David Ellis has been a partner at BDO since 2004. He is recognised for his deep technical and consulting expertise across reward, expatriate tax and employment tax: all highly relevant skill sets needed to advise corporates on effective remuneration strategies. He has a wide network of contacts in the corporate marketplace and is a frequent commentator on industry issues.

Before joining BDO, Ellis spent eight years at Ernst and Young. Prior to that he qualified as a solicitor at Richards Butler, a city law firm.

KPMG’s UK Reward Practice specialises in advising corporates on how to most effectively pay their executives.

Mike Linter, head of People Services Tax at KPMG in the UK, commented: “We have huge ambitions for our reward practice and indeed for our people services tax practice and I fully expect that David will play a pivotal role in our pursuit of them.”

Ellis remarked: “KPMG has clearly committed to growing its reward practice and I am very excited about the opportunity to spearhead this initiative. The macro-economic, tax and regulatory environment is creating huge demand for advice on effective, long term, remuneration strategies. The trend away from cash bonuses towards long term equity reward, the differential between income tax and capital gains tax rates and the scrutiny over executive compensation packages present major challenges for businesses in designing pay packages.”

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

UK workers face a continuing squeeze on real pay over the next 12 months, as organisations cut costs amid continuing economic uncertainty, according to new research from global management consultancy Hay Group.

The Hay Group report, Reward in 2012, is based on forecast data from reward professionals in over 180 organisations, representing over half a million UK employees.

Pay forecasts for 2012 reflect faltering confidence amongst UK businesses. Two thirds of respondents state that the worst of the recession is not over for their organisation. Almost a third expect to miss performance targets this year.

Organisations are keeping a tight rein on pay increases as a result – leading to concerns over the impact on workforce morale.

However, there is good news for some employees, as the majority of private companies plan to lift the pay freezes implemented during recession.

Business confidence under strain

UK organisations predict a challenging business environment in 2012, according to Hay Group.

Two thirds (66 per cent) of respondents believe that the greatest impact of the recession is still to come for their organisation. Only 7 per cent believe the worst of the crisis is over. By contrast, 61 per cent of firms experienced an upturn in business performance last year.

Almost a third (32 per cent) of firms expect below target performance this year – up from less than 23 per cent in 2011.

Real pay squeeze

As a result of faltering business confidence, close to half (43 per cent) of organisations report pressure to decrease pay in order to control costs.

Despite this, the strong majority (85 per cent) of organisations actually plan to increase pay in 2012 – but at a rate well behind inflation.

Around three quarters (75 per cent) of private sector organisations, and some 90 per cent of public sector organisations, will increase pay – by a median of 2.8 per cent. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) currently stands at 4.2 per cent.

And as inflation continues to erode take-home pay, organisations report a detrimental impact on workforce morale. Over half (51 per cent) of respondents agree that uncertainty around pay has resulted in a downturn in employee engagement.

Adam Burden, Reward Information Consultant at Hay Group comments: “As ongoing instability hits business confidence, a continued squeeze on pay is inevitable. Our research reveals the demoralising effect pay uncertainty is having on employee morale.”

Bonuses rolled back

Falling business confidence is also affecting the prospects for bonus payouts in the coming year.

In 2011, almost three quarters (73 per cent) of organisations with bonus plans forecast payments to be on or above target. This year, the proportion has fallen to 60 per cent.

Pay freezes begin to thaw

Hay Group’s report offers a ray of hope for some workers, however: the lifting of pay freezes in the private sector.

Over a fifth (21 per cent) of private sector organisations implemented freezes in 2011. In 2012, over half (58 per cent) anticipate lifting these.

The outlook is starker in the public sector, where more than two thirds (67 per cent) of organisations froze pay in 2011. Only a third (34 per cent) will lift freezes this year.

Adam Burden comments: “Organisations must take an open and transparent approach to pay to ensure that productivity doesn’t suffer. Engaging employees and communicating reward policy will be key to maintaining motivation during the difficult year ahead.”

