Client

The Tourism Development Fund (TDF) is a Saudi government entity established in 2020 with the mandate to drive growth in the national tourism sector by enabling private investment. With a workforce of nearly 200 employees, TDF has developed a dedicated Strategy Division responsible for overseeing strategic planning, corporate performance management, strategic initiatives, organizational excellence, and research.

As a young organization operating at the intersection of national economic ambition and institutional rigor, TDF plays a key role in advancing Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector while building internal capabilities aligned with its strategic mandate.

Goal

TDF’s Strategy Division sought an independent benchmark—a gold standard of comparison to identify opportunities for optimization and to generate an action-oriented roadmap for the future.

Recognizing that aligning employee performance with corporate strategy is essential for effective execution, TDF involved both its Strategy and Human Capital divisions in the assessment. This ensured a holistic evaluation across both corporate and individual performance practices, providing leadership with a unified view of performance alignment across the organization.

Story

The GPA Unit conducted a full Integrated Performance Management System Maturity Assessment of TDF across five capabilities: Strategic Planning, Performance Measurement, Performance Improvement, Employee Performance Management, and Performance Culture.

The methodology combined document reviews, an employee survey, and stakeholder interviews. In total, more than 60 documents were assessed, over 100 employees participated in the survey, and 7 stakeholder interviews were conducted, ensuring a comprehensive and evidence-based evaluation.

The findings positioned TDF at Maturity Level IV, a strong achievement for an organization that had been operating for only three years at the time of assessment. The assessment highlighted key strengths in strategic clarity, strong vertical alignment from corporate objectives to individual performance goals, and a performance culture characterized by continuous feedback and engagement.

TDF subsequently participated in the GPA Unit’s Performance Excellence Forum & Awards Gala, where representatives contributed to a panel discussion on aligning people, culture, and strategy—sharing their experience as a practical example of purpose-driven performance management in action.

Key Numbers

• 60+ documents reviewed during the evidence-based assessment
• 100+ employees surveyed
• 4 awards won at the GPA Unit Performance Excellence Awards Gala 2025: Excellence in Strategic Planning, Excellence in Integrated Performance, Excellence in Employee Performance Management, and Excellence in Performance Culture

Client & Expert Feedback

“This win represents international recognition of our well-established strategy and the excellence of our management practices in managing, empowering, attracting, and retaining top talent.”
— Tourism Development Fund (LinkedIn)

Key Lessons

Age is not a proxy for maturity
TDF achieved Level IV after just three years of operation—demonstrating that a young organization with clear intent, strong governance, and disciplined execution can reach high levels of performance maturity, sometimes surpassing more established institutions.

Integration across strategy and people drives alignment
TDF’s decision to involve both its Strategy and Human Capital divisions was pivotal. Assessing these functions together ensured that alignment between corporate strategy and individual performance was not theoretical, but structurally embedded and measurable across the organization.