A recent online HBR essay by Matt Dixon and Lara Ponomareff is a worrisome read for any marketing executive who’s focused on helping their company develop deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers.  It exposes the challenges facing organizations that want to gain more insight from their clients in order to better serve their needs.

An excerpt:

Have you ever walked into an airport, seen that there is nobody in line at the check-in counter, but still made a bee-line for the self-service kiosk? Better yet, have you ever waited in line for an ATM machine even though there is nobody in line for the teller inside the bank?

If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, you’re not alone. Most customers these days demonstrate a huge — and increasing — appetite for self-service, yet most companies run their operations as if customers prefer to interact with them live.

In our research on this topic, we’ve found that corporate leaders dramatically overestimate the extent to which their customers actually want to talk to them. In fact, on average, companies tend to think their customers value live service more than twice as much as they value self service. But our data show that customers today are statistically indifferent about this — they value self-service just as much as using the phone. And guess what? By and large, this indifference holds regardless of their age, demographic, issue type, or urgency.

This attitude toward self-service has been a long time coming. Two-thirds of the customers we surveyed told us that three to five years ago, they primarily used the phone for service interactions. Today, less than a third do, and the number is shrinking fast.

What is it that makes self service so appealing? Maybe it’s the efficiency of the interaction — the airport kiosk is probably faster than interacting with a check-in agent — but that wouldn’t explain why we go out of our way to take care of our service needs ourselves. On a psychological level, it might have more to do with the unique element of control that self service affords. Or, maybe this self-service love affair is a product of our infatuation with gadgetry and electronic communication. All fairly benign explanations, to be sure.

But here’s a hypothesis that would be concerning if it’s right: maybe customers are shifting toward self service because they don’t want a relationship with companies. While this secular trend could be explained away as just a change in consumers’ channel preferences, skeptics might argue that customers never wanted the kind of relationship that companies have always hoped for, and that self service now allows customers the “out” they’ve been looking for all along. For managers hell-bent on deepening relationships with their customers, that’s a sobering thought.

Consider this: Running your company as if customers want to talk to you isn’t just expensive, it’s potentially undermining your efforts to build longer-term loyalty. Our research shows that customers who attempt to self serve, fail, and are forced to pick up the phone are 10% more likely to be disloyal than those customers who were able to fully resolve their issues in their channel of choice. As one CFO remarked to us recently, “When you think about the relative cost of live service and the disloyalty effect of channel switching…it’s like paying your customers to be disloyal to you.”

How often does channel switching happen? All the time.

We found that a staggering 57% of inbound calls come from customers who first attempted to resolve their issue on the company’s website. And over 30% of callers are on the company’s website at the same time that they are talking to a rep on the phone. That’s a lot of frustrated customers.

For information on how M Squared consultants can fine-tune your customer strategies, please call 1-888-818-2505 or visit www.msquared.com

A recent article on CFO.com by Russ Banham about the balance of power between clients and consultants is enlightening.  It may lead some to consider alternatives to traditional big consultancy practices.

An excerpt follows:

Over the course of his finance career, Jeff Henderson, CFO of Cardinal Health Inc., has hired consulting firms to offer insight on strategy, outsourcing initiatives, expense-reduction tactics, and large IT projects. While he believes strongly that consultants are an important management resource, he, like many other finance chiefs, is wary of their downsides, from high cost to inferior advice. “I’ve learned the hard way,” he confides. “You can spend too much, not get the service you thought you were getting, and end up with the second-tier team [rather than] the ’stars’ you were told you’d get.”

Such complaints about consulting engagements are commonplace. As David Bean, vice president of finance at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company, sees it, “There is a tendency among consultants to get hired merely for the purpose of getting more work.” In CFO’s recent survey of 400 finance executives, the majority — 55% — said they were only somewhat confident that their consulting spending was producing an acceptable return on investment, while 16% said they were not confident or didn’t know: not exactly a stunning endorsement of the consulting universe.

But the situation may be about to improve. Thanks to a spate of mergers and acquisitions, along with the emergence of newly energized firms, a very different consulting industry is rising from the ashes of the recession, one in which competitive pressures are driving prices down for buyers.

