Archives for December 2020

Despite the the arrival of vaccines on the Covid-19 battlefields, we face many more months of segregation.

In the corporate world, it is the human resources professionals, specialized in issues of organizational behavior and emotional well-being, who play an increasingly important role, both in managing a remote work culture of the company and in labor productivity.

For companies of all latitudes and from different industries, the interruption of operations in their physical facilities can be inevitable. It will be only those that can handle the disruption that will be well positioned to overcome the outbreak and also to face future crises

The following measures have helped ensure that employees have the tools and technical support they need to perform productively and maintain a good connection when working remotely.

1. Prioritize health and wellness above all else.

As COVID-19 spreads the highest priority of every organization must be to protect the health of its talent, customers, suppliers and collaborators.

While sending employees to work under the protection of their homes keeps a large segment of the working population safe, how do you maintain a remote work  culture?  And what about those who cannot perform their duties remotely? Some organizations have taken the step to  quarantine the operations of fundamental areas that must remain in operation.  This means conditioning physical spaces where these employees can carry out their work without coming into contact with other people.

2. Build the right infrastructure for remote work.

A virtual workplace shares many of the elements that exist in a physical space: places arranged for collaboration, the exchange of ideas and the execution of work. However, it can take a titanic effort to ensure that each employee has the minimum technology to be effective in that virtual environment: laptops , a virtual private network (VPN), a virtual platform for file sharing, access to specialized software, a telephone. cellular and preferably high speed wifi.

In addition to this basic infrastructure, organizations must provide access to the appropriate collaboration and communication tools to work remotely. Designing new workplaces is almost like designing “neighborhoods” so that people in their work teams feel close to each other.

It may be helpful to assign a manager responsible for monitoring the remote collaboration virtual space or a technical support team to support staff in their transition.

3. Combat lack of productivity / commitment with virtual culture initiatives.

In this new reality when even coffee shops and bars may still be closed, working from home with little in-person interaction, even for a few days, can make some people feel lonely and this can help lower productivity and commitment.

In this situation, organizations must take a proactive stance to combat its impact, taking steps to ensure that employees still feel connected, even if they are not. Virtual chats, “Happy Hours”, book clubs, games and avatar-based socialization can go a long way toward achieving that goal. They may not be the perfect substitute for meeting rooms, coffee shops, and social events, but they offer a good office experience and bring a much-needed “sense of community”.

When thinking of ways to reinforce organizational culture, recognize the variety of challenges that employees will face during social distancing from COVID-19. A single, outgoing employee who works alone outside his or her department may feel profoundly lonely.  Others  might feel  pressure to care for their young children or elderly parents, while still having to closely monitor their virtual classes.

The desire to participate in virtual cultural events will differ, but all employees can benefit from regular phone or video calls with their direct teams on work-related matters.

4. Explore alternative work sites.

In some cases, employees will not be able to enter the office, but working from home is not an option either.

That is why some organizations are evaluating alternative workspaces such as sanitized coworking centers . In this option, it is important to know who else has access to those facilities. We can expect more organizations to recognize the value a network of alternative workspaces where employees can continue their duties and be productive during emergency situations

5. Managing communication is vitally important.

Maintaining clear communication is essential to provide transparency during this time of great change. Establish communication protocols and guidelines to inform employees and suppliers of your action plans in the event of infectious disease outbreaks. An intranet could provide access to whatever information employees are looking for on policies and updates on COVID-19 at work.

Recognize that employees will be very concerned about the impact this situation will have on their workday, and about the long-term implications for the economy and their job. It is advisable to communicate with them on a regular basis to report on the impacts of the pandemic on their business and expectations regarding their performance during this period.

How will the way of working for COVID-19 change?

It is impossible to predict the long-term implications of the sudden and massive shift to remote work that we are currently experiencing, but it is possible to predict some outcomes.

One of them is that employees and business leaders will open their eyes to the value that can be activated when each individual has the freedom to work where and when it makes the most sense. That can happen from home at least some of the time.

