Why do so many business strategies fail? From IT implementations and acquisitions to process management initiatives and customer focus projects, the outcomes are distressingly similar. If you want to play the odds, bet on failure.  Most business leaders have fresh ideas, good intentions and a willingness to take action. So why is it so hard to turn strategy into reality?

by  LSI contributor Dr. Michael Canic

Top ten reasons why most strategic plans fail

1. The goal isn’t clear: Fuzzy goals lead to fuzzy outcomes. While it seems obvious, many organizations simply don’t articulate the specific goal of a business strategy. If the goal of your customer intimacy strategy is to form deeper customer relationships, that’s fuzzy. If the goal is to increase customer retention by 10 percent and grow annual revenue per customer by $10,000, that’s clear. Here, deeper customer relationships may be the mechanism to achieve the goal.

2. The goal isn’t compelling: The “why” provides the impetus to achieve the “what.” If the goal is a nice-to-do rather than a must-do it’s unlikely to happen. What makes a goal must-do? The prospect of a big win. If we can supply 10,000 units in 30 days then MegaRetailer will make us a preferred supplier. What else makes a goal must-do? The prospect of avoiding substantial pain. If we can sell 10,000 units in 30 days then BigBank will let us keep our doors open.

3. Too many goals: When everything is a priority, don’t be surprised if nothing gets accomplished. Many so-called strategic plans have too many goals, objectives, success drivers, strategies, initiatives and so on. Worse, it’s not clear how these various appendages are linked. Is it any surprise these plans sit on shelves and collect dust? Choose to do fewer things much better.

4. The plan is vague: Many plans are simply a brainstormed list of things to get done by unspecified people at indeterminate times. A plan with specifics outlines who will do what by when. It takes into account the sequencing and timing of tasks, activities and resources.

5. People aren’t engaged in the planning: When the bigwigs come down from the mountain with the plan, how much buy-in do you think they get? Little? None? Resistance? Buy-in without engagement is virtually impossible. If you want people to be engaged, they need to have a voice in the planning process. That means either a voice at the front end of the process – focus-groups being one example – or a voice after the draft plan is created. When people are involved in the process and encouraged to provide input they feel engaged. This doesn’t mean that strategic decisions are made democratically. They’re not. It’s about respect. Are they asked? Do they feel heard? Effective planning is done through people not to people.

6. The cultural implications are overlooked (yet again): Quick: Do projects more often fail because of technical reasons or cultural reasons? An overwhelming majority of managers we’ve surveyed identify cultural reasons. Similarly: is more time and energy devoted to planning the technical implementation or cultural implementation of projects? You guessed it – a similar majority say the technical implementation. There is a mountain of evidence in the business literature that supports these insights. One might think that organizations would have connected the dots by now. Sadly, neglecting the cultural implications unwittingly undermines technically sound plans. If you want to make implementation work, then carefully align the processes, structures and systems that impact and enable people.

7. Progress isn’t measured and managed: Ever notice how plans placed in the spotlight flourish while those left in the dark shrivel? Any plan worth executing is worth tracking. A monthly meeting with a tight agenda can quickly determine what actions have been taken; what progress has been made; what will be accomplished over the next month and by whom, and what, if any, challenges have emerged. This builds commitment, accountability and confidence in the process.

8. The plan lacks flexibility: Reserve the right to do what makes sense. Plans are based on assumptions that can change over time. If they do change, then the plan may need to change. A quarterly “recalibration” meeting is a good forum to test your assumptions and determine which, if any, have changed. The meeting may result in either a revalidation or redesign of the plan. It ensures the plan stays real and relevant.

9. You lack the right people: Some of those nice people who work for you may not be the right people to get the job done. That statement makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it? If you are truly committed to winning, however you define it, then at some point you have to take a long, hard, honest look at the capabilities of your people. Point them in the right direction, support them, develop them – give them a fair chance to succeed. But if they can’t get it done, then your responsibility is to get people who can.

10. Failure is met with indifference or an inquisition: Your response to failure sends a clear message about your commitment to winning. Just as importantly, it sends a message about your credibility. Do you ignore a failed initiative and move on to the next big thing (which conveys that you really weren’t that committed and you shouldn’t be taken seriously)? Do you look for scapegoats (which communicates that you don’t take personal responsibility and can’t be trusted)? Or do you first look in the mirror, take responsibility, then publicly commit to getting it right, and effectively engage your people to make it happen? Your choice speaks volumes about who you are as a leader.