Sector focus

Public Sector
2012 will be a year of change for the public sector, according to Hay Group’s report. The vast majority of public organisations (85 per cent) claim that staffing levels will fall due to restructuring this year. The quarters (73 per cent) expect to make redundancies.

Where pay rises will be implemented, they will be restricted to a median of 1.5 per cent –significantly below inflation and lower than the increases expected in the private sector.

Half of organisations believe that cost control will damage their ability to retain key talent, though less than a third (29 per cent) have seen pay freezes affect staff turnover.

Adam Burden comments: “The public sector is facing a tough 2012. Public organisations need to design reward structures that incentivise the individual, drive operational results yet continue to ensure affordability and control.”

Retail
After a tough 2011 on the high street, confidence throughout the retail sector is low.

An overwhelming 79 per cent of retail respondents believe that the impact of the recession is not yet over for their organisation. Almost as many (71 per cent) predict below target performance in 2012.

A third (33 per cent) of retailers plan to implement pay freezes in 2012, with the remainder increasing salaries at a rate below inflation – a median of 2 per cent. This is down on 2011, when all retailers planned to increase salaries and forecasted a median pay rise of 2.5 per cent.

Financial Services
The study reveals a negative shift in business sentiment amongst financial services organisations for 2012.

Just over half (58 per cent) of firms met or exceeded targets in 2011. This year, however, more than half (53 per cent) fear that the worst of the recession is not over for their organisation.

This has had an impact on the outlook for pay in the sector. Whilst all organisations planned to increase salaries in 2011, this drops to 88 per cent for the coming year. Those increasing pay are planning a median increase of 2.5 per cent.

Of those organisations that operate a bonus scheme, almost half (44 per cent) will pay below target.

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

Under an agreement signed July 2011, Accenture is now providing application maintenance services to Shell to support the company’s SAP-based HR and payroll systems, which are being used by 90,000 people in 60 countries.

Accenture takes over HR, payroll application management for Shell

LONDON — Shell recently completed the transition of HR and payroll application management services to Accenture. Under an agreement signed July 2011, Accenture is now providing application maintenance services to Shell to support the company’s SAP-based HR and payroll systems, which are being used by 90,000 people in 60 countries.

The work is being performed under a multi-year outsourcing contract that covers the functional areas of employee administration, self-service, environmental health, and payroll.

Application maintenance services Accenture is providing to Shell include preventative maintenance, change management, data archiving and management documentation. Application support services include service desk support, incident resolution and user access management, application operations and monitoring as well as technical support. In addition, Accenture will design, develop, test and implement enhancements to applications.

The outsourced services are being provided through Accenture’s Global Delivery Network using delivery centres in India and the Philippines.

Accenture has had a relationship with Shell for over 15 years, supporting a range of outsourcing, technology and consulting projects across Shell’s businesses.

Shawn Collinson, global client partner for Accenture’s work with Shell, said, “The breadth of our SAP managed service capabilities allows us to improve service levels, while reducing the costs and risks associated with rich and evolving application environments. Our Global Delivery Network not only allows us to match the global footprint of multi-national clients, but our centres are adaptable to respond to fast-changing customer requirements.”

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

Executives who are hiring a CIO have limited opportunities to assess candidates to find the best fit for their organisation. The interview is a critical step in understanding the ­capabilities of each CIO candidate and in ­assessing their individual strengths.

The following sets include questions intended to help hiring exec­utives assess the capabilities of CIO candidates in the critical categories of leadership, strategy and planning, technical expertise, fin­ancial management, and operational excellence. Use them as a starting point to plan your interview process.

Leadership
Leadership is about understanding how to move people and the business forward. The most effective CIOs view themselves as business leaders first and IT leaders second. These questions focus on helping the interviewer assess a candidate’s leadership views, accomplishments, and likelihood of leadership success from then onward. Interviewers should focus on the candidate’s ability to communicate in business terms, articulate measurable business outcomes, motivate people and handle leadership challenges.

