Deloitte SA Blog

In their personal lives, business users are enjoying a technology renaissance that continues to deliver simple, elegant and often innovative technology products. Then they come to work expecting the same experience. To meet those expectations, IT leaders should understand and deliver capabilities that engage each key persona of their users, enabling a given role in the way they actually perform their job. But it shouldn’t stop there. The real trick is envisioning how emerging technologies and new form factors can improve how work actually gets done. Enterprise users are clamoring for mobile and social enablement – collaboration, information and insight wherever, whenever. They’re looking to leave behind the legacy “point, click, type” world for one of “touch, swipe, talk and gesture,” and they won’t hesitate to go around central IT to get the capabilities they need. The CIO must envision the digital future and deliver the empowered present.

User empowerment builds on this reality, embodying the tenets of user engagement and embracing free-market principles that are becoming a central feature of today’s IT environment1. Said another way, it reflects the democratization of corporate technology.

End users have plenty of opportunities to bypass IT and procure off-the-shelf or low/no-code solutions that are just good enough to meet their needs. Through mobile and desktop application (app) stores, cloud-based marketplaces and rapid development and deployment platforms, business stakeholders are one swipe of the corporate credit card away from procuring rogue “almost-enterprise” applications to fulfill their unmet needs. As a result, CIOs should consider adopting a design-led, user-centric approach to new application development, while also accepting the inevitability of business users directly sourcing apps. BYOA (bring your own application) will likely become part of many organizations’ solution footprints.

These changes should not be chalked up to nefarious motivations among empowered users. They simply represent market dynamics at play. Users expect intuitive, dynamic solutions now, and corporate IT has historically focused on underlying architecture and completeness of solutions – the foundation and the plumbing, not the decor. IT’s success in this area is part of the challenge: while process automation has been generally satisfied, end users have begun to expect something more. In general, they want more than utility, they want elegance – and they are typically not afraid to tap into any channel at their disposal to get it.

CIOs can use this movement to their advantage, but it may require some uncomfortable change. For starters, creative and user experience (UX) talent with a deep understanding of human behavior will likely be required as a core competency. Agile and Scrum delivery capabilities will complement heavier methodologies, supporting rapid prototyping and a design-led iterative approach. Broad integration, security and data management services should be developed – and marketed – along with proactive guidance for business users on how central IT can help in this new user-empowered world. Think service-oriented architecture – not only in the technology stack, but also in how business capabilities are described.

Without succeeding in this shift, a CIO may be treated as an obstacle or viewed as irrelevant to the business vision. That’s why it’s important for CIOs to guide the business through the inevitable disruption of technology innovations, and to be seen as co-conspirators by their empowered users, enabling – and accelerating – the upward journey.

Would you like to read the full article? Click Here to download Deloitte Tech Trends 2012

If you have any questions relating to this article, or require a more detailed discussion, contact Kamal Ramsingh (Head of Technology – Deloitte South Africa) at kramsingh@deloitte.co.za

Do you have any comment or feedback? We would love to hear from you!

The classic image of a sales rep is a one-man army drumming up business through a combination of personal charm, inside information, guile, chutzpah and single-minded determination. But that’s not how most sales battles are won these days. Although a sales force still needs heroes, today’s buyers demand more. Thanks to the Internet, they now have unprecedented access to product and pricing information and can make purchases at the touch of a button. Also, they increasingly rely on virtual relationships built through social media. In this technology-driven, multichannel environment, it’s hard for traditional salespeople to define their full value.

Meanwhile, the global economy continues to sputter. Buyers are demanding more for their money, even as sales organizations face increasing pressure to reduce costs. Also, companies in frantic pursuit of growth are rapidly shifting their sales focus toward emerging markets, which are widely viewed as the primary engine for future revenue and profits.

These new challenges and complexities are giving rise to a new way of selling — and a new kind of sales force — a shift that has HR implications ranging from talent strategies and organization design to learning and development, compensation, governance and
change management.