The Bottom Line

There’s a big difference between the will to win and the will to do what it takes to win.

This post sponsored by The Baton Management System

Forward thinking = the CEO and brand strategists

What was once nice to have, has become a survival issue.  Regular updates and in depth discussions between the CEO and brand strategists are essential in what is being referred to as the “shift age”.

by LSI publisher Art McNeil

Ten indicators that a brand is in trouble

1. Shrinking market share
2. Declining sales volume
3. Competing on price alone
4. Narrowing  margins
5. Less customer loyalty
6. Reduction in cash reserves  
7. Not attracting or retaining top talent
8. No growth
9. Less negotiating leverage with business partners
10. Drop in search engine positioning

 Futurist David Houle makes a compelling case that the world is literally shifting under our feet.  Effective brand managers are replacing their trust in knowledge and experience with processes for finding out and taking action faster than the competition—but the gap between finding out and the company taking action does not close fast enough when the CEO is not an integral part  of the process.  

Living the brand and living a company’s cultural values are synonymous.

With so much happening, shift-age compliant companies develop the equivalent of a North Star. Early explorers never expected to reach the North Star, but they could use it to travel anywhere. When blown off course, navigators would sight-in to regain their bearings. Access to a stable, super-ordinate position, allowed our ancestors to traverse unfamiliar territory. The master brand or tag line should stand out as the “Corporate North Star”.  Employees will feel inspired and safe when they and their colleagues can live a culturally-congruent brand in ways that are evident to customers, suppliers, and colleagues.

Proper enforcement demands a direct correlation between the tag line that brands a company and its declared cultural-values.  Vision is the future tense of values—people can’t see what they don’t believe.  When brand strategy is congruent with a corporation’s cultural values and vision of the preferred future the message will attract consumers, guide internal decision makers, generate corporate energy, promote process discipline, and hold people accountable—helping brand managers close the corporate gap between finding out and taking action.  A recently updated E-book version of the #1 bestseller, The “I” of the Hurricane: How to Generate and Focus Corporate Energy provides valuable grist for the mill to help Brand managers command the attention of their CEO.

 This post is sponsored by The “I” of the Hurricane: how to Generate and Focus Corporate Energy

management has failed to educate an ill-informed workforce

Management has failed to educate workers on the workings and benefits of capitalism.  For many, their only source of information regarding what makes the business world go around comes from organized labor. 

by Art McNeil including  excerpt from Forbes Magazine

During launches of the Baton Management System, we were stunned to learn that MOST employees:

• assume their company is retaining the lion’s share of top line revenue
•  do not appreciate the job-threatening impact of shoddy performance
• are not aware that remaining competitive is essential to economic survival (both corporate and personal)

The BMS launch calls for a CEO lead discussion with employees entitled, “WHY CHANGE AND WHY NOW?”  A support video demonstrates the value (expressed in terms of enhancing employee job security) of having employee centered continuous improvement.

Example: “if employees were to save $50,000.00 per year by correcting a recurring shipping problem, the saving would go directly to the bottom line.  If their company was retaining 10% of its total revenue (after expenses), that $ 50, 000.00 contribution represents $500,000 that does not have to be sold.  In a tight economy how many jobs might that save?”

BMS clients found that increased employee awareness of how capitalism works (including WIIFM) generated corporate energy and enthusiastic acceptance of the need for their invovement in the elimination of waste and rework.

Excerpt from The Virtues of Capitalism by Paul JohnsonT

The February 13th edition of Forbes magazine ran an article by an eminent British Historian and author who echoed the need to educate people on the workings and benefits of capitalism..  He suggested that the focus of this year’s election should be on reeducating the American electorate.

The economic crisis that began in 2008 and has continued with no sign of healing is essentially a crisis in the banking system Since the days of President Andrew Jackson in the 1830’s, Americans have been suspicious of bankers, especially when they’re seen to be running the economy.  This is certainly what they were doing during the first decade of the 21^st century, and some kind of breakdown was inevitable. 

Banks are important, and the smooth flow of financial resources from them to the rest of the economy is essential for an economy to function successfully.  But banks must be subservient to the economy as a whole and should never be in a position to dictate terms or put their own special interests first.

he heart of the U.S. economy is the provision of goods and services.  These must be in adequate supply at highly competitive – in terms of the rest of the world – rates and in forms that are innovative, efficient and reliable.  This year’s election provides an excellent opportunity to redefine and present this message with clarity and force that will strike home with voters.