In addition, new pricing structures, in which consultancies are willing to take it on the chin financially if their promises fail to materialize, are emerging. All told, prices for consulting services have dropped anywhere from 5% to 20% in the past year. “It’s a buyer’s market out there,” says Lynne Schneider, senior analyst at Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory.

To be sure, the U.S. consulting industry, remains a financial powerhouse. Last year, it generated $397 billion in revenue ($240 billion for IT consulting alone), according to Jenny Sutton, co-author of Extract Value from Consultants (Greenleaf Book Group, 2010). That’s a mere 2% decline from 2008, suggesting that, despite client misgivings, consulting remains virtually recession-proof. Sutton projects that total consulting revenue will resume an upward trend this year.

The industry tumult has several causes. For one, the Big Four accounting firms have returned to consulting with a vengeance now that Sarbanes-Oxley-related compliance work is drying up. In addition, a wave of megamergers has created more-comprehensive “soup-to-nuts” consultancies, particularly in IT. In the past 18 months, hardware providers Dell, Xerox, and Hewlett-Packard have acquired Perot Systems, ACS, and EDS, respectively. Now, “the acquirers are looking to leverage their existing distribution channels to sell more of everything, and they are more willing to cut their rates if asked” says Susan Tan, research director of IT services at Gartner.

Be Prepared
But this metamorphosis also poses a risk: in their rush to compete, consultancies may be more prone than ever to overpromise and underdeliver. “Clients hire a multiservice consulting firm to do strategy, and then are pressured to hire the same firm to implement that strategy even though this may not be its core expertise,” says Sutton. “Too many buyers end up using consultants in areas that are not their power alleys.”

Of course, clients also bear some responsibility for engagements that come unglued. One of their main peccadilloes, some experts say, is driving too hard a bargain. “We’ve seen buyers press the consulting firm to discount services so far that they ended up with the ‘B’ team on their projects,” Kennedy’s Schneider says, resulting in “bargain basement” advice.

Clients also suffer for not being well prepared. A “major trap,” says Sutton, is allowing the consultant to define the scope of the engagement. “It’s up to the buyer to know what problems it has to solve. And it should do that by spending more time upfront defining its needs,” she says.

To help your organization leverage the top-tier of the flexible workforce, visit www.msquared.com

Business is all about customers and selling. That’s why every manager and executive should be a salesperson once in his career. The skills and lessons are indispensible and difficult to learn any other way. 

Whether you manage engineers, marketing, operations, or customer service; you’re still a salesperson. You sell every day. You don’t just sell products and services; you sell your projects, budget, ideas, and capabilities. And your customers aren’t just the paying kind; they include everybody you interface with.

What Every Manager Should Learn From Sales 

Cloud computing is changing the business IT landscape through its ability to provide scalable computing resources without the traditional technology overhead. Now, the same characteristics powering this charge—virtualization, integration, and value-added management—are poised to alter the face of business consulting.  A new cloud consulting white paper highlights the parallels between cloud computing and cloud consulting, as pioneered by M Squared Consulting, and explains how the new model is an effective alternative to the expensive, cumbersome, and outdated traditional consulting model.

In a groundbreaking article released this week, M Squared Consulting launched the innovative concept of cloud consulting™, which could transform how organizations meet their consulting needs.  “Similar to how cloud computing has forever changed the face of IT, cloud consulting will soon become the norm for skills-based delivery,” said Marion McGovern, the white paper’s author and founder & CEO of M Squared Consulting.

So what defines the “cloud” in this new model? The definitions may be as varied as the clouds they describe but the key elements remain very consistent. A cloud is built on virtual resources that are integrated, managed, and available on demand. In general, a cloud provides:

• On-demand access to a full range of resources
• No overhead infrastructure costs
• Use-driven pricing
• Reliability
• Scalability
• Flexibility
• Geographic Independence

In addition to these elements, the cloud has a unique ability to accommodate shifting business demands. By its very nature, the cloud is changeable, adapting to meet the needs of the business. By staying in step with business changes, the cloud provides greater agility and a competitive edge.