- Can you explain how you saw a business problem and applied technology to solve it? What was the outcome?
- What significant contribution did you make at your last company? How did you achieve it?
- What is your understanding of return on investment and how it applies to IT?
- Can you articulate your understanding of risk and how it applies to IT? Provide an example of how you applied this knowledge to mitigate risk.
- Can you give an example of when you improved a business process? What was the outcome? What role did you play?
- What is your view of your leadership style? Give an example that illustrates it.
- What is the most difficult decision you had to make as a leader? Why was it difficult? What was the outcome?
- How would you define the role of CIO?
- What determines whether a CIO succeeds or fails?
- Describe a situation in which you succeeded. What did you do specifically to make it successful?
- Describe a situation in which you failed. What did you do specifically that had an impact on failure, and what did you learn or do as a result?
- How do you lead your direct reports? Give an example of when you ­resolved a conflict among team members or improved their performance as a team.

Strategy and planning
A core challenge for any executive is balancing long-term versus short-term plan­ning and execution. Many executives are strong in strategic vision but have difficulty gaining support in accomplishing that vision. These questions focus on the CIO candidate’s experience and ability to set long-term goals, while managing the complex task of gaining cooperation to actually accomplish those goals.

- What would you do in the first 90 days?
- Describe your own app­roach to governance­ and how you would determine the best framework for our organisation.
- Provide an example of when you ­explained and sold the concept of IT architecture and standards to business leaders.
- How do you gain agreement and co­operation from a diverse set of stake­holders? Provide an example of when you did this successfully.
- How do you deal with stakeholders who want to break away from a shared service or a standardised or centralised process?
- How do you decide what to outsource and what to keep in house?
- Provide an example of when you identified an opportunity to be innovative. How did you find the opportunity and what was the outcome?
- Provide an example of when you drove top-line growth or delivered competitive advantage to the enterprise. How did you do it?
- Provide an example of what you did when there was more demand for IT than resources to fulfil the requests.

Technical expertise
These questions focus on determining how the candidate thinks about technology from a value perspective and applies it to solve business problems. The questions can help an interviewer determine how a candidate stays current on technology issues and opportunities in the ever-changing technology marketplace. They also can help interviewers assess a candidate’s ability to communicate about IT in business terms, and in a business context.

- Provide an example of when you convinced senior leadership to make a major technology investment.
- What is the most difficult technology-related investment decision you had to make? Why was it difficult and what was the outcome?
- How do you stay current on technology trends and innovations?
- Give an example of when you implemented a new or emerging technology. How did you manage the risks?
- What are the top two or three ways that you and we can measure the value of the IT function? How do you influence each of these in the short term and longer term?
- Do you set the technical direction, or does someone else? What process do you use to set the technical direction?
- How reliant are you on technical advisors and how do you manage exposure?
- What are the most important skills to have in the IT department? How did you go about hiring IT workers or developing those skills in your team?

Financial management
All executives must display sound financial management and invest limited resources strategically. This question set focuses on the CIO candidate’s ability to view the IT budget as a portfolio of assets, and to manage it in a manner consistent with the risk profile and strategic approach of the interviewing organisation.

- Give an example of when you had to cut the IT budget. How did you go about it, and how much did you save?
- Give an example of when you helped reduce costs for the rest of the enterprise by using IT. How did you go about it and how much did you save?
- What percentage of enterprise revenue is your current IT budget? How does this compare with your industry peers?
- How do you determine whether an ­enterprise is spending enough on IT, an appropriate level or too much?
- What percentage of your current IT spending is for maintenance versus growth and transformation activities? Is that the appropriate mix and why?
- What percentage of your IT budget is for outsourced activities? How do you ­determine what to outsource?
- By what percentage did you overrun or ­under-run your IT budget last year? Why?
- Describe any experience you have with chargeback models. How did it work, what were the benefits of the systems, and what problems did chargeback create? How did you manage the challenges?

Operational excellence
Leadership without execution is a formula for failure. This question set focuses on the candidate’s ability to adjust and course-correct as needed to ensure success. Interviewers should look for strong examples of success, where the candidate has ­delivered clear business outcomes, and evidence of his or her adaptability.