This is not to say that the job of the U.S. government is to shape and run the nation’s economy.  Far from it, Government’s job is to make it possible for the economy to run itself, in the interests of all its components and to the benefit of the American people, whether they be producers, suppliers, or consumers.

Government must ensure that the distortions in the system that produced the 2008 economic crisis cannot be repeated and that the hijacking of the economy by irresponsible and reckless bankers does not occur again. These  themes should dominate discussions during this year’s election.  Indeed, if we want to encapsulate what the election should be about, it’s this:  the reeducation of the American people in the virtues of capitalism.

 This post is sponsored by Art McNeil’s Elatest  book, Securing Corprate viability by Creating Transferable Wealth and Wisdom: how to make your company more profitable and valuable–while reclaiming a personal life.  Available for for PC and MAC via this link.  Alsoavailable in E bookstores for electronic readers .

How you attempt to influence others counts – It counts in how you inspire others, in the people you attract to work with you and in the alliances you build. Yet there’s little readily available information on how leaders can better understand what they are doing well to influence others and what is missing.

  by LSI contributor Dr Mary Key

You are influencing all the time. From interviewing a top candidate for a position that you’d like to fill or recommending a new course of action in a staff meeting to suggesting where you and a friend may go to lunch, life is a series of influencing opportunities. First, it’s important to distinguish ethical influencing from coercive behavior.  Using influence is about persuading someone to agree with you in some way. As the influencer, it’s critical that you stay open to being influenced by the person you are attempting to impact as well. If the person you are influencing or the “influencee” does not feel they have a choice, then you are not influencing ethically. For example, a manager asks his direct report to overlook a reporting error and in the same conversation reminds the employee that her performance review is coming up.

Think back to a time when you were effective influencing someone else. What approach did you take? Why do you think that worked? In turn, think back to a time when no matter what you did, you could not influence the person in question. Why not? One of the main reasons leaders are effective in influencing others relates to their ability to position what they would like in a way that the “influencee” can hear it. Do you remember when we manually tuned in on a radio station vs. station scanning? Manually tuning your car radio in a more remote area often got you between stations with lots of static. That’s how someone hears you when you are attempting to influence them with an influencing style that isn’t their preferred way to be influenced. When you use an approach that is preferred to them, you improve your chances that the approach will work. It’s like tuning into their frequency.

So if you use a certain style of influencing like logical persuading and that approach is a preferred one for the influencee, your chances of influencing effectively go up. However, if the influencee is someone who prefers a more emotional approach, then appealing to their values will probably be far more effective.  Effective influencers pick up on cues that those they want to influence give off and adjust their style accordingly. The less effective influencers tend to continue with their preferred approach no matter what.

The first step in influencing effectively is self-awareness. What is your preferred way to influence? Next anticipate why someone you want to influence would say “yes” and why they would say “no” to you. Look for cues to what is important to the person you are influencing and adjust your style to theirs. Stay tuned in and be willing to be influenced in return.

For information on how to get more feedback on your influencing style, an excellent resource is Dr. Terry Bacon’s new book, Elements of Influence, which outlines 10 influencing techniques that are most common across all cultures. His impressive body of research shows that there’s a high correlation between the appropriate use of these techniques and leadership effectiveness.

This post is sponsored by Key Associates Inc.

Sales superstars need goals, support, and lots of TLC

 

 

If you are serious about growing your top line, there is no better way than to find and keep sales superstars. Don’t wait until there is an opening—always be on the lookout for winners.  Once you acquire superstars, retaining them will be an ongoing challenge worthy of the CEO full attention. 

by LSI contributor Larry Venable

The  care and feeding of sales superstars

 #1 COMPENSATION:

The perfect pay plan is straight commission plus bonus if they achieve super high level.  But that’s not always possible. Some will not accept not having some base, so the second best is a small salary plus commission on each sale.  You could pay a significant salary plus bonuses at various levels, but that is not as desirable.  Never pay salary only if you want superstar sales people.  Remember the basic principle of management:  “What gets rewarded gets done.”

