AIM Newsletter - Winter 2006

WELCOME to our first 2006 quarterly e-newsletter. We are excited to report findings from our 2005 research on people development trends. AIM Strategies® engages in periodic research to ‘take the pulse' of the business community. This past November we emailed to a selected audience a brief summary of research that we undertook earlier in 2005 to better understand the key issues affecting today's leaders and managers. The study was designed to gather and analyze data about business leaders' concerns, now and in the near future, so that we can effectively target AIM's services to meet our clients' needs.

We hope you will find this report enjoyable and look forward to serving you in 2006!

Yael S. Zofi, CEO AIM Strategies®
Applied Innovative Management®
T:(718) 832-6767 / 6699, F: (718) 832-6660
www.aim-strategies.com yael@aim-strategies.com

Research consisted of telephone interviews with senior executives, HR directors and OD professionals from medium to large size companies in the tri-state area. Scripted questions were tabulated to identify and analyze intra-organizational issues and broader business trends.

Results from this study identified four key trends that most affect the corporate environment, in tandem with four ongoing issues in the business community.

1) Technology and its Global Impact – an increase in
virtual management within the US and overseas.

Of Fortune 1000 companies, 950 have formal policies on the virtual workplace, which often takes the form of telecommuting. With advances in technology, the dissemination of information is no longer bound by space or time. Communication is equally instantaneous from New York to New Jersey as from New York to Tokyo. This flexibility results in an office pipeline extending anywhere in the world, with staff embedded in various countries and managed through virtual communication. Managers faced with the challenge of virtual management need to answer questions such as, ‘what are appropriate standards across cultural and national boundaries?' and ‘what practices should be implemented to ensure maximum effectiveness from a dispersed employee base?' At the core, organizations must figure out how cross-cultural interactions can enhance, and not block, communication.

2) Talent Management – the trend is to look at
alternative ways to recruit and retain talent.

Today, the competition is intense for the talent that provides the engine of organizational success. As Bill Gates says, we are in an era of ‘hyper-competition', which causes employees to work in an environment characterized by constant change, uncertainty and shifting priorities. Under these conditions, headcount turnover increases, companies do more with less and corporate cultures are no longer static. With downsizing, mergers and global partnerships, it becomes essential to create teams with an appropriate balance of soft skills and functional competencies.

Too often, those who survive a downsizing and cost cutting may not be the people who want to grow and change the organization, or are capable of doing so. As Naomi F. Moneypenny, V.P. of Research and Media at ManyWorlds Inc. stated, “It's one of those Pavlovian things - you incent certain behaviors and those are the behaviors that are going to stick, and it takes a lot of reprogramming to make new incentives work.”

How can organizations compensate for this situation? By building systems and structures to support resiliency, flexibility and clear communication.

A recent survey by Yahoo! Hot Jobs provided some interesting findings. When respondents were asked which tool could best help them meet recruiting goals over the next year, 20% cited better screening tools, 17% said improved candidate tracking, and a striking 63% indicated a clear talent management strategy.

What is meant by a talent management strategy? It is a company's marketing plan to define and promote itself as an employer of choice, with the goal of acquiring an unfair share of the best talent in the workforce. This plan considers the methods and venues to reach top prospects in their field. And, it determines what factors in the recruitment negotiation phase prompted their current top performers to join. We expect that in the coming decade, talent management will become an integral part of corporate strategy.

3) Leadership Development – the trend is to help
      people at all levels of the organization become
      leaders, to teach them how to diagnose what
      changes really need to occur.

In this age of hyper-competition, it is increasingly difficult to make the right decisions within tight deadlines because the issues are more complex, and one must sift through an avalanche of information. To remain agile, organizations need to share decision-making responsibility, pushing it further down throughout the organization. However, for this to occur, individuals need the requisite skills to make sound judgments. Jack Welch is famous, among other things, for insisting that his “…main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people.” His vision for developing leadership “universities”, where current leaders mentor the leaders of the future, has become increasingly relevant. Another method that organizations utilize in their quest to develop leaders is the pilot leadership programs, where individuals are tested in real-time.

With an understanding that Baby Boomer retirements will cause a brain drain, succession planning is emerging as an important component of strategy. Preparing all employees to think like leaders will be one more factor in setting future business strategy.

4) Hard Skills Development – the trend is to develop
key skills that will ensure organizational success
in the 21 st century.

Hard skills denote the ability to incorporate strong performance norms into an organization's DNA. Specifically, three main areas drive a successful strategy: Business Strategy, Performance Management and Employee Development. In the not too distant past, a business strategy could span a 5-year period. Current conditions create a horizon of 1 year or less, which in turn leads senior executives to reinvent the business on an ongoing basis.

Companies that focus on managing performance in tandem with developing their employees' skill base have an edge over the competition because their people resources are highly capable of handling fluid situations. We are seeing the convergence of systems, processes and people, reinforcing the creation of cross-functional integration in the pursuit of efficiency.

1) Organizational Development Concerns – The issue
is adapting to the constant evolution of corporate
infrastructures.

Current conditions intensify the need for employees to adapt to constant changes in order to successfully integrate themselves into the organization. Some questions to consider are: What practices can your company initiate to help employees become more adept at handling transition issues? What are the components of organizational effectiveness in current and future states?

2) On-boarding of Executives and Other New
      Employees – The issue is establishing the most
      efficient method to transition key executives
      into new roles.

With the speeded-up environment faced by employees at all levels, simplifying the integration process becomes an organizational priority. Some questions to consider are: Is it necessary to institutionalize executive coaching practices, or is it more efficient to participate in more informal methods? Equally important, how do we identify and prepare high potential leaders for greater responsibility and more senior positions?

3) Management Development – The issue is
providing managers with the necessary skills
to coach and manage optimally.

Today, organizations cannot afford sub-par performers. Since direct supervisors are the employees' first link with a company, they have a critical role in guiding staff to achieve business goals. Some questions to consider are: What are today's best practices in work delegation? How can managers engage in difficult feedback conversations? What are effective techniques to keep employees motivated in stressful environments?

4) Team Facilitation – The issue is getting staff
buy-in for appropriate work processes and
procedures.

Traditional and virtual teams are essential units in producing organizational output. Team facilitation is a key skill in ensuring that members work together to accomplish complex objectives (which can quickly change). Frequent pulse checks are needed to make sure global and local teammates share the same goals and values. Some questions to consider are: Can we provide an environment that generates creativity and innovation, and if so, how? What are effective ways to empower team members who span several generations? What are the best ways to integrate new leaders into the team effectively?

AIM Strategies® has an ongoing commitment to creating new models and programs in response to the issues raised in this study. Look to our next issue to read about our innovations in solving these issues.

Written by The AIM Team

Research: Lauren A. and William M.
Editing: Saro V. and Susan V.

AIM's services are related to transformational change, including practical consulting, innovative training and hands-on coaching. Find out how AIM Strategies® can support you (call 718-832-6767/6699 or e-mail info@aim-strategies.com). See www.aim-strategies.com for more information about how AIM offers a personal, no-nonsense approach through the proprietary experiential learning methods (5D's™ Consulting/Training Approach and the ACT™ Coaching Process). In upcoming issues of this newsletter, we'll update you on tips and techniques related to raising your innovative management IQ. Please forward this newsletter to your associates!