- What is the largest IT-related initiative for which you were responsible, in terms of cost, elapsed time, scope or team size? How did you evaluate its success?
- What is the largest non-IT-related initiative for which you were responsible? How did you evaluate its success?
- How did this initiative deliver in terms of cost, schedule and quality?
- What percentage of the business case bene­fits were actually achieved?
- What impact did the initiative have on business performance metrics?
- How have you prioritised when there was not enough budget to meet demand?
- Provide an example of when the execution of an initiative did not go as planned and what you did.
- Provide an example of how you led, ­motivated and organised a team to achieve during a difficult situation.

While no candidate will display each of the above qualities and capabilities in equal measure, hiring executives can use this interview list to decide which are most important to their enterprises now. While all candidates should have some strength in each of these focus areas, the enterprise’s situation will determine whether leadership, execution or other capabilities are most important to acquire in a new CIO. Use this list as a starting point for your ­interviews, and then customise it to find a CIO who will not only be able to succeed in contributing to the enterprise’s goals, but also be a strong executive team member and fit for the enterprise’s culture.

Key findings

- When interviewing for a CIO, the hiring executives will focus on determining the candidate’s ability to deliver business value to the enterprise.
- During the interview, focus on the key CIO capability areas of leadership, strategy and planning, technical expertise, financial management, and operational excellence.
- The most effective interview responses require candidates to provide specific examples of their past accomplishments and explain how they achieved them, not describe their own personal qualities without putting them in context.
- CIO candidates can use these question sets to prepare for job interviews. This preparation will help ensure that they are focused and well-prepared for even the most challenging interviews.

Source:   www.cio.co.uk  Tina Nunno, a vice president in Gartner’s CIO Research group

Global management consultancy Arthur D. Little (ADL), currently marking its 125th anniversary, has just completed a major revamp of its website to better display the variety of content and depth of intellectual capital the firm holds around the future of innovation management.

“As part of our broader strategic approach to communications, this positions us well for the new era in which engagement and interaction with various stakeholders becomes ever more important,” said Marion Sommerwerck, Global Director of Marketing and Communications, Arthur D. Little. “We’ve consciously moved away from the notion of a website as a company brochure to showcase the full range of our expertise as we have seen a major shift in target groups and the way they need to be approached in the digital world that we cater to.”

Modelled on the classic news portals, the site’s layout has been explicitly designed to communicate to visitors which sections are most relevant for their needs. The main concept of the site is to provide an info-portal through which visitors can access the full range of Arthur D. Little’s content across a number of devices and channels.

The new-look website acts as a social media platform for Arthur D. Little and is part of the wider communication strategy the company has decided to follow; giving users easy access to the Arthur D. Little Twitter and Facebook pages.

The site now also features an enhanced HR-section allowing potential employees to find out about the firm, its work culture and career opportunities. Marie Jerusalem, Global Director Human Resources says: “Applicants today take a careful look at the company and its website prior to applying and the new site covers everything someone interested in joining us needs to know.”

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

Young workers worldwide present an unusual paradox for employers: They are more likely than the overall workforce to be satisfied with the organizations for which they work, yet also more likely to be considering leaving them. These insights come from Mercer’s What’s Workingsurvey, conducted among nearly 30,000 workers in 17 geographic markets (including more than 2,400 UK workers) during the fourth quarter of 2010 through the second quarter of 2011.

According to the survey findings, workers age 34 and younger are more likely than their older colleagues in all 17 markets to be pondering an exit from their employer. In response to the question, “At the present time, I am seriously considering leaving my organization,” the youngest workers (age 16–24) recorded scores of agreement that average 10 percentage points higher than the overall workforce worldwide, while scores for workers age 25–34 average five percentage points higher. In the UK, 36% of respondents stated that they were considering leaving their organization compared to 41% who weren’t. Broken down by age group, employees aged 16-24 were the most likely to state that they were considering leaving (46%) compared, for example, to staff aged 25-34 (40%).

Yet despite this propensity to leave, when asked about overall satisfaction with their organizations, younger workers registered satisfaction scores higher than the overall workforce in most markets. Scores for employees age 16–24 were higher in 14 of the 17 markets worldwide by an average of five percentage points. Scores for employees age 25–34 were higher in 11 of the 17 markets by an average of two percentage points globally.

