Client

The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) was established in 2016 with the mandate to promote entrepreneurship and increase the contribution of SMEs to Saudi Arabia’s GDP—from 20% toward a target of 35% by 2030.

Focused on fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, Monsha’at develops and implements programs that cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, expand access to diverse financing options, stimulate venture capital activity, and support enterprises in strengthening their capabilities across administration, technology, finance, marketing, and human resources.

Goal

Monsha’at sought a focused and independent audit of its Employee Performance Management system—the capability identified as most critical at its current stage of development.

The objective was to generate four concrete outputs: a comprehensive assessment report, an executive dashboard, a roadmap for continuous improvement, and a visual improvement roadmap infographic. The aim was to provide leadership with both a clear diagnostic of current maturity and a structured, actionable path forward.

Story

Rather than pursuing a broad, organization-wide review, Monsha’at made a deliberate strategic choice: to focus deeply on the capability that mattered most. The GPA Unit conducted a targeted Employee Performance Management maturity assessment, combining evidence-based analysis, perception-based insights, and structured interviews.

Operating entirely in Arabic—from internal processes to official documentation—Monsha’at submitted over 50 documents in Arabic, and the GPA Unit conducted the full assessment accordingly. The process was highly collaborative, with Monsha’at’s team actively supporting assessors in navigating the documentation and ensuring contextual clarity.

To complement the document review, a staff survey was conducted with a representative sample of employees with at least one year of service, ensuring that the assessment captured both formal structures and lived organizational practices.

Key Numbers

15

assessment days invested

50+ 

documents assessed, all in Arabic

4 

audit outputs delivered: assessment report, executive dashboard, and two improvement roadmap formats

Client & Expert Feedback

“Monsha’at approached this assessment with openness and a genuine commitment to improvement. The depth of documentation provided and the active engagement of the team throughout the process made for a thorough, high-quality evaluation of their Employee Performance Management practices.”
— Doina Popovici, Head of Assessment & Accreditation Services, Global Performance Audit Unit

Key Lessons

1. Choosing depth over breadth signals maturity
   Monsha’at’s decision to focus exclusively on Employee Performance Management—rather than assessing all five capabilities—demonstrates strategic clarity and prioritization at an institutional level.
2. Investing in people performance builds credibility
   For an authority tasked with strengthening the SME ecosystem, having a rigorous and independently validated approach to managing employee performance is more than internal good practice—it reinforces institutional credibility and leadership by example.