Last week’s 2010 Staffing Industry Analysts Executive Forum in Las Vegas gathered more than 500 senior executives from the staffing industry for three days of learning and networking.  The conference, the 19^th annual, had a theme of “The Upside of the Downturn…Thriving in a Brave New Staffing World.”  Representatives from many “brand name” companies (Manpower, Allegis, Spherion, and others) were in attendance, in addition to hundreds of others from up-and-coming enterprises.

In reviewing the state of the staffing industry, new SIA president and chief analyst Barry Asin struck a cautiously optimistic tone in his opening keynote address:

·         U.S. staffing revenue was down 26% in 2009, but is expected to grow 5% in 2010

·         The Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI)’s leading index indicates growth

·         Unemployment claims were down in February

·         Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Temp employment heading higher

While his talk was optimistic, he tempered his remarks in light of the ongoing challenges many companies face, including continuing pressure on margins, market consolidation, and the vagaries of an unsettled economy.  Among the keys to achieving success, Asin says, are critically assessing the markets you compete in and refining your positioning (find a defensible niche).

Geoff Colvin, author and senior editor of Fortune Magazine give a fascinating address entitled, “The Upside of the Downturn: Ten Management Strategies to Prevail in the Recession and Thrive in the Aftermath.”  As the economy recovers, the business world we’re entering won’t be anything like the pre-recession world.  What is the new normal?  What are your most valuable assets?  Dramatic changes aren’t necessarily dangers – they’re typically opportunities for companies and leaders that respond fastest and smartest.

Among his recommendations on how to ensure that your business moves from recession to recovery:

·         Evaluate employees better.  In good times it’s easy for employees to look like stars, so evaluations tend to be less rigorous.  In tough times it’s much easier to distinguish the true stars from the third-stringers.

·         Set new priorities to confront new realities.  Example:  Government is taking a larger role in the life of every business.  The global economy is becoming less U.S.-centric.  What are the ramifications for your business?

·         Find new solutions to new problems; don’t just discount prices on current inventory.  Develop a creative culture that looks for needs customers didn’t know they had.

·         Re-examine your business model.  What is your essence?  The core?  What is the one thing you’d never cut?  Also, what is the profile of your customer base, and has it changed with the recession?  Take a look at your industry – has it changed fundamentally, or just been thrown off a bit?

·         Grow yourself.  Expand beyond your previous limits.  Be seen early and often.  Act fast.  And show fearlessness; employees want their leaders to demonstrate that they’re not afraid.  In business that means facing bad news head-on without cringing.

Separately, the SIA conference breakout sessions were also worthwhile, with each finishing with a list of actionable takeaways.  Overall, the 2010 Staffing Industry Analysts Executive Forum was a worthwhile event that provided a good snapshot of the development of the industry.

For more about how to intelligently use the high-end of the flexible workforce, visit www.msquared.com or call us at 888-818-2505.

In this economy, many people are in transition and looking to reinvent themselves.  Many can take heed of the lessons from author and New York real estate legend Barbara Corcoran.  Corcoran offers 10 rules for a career reinvention she discovered the hard way and by knowing herself:

1. There’s no such thing as part time: “If I was going to succeed I knew I had to work 40-60 hours a week with that fire in the belly.”

2. You can’t change your wiring: When Corcoran’s copy machine broke down, she hired someone to fix it, instead of attempting to do it herself. She had to treat herself as a business leader and not get bogged down in tasks she hated. So she spent money hiring someone, and spending money is something she loves to do and is good at.

3. Good things come out of insecurities: Corcoran’s “D-student” past only fuels her to work harder.

4. Girlie traits that once worked for you when you were younger can’t be relied on anymore: The charm she counted on when she was younger, especially when working with men, changed. She couldn’t play naive anymore — she wasn’t. “The intuitive stuff got in the way,” she said. So she presented herself as a realist, someone who takes their passion seriously.

5. The greater the success in a previous career the bigger the insult when you’re not taken seriously: Producers only called her back to get real estate advice.

6. Reinvent yourself in stages: “You have to reinvent yourself in chunks, little chunks, even if you like a nice neat picture.”

7. Contacts in your old field are totally useless: “Once you leave your business you’re old news.” Yes you have to start all over in making contacts — don’t forget the “thank you” follow-up e-mails.

