RANDY WILLIAMS, PAST PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CALGARY TOURISM, JOINS THE OSBORNE TEAM

Mark Olson, President and CEO of Osborne Group Contract Executives Corp., is pleased to announce that Randy Williams has joined the organization as Principal and Head of Practice: Hospitality, Tourism and Destination Marketing.

Randy was formerly the President and CEO of Calgary Tourism. Prior to that he served as President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, President and CEO of the Association of Canadian Travel Agents , President and CEO of Tourism Saskatchewan and had a lengthy career in hotel management at a number of leading properties across the country.

"Randy is an exceptional executive, recognized expert and demonstrated leader who has an unparalleled level of experience in all facets of the hospitality, tourism and destination marketing industry", states Mr. Olson. "This sector is hugely important to our economy in Western Canada. As in any of the industries we serve there are many challenges that we can help Randy address through the resources of both Osborne Interim Management and Osborne Business Advisors."

"I am very excited to be able to join a well-established and respected firm like Osborne", says Williams. "Many years of success in managing and leading growth and change within the hotel, travel trade, tourism education and destination marketing/management sectors leaves me in the perfect place to apply my vast networks and experience to build the hospitality, tourism and destination management practice within Osborne."

"The ability to join an existing firm like Osborne with a professional team in place as Principal and Head of Practice is a significant opportunity, and should provide a 'win-win-win' for myself, Osborne and most importantly, our clients!" added Mr. Williams.

THE OSBORNE OBSERVER - ROI ISSUE (PART TWO)

A good Return on Investment in a business environment is measured in various ways depending on the organization and its goals. In this issue of The Osborne Observer we take a closer look at what investors are looking for in the private sector. Thanks to Nigel Peters (Alium Partners), Michael Palmer (Palmco Inc.), Philip Doublet (Doublet Management Consulting Ltd.) and Howard Johnson (Veracap Corporate Finance Limited) for contributing.

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THE OSBORNE OBSERVER - ROI ISSUE (PART ONE)

A good Return on Investment in a business environment is measured in various ways depending on the organization and its goals. This month's newsletter explores how important ROI is and how it might be measured in retail messaging and merchandising, sponsorships and with not-for-profits. Thanks to Karen Lynn Hope (Osborne Business Advisors), Brent Barootes (Partnership Group-Sponsorship Specialists) and Simone Brown (The CalgaryBridge Foundation for Youth) for contributing.

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WHY RISK THE SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS?

Whether you lead a small entrepreneurial business, a non-profit organization comprised of a few staff or a business with over 100 employees, success will be more difficult to attain without a business strategy that aligns your human capital to the growth plan. While this may not be a revelation to many of the readers, how to get there is sometimes illusive.

Business leaders usually believe they understand how to manage the people side of the business because it is their vision that is framing the roadmap for success. However, they may have also found out the hard way that their businesses can be crippled by a lack of understanding of the very fundamentals of Human Resources.

How many of you have lost critical talent because of poor management, competition in the marketplace, lack of promotional or developmental opportunities or even possibly a poor workplace environment? With every business leader watching the bottom line, an integral piece of the plan for the business is an HR strategy that focuses on the three R’s (recruit, reward and retain). The cost of turnover has been well documented over the years – between 150 to 250 percent of the total compensation, depending on the position of the employee.

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WHAT IS THE TRUE COST OF HIRING AN INTERIM?

Interim was started in Holland in the 1970’s as a way of injecting much needed flexibility into the market place. Canada is encountering similar issues in the employment market place that Holland saw. Slowly but surely the marketplace is transitioning from being run by the employers to being run by the employees. The main impact is Canada’s greying population. The average baby boom age is 55. They have raised their families and are thinking about retirement. Employers are seeing an average of twelve months and sometimes 18 months to find qualified senior executives. Manpower’s seventh annual “Talent Shortage Survey” found that 25% of Canadian employers are having trouble finding workers with the global average being 34%. The survey uses information from more than 38,000 employers around the world, including 1,000 in Canada. The first survey in 2006 found that 66% of Canadian employers had difficulty finding staff. This number was indicative of the high flying economic times in 2006 and 2007 which prompted companies to expand and compete for workers. All expectations are for the number of employers having trouble finding employees to continue to rise over the coming years as baby boomers enter into retirement. Productivity in Canada continues to be average. Canada ranks 14th on Wikipedia’s list of countries by GDP (PPP) per hour worked. All these indicators point to the need for greater flexibility in the market place similar to the situation in Holland in the 1970’s. Interim is one solution, but is it a costly solution?

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