RECOGNITION, REWARDS AND RESULTS

Recently I was engaged in an online blog about employee reward schemes and my professional experiences. The originator of the inquiry was wondering how to compensate employees for their ideas and performance. The discussions were varied and the suggested approaches interesting. 

Always there is the argument of financial reward and if it is necessary beyond the non-monetary recognition programs. Some contributors were adamant that it should be considered part of doing a good job and no special consideration was warranted. Some felt that a TQM process or a Six Sigma approach was the Holy Grail and for them it may well be the case. They failed to mention that those programs can include recognition and reward components.    

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THE HIDDEN POTENTIAL IN ANY ORGANIZATION

When an organization isn’t achieving its revenue potential, the worst case scenario may be that it is meeting its goals and is nicely profitable. That’s because much of the management team charged with growth is "comfortable". They are dealing with what they see and know and are more obsessed with validating their business/marketing plan than they are questioning its validity in today’s marketplace. If there is no challenge from ownership to improve, nothing will change.

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QUITTING RETIREMENT, AND GETTING BACK IN THE GAME

Interesting article written by Wallace Immen and published by the Globe and Mail on Friday February 18, 2011.

Ted Clarke was eager to live out his dream of retirement after more than 35 years in management roles. Since stepping down as president and chief executive officer of The Beer Store in Ontario a year ago, he and his wife have made extensive trips to England, the United States and the Caribbean. He has worked to perfect his golf game and get more competitive in his passions of running and squash. In November, represented Canada at the Invitational Masters Squash Tournament in Mexico, winning the bronze medal.

But as fun as freedom has been, the 58-year-old is finding that retirement isn’t all he thought it would be and he’s on the hunt for a part-time management or consultancy role. “I got a good severance and we have savings, so money wasn’t the issue. But I’ve realized I’ve got lots of energy left and I want to use it as constructively as possible,” he says.

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OSBORNE GROUP-WESTERN REGION BECOMES OSBORNE INTERIM MANAGEMENT

We are excited to relaunch our organization under the banner of Osborne Interim Management. To help signify this new beginning we have a crisp new logo and a more contemporary and functioning web presence. Although we have a new name our service offering and quality of senior contract executives we bring to the market is unchanged.

This change is more significant than just a new brand identity; it’s also a refocusing of what we know and do best, and that’s interim management. North American companies are beginning to realize what a cost effective and efficient option an interim manager is compared to the expense and commitment involved with a full-time hire at the senior executive level. It allows organizations to better manage change in this era of economic uncertainty, whether the needs are in the areas of Executive Management, Operations, Human Resources, Finance or Sales and Marketing.

In addition, this change has allowed us to expand our service offerings geographically. Based in Calgary, Osborne Interim Management also represents Principals operating out of Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Toronto; we will continue to focus on growth across Canada, and provide executives with diverse industry backgrounds.