What’s driving this trend?

• Economic pressure. A deep recession and uneven recovery have made today’s buyers more demanding than ever while putting pressure on sales organizations to work miracles.
• New technologies. Technologies, such as smartphones, tablets, social media and the Internet, have fundamentally changed how buyers gather information and make decisions — and how salespeople sell. Buyers now have a world of information at their fingertips, making purchases through a variety of channels and using social media to build new kinds of relationships. Sales forces should learn to use these technologies to their advantage, instead of falling victim to them.
• Risk sensitivity. Today’s headlines are filled with stories about individual employees who cost their companies billions and put entire businesses in jeopardy through fraud and excessive risk-taking. This development is driving increased regulatory scrutiny and putting a tighter leash on the sales force.
• Globalization. For established companies in mature economies, developing markets are widely seen as the primary source of future growth. Yet many sales organizations are struggling to manage the complexity of selling in a global marketplace and are still looking for the right balance between local responsiveness and global control and efficiency.
• Analytics. Advanced analytical tools can give salespeople deeper insights about their customers than ever before. Using analytics, sales organizations can drive much more nuanced segmentation and evaluate where to dedicate sales time and helping drive customers to the most appropriate sales channel. Some customers will be handled through face-to-face interaction, others will receive outbound calls and others will be served primarily through the Internet. Analytics can also be used to anticipate which salespeople will likely be most productive.

Read more about this trend.

Did you find this useful? We welcome your feedback and comments. Please share with your network!

by Coenrad Alberts and Georgina Stubbs of Deloitte Consulting

There has been talk about the demise of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), however the ERP industry is thriving. Major ERP vendors are reporting healthy profits and organisations globally are currently implementing or re-implementing ERP systems or going through the planning phase.

The playing field has changed however. There are fewer ERP software vendors and the ERP solutions out there are robust, rich in functionality and stable. Organisations no longer have to make grudge purchases (classic example was the millennium bug) and are a lot more tech-savvy. ERP investments now have to be backed with a solid and sound business case.

This paper provides insight into the key cost considerations of an ERP investment and some of the crucial decisions that should be considered regarding the organisation’s ERP strategy going forward – in order to implement a sustainable, scalable and cost-effective solution that will cater for the organisation’s future growth and requirements.

Here are 8 key drivers to consider when reviewing your enterprise resource planning investment strategy:

1. Software

Select the right solution for the right job.

Vendors no longer advocate ERP solutions as cure-alls. They rather recommend that organisations implement ERP solutions to provide core enterprise functionality and select best-of-breed point solutions to meet specific requirements, e.g. specific billing requirements.

The advent of SOA has made integration of multiple systems easier and more efficient. It is, therefore, often advisable to implement a solution that fits the problem rather than to manipulate both the solution and the problem in an effort to make them fit, sometimes at the expense of critical business requirements.

By carefully selecting a hybrid of solutions that will directly address best-practice business requirements, the initial implementation effort will be reduced, user adoption will be increased and because customised development will be reduced, so will the ongoing cost of ownership.

Investigate Software as a Service offering.

Many ERP software vendors these days offer “Software as a Service” (SaaS).

By subscribing to a SaaS application, rather than purchasing licences outright, you avoid the initial overhead associated with implementing conventional software. You don’t incur the capital investment of a typical software implementation, such as purchasing and maintaining servers, housing them securely, and installing and maintaining the software – an overhead that can be four to five times the cost of the original licence fees.

SaaS applications also leverage economies of scale achieved by “multi-tenancy”, because many customers can run their applications on the same unit of software and even on the same infrastructure, e.g. advances in security and virtualisation make it possible for multiple customers to share databases.

