SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR |  RSS | | REPRINT
|
Through the Corporate Trainers' Looking Glass: Organization Trends in a Down Economy
February 03, 2010
By Maryann Billington
The chatter is so commonplace these days. "What is the impact of the economy on you? Your family? Your business?" Those of us in the talent management business are well positioned to look into the hearts and souls of our client companies to see the changes that have taken, and continue, to take place. The organizational implications of the economic earthquake range from being deeply seeded and lasting transformation to temporary changes that will disappear as times get better.
Change or Transformation?
Let's define change as an altered state that could indeed be altered again or back to the original form (for example, a change of clothes). And let's adopt the definition of transformation as a complete alteration with no ability to return to the former state (such as a cake resulting from baking the batter). Because of the role we have guiding organization development, we are witnesses to the current states of change. A 2009 Parade article reported the results of a survey on the impact of the crisis on Americans' "goals, hopes, spending habits, relationships, and attitudes toward institution."
The survey revealed:
79 percent have personally felt the impact.
42 percent delayed or canceled vacations.
27 percent pursued extra work to make money.
52 percent are forming stronger bonds with spouses.
63 percent have become more do-it-yourself.
30 percent are volunteering more for charities.
83 percent are reconsidering what they actually need in life.
The Parade data foreshadows what we would likely find in the attitudes and decisions of human resources and learning leaders.
• Almost everyone has personally felt the impact with the loss of a job, responsibility to lay off others, gouged budgets, reduced travel, reduced staff, no personal development, greater stress, longer work days, and cut salaries.
• Many leaders have cancelled vacations, or in an ironic twist, had vacations imposed as furloughs.
• Most leaders and managers, along with their employees, work longer days to earn the same or less pay.
• Leaders and managers are forming stronger bonds with their business partners and colleagues.
• Internally delivered development and increasing dependence on "leaders as teachers" is a trend based on a notion that it is less costly to source training internally.
• Volunteerism is up—from shared roles to pot lucks, it is a way to get things done.
• All leaders and managers are looking closely at just the basics to get the job done, including staffing, benefits, facilities, technology, and travel.
When all is said and done, rooted transformation is occurring when we realize what we can do without. We must always remain cognizant of the pulse of our clients if we are to be of value in shaping organizations, talent, and leaders.
How Companies Are Restructuring
Companies are combining and simplifying shared services across business units in areas such as finance, procurement, HR, and organization development to remove duplicate teams and combine buying power. Infrastructure positions are juggling more internal customers than ever. As providers to companies, this merging of functions creates longer cycle times for approvals and contracts.
Restructuring seems to follow the same premise—it is either a change or transformative. Organizations that anticipate the market recovery, and experienced only shrinkage in revenue, reacted with downsizing actions that were mostly statistical. Ten percent across-the-board cuts in staff or 25 percent budget reduction was a "change" initiated as a temporary state, expecting that recovery would see a rebound in budgets and hiring.
Consumer staple companies seem to have followed that path. However, businesses that suffered more profound loss of market share, consumer loyalty, or brand erosion, such as American automobile companies, have engaged in much more transformational change that examines their core existence and way of doing business. These are organizational changes that will stick.
Impact on Leadership Development
We are finding, due to the downsizing associated with the economic downturn, surviving executives are more over-worked, stressed, and less patient than ever. This is driving a greater dichotomy in development experiences. Leaders are coming to sessions expecting one of two things: 1) powerful ideas directly relevant to what they are doing or 2) an opportunity to get completely away from the pressure to reflect on concepts such as purpose, meaning, and values.
During the economic downturn, companies cut back severely on leadership off-sites and retreats because the "optics" weren't good. At the same time, leadership teams have been under pressure to deliver results with fewer resources. Now that the economy is improving and business activity is increasing, leadership teams need to "hit the reset button" and re-invest in relationships and team effectiveness. They are seeking single sources for education programs across a leadership level so all those leaders get consistent messages tailored to their own company's culture and competencies.
They are seeking a common program that builds internal relationships and a common language in their culture and across functional boundaries. Since budgets are tight in this economy—they want tightly focused bursts of engaging leadership development that hones in on their specific organization's needs, often delivered online. While the investments have slowed due to the economy, they haven't stopped as corporations realize they need high skills and teamwork among leadership to help them guide their people through the tough times.
Since mergers and acquisitions are as active as ever, one last example of languishing leadership development is where organizational changes occur without any effort to ease the transition. The goal should be to have a clear go-to-market and branding strategy following an acquisition, and condition both the marketplace and customers about the benefits of the new organization while maintaining their current relationships. This requires development of leaders from both organizations and clear communication and ongoing training.
What's Next?
Thomas Wolfe once wrote about the changes in America resulting from the stock market crash and passing of time in "You Can't Go Home Again." We have experienced the organizational turmoil, financial implosion, and leadership crisis that define who we are now. The increasing global marketplace and the impact of generational diversity in the workplace add to a mix of circumstances that promises not business as usual. The pressure is on organizational consultants and corporate trainers to figure how best to customize, economize, digitize, globalize, and whatever other "ize" you can imagine. The global corporate landscape will not likely be predictable by any stretch of the imagination. May the adaptive force be with you!
Maryann Billington is a senior partner at Korn/Ferry LTC.
|
SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR | RSS |
|
|
| Back to Training Index |
|
|