The Cloud—Remaking the Face of Consulting

Cloud consulting, as pioneered by M Squared Consulting, applies these core cloud concepts to professional services by integrating and managing virtual human capital to deliver an on-demand, cost-effective, reliable, and scalable resource system. By reflecting how human capital and intelligence resources are really employed, the consulting cloud is able to support business processes and resource demands at a cost that more closely reflects their true utilization.

It is important to note that how resources are linked and delivered defines the cloud more so than the resources themselves. For instance, in cloud computing, the resources are more commodity-like. But in cloud consulting, the resources are more specialized. In each case, it is the virtualization, integration, and management of the resources that makes the cloud a “cloud.”

Clouds on the Horizon

Today’s economic climate has forced companies to find ways to operate more cost-effectively. With fiscal pressures showing no signs of retreat, these cost concerns will continue to grow in all areas of business. And, because of its cost efficiency, so will the cloud concept.

By applying the cloud principles of virtualization, integration, and managed oversight, cloud consulting can help companies make their human capital and consulting budgets work harder and more productively.

To view or download the new Cloud Consulting whitepaper, please visit http://www.msquared.com/home/m2/Whitepapers/cloudconsulting.pdf

Why is Keeping it Simple So Difficult?

When it comes to company leaders I have found that there are two typically types of executives that exist in every workplace – “Simplifiers” and “Complicaters.”

Simplifiers – seek simple and graceful solutions. They are those rare leaders who take the time to analyze a problem or opportunity, seeking first to understand all the variables, then to understand what the fundamental issue is. Once they’ve boiled the challenge down to its basic elements, then they are in a position to formulate an intelligent solution.

Complicaters – tend to react quickly and often over-engineer a solution. They rely on rigid processes, complex frameworks, and overly inclusive teams to design a solution that is usually viable, but also so bloated and complex that it has a greater chance of failure.

Unfortunately, it has been my experience that Complicaters vastly outnumber the Simplifiers in management ranks.

The uncomfortable truth is that complex design is far easier and takes much less planning than simple design. It encompasses what your user might want to do, rather than understanding exactly what your user needs. Simplicity, it seems, requires more thought, planning, research and vision.

To see the benefits of simplicity let’s take a look at Apple. One of Steve Jobs’ first actions when he returned to the company was to reduce the number of computers they sold, allowing customers to easily identify which machine was appropriate for them. Similarly, with the iPod, simple navigational design on both the player and the iTunes store played a crucial role in its success. Later, Apple used the same philosophy when designing the iPhone.

No company makes more coveted electronic gadgets, or has made it easier to purchase and consume digital content, than Apple. Of course Apple has entire teams it can dedicate to keeping things simple. We could all learn from their example.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you strive toward simplicity with your strategic planning:

Begin with a core set of needs – Above all, it’s critical to know your essential deliverables. What needs must be met and what features are essential to most directly meet those needs? Articulate an initial vision of your product or service with the bare essentials.

Always look to eliminate features - Spend as much time analyzing what you can eliminate from your product or service as you do analyzing what should be included. It takes very little thought to add features or service complexity, but the end result is usually a complicated mess. By constantly adding elements, you risk making the user experience more complex and less enjoyable.

Customers don’t always know best – This sounds crazy, but there is some truth to it. Customer interaction is essential to most successful products and services, but the questions you ask are crucial. Asking your customers what they need and what problems they are trying to solve is the key. Do not spend a lot of time asking for feature requests. When you validate your design, focus on whether it meets their need and not what they want to see. Unrestrained feature requests result in bloat – and will cripple your delivery team.

Have vision – It’s essential to be able to look at your offering as a whole and understand how it will ultimately be used. Vision based off of a deep understanding of market needs – not feature requests – revolutionizes industries. Feature driven development, for instance, would have resulted in an iPhone with a keyboard.

Know when to say no - Careful market analysis will teach you when not to pursue an idea. Look at your company as if you were a skeptical outsider as you decide upon new initiatives. Time and company resources are precious for every company.

Simplicity is a key ingredient to innovation. It comes from thought, experience, and expertise. Those three attributes (thought, experience, expertise) are great descriptors for the consultants M Squared Consulting deploys on client engagements. By having senior-level talent working on client challenges we are able to deliver graceful and impactful solutions.

I recently came across two interesting data points which provide some important clues to what the emerging, post-recession, marketplace for labor might look like.