When you subscribe to a SaaS application, you pay a monthly or annual subscription fee. Compared to a traditional software licence, this subscription payment structure can work to your advantage. An ongoing monthly expense is often easier to incorporate into your budget than a large one-time outlay, and if you cancel or change your subscription, you do not lose a large initial investment. And, as SaaS subscriptions are based on metered usage, you pay for what you use.

Another key aspect of SaaS is that you gain immediate access to the latest innovations and upgrades, however the potential downside of SaaS is that you cannot customise the solution to meet your specific requirements.

2. Hardware and Infrastructure

Consider hosting.

Even if you don’t subscribe to SaaS, one option to contain your investment in hardware and infrastructure is hosting, whereby you rent servers and the associated infrastructure from a third party and pay on a monthly basis, rather than investing in the equipment upfront.

Reputable hosting service providers offer holistic IT infrastructure support, meaning that your organisation can have access to a fully redundant IT infrastructure, including disaster recovery facilities, delivered on the latest technology platform and maintained by highly skilled IT technicians, without the associated costs and risks. Service providers guarantee uptime to suit your requirements and often offer other services such as domain management and registration, internet connectivity, 365/24/7 operations monitoring of your servers, physical and information security services, UPS and generator power, daily tape back-up facilities, provision of statistics, reports on bandwidth and network utilisation, fault correction initiation, encryption and LAN and WAN support.

Not only do these services reduce your investment in the actual infrastructure, they also reduce the need for your organisation to have a large IT department with the expertise to service all the different components of the infrastructure, and the availability to provide 24/7 support.

The duration of your implementation is also reduced, as the hardware infrastructure is already in place.

3. Implementation costs

Investigate available industry-specific preconfigured solutions.

By selecting an industry-specific preconfigured solution, you can reduce the impact on your business, the implementation costs and the duration of the implementation, while ensuring that your solution is based on industry best practices. The customisation effort is also reduced because industry specific components are already pre-built, e.g. specific costing models, data templates and load programmes, banking interfaces and workflow.

Quality preconfigured solutions provide organisations with an accelerated implementation that starts with a working and fully pre-documented and preconfigured system, which can be rapidly configured into a productive solution.

These solutions have been developed based on years of hands-on industry experience and are based on best practices which are continually refined over the years.

Choose your implementation partner with care.

Ensure that you have consultants who understand your business and industry and are “business led, but also technology enabled”. Consultants that understand your industry will be able to facilitate design discussions and make meaningful contributions to functional and technical documentation. They will also be better equipped to anticipate and manage scope changes based on a deeper understanding of industry-specific requirements.

4. Training and change management

Ensure that your investment in training and change management provides a real return.

Although it is strongly recommended that you do not reduce the investment in training and change management, it is also important to ensure that the return on that investment adds tangible value to the implementation project and the organisation. Don’t be afraid to ask your service provider for detailed training and change plans that identify clear deliverables aligned to tangible and measurable outcomes.

It is also critical to ensure that you don’t pay lip service to these items and that there is executive sponsorship, without which your investment will be wasted.

5. Ongoing maintenance

Consider outsourcing to meet ongoing maintenance requirements.

By outsourcing the management and maintenance of your applications, you will reduce the need to build, maintain and train a team of specialised and senior application consultants, which is becoming a more cumbersome task as organisations implement a hybrid of solutions, thereby increasing the diversity of skills required.

Ensure that your application management service providers proactively add value through their support services, rather than just react to problems. By providing you with statistics on which types of problems occur frequently, value adding service providers enable you to address those problems at source, i.e. by identifying the root cause – for example: where more training is required or where a different solution should be considered. These statistics can also be used to optimise your support contract by reducing the support hours required over a period, as the solution beds down or your users become more skilled.

6. Process efficiencies

Measure potential process efficiencies.

Effective business process design, based on industry best practices (such as the Deloitte best practice IndustryPrints), is essential to ensure that process efficiencies are achieved and to reap the real benefit of your ERP implementation.

