Skill shortages the top director concern

25 May 2011 1 Comment

Australia’s company directors have identified skilled labour shortages as the primary economic challenge facing Australian business in the coming 12 months and predict that wages, inflation and interest rates will rise, according to the findings of a new biannual survey of directors released by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, described in The Boardroom Report, Vol 9, Issue 9, 19 May 2011.

The Director Sentiment Index (DSI) canvasses directors’ views on current and future economic and business conditions, as well as key regulatory, governance and public policy issues and weights their responses to obtain an overall indication of director sentiment. It is Australia’s only market sentiment indicator measuring the opinions and future intentions of the director community.

The April 2011 DSI ranked overall director sentiment as slightly pessimistic.  “The findings reveal that while directors are generally optimistic about the Australian economy, they are concerned about increasing red tape and regulation and say that laws around director liability affect both their business decision-making and their willingness to sit on a board,” says John Colvin, CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Other highlights/findings of the report follow. Read more of this post

Filed under Business, Directorship, Recruitment Tagged with , ,

Is the customer always right?

23 May 2011 Leave a comment

Apparently not, according to an article published in the 7-13 October 2010 issue of BRW.  “Difficult and late-paying clients should not always be indulged.  There are times when you have to cut them loose.“  But is the client at fault; or is it the responsibility of the supplier to properly identify their ‘ideal client profile’ and select clients accordingly, managing expectations from the outset?  Read the article entitled ‘Sack the Customer‘ and leave your comment.

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Marketing, Performance, Selling, Strategy Tagged with , , , , ,

Consultants fail to deliver

17 May 2011 Leave a comment

New research reported in Management Today, June 2011 edition, reveals that the ‘overwhelming majority of consultants do not deliver on client expectations‘.  So how do you ensure external expertise is well applied so that you’re part of the mere 30% whose expectations are met or exceeded?

The Consulting Client Satisfaction Survey February 2011 conducted globally by the RFP Company examines the factors behind client’s overall satisfaction with results achieved when working with management consultants.  It shows that more than 70% of consultant engagements fail to fully, let alone exceed, the results that the client expected.

The survey reveals some strengths of consulting firms; but shows that these are not significant contributors to client satisfaction.  The quality of the individual consultants assigned and their focus on the project at hand are identified as areas of greatest relevance to satisfaction.

Importantly, the survey goes on to examine the responsibilities of the client for selecting an appropriate firm for their needs and proactively engaging with that firm.

My own experience reveals that most clients don’t know what they don’t know, so are particularly weak at defining their own needs and making appropriate selections of consultants and coaches to assist them, particularly when a multi-disciplinary approach is required.

The formation of www.MultiCOACH.biz is part of my own response to this dilemma, a cooperative of multi-disciplined coaches, consultants and practitioners coordinated to assist owners and managers of small and large organisations with both needs analysis and solution delivery.

Filed under Business, Coaching, Customer Service, Management, Measurement, Organisation, Performance, Productivity Tagged with , , , , , , ,

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