Conferences and Speaking Engagements www.dynamic-link.com
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Risk, Volatility and Flexibility According to the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Annual CEO Survey, business leaders are emerging from the financial crisis with a healthy respect for risk, volatility and flexibility and a different view of the growth imperative. Few, if any, see a return to benign growth and most are bracing for continued volatilty. It is not surprising then that a majority of CEOs (79%) intend to increase their focus and investment on how they manage people through change, which includes redefining employees’ roles in the organisation. They feel they need to change their strategies for managing talent. The scale of these intended changes suggests that, for whatever reason, existing practices did not support the business when the crisis hit. Pricewaterhouse Coopers conclude that there are three major human capital failures that were brought to the surface as a result of the downturn: • Existing reward models are broken • CEOs were unable to move talent around quickly when the crisis hit • Employees lack the key skills needed to operate and compete in the new emerging environment 41% of CEOs expect to increase their focus on training and development. Dynamic Link provides the basis for new talent strategies. Dynamic Link brings scientific rigour to a notoriously 'soft' area by using an objective measurement system that makes the dynamic link between people and jobs. The measurement system is based on Work Levels methodology. Work Levels are used by some of the world’s most successful organisations to underpin key management processes such as job design, organisation design and assessment. Work Levels; it is what leaders of such organisations as Unilever, Axa, Tesco and Tata Group can describe as their ‘competitive advantage’. Dynamic Link extends the Work Levels methods by creating a comprehensive classification and measurement system. Making the dynamic link between people and jobs has profound consequences. We have a range of topics that expand on the importance of making this connection.
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Aligning People and Jobs People and Jobs have become disassociated concepts. This is akin to the unhelpful mind-body split in medicine and there are many negative consequences. With the different measurement technologies of psychometrics and job evaluation, it is as if jobs are measured in units of weight and people in terms of height. As a result, HR processes and methods are often disjointed and, at worst, can be time-consuming hindrances to line managers. Using Work Levels, Dynamic Link identifies how to align people and jobs. This enables an integrated approach to managing and organizing people. Conditions and Challenges Faced
Areas of Work Level Application
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Increasing labour costs
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Job design
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Need to engage and motivate the workforce
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Matching people to jobs
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Identifying measures and ratios that show Resource Utlisation
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Need to build capability that is not easily replicated by the competition
Outcomes
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Minimising of role overlap and clarification of accountabilities
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Prevention of accountability gaps
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Informed selection decisions when matching key people to critical roles
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Targeted and cost effective development activities
Example Title of Talks/Presentations Aligning Jobs and People- the unlikely hero in the search for high performance
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Identifying Potential and Building an Inventory of Talent Profiling the potential of people in order to identify future high-fliers is a black art practiced by a few but with generally little to back up their predictions. Dynamic Link cuts through any consultancy mystique that surround the subject of identifying potential by using Work Levels to identify the 'mental models' and perspectives that are required to undertake different types of work. Using this it is possible to build a complete talent inventory that covers both current capability and growth potential. Conditions and Challenges Faced
Areas of Work Level Application
Difficult to separate performance from potential leading to Peter Principle and executive derailment
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Reviewing/appreciating internal talent
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Identifying future requirements
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Need to retain top talent especially in the event of downsizing
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Identifying ‘high potential’ populations or ‘top talent’
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Need to reduce costs associated with external hires
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Clarifying which jobs are ‘Business Critical Positions’
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Outcomes
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Retention of key people and improved utilisation of internal resources
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Cost savings
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Informed selection decisions when matching key people to critical roles
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Targeted and cost effective development activities
Example Titles of Talks/Presentations Unlock the Assets in the Business
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Leadership Development Managing constant change has been a theme for a decade or more. Dealing with volatility and discontinuous change is a much more recent phenomenon. If tomorrow is not the same as yesterday what do leaders draw upon to help guide and to make wise decisions? Clearly past experience is not the answer. Being a leader in this new context demands the ability to make sound judgements in situations of increasing complexity and uncertainty. Work Level methodologies enable organisations to appreciate their leadership capability and potential and provide effective feedback to individuals and teams. Conditions and Challenges Faced
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Environment of continuous change, uncertainty and ambiguity