8. In building new contacts, focus on young people: They’re the ones who are moving up, becoming the bosses.

9. Have a sense of belonging in online social networking: She missed her community at work the most but found a source of encouragement online. “Tweeting gives you a quick sense of belonging — an opportunity to build a community with people…It’s not a substitute but it’s nice,” Corcoran says of watching her Twitter followers grow and respond positively to her attempts to “make it” again.

10. Talents in your old business are useless in the new one: It’s a whole new jungle.

If you are a seasoned professional looking to reinvent yourself, consider joining the industry’s premier network of consulting professionals by visiting https://consultants.msquared.com/cfdocs/msquared/consultantlogin.cfm

A recent article highlighted four key developments that are being watched by demographers and employers alike, particularly as the economy starts to improve.   These dynamics will likely shape the growth of the flexible workforce in the next 10 years.  M Squared Consulting is tracking these trends and helping clients attain market leadership through the intelligent use of the high-end flexible workforce.

The shifts include:

1. Womenomics The book Womenomics talks about the fact that women are demanding more flexibility in their work. The authors argue that women have more power than ever to demand control over their schedules because companies that have proportionately more woman managers are also more profitable. Women want to work but gone are the days of 60-hour work weeks in the office, scrambling to find childcare and skipping the leisure time. The book offers many examples of how woman are leading this economy, and to stay competitive and profitable companies will need to offer women the flexibility they require.

    

2. Big Company AdoptionROWE stands for “results-only work environment” and is Best Buy’s workshifting program that says employees can work wherever they want, whenever they want, as long as they get their work done. An article in BusinessWeek does a great job of highlighting other results from ROWE-type initiatives.IBM has about 40% of their workforce with no official corporate office, and Sun Microsystems Inc. estimates that they saved $400 million over six years in real estate costs by letting employees work from anywhere. The biggest driver for these large organizations is usually the facilities cost when they don’t have to dedicate corporate space to each individual employee. But after implementing flexible working arrangements, companies soon also realize the benefit of higher employee job satisfaction.

   ROWE programs not only reduce costs but make for a more productive organization.

    

    

3. Gen Y Whatever you choose to call the newest generation (Gen Y, Millenials, Screenagers, etc.), they all grew up with the Internet. They’re more comfortable with technology and less accepting of corporate norms like 9-5 or suit and ties. Gen Y has been struggling at the hands of this economy but with the coming turnaround companies will have to employ flexible working arrangements in order to acquire and motivate this growing segment of the workforce.

    

4. Social Media The power and growth of social media over the last couple of years is astounding. The fact that so many of us are going to the Web to communicate and do business makes executives question traditional ways of doing business. We trust Wikipedia for information and use social media sites like Twitter to communicate as part of our jobs. This trend is only increasing and clearly demonstrates the acceptance of social media as a business communication tool.

    

As the workplace changes, savvy companies will continue to look to M Squared Consulting – and to the experts in its premier consulting network – for the strategies, programs, and human resources that will help them engage employees productively for years to come.

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.

It should come as no surprise that many “older” workers are delaying their exit from the workforce. The recession has ravaged most retirement accounts, a fact that is most damaging for those nearest to retirement: the Baby Boomers.

A recent poll by Watson Wyatt, a global HR consulting firm, finds that 44 percent of those aged 50 and over plan to delay their retirement, compared with only 25 percent of those under 40. Although the average planned retirement age for all employees is 65 years old, half of those aged 50 or more plan to retire at age 66 or later.

“The economic crisis has affected many worker’s retirement plans and nest eggs, but those nearest to retirement have been especially hard hit,” says David Speier, senior retirement consultant at Watson Wyatt. “Older workers do not have the time to offset declining retirement account values. For many, the only choice is to delay retirement.”

Three-quarters (76 percent) of older workers (aged 50 to 64) cited the decline in the value of their 401(k) accounts as the most important reason why they are planning to postpone their retirement, followed by the high cost of healthcare (63 percent) and higher prices for basic necessities (62 percent).