Processes can be measured, costed, benchmarked to similar organisations and then mapped to solutions to identify where real process efficiencies will be achieved, and where manual manipulation, duplicate transaction processing, etc. can be eliminated.

When considering the ERP investment, this tangible benefit should be accounted for.

7. Tax efficiencies

Don’t overlook potential tax efficiencies.

A well-designed, tax-enabled ERP Solution can increase speed, accuracy and data integrity, all of which are important, particularly when working through last-minute updates at either quarter-end or year-end. These improved data collection processes also help companies better manage workflow, which, in turn, increases visibility. Furthermore, it provides greater control over information, and the associated movement or flow of work allows the tax function to be more effective and to report virtually in real time. This makes the organisation more nimble when it comes to business decisions and the related tax implications of such decisions and frees up the tax department to spend more time performing value-added activities, such as strategic income tax planning.

A tax-enabled ERP solution provides opportunities to benefit from tax savings ideas directly and indirectly associated with ERP implementations, such as maximising R&D tax credits and deductions, training incentives, transfer pricing, customs and excise, VAT optimisation and other appropriate strategies.

As organisations redesign processes and install enterprise-wide systems to create a competitive advantage, they often consolidate legacy systems and initiate process improvements that, at best, do not enhance the tax reporting process and, at worst, actually impede access to tax-sensitive information and do not take advantage of potential tax savings.

8. Shared services

Ensure that you implement the most efficient and effective operating model.

A large number of support processes in IT, finance, procurement and HR (including payroll) are repetitive and not unique to the individual business but rather add value through operational excellence, delivering zero defect at the lowest cost. Other processes are more ad hoc and knowledge involved, adding value through maximum benefits at appropriate cost, only when necessary. Both transactional and knowledge-involved processes can take advantage of benefits through a shared services model, either internal or outsourced.

An example of such a model is the Deloitte Mining Shared Services (DMSS) platform, which provides cost-effective back-office process support to mining companies with a need to focus on core business operations and also to create a low, fixed-cost overhead structure.

This service delivery model allows mining companies to co-source and/or outsource transactional and knowledge processes and take advantage of the cost benefits offered by consolidating and streamlining back-office processes. While the shared services centre runs these processes, mining companies retain some functionality based on the individual organisation’s requirements and business case.

Summary

So – far from dying – ERP is alive and well and back on the Executive Committee’s agenda. But the conversation today is very different to that of 10 to 12 years ago. Traditionally, organisations invested time and money selecting the right ERP solution to meet their needs; however, nowadays there are fewer Tier 1 products to choose from – and most of them offer similar functionality with some minor variations in their value propositions.

This means that, while it is important to select the right product (whether an organisation is considering an upgrade, reimplementation or replacement), there are other discussions to be had and decisions to be made. The decisions will have a more significant impact on the initial and ongoing cost of the investment and the impact to the business.

These decisions need to consider all the innovative and varied options available to finance this investment, and derive maximum value, and this is what will drive the business case. And, whereas a robust business case was not a requirement when the implementation of a new ERP was not an option, it has now become critical to justify this semi-discretionary investment.

If you have any questions or require a more detailed discussion, contact Coenrad Alberts at calberts@deloitte.co.za or Georgina Stubbs at gstubbs@deloitte.co.za

Do you have anything to add to the list, any comments or feedback. We would love to hera from you. Please share this article with your network!

Cloud computing is changing the way people and businesses work, upending conventional ideas about time-to-value, service levels, infrastructure needs and more. With cloud, systems and data are typically located outside of an organization’s four walls and accessed through the Internet. This has fundamental impacts on many parts of the business, transforming the nature of work and accelerating the pace of change across the enterprise.

In this emerging cloud services environment, HR has a responsibility to help the organization adjust its people and processes to operate more effectively. HR is uniquely positioned to do this — not just because HR is responsible for the overall talent agenda, but also because many HR organizations learned valuable lessons as early cloud adopters. Leading HR organizations are already using cloud technology to improve how HR services are delivered. And now, they are looking for opportunities to share their hard-earned experience and insights with the rest of the business.

