Advisory and corporate finance
“Start in haste and repent at leisure” may be a twist on an old saying, but it’s never been more true when applied to financial modelling. Before starting it’s worth reflection on six key planning considerations: We support clients build financial models for a range of business requirements, from simple forecasts to developed models to … Continue reading Financial modelling: Don’t start yet
One of the most commonly cited reasons for acquisitions failing is poor cultural fit with HBR commenting that “According to most studies, between 70 and 90 percent of acquisitions fail”. Based on experience, this appears alarmist but that does not mean that there are not significant risks to manage or and opportunities to take. So … Continue reading Post-acquisition staffing strategies
At a time when productivity is drifting, costs are being squeezed and revenues are more challenged, it can be worth reflecting on how effectively aligned productivity is with people engagement. Here’s a quick self assessment to understand how you are doing: If you honestly think you are performing well against the above, you’re onto something. … Continue reading Hope is not a strategy for people engagement and productivity
A collective staff consultation may be required when an employer seeks to change material terms of employees contracts, including redundancy, where more than 20 staff are potentially involved. The consequences of getting it wrong can be costly, whether it be in the form of the cost of unfair dismissal claims (with compensation increases supported by … Continue reading Don’t let your staff consultation backfire
Difficulty in recruiting can be debilitating with far reaching consequences for teams and productivity. The absence can only not prevent the specific tasks of that role being done but have a broader adverse and demoralising impact on teams. Even employers with a positive high profile and market leaders in their field can suffer from low … Continue reading Do you need to improve staff recruitment?
If you are suffering high staff turnover, you will know the impact this can have on your organisation from a lack of continuity, higher recruitment costs to a loss of relevant understanding and talent. While it’s easy to comment that the best solution is avoidance it can be hard to turn the situation around. Identifying … Continue reading How Do You Fix High Staff Turnover
Challenges clients raise with us are: The causes are rarely complex, perhaps a poorly managed transformation (such as changes to terms and conditions or poor systems implementation or merger) or leadership practices at varying levels of the organisation or simply a lack of responsive action to problems that arise. Even when there is a specific … Continue reading Four Red Flags that you have a Staffing Challenge
Build and buy strategies are where a business acquires other businesses, very often to help increase value ahead of an exit. They are not uncommon for private equity or companies trading on a public exchange and can also work for smaller businesses but are less common. Build and buy strategies can be an attractive way … Continue reading Thinking about Build and Buy?
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”, someone once said. Based on extensive research, Groysberg, Lee, Price and Cheng reported in the Harvard Business Review that: Their findings are not surprising and are consistent with many other studies. What is more surprising is how little leaders understand about their culture, the values and behaviours that are understood … Continue reading Is your business culture holding you back?
A recent report by Be The Business that compared productivity in the UK compared to other G7 countries noted that the UK fell far behind (sixth!) most other countries when it comes to undertaking employee engagement initiatives. Given the importance and clear benefits of employee engagement, the key issue is why wouldn’t leaders seek to … Continue reading Four barriers to employee engagement