Experience Counts

This phenomenon is a double-edged sword for employers…

It will be good news for many of the companies who in recent years have acknowledged they are unprepared to facilitate the transfer of key business knowledge to a new generation of knowledge workers. They now have more time to document critical knowledge and processes, and train the next generation. The downside is that companies will be saddled with inflated benefit costs and subsequent hiring issues once the Boomers do begin their inevitable retirement and the War for Talent again comes to the forefront.

A significant positive factor for employers is that this older talent pool has a wealth of qualities that only come from age (and the resulting workforce experience!) This wisdom is priceless as organizations continue to navigate in these uncharted economic waters and searching for the path out. There is much to learn from experienced business leaders who have confronted many economic, market, and organizational challenges in their careers.

A major part of the value proposition behind M Squared Consulting is that we deploy seasoned experts on our client engagements. These project professionals have years of industry and functional experience that they bring to each client project. Clients benefit from this consulting experience and industry knowledge as our consultants drive results on their critical business issues.

The most common phrasing of the Golden Rule is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I recently heard a sarcastic alternative definition: “He who has the gold gets to make the rules.”

While there are obvious problems with this viewpoint, it does offer an interesting perspective when we apply it to the knowledge workforce.

Many experts believe that the war for talent will heat up as we approach the bottom of the recession and begin a period of recovery and growth.

In a similar vein to the “alternative” Golden Rule above, we could postulate a Talent Golden Rule: “Those who have the talent will win.”

What do I mean by this?

Business success is no longer just about capital and natural resources, but rather about brainpower and the ability to execute. Quite simply, knowledge and expertise are the new coin of the realm.

This means that knowledge workers, and the skills, insights, experience, they bring to bear on problems are highly sought after assets. And it also means that those organizations who can attract and retain this talent will win in the marketplace.

This dynamic will become even more important as we emerge from the recession. In past economic downturns it was normal to focus on financials rather than employees. The logic was that when unemployment rose and the markets sank it was a buyer’s market for talent. Employee engagement, talent management and other employee concerns took a back seat to cost and risk management.

Most business executives now recognize the risks involved with this antiquated view of talent. They understand that a time of economic turmoil is precisely when they have the most to gain from focusing on employees. If employees are distracted, anxious, disengaged or believe they’ve stalled in their careers (especially top performers), they aren’t likely to do what’s required to keep the enterprise moving forward or deal with problems.

Unfortunately, there is still a large chasm between recognizing this issue and actually doing something about it. In a negative business climate when company leaders face an unprecedented number of challenges, talent management can drop far down the list of priorities, despite the best of intentions.

So with this talent-centric thought in mind, what are some strategies companies can consider to optimize their workforce and come out ahead when the war for talent heats up?

A few suggestions that will benefit both the organization and the workforce:

1. Lead by example: Business leaders need to present a thoughtful, calm and genuine “public face” to their people in a period of crisis. It’s the right time for straight talk, reassurance, empathy, and a clear vision and plan to move forward. Those companies which emerge from a crisis most successfully are inevitably those that commit to frequent, open, and honest communications with employees and their other constituents.
2. Think creatively about employees: The most common reaction to an economic downturn is to control costs tightly. But even if companywide staffing reductions meet cost cutting targets, they are rarely the best answer. A better solution is to carefully consider how you can deploy employees in creative and more productive ways to help reduce costs or increase revenues. For example, are your best performers doing the highest-value work? Can underutilized workers move to other areas of the organization? By looking at new ways to align the workforce with both short-term opportunities for efficiency and long-term strategies for growth, companies may be able to minimize staff cuts.
3. Take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade talent: With widespread layoffs the available pool of talented professionals is growing. This will be a short-term phenomenon, so smart companies will see this as a time to add new skill sets or increase bench strength. For example, the deep cuts at financial services firms represents a unique opportunity to pluck out talent from an unusually wide and deep pool.
4. Stay close to key talent: In the current environment it’s more crucial than ever to keep vital staff engaged, motivated, and productive. The good news, especially given budgetary pressures, is that pay itself has little to do with fostering engagement. Research consistently shows that engagement builds from emotional connections to the company and the nature of the work experience and environment. While it doesn’t require a big financial expenditure, it does involve a significant investment of time and attention, especially from senior leadership.
5. Embrace the flexible workforce: Increasingly companies have begun to identify the need for flexibility in all Human Capital expenditures, including professional and management talent. A flexible workforce strategy can accommodate volume fluctuations while maintaining a leaner permanent professional staff. Companies that embrace “lean” methodologies recognize the value and cost savings of adding management staff in increments as needed versus FTE. Instead of staffing for the peak, firms can now staff for average levels and use the flexible workforce to satisfy peak, special, or “one-off” needs. Companies are also able to match their special talent requirements with specialized resources.

