Anessa Fike’s Post

Let's Tim it Up! Topic: Interim Positions When an interim leader steps into an organization, there is limited time to build relationships, yet there is an urgent need to identify and discuss priorities and team dynamics. The department team assessment is critical; understanding what they need and want is paramount. I focus on three areas. 1. Training 2. Guidance 3. Tools to be successful Then, I work my way through Operations to asses each process: 1. Receiving 2. Distribution 3. Inventory/PAR/POC Management 3. Purchasing 4. Purchase Services 5. Vendor Relationships 6. Customer Service (communications) The most crucial aspect is team dynamics. Is the team bought in? Remember that the team is the grease that keeps things moving. Defining roles and reviewing job descriptions for accuracy is an important piece. A checklist is a great place to start, but don't become too rigid; not everything is broken; they might need some tweaking. Checklist for Interim Supply Chain Leaders in Healthcare: - Assess Current Operations: Evaluate existing workflows, pinpoint inefficiencies, and comprehend the supply chain's present condition. - Understand Financial Health: Review the budget, expenditures, and financial statements to determine the supply chain's fiscal status. - Evaluate Vendor Relationships: Review existing vendor agreements, evaluate performance and expenses, and seek opportunities to renegotiate or engage new vendors. - Implement Technology Solutions: Investigate and adopt technological solutions to enhance operations, like AI-enhanced ERP systems for improved prediction. - Optimize Inventory Management: Maintain inventory at levels that satisfy demand without resulting in surplus or shortage. Enhance Staff Training: Offer training and development to staff to enhance productivity and facilitate adaptation to new methodologies or technologies. - Improve Communication: Encourage transparent and effective communication within the team and across departments. - Monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Observe KPIs to assess performance and pinpoint improvement opportunities. - Develop Contingency Plans: Formulate strategies for dealing with potential disruptions, such as supply shortages or natural calamities. - Engage Stakeholders: Collaborate closely with stakeholders, including medical staff, management, and patients, to secure support for supply chain endeavors. Interim leaders serve as a vital link in the transition to hiring a new leader, engaging with the team, and emphasizing experience, exposure, and the right "fit." A single ineffective leader can rapidly dismantle a team. Aligning everyone towards a common direction and ensuring a shared understanding of the "Why" increases the likelihood of success. Think about it, Tim

If your company is in hiring mode but lacks clarity about its business direction, it's crucial to address the ambiguity to ensure successful recruitment and long-term stability. Here are the seven steps to consider: 1. Clarify Vision and Mission -Leadership Alignment: Initiate discussions among the leadership team to define the company’s vision and mission. This will provide a clear direction for the business. -Strategic Planning: Develop a strategic plan that outlines the company's core objectives, market focus, and growth strategy. 2. Conduct Market Analysis -Industry Research: Conduct thorough market research to understand industry trends, customer needs, and competitive landscape. -SWOT Analysis: Perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to identify the company’s unique value proposition and potential areas of focus. 3. Engage Employees -Internal Feedback: Gather feedback from employees to understand their perspectives on the company’s strengths and potential business areas. This can help in identifying a cohesive direction. -Culture Assessment: Evaluate the current company culture to ensure it aligns with the envisioned business direction. 4. Define Key Roles -Role Alignment: Ensure that the roles you are hiring for align with the strategic goals and direction of the company. Focus on positions that will drive growth and support the business strategy. -Skill Set Identification: Identify the key skills and competencies required for the roles that will help achieve the company’s objectives. 5. Communicate Transparently -Honest Communication: Be transparent with potential hires about the company’s current state and future plans. This builds trust and attracts candidates who are adaptable and resilient. -Vision Sharing: Share the company’s evolving vision and mission with candidates to attract those who are excited about being part of the journey. 6. Build a Flexible Team -Versatile Talent: Hire individuals who are versatile and can adapt to changing business needs. Look for candidates with a track record of handling ambiguity and contributing to strategic pivots. -Cultural Fit: Focus on cultural fit to ensure new hires can thrive in a dynamic environment and contribute to shaping the company’s future direction. 7. Iterative Planning -Regular Reviews: Regularly review and adjust the strategic plan based on market feedback, internal insights, and performance metrics. -Agility: Maintain organizational agility to pivot quickly as the business direction becomes clearer and market conditions evolve. Questions finding the right Talent? Contact Al Katz, our Chief Employment Officer at [email protected] or 847-612-4676. Conclusion: By taking these steps, you can ensure that your hiring process supports the company’s evolving business direction. #hiring #recruitment #staffing #communication #culture #humanresources