What’s driving this trend?

Cloud offers benefits that in many cases are too compelling to ignore. The technologies and processes associated with cloud are rapidly maturing and are now gaining acceptance as standard business practices. Recent forecasts for 2012 predict that 80 percent of new software applications will target the cloud and that spending on cloud services will exceed $36 billion — which indicates a rate of growth four times faster than the IT industry average.ⁱ Key drivers for cloud adoption include the following:

• Cost reduction. Improve utilization and save money through consolidation of servers and data centers. Capitalize on economies of scale by sharing resources across organizations. Reduce training costs thanks to improved ease of use and browser-based interfaces.
• Reduced capital investments. Replace capital expenses with operating expenses. Pay only for what you use.
• Faster implementation. Get up and running quickly by avoiding the need to acquire hardware or to develop and configure applications.
• Agility. Adjust to changing demand and market requirements. Scale up or down as needed. Take advantage of vendor best practices, which are drawn from multiple organizations and rolled out quickly.
• Smarter decisions. Take advantage of cutting-edge tools that support fact-based decision-making.

Read more about this trend

If you require a more detailed discussion, contact Kamal Ramsingh at kramsingh@deloitte.co.za

Did you find this interesting. we welcome your comments and feedback! Please share with your network!

Restore the personal touch with employees by integrating social media and mobile with HR service delivery

Change is happening. Again. As social media and mobile devices quickly become essential parts of our daily lives, they are starting to influence how HR services are delivered and the direction HR transformation efforts take. Beyond just being the next new thing, integrating social media and mobile devices with HR service delivery can provide a real opportunity to restore some of the personal touch that was lost in previous pushes for improved HR efficiency.

Traditionally, HR service delivery has been based on structured and specialized interactions between the services HR provides and its customers (e.g., employees, managers, recruits). Typical scenarios might involve an employee who updates benefit options through an online a self-service system or who contacts an HR call center with specific questions about benefits.

Now, HR has an opportunity to use social media tools to create communities for sharing knowledge — and to support employees through direct, yet informal communication. Additionally, mobile devices can provide convenient, on-demand access to this knowledge and experience from almost anywhere in the world. Instead of contacting a call center, for example, an employee with benefits questions could use a smartphone to view and participate in a discussion thread where specialists and other community members share their own knowledge, opinions and questions.

The introduction of social and mobile technologies is not only expanding HR’s service delivery options, it is also increasing HR’s value to the business. Although social and mobile technologies will not entirely replace traditional HR channels, social and mobile tools are easing the burden while providing customers with a richer experience that is more engaging — and often more convenient.

What’s driving this trend?

Social media and mobile devices are effective tools that can help improve HR’s service and responsiveness.

• Breakthrough technologies. Mobile devices and social media are revolutionizing the way people interact, making it easy to communicate and share knowledge without regard to time, geographic location, or organizational boundaries.
• Business acceptance. Mobile devices and social media have become standard business tools. According to a recent study, less than 15 percent of business executives still view social media in business as a fad^.i
• Rising expectations. In their personal lives, many people have already come to expect the rich, engaging experiences that mobile devices and social media can deliver. Now, they are looking for the same thing from their interactions with current and potential employers. A recent article on Forbes.com featured a how to guide on using social media to land a job.ⁱⁱ

Click Here to download the full article

If you require a more detailed discussion around integrating social media and mobile with your workforce, contact Andre Hugo (Chief Marketing Officer and Director of Innovation at Deloitte South Africa) at anhugo@deloitte.co.za and Kamal Ramsingh (Technology Service Area Leader at Deloitte South Africa) at kramsingh@deloitte.co.za

Did you find this useful? We welcome your comments and feedback. Please share with your network! 