These data points have extra significance because in recent weeks we’ve seen an increase in consulting opportunities across all our practice areas, and we’ve also begun to notice a tightening of the knowledge worker labor force.

You might ask, how can it be that we’re still hearing about the recession and unemployment almost every night in the news, yet you’re saying there is both business opportunity and a lack of talent in the market?!

Here’s my explanation.

First of all, unemployment statistics are a lagging indicator. The rate of unemployment in the market will peak long before the government agencies report it. A much more reliable indicator of labor market trends is Gross Domestic Product (GDP). When it grows, the labor market will grow.

Second, unemployment for those with a college degree or higher (i.e. the knowledge workers that M Squared Consulting depends on to deliver results for clients) remains at near historic lows. The reality is that many members of the knowledge workforce have delayed their retirement. Once we begin the post-recession economic cycle we will see an increasing number of Baby Boomers (the most educated and experienced component of the current labor marketplace) begin to retire from the workforce. I predict this dynamic will cause a renewed war for talent.

August 2009 ExecuNet Recruiter Confidence Poll

Executive hiring by healthcare companies is expected to set the pace for management recruitment across all industries now through the end of 2009, according to ExecuNet’s latest Recruiter Confidence Poll. The survey found that nearly 150 responding executive search consultants anticipate seeing the most executive hiring in the healthcare space, followed by the clean/green technology sector, energy/utilities, and the life sciences market, including companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical sectors. Senior management hiring in the publishing and media/advertising/entertainment industries is expected to be the weakest, extending a longstanding trend line.

“With the economy showing signs of stabilization, corporations are beginning to strategically upgrade their leadership teams and fill positions that were put on hold during the downturn,” says Mark Anderson, President and Chief Economist of ExecuNet. “In light of the deep cuts many companies made during the past eighteen months, the pace of job growth during the year ahead could be stronger than expected in many industries.”

In the poll a representative sample of executive recruiters are asked what industry they anticipate yielding the highest growth of management hiring in the next six months. Here are the top ten responses from the poll:

• Healthcare = 13.8%
• Clean/Green Technology = 10.6%
• Energy/Utilities = 9.1%
• Life Sciences (pharma, biotech, medical) = 8.4%
• Environmental Products and Services = 7.2%
• High Technology = 6.3%
• Tie-Business Services = 5.3%
• Tie-Government/Nonprofit = 5.3%
• Defense/Aerospace = 5.2%
• Financial Services = 5.1%

Source: ExecuNet Recruiter Confidence Poll 8/09

The Aging of the American Workforce - Pew Research Center

The aging of the American workforce has accelerated during this recession, both because older workers have stayed in the labor force longer and younger adults are staying out of it longer, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center.

One government estimate forecasts that 93 percent of the growth in the U.S. labor force through 2016 will be among individuals ages 55 and older.

By a ratio of nearly two-to-one, survey respondents said they would prefer a job that offers better security (59 percent) over one that offers higher pay (33 percent) but less stability.

Yet even in the face of widespread layoffs, pay freezes and involuntary furloughs, nine-in-ten employed adults say they are either completely (30 percent) or mostly (60 percent) satisfied with their job. In recent decades, the Pew study reports, levels of job satisfaction have tended to remain stable through good times and bad.

As it turns out, older workers are the happiest workers. Some 54 percent of workers ages 65 and older say they are “completely satisfied” with their job, compared with just 29 percent of younger workers. That’s because a much higher percentage of older workers is working not because they need to, but rather, because they want to.

Last Fall, as the economic reality of the financial crisis was just beginning to reach critical mass, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital sent its now infamous “R.I.P Good Times” presentation to all of its portfolio company CEO’s.

Many media outlets glommed onto this doom and gloom viewpoint because, as they often tend to do, that was the direction the rest of the herd was taking. Ironically, the overwhelming negativity of the message could well have exacerbated or prolonged the very downturn the venture capitalists were warning their companies to defend themselves against - creating a vicious, downward, self-fulfilling prophecy.

As business leaders we now find ourselves at an interesting inflection point. We seem to be at the crossroads of continuing down the cautionary path that the Great Recession has brought us (and that the VC’s at Sequoia encouraged us to take) or, as rising business and consumer sentiment might indicate, we could be witnessing the beginning of a recovery.