These same two age groups also are more likely to recommend their organization as a good place to work. Scores for employees age 16–24 were higher than the overall workforce by an average of seven percentage points globally, and their scores were higher in all 17 markets. Meanwhile, scores for workers age 25–34 are higher in 13 of the 17 markets by an average of three percentage points above the overall workforce scores (see Figure 3). In the UK, 55% of respondents said that they would recommend or strongly recommend their organization as a good place to work. Seemingly at odds with their willingness to leave, younger employees between 19-34 were much more positive about their employer than the overall work force; Sixty-five percent of 19-24 year olds and 62% of 25-34 years olds agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend their company as a good place to work.

“This pattern of higher satisfaction among younger workers held true for many other key issues addressed in our survey, including pay, performance management and careers, making their desire to leave their organizations all the more at odds with traditional views of loyalty, retention and engagement,” said Chris Johnson, Partner in Mercer’s Human Capital business.

“These findings present a real dilemma for employers,” he continued. ”Do they simply accept that young talent is going to leave no matter what the organization has to offer, or do they invest time and resources in an attempt to change the views and employment habits of their younger workers? Strategies, of course, will vary by organization, but it is essential to first have a clear understanding of an employer’s value proposition and then analyze what steps can or should be taken to increase the tenure of young workers.”

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

Maxxim Consulting has announced a number of senior level staffing appointments in a continued period of growth for the business.

Following the recent liquidation of 7days Limited, the London-based consultancy has hired three senior consultants from their former competitor.

Ian Hunter, 48, who was an Associate Director at 7days, will be joining Maxxim Consulting as a Partner focusing on organisation design, employee engagement, corporate restructuring and HR, finance and IT transformation.

Andy Nice, 34, who held the position of Principal Consultant for several years at 7days, will be joining Maxxim as Senior Engagement Manager, looking to develop organisation design, strategic change and cost reduction opportunities in media, retail and telco sectors.

Matt Keen, 36, who was a senior consultant at 7days, is an expert in retail, media, financial services and corporate restructuring. Matt is joining to support Maxxim’s change, organisation design and HR practices.

Anna Simpson, 27, worked as a consultant at 7days, is joining Maxxim to focus on organisation design and development, organisational change, and employee engagement.

The new signings will join the existing team to work across a client portfolio including The Royal Mail, Meggitt, Smiths Group, the Cabinet Office, Wolseley, the Prudential and Lancaster University.

These latest appointments follow the hiring of Tim Ringo, former Vice President and Global Leader of IBM’s human capital management consulting practice, who joined the consultancy as a partner earlier in the year.

Co-founder of Maxxim Consulting Claire Arnold says: “I am delighted that such a strong team from one of our competitor organisations have decided to join Maxxim. Together they bring deep expertise that will both build on our own capabilities and provide an opportunity to break into new markets.”

Hunter says: “Maxxim is a strong and trusted brand. The professionalism and seniority of its team make it an attractive partner for those on the boards of major public and private sector institutions who are tasked with delivering excellent results in these turbulent times. I and my colleagues are delighted to have joined.”

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

Your employees are drowning in digital distraction – it’s time to throw them a lifeline.

You’re writing a report when your smart phone rings. Before you’ve had the chance to say hello, another five emails drop into your inbox – all asking you to do something, now. And that’s on top of the text messages, tweets and instant messages, all waiting for you to respond. Does this sound familiar? Well, you’re not alone as virtually every office worker is facing the same pressures – we’re drowning in a sea of digital distractions.

According to our survey of more than 500 corporate email users, researching the impact that electronic distractions have on the workplace, employees are interrupted on average at least every fifteen minutes. For the majority of people, this means they’ll ‘waste’ at least an hour a day dealing with a variety of distractions, but interestingly the majority are digital.

An independent field study titled “Disruption and Recovery of Computing Tasks” by University of Illinois and Microsoft adds that, “participants spent on average nearly 10 minutes on switches caused by alerts, and another 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the type of interruption) before returning to focused activity on the disrupted task”.