By deploying independent experts, such as the consultants found in the M Squared Talent Network, companies can get work done in tough times without adding to their fixed cost headcount base. These seasoned knowledge workers are savvy business professionals who have extensive experience delivering results for their clients.

Flexibility, cost-control, and results will be the three primary corporate drivers for the growing flexible workforce. Executive teams need to take a holistic view of their total workforce. New talent deployment models and solution providers like M Squared Consulting are emerging that leverage the flexible workforce to deliver exceptional client value.

Although the recession has likely delayed some of their retirement plans, there is no question that at some point in the future the Baby Boomers will retire. A number of experts are predicting that after they’ve retired from the workforce many will be looking to return for what’s now being called an “encore” career.

For the World War II generation (demographers often call them the “Traditionalists”) retirement was the happy end and the reward for a long working life. For the Baby Boomers, who have redefined pretty much everything in their lives, retirement may just be a transition to an all-new encore career or “a new stage of work after a midlife career,” says Phyllis Segal, vice president of Civic Ventures, a nonprofit focused on redefining the second half of life.

The recession, which has battered everyone’s retirement savings, has had a severe effect on those already out of the workforce. Many newly retired Boomers are now in the uncomfortable position of having to revisit their retirement plans and consider how to replenish their portfolios.

An obvious solution is to seek employment. An increasingly popular choice is to re-enter the workforce as a contingent worker. The growing acceptance and wisdom of the flexible workforce will be an enabler for encore careers.

Between 5.3 million and 8.4 million people ages 44 to 70 already are involved in encore careers, according to a new survey by Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation, a philanthropic arm of the insurance giant. A total of 3,585 people were interviewed by research firm Peter D. Hart Research Associates. Half of those in the survey who don’t have encore careers would like to pursue them. Yet they face a number of obstacles.

“The older workers and retirees I study would like to do something meaningful or just make connections with people,” says Phyllis Moen, the Endowed McKnight Presidential Chair in sociology at the University of Minnesota. “They can’t find flexible jobs, though, and they don’t want to work full time anymore. They don’t see the kinds of situations they want.”

Moen says retirees with non-disabling but chronic health problems want to work as much as those who are in good health. They also need flexibility so they can manage their health concerns, but can’t find it.

Most people already in encore careers, however, report sufficient flexibility, even among the 59 percent of survey respondents working 40-plus hours a week. Of those, 73 percent have the flexibility they desire, and 85 percent have enough time outside of work to pursue their interests.

“Flexibility is not just about the number of hours you work but about having control over your time,” Segal says. “The type of work you do and the organization you work in can increase that control, even if you’re working full time.”

Not many people today can sustain themselves on retirement income and Social Security. Segal also shared that, “Employers need good, experienced, passionate candidates. People in encore careers are a potential talent pool with ability, commitment and a passion to do the work.”

Laws that constrain post-retirement employment and corporate policies mandating traditional work schedules also pose obstacles to encore careers, but Segal thinks the necessary changes can be made.

For encore careers, “We need to help social sector employers, nonprofits, government and others become aware, create pathways and training programs for individuals and help individuals find ways to hook up with employers.”

Such pathways are being built. The federal Partnership for Public Service, aimed at bringing talent into government, makes a point of recruiting 50-year-old-plus workers. Several states, including Arizona, Maryland and California, are setting up offices and task forces to recruit older adults to fill vacant jobs and help their communities.

Two bills have been proposed that could help. The Incentives for Older Workers Act, introduced by Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, Gordon Smith, R-Oregon, and Kent Conrad, D-North Dakota, would remove barriers to phased retirement and help people return to work after their midlife careers have ended. For those who postpone receiving Social Security, the act would extend the retirement-delay credit from age 70 to 72.

In this far-reaching discussion there is one certainty: those nonprofits, government agencies, and for-profit businesses who figure out how to find and retain Baby Boomers coming out of retirement will be at a significant advantage when the war for talent heats up. These strategic organizations will greatly benefit from the knowledge and experience which the Baby Boomers can bring back into the workplace.