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Increased competition, regulation and power of stakeholders
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A search for competitive advantage
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Increasingly complex working relationships
Areas of Work Level Application
Outcomes
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Identifying leadership requirements
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Appreciating whether an individual can lead at increasing levels of complexity and make sound judgements
Seizing market opportunities through having the appropriate leadership resource
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An increase in self awareness of leaders
Providing opportunities that stretch the capability of leaders
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Linkage of development of high potential people to real business opportunities
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Identification of gaps and development plans
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Establishing a climate of high performance
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Coaching leaders
Example Title of Talks/Presentations What is Strategic Leadership? The Difference Between ‘Doing’ Leadership and ‘Being’ a Leader
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Organisation Development and Role Design The absolute foundation for organisational success is ensuring that jobs are clearly defined. However in many organisations, jobs often have unclear responsibilities, fuzzy or overlapping accountabilities and subjective measures that do not promote team work. Dynamic Link has developed job and organisational design principles that are applicable to enterprises undergoing profound change. These principles are derived from the research that identified that in any organisation, from military ones to global corporations, there is a finite number of Work Levels required depending upon the purpose of the entity. Conditions and Challenges Faced
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Ensuring that mergers and acquisitions deliver the planned benefits and synergies
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Downsizing
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Creating flexibility
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Recognising diversity
Areas of Work Level Application
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Defining roles and accountabilities
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Aligning organisation structure and environmental demands
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Defining structures and management layers
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Reviewing reporting lines and relationships
Outcomes
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Increased efficiency and effectiveness leading to a reduction in the amount of duplicated work
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Role clarity including the effective linkages and relationships between roles
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Optimisation of organisation structures
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Diverse, flexible workforce
Example Titles of Talks/Presentations Do You Stop Paddling When There is Permanent White Water?
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Summary Dynamic Link makes the vital connections that result in the alignment of: • • • • • •
People and jobs Culture and high performance HR processes and business needs Compensation and value creation Human capital and enterprise value Structure and strategy
Publications Russell Connor & Peter Mackenzie-Smith. The Leadership Jigsaw - finding the missing piece - Business Strategy Review, 2003, Volume 14 Issue 1, pp 59-66 Russell Connor. Responsible Governance and Human Resource Management: the connection- Developing HR strategy, July 2009, Issue number 27 published by Wolters Kluwer (Ltd) Kingston. Russell Connor. The Credit Crunch: You get what you pay for and other important lessons- Developing HR strategy, November 2009, Issue number 28 published by Wolters Kluwer (Ltd) Kingston. Russell Connor and Rosemarie McGuire. Job Description and Person Specification Alignment The unlikely hero in the search for high performance. Developing HR strategy, to be published July 2010, Issue number 29 by Wolters Kluwer (Ltd) Kingston.
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Key Speakers Russell Connor, BSc (Hons.), Chartered Fellow, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Diploma in Counseling and Psychotherapy Russell has over 30 years experience of working and consulting for both national and multi-national organisations. Through this he has built an integrated approach to attracting, developing, motivating and rewarding people. He has been influenced by the ideas that come under the broad umbrella of ‘Socio-technical Systems’ and particularly by the work of Elliott Jaques. It was at the London School of Economics that Russell was first introduced to the pioneering thoughts of Elliott Jaques and, many years later, was reintroduced to his work through an association with the Brunel Institute of Organisation and Social Science. Elliot Jaques’ work provides the foundation for a total system of effective organisation and managerial leadership in the 21st century and his ideas have been highly influential in the design and development of a number of top organisations. Russell has simplified the use of the original framework and has extended the concepts. Together with his team, he is unlocking the potential of Jaques’ ideas.
Rosemarie McGuire, BA, SHRP and PhD. Candidate Rosemarie has over 25 years experience of working in Human Resources both as a management consultant and at the Global Vice President Human Resources level. Throughout her career she has held a special interest in the role that a strategic human resources agenda plays in organizational performance. A graduate of the University of Toronto, Rosemarie is now completing her PhD at the London Metropolitan University where her concentration will be on the link and contributory effects of work levels and relational capital on organizational performance. Rosemarie brings to Dynamic Link’s clients a holistic approach to solutions and services.
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Contacts The address for our Head Office: Dynamic Link Ltd UK, Suite 2, 16-25 Bastwick Street, London, EC1V 3PS Phone +44 (0)207 608 1118 Contact: Russell Connor, Managing Director on +44 (0)7879 448634 Email - r.connor@dynamic-link.com Contact: Rosemarie McGuire, Partner, Head of Practice +44 (0)750 325 0050 Email – rmcguire@dynamic-link.com
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