Yet we are just as likely to end this period wishing for the much-missed, face-to-face interaction, and with a better understanding of how physical space influences the way we all feel and work.

[This article first appeared in the La Nacion, Costa Rica]

 

 

 

Thanks to COVID-19, every member of the G7 is in a deep recession, from Japan’s 7.6% contraction to Britain’s 20.7%. China, the first country that reported an outbreak last January, is already back to growth. China may be the only major country to end 2020 with a growing economy.

China owes its spectacular economic turnaround to many things, among them timing and culture. The government moved quickly and decisively. Most of the hardest-hit nations did not implement face-covering requirements and strict quarantines until much later in the early summer.

Cornerstone has six of its 56 member offices in China. As many populations approach a traditionally festive time under severe duress, we looked for support from colleagues much closer to the finish line.

According to Simon Wan, the Chairman of Cornerstone International Group who is stationed in Shanghai, Chinese culture played a major role in speeding the recovery.

“The Chinese by nature are more likely to trust government instructions,” he says. ”I expect we were among the most compliant populations when it comes to masking and social distancing.

“We are also a nation of savers. That gave most of the population a buffer when the pay-cheques stopped. I don’t think our people were as stressed as highly as others during the recessionary period.”

Executive Search is Cornerstone’s primary business and the state of the industry in China is a likely guide to expectations elsewhere. China has two market segments.

The first, and longest established, is made up of subsidiaries of offshore companies around the globe. This sector is static, reflecting conditions in the home office regions.

The second is comprised of China-based enterprises. This group has been on a rebound since May.

Graphic forecasts of economic recovery over this year and next have taken many shapes. Early expectations of a “V” recovery have been discredited and even stretching it into a “U” is questioned. Based on the experience of our colleagues in China, a more likely choice would be an “L”.

That would represent the abrupt drop caused by the pandemic, followed by a lengthy period bumping along at a much lower level.

With the arrival of several vaccines in the next 2-3 months, maybe medical science will succeed where human behavior fell short and we might all get back to a relative normal before the end of 2021.

Why should you coach a Leader?

By the time an executive gets into the top chair he or she has been through a lot and learned a lot. Or, if they have been recruited into the job, their credentials have been microscopically reviewed and evaluated. So, why would you need to coach a leader?

Leadership coaching has exploded as a line of business in recent years. Forbes places it as a $366 billion industry. The reasons are not hard to find.  Notwithstanding the highly developed skills of a leader, the ground is continually shifting. Technology and the speed of business has made five-year plans obsolete and new, or modulated, leadership skills are constantly required.

In a recent study of Fortune 1000 companies, 48% of leaders that underwent coaching exhibited an increase in work quality, leading to higher engagement and productivity.

Here at Cornerstone International Group, we have over 100 professional coaches around the world, most specialized in executive coaching. As a separate initiative, we will shortly be launching the Cornerstone Leadership Academy which will address the impact of Industry 4.0 on the executive leadership function.

So, back to why? The Fortune 1000 study mentioned above offers five key benefits of leadership coaching:

The 5 Reasons for Coaching a Leader

1. Empowerment

Leadership coaching uncovers hidden strengths and weaknesses in the leader. The coach establishes a reflective process which encourages the leader to appreciate what they have accomplished and recognize what still needs to be done.

2. Insight

The leader gains new insight. In a setback, the coach will push to expose deeper issues by analyzing the problem and identifying plans for similar situations in the future.

3. Thought association

Coaching will make a narrow-minded leader open thought patterns and consider a wider range of views. Flexible leadership today is considered a business necessity.

4. Performance

Directing coaching to problem areas changes attitudes and abilities and teaches new leadership techniques. It reduces the use of “but” or “however” with the result that the leader’s openness fosters dialogue, greater input from employees and superior performance.