At M Squared Consulting our mission is to help clients solve critical business problems. Typically this involves getting clarity around the problem, defining a project, and then identifying the expert from our Consultant Network who can deliver the expected results. The M Squared Consultant Network, and the value we can deliver to clients, will likely grow as many Baby Boomers elect to re-enter the workforce as project-based professionals.

Although it is not a perfect proxy I believe there is a high correlation between executive search forecasts and the demand for consultants. Essentially they are both measuring the need for highly skilled, executive level talent to do defined work.

ExecuNet recently published its periodic Recruiter Confidence Poll which indicated employers are emphasizing business development and sales roles that can push organizational performance in this challenging economy. Executive recruiters believe that leaders with proven business development and sales experience and a track record of consistently high results will be most in demand in the executive employment market over the next six months.

Here are the areas where recruiters see the greatest growth in executive hiring in the next six months:

• Business development (17.3%)
• Sales (15.0%)
• Engineering (10.4%)
• Operations management - including supply chain, logistics, quality (8.7%)
• Marketing (8.7%)
• Consulting (8.2%)
• Finance (7.9%)
• Research and development (7.7%)

Our experience at M Squared Consulting is that full-time hiring trends tend to mirror demand for interim and consulting professionals. A quick census of the M Squared Talent Network offers reassurance that we can meet client demand for this expertise.

Despite the economic turmoil impacting every industry today, the business reality is that work must still get done. The recession, corporate downsizings, and cost-control measures have not resulted in equivalent decreases of work within most organizations. In fact, many of the employees left in organizations today are tasked with the double-edged sword of “doing more, with less.” Forward-looking companies who find themselves resource-constrained are frequently choosing to bring in project professionals who can quickly and cost-effectively deliver results so that their corporate staff can focus on day-to-day responsibilities.

In military strategy there is a concept called Force Multiplication. It refers to a combination of attributes or advantages which make a given force more effective than another force of comparable size. Thus, a “force multiplier” is that factor which dramatically increases the effectiveness of the group.

In a number of recent media interviews we’ve made the point that M Squared Consulting fits perfectly into the middle of the complex equation of today’s business environment and often is a force multiplier for its clients. Here’s how:

Whether you need an individual consultant, a project team, or an experienced interim executive M Squared Consulting deploys experienced project professionals who can supplement your internal team. We deliver:

Value

The cost effectiveness and flexibility offered by our leveraged consulting model (where we tap into our proprietary Consultant Network of independent consultants on a project-by-project basis, as opposed to the traditional consulting model which has an expensive and underutilized bench of consultants), combined with targeted industry expertise and experience, allows us to add value on client engagements from day one.

Flexibility

M Squared Consulting is a talent-on-demand consulting resource for all your critical projects and initiatives. We deliver targeted expertise, when and where clients need it, for only as long as it is required. In effect, we help companies to confront the challenges and opportunities in their business and then help them immediately take positive action towards resolving them.

Proven Process

Before every engagement we work with the client to develop an accurate problem definition and project scope. Then we select the best talent, with the right cultural fit to be successful in your company. Our consultants deliver custom solutions, with a neutral and objective approach and recommendations. At the end of every engagement we measure both client and consultant satisfaction, and we make sure there is complete documentation and knowledge transfer.

Results

Our clients gain the confidence that their projects will be done right, the first time, by an expert who has done similar work before. M Squared Consulting can be called a management insurance policy - with our active engagement management we can ensure the project professionals working on client projects deliver the results they expect. M Squared Consulting empowers clients to extend their leadership teams reach and effectiveness. Our 20 year track record of success speaks for itself.

Smart organizations are making investments today that will continue to yield positive benefits in the future. Strategic initiatives, especially those which hold the promise of increasing revenue or reducing costs, are a top priority. As the U.S. economy continues to seek its path to recovery M Squared consultants are being brought in by company leaders to help assess situations, develop possible solutions, and execute plans. These flexible project resources allow management to stay focused, be nimble and quickly execute on mission-critical projects without distraction to the core business. M Squared consultants act as a force multiplier, enabling the client organization to accomplish much more.