You don’t need me to tell you that the impact of these digital distractions means your employees are having trouble completing work, thinking creatively and generally taking care of the responsibilities you’ve hired them for.

The perceived pressure to stay constantly connected has a lot to do with fear. Our electronic distractions research also showed that a third of survey respondents fear they will lose their competitive edge if they disconnect from their inbox for 30 minutes or less, and 20% felt in danger of losing the upper hand when cut off from email for just five minutes.

The result is many employees are taking drastic action – for example, some are continuing to respond to emails instead of paying attention in face to face meetings, others are still communicating when at home in bed.

Beyond managing this personal addiction to staying constantly connected, businesses can take steps to reduce digital distractions to a manageable pace — an immediate requirement for any organisation hoping to make use of the full potential of every employee while alleviating some of the pressure.

Here are five steps to get you started:

Step One: Create Policies To Prevent DistractionEverything starts with a policy but, of course, not all policies are good ones. I’ve heard of organisations enforcing ‘no email Fridays’. Rather than solving the problem, all this does is defer the deluge until a later point in time and add additional stress. Another knee-jerk reaction is to completely ban access to social networking tools which, when used correctly, can be beneficial for certain job functions such as identifying expert resources. Employees are more likely to break the rules rather than face the wrath of a disgruntled customer whose urgent request went ignored.

A better policy would be to disable email alerts, even if for only brief periods of the day, allowing individuals to focus their efforts rather than fixating on the small pop-up on the screen. Every organisation is different and, if the idea of a blanket policy just isn’t practical for your business, then perhaps creating ‘best practice guidelines’ would be more appropriate.

Don’t forget the rules of engagement. If you want 100% attention in face-to-face meetings, then mandate that employees must turn off mobile devices or the temptation to respond to communications may be too strong.

Another option is to limit the length of emails individuals are allowed to write, the number of recipients included on the distribution list, or the rare circumstances when a ‘reply all’ is appropriate.

Step Two: Train Your Staff To SwimThis really is in tandem with creating policies that define what is and isn’t acceptable. Things you could consider are going back to basics with a quick refresher in diary prioritisation. The simple truth is that there is always more than enough work to fill the day, and it’s easy to get side tracked on the latest assignment that lands in your email unless you have clearly defined three or so actions that you’re going to take.

Likely, you will also need to train employees on how and when to use the myriad of digital devices, social collaboration and communication tools. There is a strong argument that email is not the right tool for editing documents, because you have to reconcile feedback from multiple parties, which invariably leads to document chaos. Instead, upload it to a collaboration platform like Microsoft SharePoint or Google Docs and share a document link. That way, everyone works on the most current version of the document, without having to reconcile feedback from multiple people in various copies of the document.

And it’s not all about work. Something as simple as relaxation techniques can be very effective and demonstrate your commitment to allowing them to switch off.

Step Three: Reduce Context Switch: Aggregate Typical Workflows into a Single Window A New York Times report, titled “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price”3, referenced research that found “Computer users at work change windows or check e-mail or other programs nearly 37 times an hour”. Primarily this is because the tools needed to complete a job are not organised by business task.

On average, people typically access six to nine platforms to get work done. A task might require people to toggle between their email client, various Microsoft Office applications, instant messenger services, web-based applications such as SAP, the CRM system and file servers such as Microsoft SharePoint.

Rather than relying on a hodge-podge of disparate systems and tools, organisations should consider aggregating collaboration and social channels into their users familiar work window, such as the corporate email client or CRM system.

Step Four: Respect Employee Downtime Agreed, this one is slightly controversial but it may be the most crucial.

We all talk about family values, respecting staff and understanding the value of downtime, but the sad reality is few actually practice what they preach. I’ve been on too many conference calls with people who are on holiday, both within our organisation and external parties, to know that the practice is rife.

There are numerous occasions when something is important but not everything is time sensitive. Just because you can reach someone doesn’t mean that you have to – or that you should.

Instead, develop a strategy for handling all but ‘life-threatening’ crises so when someone is out of the office, the world doesn’t stop turning. This could be a rule that clearly defines what constitutes a crisis that merits reaching out to a person after the office has officially closed.