As with most trends in the United States (and around the globe for that matter) California seems to be at the epicenter. Just as the Silicon Valley led us into the last great economic downturn, the same region is now poised to lead us out of this one.

There is just one problem…hardly anyone is moving.

Silicon Valley business leaders were once renowned for their willingness and ability to bet big. This self confidence was infectious and was greatly enabled by the venture capital community. While the innovation and collaboration are still there, it seems as if all but a few progressive leaders are still waiting for an obvious clue, or signal from some higher being, before they “pull the trigger” on investing or launching new initiatives.

What to do?

Has this living, evolving, business organism been sufficiently pruned of its excess? Is it ready to grow again?

Right on cue, all the news outlets are starting to bubble with cautious, tentative, but sustained enthusiasm about the positive direction of the economy. A Wall Street Journal poll of economists recently reported that 57% now believe the recession is already over, while another 23% believe that the economy will turn in the next month or two.

So, while we can’t quite breathe easily, perhaps we can take a collective sigh of relief, and focus on the opportunities at hand.

While it used to be the case that American industry needed just a glimmer of hope to change the world, now it seems that we need more substantial proof to get going. I think the proof must come from the very businesses that are on the sidelines. They must make the decision to jump in.

One thing is certain: markets are cruel, unforgiving beings. If we don’t move, someone else surely will.

What are we waiting for?

Let’s pull the trigger and get going.

Are you ready?

No matter what business opportunities or challenges you’re facing, M Squared Consulting can help you keep critical initiatives on track. Across industries and corporate functional areas we deploy top-level experts who are completely focused on delivering bottom-line results to your organization. Organizations that are ready to get going again realize great value from our talent-on-demand business model.

Recent surveys are creating optimism and indicating that the worst of the “Great Recession” may finally be behind us.

The Conference Board, which issues some of the most watched economic indicators in the U.S., reported that consumer confidence jumped 14 percent between July and August. The Index, which hit a low of 26.9 in March, has more than doubled since then and now stands at 54.1. It’s still slightly below the 54.8 posted in May, but the rise was considerably greater than the 47.9 economists had expected.

Employers mirrored that confidence in a CareerBuilder / Robert Half survey that said 53 percent of businesses polled plan to hire full-time workers in 2010. The Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations Report prepared by the two companies found 40 percent of employers planning to hire temporary or contract workers and 39 percent expecting to hire part-time workers.

The report, which has been issued annually for the last five years, found that the positions first to be filled will be in technology, customer service, and sales. Also on the list are positions in marketing/creative, business development, human resources, and accounting/finance.

Most the hires will be either entry-level (say 28 percent of the hiring managers surveyed) or staff-level professionals (32 percent). The traits most valued in a new hire? - Employers cited multitasking, initiative, and creative problem-solving.

Companies are identifying the key skill sets they will need in new hires to take advantage of the opportunities presented by improving economic conditions. Firms that cut staffing levels too deeply may need to do significant rebuilding once the recovery takes hold.

Another positive sign which indicates recovery is that many employers are throttling back on layoffs, says outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“We see more and more signs that the economy is beginning to turn around. While it is too soon to expect a massive hiring binge that will move some of the nearly 20 million jobless Americans back onto payrolls, the pace of job cuts is likely to continue its downward trend,” said John A. Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

In January 241,749 job cuts were announced, the highest since January 2002, according to the firm, which has tracked planned layoff announcements daily since 1993. But the announced job cuts have been declining since.

The August numbers are still being counted, but the firm said it expects the four-month total from May through August to be significantly lower than the 711,100 it counted from January through April.

“Year-end job cuts are likely to increase from the levels recorded during the summer months, which typically see fewer job cuts, but we will probably not return to the levels reached between January and April,” says Challenger. “Job cuts are expected to continue the overall downward trend in 2010, when we might actually begin to see some small improvements in hiring.”

The Wall Street Journal reported this month in its Economic Forecasting Survey that economists expect, on average, the economy to lose just under 27,000 jobs a month next year. While not exactly a recovery, it’s a huge change from the 70,000 monthly job loss they predicted in July.