5. Communication

Leaders may believe they are communicating clearly but an observer may find otherwise. A coach may also show a leader how to communicate with different personality types, ages and cultures.  Good communication skills are essential for the leader but often hard to self-analyze.

Having your leaders get great coaching to accomplish their job well is crucial. Learn more about how Cornerstone can provide Executive Coaching Services or go directly to find a coach in your region. 

Ferrari is one of the world’s most recognizable and powerful brands. The cars are beautiful to look at but the most important component is seldom on view.  The Ferrari 12-cylinder engine – with cylinders that could fit in a teacup – was the heart of a legend which includes 16 world F1 championships and 256 race wins.

An organization’s leadership team is the Ferrari engine — not in the public eye but the core of exceptional performance.  Every part of a competitive company performs in relation to the output of the leader group.

On the track or in the Board room, competition of any kind is testing. Recognising and engaging the right executive today has become one of those failure-is-not-an-option tasks that demand high levels of knowledge, experience and technology to get right. Here are six steps to guide your success in executive search.

1. Understand the stakes

You are not filling a position. You are looking for a strategic component that will integrate with the rest of your team. Human Resources Directors today focus on impacting the company’s bottom line not just swapping in skill sets and experience.

This means taking a longer term mindset.  Ideally, it means finding a partner in the enterprise, not just contracting a recruiting specialist in a one-off support role. To achieve the best result, you must become partners with your retained executive search firm.

2. Understand the Executive Search process

Keep your briefing on who you want at a high level. What your executive search specialists are interested in is what it is you need to accomplish. They think like engineers: they need to know the desired end-state and then look at how they can get you there.

These preliminary discussions are critical. Help your recruiting partner to understand the organization and where your team wants to take it. This can influence the job parameters you started out with.

3. Know who you want

This is a double-barreled step. You start by defining the candidate you think you need, but then you should work through what kind of outside help you are looking for.

The best executive recruiters work to the “Retained Search” methodology and are members of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership. The AESC logo is a respected and reliable indication that you are choosing to do business with an expert and trustworthy organization that works to high, global standards. (Cornerstone International Group is a member)

Your due diligence should cover basics. Does your talent pool need to be global? Does the search firm have a track record in your business?  Is this a domestic position or cross-border? If the latter, who is managing it and who is benefitting from it? What is the search firm’s track record in your niche?

4. Help the candidate to know you

It is fundamental and essential that, when you arrive at the person you want, you understand each other fully. Depending on the position, the person you engage will be your peer and will have to fit in with the leadership team.

Trust is fundamental to a company’s corporate strategy. You and your colleagues must be satisfied that this is someone you can work with, someone you feel you can trust.

Remember that while you are studying the candidate, he or she is assessing both you and the opportunity. It is important that you communicate well and create a favorable impression.

This a mission-critical procedure for you and the candidate is also making a major life choice. A bad placement can have a devastating effect on a person’s career and reputation.

5. Stay with it

It’s not over at the signing and the champagne. You are in recruit/assimilate mode for at least another six months.

For some time now, it has been known that 40% of executives fail inside the first 18 months. It’s a staggering percentage and translates into equally staggering costs of failure. What has become apparent more recently is why.

To be accepted, an incoming executive will clearly have been qualified, energetic, strategic and have appeared to be a good fit with the organization.   But the weak link seems to have been a subsequent inability to understand the organization’s priorities and perhaps also its quirks that surface over time.

The standard formula onboarding doesn’t counter this. The response revolves around certified, customized coaching directed at familiarization with the new environment.

6. Next Steps

In most instances, seeking someone at the executive level will have been planned for some time. If the need does arise suddenly, all the more reason to be prepared.

A valuable exercise is to identify the information required and the steps to acquire it. The starting point is selecting that partner, a professional retained search firm, and arriving at some form of understanding.

Cornerstone International Group is such a firm. We are in 37 countries, representing critical value dealing with cross-border operations and foreign jurisdictions.  We invite you to get in touch if you would like to know more.