but comprehensive pay structures are more common in most other industries. Generally, employees experience performance-based pay only in the context of bonuses and extra rewards, not as their full compensation.

You should consider several other compensation structures before deciding if performance-based pay is right for your workforce. Hourly pay and salary are the most common forms of compensation for employees and often include “indirect compensation” in benefits like insurance and yearly raises.

Commission is a type of compensation more closely related to performance-based pay. It can be offered in conjunction with salary and usually reflects a percentage of an individual’s or team’s contributions to the company.

Performance-based pay isn’t for everybody. While some employees thrive on it, others need a steady, predictable paycheck. With a properly executed incentive plan, performance-based pay can work for companies of any size, but be sure to consider your employees’ needs and the alternatives first.

Lattice is one of the leading performance management software programs on the market. It offers a comprehensive suite of features, including goal tracking, e-signatures, compensation reviews, analytics, continuous feedback, public celebrations, onboarding, surveys, competencies, development plans, career tracks and AI sentiment analysis. Performance management plans with OKRs and goals start at $11 per person, per month. Less comprehensive plans are available for $4 monthly per person.

Who should use it: Businesses of all sizes across multiple industries. It’s a well-rounded performance management software.

Docebo is one of the best learning management systems for corporations, thanks to features such as social learning, Salesforce integration, mobile learning, e-commerce, free extensions, custom domains and artificial intelligence. Its more than 400 integrations include Adobe Connect, Confluence, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, G2, GitHub, Google Analytics, PayPal, Stripe, Trello and WordPress.

Who should use it:

Businesses that need social learning features will appreciate Docebo.