Is it too soon to say that the US economy is in full recovery? Yes, but that doesn’t mean these encouraging signs can be ignored either.

It would also be foolish to sit idly by and wait for irrefutable proof of the recovery, because history proves that will come well after the fact. One lesson that we can take from past downturns is that major business innovation is born in market turbulence.

The M Squared Consulting “talent-on-demand” business model has proven to be an enabler for those companies wanting to harness the expertise and power of seasoned professionals to deliver results. This recession will pass and business will pick up again without warning. Strategic organizations - those that have weathered the storm and embraced the resulting changes - will be ready to capitalize on the opportunities before them.

Are you ready? We’re here to help.

Alexander Green is a well known investment writer who recently wrote this remarkable article published in Spiritual Wealth:

Dear Reader,

Whether you realize it or not, one indispensable quality affects every relationship in your life. It holds together all your associations. It determines whether you realize your dreams, both personal and professional.

And it virtually defines you to others. Without it, true success is impossible.

Stephen M.R. Covey is even more emphatic. He writes “There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world - one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.

On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. Yet, it is the least understood, most neglected, and most underestimated possibility of our time.

That one thing is trust.

Simply put, trust is confidence in an individual or organization. It is other people feeling good about relying on you. And its value can hardly be overstated. Trustworthiness is the universally accepted test of good character.

When you trust someone, you have confidence in his or her honesty and abilities. You can delegate things easily and effectively. You can relax. You have peace of mind. But when you doubt someone’s integrity, question his accomplishments, or worry about his agenda, confidence is replaced by suspicion and anxiety.

Take a moment and picture someone you trust implicitly. It could be a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a business associate. How does this relationship make you feel? How easily do you communicate? How quickly do things get done?

Now imagine someone you distrust. How does this relationship feel? How easily do you communicate? Do you enjoy this relationship… or is it complicated, cumbersome and draining? The difference between a high-trust and low-trust relationship is night and day. In a high-trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing and your listener still understands you. In a low-trust relationship, you can choose your words carefully, be very precise, and you may still be misunderstood.

Sadly, trust is at an ebb in our society. A Harris poll reveals that only 27% of Americans trust the government, only 22% trust the media, only 12% trust big companies, and only 8% trust political parties.

Personal trust is waning, too. Many people nowadays look back on contracts or commitments as something to negotiate. Half of all marriages end in divorce. Many (perhaps most) of them founder on a lack of trust.

Each of us naturally gravitates away from individuals we can’t believe or rely on and towards those we can. Low trust is the very definition of a bad relationship. And once you forfeit someone’s confidence, it’s awfully hard to win it back.

This is particularly true in business.

We all survive by selling a product, service or skill. Yet every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.

If trust is lacking, forget the other four. You’re done. The moment someone suspects your motives, everything you do becomes tainted.

That’s why successful companies make a priority of building and maintaining confidence. John Whitney, a Professor Emeritus of Management at Columbia Business School, estimates that mistrust doubles the cost of doing business.

You may have the best product, great service, competitive pricing, mountains of supporting facts and figures and testimonials galore. But if you don’t command and deserve trust, you will not enjoy long-term success.

It is never enough to simply invite trust. It must be earned.

In personal relationships, that means handling responsibility, proving your credibility, allowing yourself to be relied upon again and again. It’s not just about integrity. It’s about looking out for the other person’s interests as well as your own.

Employers build trust with employees by assigning them important responsibilities, giving them the freedom to make mistakes, and setting an example. Real leadership is about getting results in ways that inspire confidence.

In a world that changes as quickly as ours, trust is a critical factor. It is the vital currency. Business consultant Tom Peters calls trust “the issue of the decade.” Trust makes work easier and more productive. It makes relationships stable and predictable. It creates a sense of community. That’s why it’s crucial that we not violate it. Trust can take years to build but only a moment to destroy. And you may not even get an opportunity to try to restore it.

For each of us - and for every organization - trust is something to be built up, protected, valued, cherished, and carefully preserved.

It is the one thing that changes everything.