Leaders are always planning, but are we extending our foresight to hiring? Hiring is expensive and that alone can cause companies to punt the hiring ball. Your approach over the next two years could be a game-changer for your company’s growth. Here’s what to focus on: Anticipate Needs, Allocate Budgets. Planning often goes just one year deep, sometimes failing to solidify until the end of Q1 of the current fiscal year. This can leave you scrambling. Start mapping out financial resources now to smoothly integrate essential roles without impacting current operations. It's not about hiring immediately, but ensuring have a plan and can afford your plan when the time comes. Seamless Onboarding for Creative Minds. Effective onboarding is crucial and should never be impromptu. Strategize how to integrate new hires so they contribute positively from day one. Plan for Succession. As your business grows, promoting from within is a great thing but it can lead to gaps. Consider who is ready to move up, how to prepare them for the next level, and how to backfill their positions. Otherwise, you end up burdening them with a dual role while they find their replacement or you hold back their promotion. Calculate Lead Times. Understand the real timeline from hiring to full productivity. For instance, if you need a sales rep at full quota by Q3 and they require a quarter to reach full productivity, plus six weeks to recruit and hire, start your process in Q1.

As a leader, you know the score: support your people, boost performance, and drive results. But what if hiring a full-time L&D specialist isn’t the smartest move? Let me share a story. I recently spoke with a local energy company here in the North East. They had ambitious goals and knew that just adding more salespeople wasn’t the solution. They needed their existing team to level up. So, they considered hiring an L&D specialist, which would cost around £60k with taxes and benefits. Here’s the problem. Many businesses default to hiring full-time because it feels safe and conventional. The idea is that a full-time employee will be fully committed and invested. But here’s the reality check: Businesses often end up overpaying for talent that’s underutilised. You’re stuck paying a salary month after month, even when the workload doesn’t justify it. And if things don’t work out, you’re left with a hefty commitment and potential disappointment. Smart business leaders need to ask: Is this really the best move? Does the workload justify the cost? You need results—not a full-time trainer sitting around during quieter months, drinking tea! The Solution: In 2023, a crack L&D commando struck out on his own. Still sought after by businesses for his expertise, he survives as a trainer of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire the A-Team - well actually just me.. but my surname starts with A.. Instead of committing to a full-time L&D hire, consider bringing me on board. And just like the A-Team - I’m like the Swiss Army knife of L&D—ready to jump in, deliver the goods, and move on when the job’s done. No fluff, no filler—just targeted, actionable training designed to push your team to the next level. If you’re a business leader looking to boost your team’s performance without the overhead of a full-time L&D specialist, let’s connect! Message me or comment below to explore how I can help you achieve your goals without the long-term commitment. P.S I love it when a plan comes together..

FRACTIONAL EXECUTIVES Have you considered hiring fractional executives as a flexible scaling solution?   Building a strong C-Level leadership team can be challenging, especially for start-ups and scaleups or when budgets are restricted.   Incorporating fractional strategy and transformation executives into your hiring plans is a way to get experienced C-suite talent, without a permanent salary.   Fractional executives are seasoned professionals who offer their expertise on a part-time basis, providing vital support to businesses without the need for a full-time executive. They often serve multiple organisations concurrently.   What advantages can you gain by tapping into this pool of experienced professionals?   💫 Accelerate growth – They bring their unique expertise and experience to an organisation without disruption, evaluate the needs of the business and drive the business forward. 💫 Cost efficiency - Fractional executives adapt to your schedule and align with your budget, whether it's a few hours per week or more extensive involvement. 💫 Reduced risk – Fractional executives give your team the time needed to make informed decisions when selecting a permanent leadership team. If the fractional executive is the right fit, they may transition to a permanent hire. 💫 Trusted Advisors - At Future State Consulting, all our fractional executives have been interviewed and vetted prior to meeting our clients, which makes the hiring process a lot more seamless.   Interested to learn more about how a fractional strategy executive could fit into your team or if you're a fractional strategy executive - let's talk - please DM me. #strategy #fractional #parttimeexecs #flexibleworkforce #peoplefirst

