Pulse on our clients: February 2012

Today’s business environment is full of change and uncertainty, globally and locally.  We are always in touch with a variety of clients from multiple industries, from manufacturing to finance to healthcare, and we support leaders in all of our client companies to help them manage through the competitive landscape and deal with new pressures.  Here are some common themes we’ve heard lately:

1.  Retention of employees is more important than ever.  38% of employees are actively seeking new opportunities, up 2% from last February, according to GloboForce’s latest WorkForce Mood Tracker survey report, released in September 2011 (HR Magazine, Dec. 2011).  Companies are working to incentivize their top talent to stay with them as the economy improves, and finding more innovate ways to do so, such as stay-interviews and other methods to drive employee satisfaction, which aren’t necessarily money.

2. The strategic planning process has changed.  Companies are reevaluating their strategies during the changes in the world economy.  Implementation is usually where they falter as the organization becomes more overwhelmed with projects, according to a recent article in Forbes magazine.  Companies that align goals with pieces in their strategies can accomplish more and build more energy around projects, especially with cross functional teams representing multiple levels and functions.  Taking a multi-dimensional approach to strategic planning has helped many organizations do it more effectively.

3.  Sales training is no longer just about ideas to simply grow revenue.  It’s about truly assessing your team with analytics to improve upon their weaknesses and leverage their strengths.  Following a process will allow your sales team to focus on solutions relevant to your clients’ worlds.  Furthermore, non-sales oriented employees are benefiting from sales training by using it internally in their organizations.