Carpe Diem,

-Alexander Green

This article is very powerful, and I also believe it is a great illustration of why M Squared Consulting has enjoyed 21 years of success in the market. Our clients trust us to help them with their business challenges. They are seeking honest answers to their problems; solutions that are not biased nor hindered by proprietary frameworks or methodologies. Our objective is always to deliver the best solution for each unique client situation. By providing our unique blend of talent-on-demand we deliver results, quickly and cost-effectively. This is why clients view us as trusted business advisors, who always have their best interests in mind. Through their success, we realize our own.

While we are in the midst of a recession it might seem inappropriate to bring up the war for talent. But the market reality is this: even with overall unemployment rising, employers are still challenged to find the talent they need.

As many companies are discovering, while this labor market might be flooded with job seekers, that doesn’t necessarily mean they have the needed talent. In particular, companies can’t always find people with the exact skills and experience they need, when and where they need them. Today, it’s also not uncommon to hear executives express frustration about under-skilled, inexperienced, unproductive, and even unreliable employees who will quickly jump ship for another opportunity.

As you might expect from the generation that has had such a significant impact on our society throughout their lives, the Baby Boomers will also dominate this talent market discussion for the next decade.

How can this be? Aren’t the Boomers supposed to be retiring?

Well, let’s start with the fact that they are the single largest component of the U.S. workforce, so their effect is huge. Then, layer in the fact that with the economic downturn many leading-edge Boomers who under normal circumstances might now be retired (or nearing so) must continue working in order to replenish their battered retirement savings. Finally, we must recognize that the next generation (Gen X) is half the size of the Boomers and quite simply has not had enough time in the workforce to build up the same level of knowledge and experience.

The New War for Talent

Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, which means that today they are somewhere between the ages of 44 and 63. Many worked their way up the corporate ladder - they are happy to continue working in their area of expertise, where their wisdom and experience are valued. Others are choosing to embark on second, or “boomerang” careers.

The fact is, with their decimated retirement accounts many boomers can’t afford to retire. Others recognize that in addition to the monetary rewards they receive there are many psychic rewards from their careers, so they have no plans to ever retire.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that by 2010, more than 51% of the workforce is expected to be 40 or older, a 33% increase since 1980. The number of workers aged 55 and older will grow from 13% of the labor force in 2000 to 20% in 2020.

All of this is good news for employers because most companies are operating much leaner than ever before, and they need to cost-effectively find the most experienced, skilled people they can in order to achieve their objectives.

How to Leverage the Boomers

Now is the perfect time for organizations to assess their workforce. Strategic business owners and executives should evaluate their workforce demographics and the key positions within their organizations in order to identify current and projected talent gaps. It’s also time to develop programs that will strengthen knowledge retention and sharing throughout the company in preparation for the inevitable “brain-drain” that will occur when the Boomers exit the workforce.

How can employers retain the key knowledge and information that is resident in their workforce?

First, they must recognize who has the knowledge. If they want to hold onto Boomers they must adapt to their needs. Many forward thinking organizations are developing policies and programs geared towards recruiting, retaining, and training older workers. Key options that will help attract and retain these mature workers include flexible work arrangements (such as adjustable schedules and job sharing) and should also part-time or contingent employment options. Fortunately these types of work arrangements require lots of self-discipline and maturity, which the Boomers have in abundance!

Next, companies should institute mentoring programs to help train the next generation of knowledge workers and business leaders. Companies concerned about retaining institutional knowledge can’t afford to have their older employees walk out the door with a career worth of expertise and experience.

Finally, employers must have an honest dialogue with their seasoned team members to help them plan for the next phase of their careers. Companies that demonstrate loyalty towards their older employees by offering flexible employment options, will be rewarded with loyalty in return.

Conclusion - Experience Counts

Because of their proven talent, Baby Boomers will be in high demand for the balance of this decade and beyond. They add value not only to employers’ bottom lines but also to the long-term health of our workforce and our economy.

It is a phenomenon we see every day at M Squared Consulting. When clients want experienced business professionals, those seasoned experts who have translated their knowledge and insight into consulting expertise, they call us. Our talent-on-demand business model is an enabler for companies who need seasoned experts, focused on delivering results. We also enable seasoned experts, who no longer want a full-time role, to bring their expertise to market as consultants.

In the final analysis this whole discussion can be distilled down to two words: Experience counts!