Step Five: Set Realistic ExpectationsMany service businesses have created the expectation that people will respond instantaneously to customer requests 24/7. The sad reality is, once you’ve set such an unrealistic expectation, you’ve already defeated any possibility of spending quality time resolving problems.

So if you pride yourself on being a 24/7 business, then you need the right staffing levels to deliver.

The Right Steps No one can tell you what the right steps for your organisation are. However, if your workforce is struggling to deflect digital distractions, then ignoring the problem isn’t going to make it easier.

It’s time to grab the digital bull by the horns – so to speak, and implement strategies for your organisation that deflects its digital distractions thusly managing your information overload.

Box Out A: Your Path To Digital Harmony

1. Aggregate collaboration and social channels into familiar work windows, such as the corporate email client or CRM system, to avoid window surfing

2. Identify, and set out, the rules of engagement

3. Let your staff know what is and isn’t expected of them – including your need for them to take time off

4. Either manage your customers’ expectations or adequately staff your organisation

5. 30 years ago only doctors needed pagers — and reaching out to them after hours was truly for life or death matters. In truth, people very rarely have to deal with life or death matters in the work place. Plan for people to be un-contactable. Then, when they are, you’ll be able to cope.

Box Out B: Employees’ Path To Digital Harmony Here are five steps to help employees control digital distractions

1. Get over the instant gratification from checking emails and finding something new, or the control from still being in the loop. When they’re off duty, the latest item may seem to be urgent, but is it really?

2. Identify what actually constitutes an emergency and what can afford to wait until people get back to the office

3. They too have to be willing to use the off button, or at a minimum separate their personal and business online presence

4. A little reminder on etiquette wouldn’t go a miss. Just as people have gotten used to turning mobiles off when in the cinema or at the theatre, they should demonstrate the same consideration when in meetings

5. While work is important, and you appreciate their devotion, family life is equally important. You don’t expect their family to continually interrupt during working hours and they should expect the same courtesy and not allow work to excessively encroach on family life.

***

Author: David Lavenda, Vice President, Product Strategy, harmon.ie 15th September 2011.

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

Joining an existing team can be stressful – In the short term you have to elicit the information you need without over-committing yourself to any one point of view. Malcolm Sleath of 12boxes suggests how you can assess the situation while keeping things relatively formal.

Question: I have been recruited to join a multi-discipline team on an overseas project. Each member has come from a different background and my immediate boss has no experience in my specialty. Although I have a clear idea of what I am expected to achieve, the brief feels a bit too cut and dried and I don’t believe it can be that simple. How should I proceed in the first couple of weeks?

Answer: Let’s assume your first priority is to position your work in the context of the team. The temptation is to stake out your territory by telling your colleagues about your qualifications and experience, your background and values, and how you see what you are there to do. I suggest you don’t do that until you know much more about the situation you are entering and the people with whom you are working.

Ideally, each member of the team would have clear goals and objectives that align with those of their colleagues and the project as a whole. But this is rarely the case. Individual professionals often pursue agendas of their own, that are not strictly related to the agreed project objectives. Before showing your hand, get a sense of where your colleagues are coming from, and where they think they are going with their part of the project.

In a nutshell, I would say: focus on your colleagues, see the situation through their eyes, and only then try to draw conclusions about the bigger picture.

Focus on them: First impressions count. Demonstrate to your colleagues that you are interested in them. By this, I don’t mean interrogate them about their qualifications, experience and background. That would be too much like a job interview. On the other hand, don’t waste your time on peripheral social details.

You have to ask yourself if knowing how many children they have and which football team they support is really high on your need-to-know list right now. By all means make a polite nod in that direction as a way of building rapport, but there will be plenty of time to deepen relationships later. Be careful about aligning yourself too closely with any one individual until you have the overall picture.People vary in their attitude to relationships at work, and even simple social questions can open up a can of worms. So you need to focus on topics that will be regarded as legitimate.