ⁱ “Capgemini Survey Reveals the Rising Importance of Social Media to Customer Care,” www.istockanalyst.com, July 25,
2011, http://www.istockanalyst.com/business/news/5311010/capgemini-survey-reveals-the-rising-importance-of-social-media-to-customer-care.

ⁱⁱ “How to Use Social Media Sites to Land a Job,” www.forbes.com , http://www.forbes.com/pictures/edej45lidk/how-to-use-social-media-sites-to-land-a-job#content.

As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

Many leading companies are using workforce reporting and analytics to help make better, more informed decisions about their human capital. By capitalizing on the latest analytical tools and techniques, they are improving acquisition, retention and rewards; reducing labor costs; improving productivity and employee effectiveness; and managing risk more effectively.

Workforce reporting and analytics traditionally used historical data to improve decision-making and business performance. And it still does. But now, advanced analytical tools and techniques, such as predictive modeling, are also making it possible for organizations to glimpse into the future and make informed predictions that they can then develop into targeted solutions.

For example, advanced analytics is helping leading organizations retain top talent and mitigate churn by identifying employees who are potential flight risks. This kind of analysis may include everything from past and current employee data and performance ratings to mentoring relationships, compensation levels, personal networking activity and even daily commute time. Advanced analytics tools are also helping organizations beef up their leadership pipelines by looking deep into their workforces to anticipate which employees are most likely to reach the top.

What’s driving this trend?

• The need to look ahead. In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies need predictive solutions that can help address critical business issues, such as retention, before they become problems.
• Workforce complexity and cost pressure. As workforces become more global and complex, management challenges increase exponentially. Advanced analytics help HR and business leaders cut through the complexity to control labor costs and generate more value from the workforce.
• Untapped data. Widespread deployment of ERP and other people-related systems is creating vast amounts of useful workforce data. Yet much of that data remains locked up in organizational silos. Workforce reporting and analytics can increase the return on a company’s technology investments by helping to turn mountains of raw data into nuggets of valuable insight.
• Cloud reduces barrier to entry. Cloud services can give HR more control over its own tools. HR can decide for itself what reporting and analytics capabilities it needs and can then gain quick access to those capabilities with a smaller capital investment and faster time to implement. Also, cloud applications are frequently updated to reflect the latest business practices, which makes it easier for HR to stay on the cutting edge.

Read more about this trend.

Did you find this article useful? We welcome your comments! Please share with your network!

Black swans are low-probability events that have far-reaching impact. Such events used to be exceedingly rare, but in today’s hyperconnected world, they are increasingly common and have enormous destructive potential. The euro crisis is a textbook example of how increased connectedness, interdependence and scale can turn a local problem into a global threat. Other recent examples include the following:

• The 2008 financial crisis that began with subprime mortgages in the United States but eventually triggered a worldwide recession
• The Gulf of Mexico oil spill that sent shock waves through global energy markets
• The tsunami in Japan that disrupted global supply chains and caused countries around the world to reconsider their use of nuclear power
• The Arab spring uprisings that are continuing to reshape the world’s political landscape
• Local flooding in Thailand that caused a worldwide shortage of hard drives

On the surface, none of these events would be considered a people-related risk. But as organizations dig deeper, it becomes clear that people are at the core of each major risk — if not as part of the problem, then as part of the solution. To help navigate this increasingly uncertain environment, many leading organizations are expanding the role that HR leaders play in managing risk across the enterprise.

HR’s role in risk management used to focus on the tactical, administrative, legal and regulatory risks that were directly under its domain — such as ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) compliance, workplace discrimination and sexual harassment — and on making sure its own systems and processes passed the annual risk audit. Now, forward-thinking HR organizations are partnering with the core risk functions — e.g., Risk, Legal and Internal Audit — to better identify, prioritize and monitor people-related risks, including black swan events that could threaten the entire business.

What’s driving this trend?