#2 GOALS:

Sales people need goals, or targets.   But don’t think just in terms of sales goals.  You need to identify and measure two types of goals:

•      Results:  Revenue or unit goals, monthly, quarterly, and annually
•      Activity: Number of contacts  per day, week, month and year with new prospects (hunting) and existing customers (farming)

When the sales are coming in, even superstars may ignore the hardest part of the job:  new prospecting.  Management must keep them focused on and hold them accountable for a set number of new contacts in order to keep their pipeline full.  A basic sales principle:  “What gets measured gets done.”

 #3 RECOGNITION:

Management and non-sales personnel do not appreciate that sales is a lonely and frustrating job.  Trying to reach unresponsive people and being rejected is a major part of a salesperson’s life; unlike office staff who if so inclined can enjoy the camaraderie  of co-workers.   Sales people need  extra attention from everybody in the organization.

Sales people need and thrive on recognition such as:

•  Personal notes & comments from you.
• Create competition between the multiple sales reps in the company.
• Acknowledge accomplishments in front of others.
• Trips, dinners, gifts

#4 SUPPORT:

Nothing is more frustrating for sales people than working hard to get a major sale, then having to deal with bureaucracy and paperwork back at the office.  Management must remove barriers that make salespeople less motivated and productive.   Eliminate or minimize all procedures and paperwork that make the selling job more difficult.  The CEO must intervene with managers and employees on behalf of the sales team.  Without repetitive reinforcement from the CEO  people will forget that sales people are always fighting on their behalf to enhance everybody’s job security—the business that sales people win  pays the salary of every employee.

This post sponsored by Topline Coach

nothing happens until somebody sells something

If you are willing to make a conscious effort to recruit and develop sales superstars, the rewards can be enormous.

by  LSI Contributor Larry Venable

1. THE SEARCH:

 Get your mind focused: “I’m going find the best sales people in the world, and nothing will stop me.” Realize that the people you want may not be looking for a job.

Always be on the lookout with:

• Vendors (The best sales person that calls on you)
• Competitors
• Non-vendor reps who call on you
• Networking events (C of C, Rotary, etc.)
• While shopping, dining, etc.
• Business associates—ask “Who’s the best sales rep who calls on you?”

Consider three factors in hiring the right person.

1. Talent (Do they have strong selling skills?)
2. Experience (What is their experience in my industry?)
3. Culture (Will they fit in nicely with our company culture?)

Industry experience is the LEAST important. You can train to meet industry needs far easier than you can train a professional sales person..

2. THE ADVERTIZEMENT:

SALES SUPERSTARS ONLY: CURRENTLY EARNING $xxx, xxx AND UP

Don’t call unless you can prove that you are an overachiever. If you are a sales star—young or old, if you have what it takes, contact us xxx xxx xxxx

Put the highest possible earning potential in the ad. If you present an average income, you’ll get average applicants. Ask yourself this question. ” If we really had a sales superstar, how much business could s/he bring in? Then ask, “What are we willing to pay to get that amount of revenue?”

3. THE INITIAL SCREENING:

THE FIRST CONTACT (Phone or Live)

Your strategy here it to test their ability to handle adversity.

YOU – “Why should we interview you?”

 THEM – “I’ve been in sales xxx years … I like people… I can sell anything”

 YOU – “Sorry, but I’m not hearing top producer.”

 YOU – “Why should we interview you?”

 THEM – “In my last job, I brought in their biggest accounts ever. In six months I was outselling people who had been there for 5 years.”

YOU – “That sounds good, but I’m still not sure I’m hearing Superstar.”

The next things they say is critical. If they come back strong, set up the assessment and interview because they just handled rejection. If they don’t come back strong say goodbye. If they do well,  have them  assessed for personality traits .

4. THE PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT:

Successful r recruitment processes always include a personality assessment. Easily available on line and not costly when compared to a bad hire. Many assessment tools will present four personality types: for example: Driver, Expressive, Analytical, or Amiable.

You are looking for people who:

• are goal oriented
• have strong egos to handle rejection
• who relate well to others
• who network and communicate effectively

If your applicant does not fall into the Driver or the Expressive quadrant, don’t waste your time. There are exceptions, but typically, top sales people are either drivers or expressives.

5. THE FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW  (top ten traits):

You are looking for:

1.  High initial impact
2.  Self-confidence
3. A self-starter
4.  Achievement history (work, sports, promotions, , networking activities )
5. Empathy
6. A good listener
7. The ability to handle rejection
8. Disciplined work habits
9. 9. Ability to think on their feet
10. 10. Excellent communication skills.