The most obvious of these is how you will fit into the team and the roles that others are performing. But it’s probably best not to ask the question directly. You could inadvertently come across as needy and unsure of yourself.Further, it is quite possible that the person you are speaking to has not given the slightest thought to how you would fit into the team and you will be met with generalisations or the first thing that comes into their head.

Finally, be careful about getting someone to articulate what they want from you too early. When you have had more information and time to reflect you might find yourself faced with the prospect of undoing what they thought was an understanding between you.

See the situation through their eyes: Focus on how your colleague sees the client situation and their professional role. Most people will accept this as a legitimate line of enquiry.

Bear in mind that you are not seeking an objective analysis, just a point of view, one colleague at a time. As far as possible, treat each perspective on its own terms and don’t try to draw conclusions about the overall situation until later.

If you demonstrate that you are listening carefully by continually testing your understanding of what you are hearing, you are likely to come across as being genuinely interested. Note what you are hearing with as little editorialising as possible. Here are four key issues you might like to explore with each of your colleagues.

1. How does your colleague see the client situation? This would include: What was their snapshot view of the client situation in their area of interest when they arrived? What should be happening in the future? Does, the client see this in the same way? If not, how does the client see it?

2. How would your colleague express the requirement they are addressing? Sometimes colleagues will (inadvertently or deliberately) blind you with science by describing what they are doing in technical terms. Encourage them to express their work as ‘a way of (doing something) so that (something happens)’. Ask if the client has explicitly bought into this requirement. If not, how would the client express it?

3. Are there client factors that are impeding the progress of your colleague’s part of the project? When clients hire experts to improve things, established policies, beliefs and special interests within the organisation can block change. Exploring these restraining forces will give you advance warning of issues that you might otherwise stumble over during the course of your work.

4. What is the client’s vision of success? The further down the hierarchy of a project team you go, the more people tend to focus on deliverables – the ‘what?’ – leading to neglect of the ‘why?’ What is the client’s vision of success? What is the client expecting to happen when the project is completed? What will people be thinking, feeling and doing? What is the expected payoff from their investment?

Reflect on what seems to be happening: When you have worked through the four issues with each of your colleagues, go through your notes and reflect on what you have heard. Do the accounts appear to contradict one another? If so, what does that tell you? Is there an underlying story emerging? Is the brief still ‘too cut and dried’? How do you see your role now?

How you handle the next step is critical. You may need to speak with your team leader to agree clearer terms of reference or the way that specific situations should be handled. Remember the information you have collected is for the purpose of helping you to understand your role in the team and work out how you could best fit in to the project. You have not been commissioned by anyone to diagnose the health of the project, or evaluate the individuals working on it – even if you are shocked and alarmed by what you have found. You won’t be thanked if you pass judgement on issues that lie outside your brief or above your pay grade.Keep your negotiation with your boss strictly within the confines of your legitimate terms of reference: how you are going to perform your role as a member of the team. If there are broader concerns, let the boss infer those from the issues you are raising about your own role.

If critical issues have surfaced during your conversations about the role of colleagues working on the project, it is for them to raise issues and take action, not you. Until you are given a legitimate brief to pass comment, you have to bow to their judgment about how they address these matters.

Your aim is solely to accelerate your learning about the situation into which you have been parachuted, so that you can perform your role in a more informed and effective way. Respecting the privacy of your colleagues and any confidences they have shared with you will help to establish good working relationships and is more likely to create a climate in which any broader issues can be resolved.

Source:  www.top-consultant.co.uk

cph are building and managing a direct sourcing model for Celerant, to provide them with an efficient and cost-effective solution for recruiting a substantial number of new management consultants and business development specialists across Europe.

Alison Hodgson, Celerant’s EMEA HR director, commented: “The contract with cph follows a review of our recruitment and resourcing activities, which they helped us to carry out. They are now implementing a number of the recommendations, including providing us with a much stronger candidate direct sourcing capability.”

“We have always had a strong focus on the consulting and professional services markets and we are confident that our sector knowledge and expertise will enable us to really add value to Celerant’s talent acquisition process at an exciting stage in the firm’s development”, said Jerry Wright, cph’s joint MD.

Source:  www.top-consultant.com