— Working with clients 1. Company Size and Industry • Revenue and Scale: Larger companies with higher revenues typically offer more substantial compensation packages 2. Experience and Track Record • Experience: A CEO with decades of experience and a proven track record of success will likely demand a higher price than someone new to the role. • Previous Achievements: Successful turnarounds, growth in revenue, or successful mergers and acquisitions can significantly enhance a CEO’s market value. 4. Scope of Responsibilities • Role Complexity: The broader and more complex the responsibilities (e.g., international operations, regulatory compliance), the higher the compensation is likely to be. 5. Performance Metrics • Incentive Structures: Many CEO compensation packages include performance-based incentives tied to specific metrics, such as profitability, stock performance, or market share growth. This can lead to fluctuations in overall compensation based on company performance. 6. Negotiation Skills • Personal Branding: A CEO’s reputation and personal brand can influence their negotiation power. Well-known leaders with strong networks may secure better deals. 7. Market Trends • Economic Conditions: Economic downturns or booms can affect how much companies are willing to pay for executive talent. During recessions, compensation may stagnate or decrease. — Understanding these elements can help organizations make informed decisions when hiring executive leadership and can also guide aspiring CEOs in their career paths. Ultimately, the value brought by a CEO should align with the strategic goals and financial realities of the organization they lead!

Client profile: Logo Brands. Want to know what two years of fractional Chief People Officer services look like? Here is what we have done: step by step. 1) Assessment of 150 employees. Both the quality and structure of the team. ✅ 2) Promoted several staff members, to make the business less flat. ✅ 3) Altered meeting rhythms to match the new organizational structure, improving meeting efficiency and productivity. ✅ 4) Redefined Core Values to match who Logo is today. (much of it stayed the same, with some new language and a few new values) ✅ 5) Installed a better hiring process that hired to the new values and could be consistently executed across different departments. ✅ 6) Started training and coaching managers. As a fast growing company, many managers had begun overseeing people for the first time. ✅ 7) Started a monthly leadership development training. ✅ 8) Installed a new onboarding process with a focus on culture, increasing total domain awareness, and setting up new employees for success. ✅ 9) Implemented a new review process for consistent feedback, coaching, improved performance, and culture development. ✅ 10) Analyze compensation across the board, making sure every position is in their appropriate band. ✅ 11) Revamped company engagement rhythms as the company scaled from 150 employees to over 200. ✅ These are just the formal procedures. This list doesn't encapsulate the hours of coaching and conversations through difficult issues and situations. But when you use a fractional CPO who leads with culture first and implements good processes, you don't need a team of 4+ in your HR department. You can scale with 1-2 great internal employees (shoutout Amanda Vaupel) and a leadership team dedicated to an improved people experience. The result? Logo was named 7th best place to work in Middle Tennessee in the 100-400 employee category all while scaling quickly and having fun along the way. If your company is between 10-300 employees, a fractional CPO probably makes some sense. CFPO Consulting

Executives, do you understand your systems? As businesses grow in size, they need more people, and managing people requires processes and systems. They are essential to reliability, quality and efficiency which in turn are essential to profitability. However, the larger the organization, the more complex the systems tend to become.  Eventually they exceed the understanding of the people who use them. At that point they take on a life of their own. The older the company, the older the system, the more likely new hires will only deal with a fraction of the system, and the less likely they will understand its architecture and logic. Newly recruited managers are very likely going to assume that this system will resemble the systems of their previous companies, and fail to look for the differences. I once worked at a company where people spent a great deal of time and effort working around the system to implement tools they needed to do their jobs. I found after some training that the system had their needs built in. Had they known how to use it, they could have done it quickly and easily. Instead of creating efficiency, the systems were now creating inefficiency. There were other consequences to the workaround. The system was designed to generate reports. When the system was not used as designed, the reports became inaccurate. Management decisions were now based on incomplete and therefore inaccurate information.  When crises hit, these inaccuracies can lead to very flawed decisions.

Finding the perfect COO can transform your business trajectory. The Chief Operating Officer plays a pivotal role in translating strategic visions into operational excellence, a critical factor in achieving long-term success for your business. Here's how to navigate the hiring process for this crucial position: 1. It's crucial to define your business's operational requirements clearly. A COO should bridge the gap between your strategic goals and day-to-day execution. For instance, if you're scaling your business, you might need someone who excels in process optimization and resource management. 2. Look for candidates with a strong track record in leading teams and making decisive choices under pressure. A well-rounded COO manages, inspires, and guides, fostering an environment where teams thrive. 3. The right candidate will look beyond immediate challenges, anticipating changes in the industry and devising adaptable strategies. Think of a COO as a navigator who not only steers through current obstacles but also charts a course for future growth. Choosing the right COO can enhance operational efficiency, drive innovation, and inspire your workforce. https://lnkd.in/dxWT5p83 #COO #Recruitment #Leadership

That's a great post on the importance of the COO role. 🌟 It's crucial to find someone who can not only execute the day-to-day operations but also align with the company's strategic vision. 🎯 A good COO should be able to build strong relationships with other C-level executives 🤝 and foster a positive company culture. 🌱