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- »One on One with KPMG's Koecher & Rodriguez
KPMG’s Restructuring Services group just got a lot stronger. On July 16, KPMG acquired Grant Thornton’s supply chain advisory practice, effectively doubling the size of its core restructuring team and broadened its service offerings.
- »One on One with Ed Hess
Grow or Die. It’s probably the most common business axiom, and the least accurate, according to the new book “Smart Growth: Building an Enduring Business by Managing the Risks of Growth” (Columbia Business School Publishing). To better understand the book’s implications for firms, Consulting’s One-on-One sat down with the book’s author, Ed Hess, a former Arthur Andersen strategy consultant and current professor at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business.
- »One on One with Summit's David Litherland
When prospective employees interview for a job, they obsess over making a good, lasting impression. Firms should do the same. To learn how firms can avoid typical pitfalls, Consulting’s One on One sat down with David Litherland, managing partner of Summit Search Group, an executive search firm specializing in placing professionals within professional service firms.
- »One on One with PwC's Tom Craren
Senior executives are becoming immune to traditional marketing. Marketing consultants tell us that to pierce through the white noise of corporate communication, firms should consider “content marketing”. Instead of more traditional marketing, providing valuable insight and perspective in a blog or electronic newsletter can serve as a more effective door opener. One of the best examples is PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “10-Minute” series. For almost three years, PwC has boiled down complex thought leadership into small electronic pieces an executive can read in about ten minutes. To learn more about PwC’s marketing efforts, Consulting’s One-on-One sat down with Tom Craren, the firm’s brand strategy and thought leadership leader. His team of 20 writers produces between two to three 10-minute pieces each month, along with more detailed white papers.
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»Best Practices in Career Development: Point B
As the economy climbs out of the recent recession, many employees are taking stock of their current positions and evaluating how they are staying relevant, and also considering how their career investment in an organization prepares them for tomorrow.
Effective career development programs help employees not only to advance their careers, but also to build their engagement over time. EJ Blanchfield, chief people officer of Point B, an employee-owned management-consulting firm, identifies career development as a key tool for business leaders to achieve their goals today and into the future.
Three Pillars: Business, Development and Culture
Many businesses set out to build a corporate culture, but these efforts often fall flat in the face of day-to-day business demands. A solid corporate culture that employees can readily describe in a positive manner is an absolute. Most organizations take appropriate steps to align their employee development initiatives with business objectives. But, they often miss the critical next step of aligning their development strategy with their corporate culture, which is crucial to greater employee commitment and trust.
For example, if you offer a program on feedback and it is taboo to speak your mind—what behaviors have you reinforced? If your organization touts work-life balance, does career development also address personal goals outside of the organization? Look beyond what you are teaching to uncover how these behaviors align to your culture and your overall strategies.
Three Actions: Listen, Learn and Collaborate
To retain high-quality talent, businesses need to listen and learn to better prioritize employee preferences. Creating a culture of collaboration and openness is invaluable to the career development of employees.
Employee advisory boards, discussion forums, luncheon focus groups and after-hours events are all vehicles to initiate two-way conversations. If employees feel that they are part of the process as programs and strategies are created, they will be more engaged and will continue to strive to advance their careers and achieve the goals of the business.
Three Goals: Leadership, Innovation and Engagement
Many factors influence businesses on a day-to-day basis – economic conditions, marketplace dynamics and technology advancements, to name a few. In the face of these changes, organizations must continue to monitor their positioning and gauge whether or not they are delivering on their development promise and evolving employee programs accordingly.
Career development programs should be relevant and resonate at all levels across the organization.
Maintaining a strong development culture and presence at the leadership and executive levels remains important as they are regularly regarded as mentors, coaches and development role models. Initiating innovative programs and approaches to career development, while also being willing to retire programs that no longer meet employee needs is vital to further employee engagement. As companies grow, the natural tendency is to create more structure—more policies, more procedures. Staying nimble allows you to stay relevant to one of your most important audiences—your employees.
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