Sample Questions:

• Tell me about your childhood.
• What are the two biggest challenges you’ve ever faced?
• What was the toughest sale you ever made?
• Tell me three or things of which you are most proud.
• How would your best friends describe you?
• What self-improvement books have you read?
• In your previous job, did you deal with gatekeepers? How did you handle that?
• What organizations do you belong to and what responsibilities have you assumed?
• How would you respond if someone said ‘Your product is too expensive.”
• Who is the best sales person you ever met? Why?
• In your past job, how did you make appointments?

This posting sponsored by TOPLINE COACH 

STAY TUNED:  Tomorrow: HOW TO MOTIVATE TOP SALES PRODUCERS.

manage your commitments and time will care for itself

Everybody has the same amount of time.  The real issue isn’t time… it’s about commitments. You can’t “manage” time.  It is what it is and does what it does, regardless of what we do.  We can however, manage commitments, promises and our agreements.  Your organizational life is composed of making, managing, modifying, and keeping or not keeping commitments.

 by LSI contributor Chalmers Brothers

10 steps to positively impact trust, productivity, your relationships at work and at home.

1. Enroll loved ones, friends, and fellow workers to support your commitment to improve  promise making and promise managing.  
2. Identify “webs of commitment” that exist within your organization.  Pay attention to how departments, work teams, processes, and people connect with each other via promises—notice how productivity has everything to do with the effectiveness of making and managing commitments.
3. Understand the difference between a broken promise (where trust is an issue and corrective measures are in order) and undeclared expectations that go unmet (these are a totally different and have nothing to do with trust).  There’s nothing wrong with having expectations – provided you consider them nothing more than a private assumption. 
4. Make committed and clear requests and ensure that you have a committed listener.  Specify exactly what you’d like accomplished and establish the criteria that will satisfy your expectations—always include a  specific timeframe.
5. Make clear responses to the requests of others.   Never use “maybe” or “I’ll try.”  Always end with  yes, no, a commitment , or a counter offer.
6. Say no with dignity. You have the right to decline requests of you.  Saying no is the first step towards exercising  control of your life.  People who never say no are usually overcommitted – and typically become resentful.
7. Critique in ways that will  increase the odds of improvement –avoid  emotional whining and  nagging when others fail in their commitments to you.
8. Re-negotiate commitment when necessary –the earlier the better.
9. Apologize when you fail to manage commitments you have made.   
10. Use a daily/ weekly “to-do” list of commitments you have made to yourself and to others.

This posting is sponsored by  Language and the Pursuit of Happiness: a New Foundation for Designing Yourself, Your Relationship, s and Your Results.    by Chalmers Brothers

supervisory discipline at all levels of management

A common shortcoming of management is the inability or unwillingness to hold direct reports accountable.  A fiercely competitive world and other shift-age challenges demand that CEOs and executives not only know how to balance inspiration and discipline, but that they do it consistently.

by LSI managing partner Art McNeil 

Typically, senior teams expect a higher degree of supervisory competence from junior managers than they deliver themselves.  Many organizations are unknowingly trying to compete and survive using profit inhibiting attitudes and behaviors more suited to the industrial-age.

Shift-age adapted organizations:

1.  inspire with cultural values that  help employees live the company’s master brand.

2. discipline with an ethics platform that establishes non negotiable behavioral boundaries. 

For example, a company with the cultural value of Integrity might express a related ethics plank as, “we never fail to keep appointments or tell the whole truth”.

3. Standardize supervisory protocols that apply to everybody (including the CEO) 

For example: Supervisory  protocols for everybody with direct reports  might include:

• How meetings will be  run
• How to conduct performance correction sessions when ethics or process disciplines are violated
• How and when to coach
• How to induct a new direct report
• How and when to analyze and measure performance

A frequent mistake by well intentioned CEOs and HR directors is to have managers attend internal or external classroom training.  As the founder and former CEO of Achieve (now part of Achieve Global), I can attest that “just in case” training is a waste of time and money.  A system (such as the above) must be established.  A peak performance culture demands that senior managers set a supervisory example and start to  inspect rather than expect  performance from direct reports.

A shift-age management system designed to balance inspiration and discipline must reach critical mass with employees from all levels.  Studies suggest that new “collective habits” will have to  be rigorously enforced by the CEO and senior management for 18 months before  becoming a culture norm.

LSI encourages you to read the revised and updated version of the   #1 bestseller,  The “I” of the Hurricane: how to generate and focus Corporate Energy.  Download for PC and Mac.  This and other books by Art McNeil ill be available  in E bookstores soon

"I have seen the enemy and he is us" Pogo

The insignificant behaviors of others can really get on our nerves.

by Art McNeil LSI managing partner

I remember experiencing bad hair days because a colleague  smacked his lips while chewing food.  The closer people are to each other, the more powerful annoyance factors become.  For example, I drove my family (all female) around the bend because I habitually left the toilet seat up.

Overreaction to insignificant events is usually about control issues and judging.  Humans spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get others to do as they do, believe as they believe, feel as they feel and even chew as they chew.  We focus on the faults of others because doing so is less painful than dealing with our own shortcomings.  “Things will get better when I fix a few people out there” is not an uncommon attitude among executives—people prone to this attitude seldom focus on their own shortcomings.  Because they never get around to improving themselves, others resent being “should on”.  People universally dislike someone trying to change them (babies excluded).

The psychological term projecting suggests that we notice things in others because of what is going on in ourselves.  Interpersonal problems therefore are best corrected from one’s own side of the fence.  It’s amazing how quickly people will change once we adjust our personal attitudes and behavior.  Begin fixing your world by fixing yourself.

The following story metaphorically expresses the pith of this message .  A father wanting to occupy his children gave them a magazine picture of the world that he had torn into a several pieces.  “see if you can put this picture of the world back together”.  After only a few minutes the children returned with the picture taped together.  “How did you manage it so fast?” the father inquired.  The children responded, “there was a picture of a man on the back of the page.  Once we got him together, the world was fixed too.”

this post is sponsored by the International best seller The “I” of the Hurricane: how to Generate and Focus Corporate Energy

Strategic or administrative? The CEO must decide

If HR wants to “earn a seat at the strategic table,” it must justify its worth. For the most part, corporate executives view HR as an administrative function, not a strategic one.

By LSI contributor Don Phin

In many cases this view has become a self fulfilling prophesy. If you want your HR department to be strategic rather than administrative and reactive, if you want an ROI on human capital rather than just spending money, then take the initiative to align your HR function with corporate strategy and operational objectives.

1. Realize that how you run the HR function will have a significant impact on the execution of corporate strategy. Jack Welch famously used the HR function to drive profits at GE for many years.
2. Recognize that most small to medium-sized businesses don’t have much HR expertise. How many of those folks wearing the HR hat have made the effort to obtain their PHR or SPHR designation—the benchmark of a “serious” HR executive? A company without this expertise would be wise to seek it out, either through a part-time consultant or HR executive.
3. Make sure the company is hiring only the best. In each one of Jim Collins’ books (Good to Great, et. al.) he emphasizes the most important function of management is to put the right person on the right seat of the bus. Is this happening at your company? How is HR helping managers hire great employees?
4. Focus on boosting employee productivity without increasing the already high level of stress. How do you maintain a corporate culture in the process? In this squeeze economy, everyone is being asked to do more with less. To what degree have you helped the management team generate increase productivity?
5. Make sure that the best stay on board. Survey after survey indicates that as the recession eases, more and more employees are looking to move elsewhere. Many companies only have to lose one or critical employees to have a significant bottom -line impact. To what degree are you using available resources to make sure your best and brightest remain?
6. Be aware that hiring, productivity, and retention are the greatest concerns of many HR professionals and CEOs I’ve spoken to because they flow through directly to the bottom line. Employers also tend to be concerned about training initiatives (especially low-cost ones), teamwork, motivation, letting go of poor performers, and compliance concerns. How is HR helping you meet these goals more effectively than the competition?
7. Of course there is the never-ending challenge of benefits management. How can you help reduce the overall cost of employee benefits, while improving employee health
8. Lastly, federal and state regulators, as well as the plaintiff’s bar, are looking for you to make compliance mistakes so they can jump on the financial opportunity. Misclassification issues, leave management and ever present discrimination concerns top the list of concerns. Are you certain you have your risk management act together…or are you taking a random approach to what are significant risks?

Your company may be facing specific strategic issues that demand your full attention. Make sure that HR gets a seat at the table. Whatever you choose will impact human capital—it makes economic sense to keep your HR advisor on board.

This post sponsored by the Baton Management System