• Black swans are becoming less rare. In a hyperconnected world, small trigger events that in the past might have been locally isolated now have the potential for global impact. Also, the dizzying pace of change increases the number and frequency of trigger events, making it hard for organizations to stay on top of all the risks they are facing.
• People risks are headline news. Whether it’s a management team that cooks the books or a nationwide shortage of math and science talent, the tremendous impact that people-related risks can have on a company’s bottom line, market value and prospects for future growth is becoming better understood by business leaders.
• The view of human capital risks is expanding. HR risk management used to revolve around regulatory compliance and the avoidance of lawsuits. Now, the focus is expanding to include the broad range of people-related risks that can undermine a company’s performance and prevent a business from executing its strategy. The growing significance of these risks has raised expectations about what HR can and should be doing to identify, prioritize, monitor, mitigate and report on people-related business risks.
• Regulation is increasing. Although regulatory compliance is no longer the sole focus of Risk Management, it remains an important catalyst for action. In many cases, new regulatory requirements provide the initial impetus for broader improvement efforts. Also, regulators today are making examples of companies that fail to comply. The growing complexity of HR regulations and associated financial penalties, as well as the reputational risk for noncompliance, are raising the stakes and increasing the degree of difficulty in managing these nonnegotiable risks.

Download the full article . . . . People risk is risky business!

Did you find this article interesting? We would love to hear from you! Please share with your colleagues and network!

With an increase in activity within the emerging market space, and the opportunities of the new revenue streams this space presents, companies are increasing their focus on sourcing the right talent and moving the talent around in an optimal manner. The trend on global workforce mobility is becoming increasingly important, which indicates that the way our workforce is sourced, managed and deployed is going to change drastically over the next ten years.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the content of this article in more detail, Helen Bimbassis from RecruitTalent at Deloitte would love to hear from you! You can contact Helen on +27 (0)11 209 8772 or +27 (0)83 288 3748 or at hbimbassis@deloitte.co.za. Why don’t you visit the Deloitte RecruitTalent home page and see what they are all about?

How will CEOs overcome the challenge of accessing  and attracting the best talent in Africa?

by Helen Bimbassis of Deloitte RecruitTalent

We envision that by the year 2020 there will be an increase in international assignments, which will further contribute to an increase in overall global mobility. The world continues to shrink as technology links people across time zones, cultures and language divides.

One of the biggest challenges most company CEOs face is access to the best talent, as this is one of the most critical factors for their business growth strategy.

Africa, today, is one of the emerging markets that most companies are exploring and expanding into. Africa exhibits risks and opportunities seen in countries like China and  India during the early 1990s. Back then, few global players knew how to react when these countries opened up their markets for business. It was difficult to assess how serious or committed their governments were, and yet – companies that took in capital early have lucrative businesses today. New regimes in North Africa have yet to demonstrate their intention, while in Sub-Saharan Africa lives the deadly scourge of AIDS and has singularly reduced life expectancy at birth by a staggering 10 years, all of which contributes to the brain-drain phenomena.

In a paper presented at the Institute for African Studies and Slovenia Global Action (“African Migration and the Brain Drain”), the following statistics were provided:

• An estimated 300,000
  African professionals live and work outside the continent
• Since 1990, Africa has
  lost 20,000 professionals each year
• About 30,000
  Sub-Saharan Africans holding PhDs now live outside Africa
• To fill the gap caused
  by this brain drain, Africa employs up to 150,000 expatriate professionals at a
  cost of $4-billion annually

The big question most companies are asking is, “How can we safeguard the talent pipeline in order to access the very best talent?”

Without a doubt, businesses and governments need to increasingly work together in addressing the emerging talent gaps. Governments need to invest in education to improve the supply of people with good skills, and a stable political environment would ensure that those skills remain on the relevant countries’ shores.

Businesses need to focus on virtual tools, as technology will move beyond its role as a business enabler and will become further ingrained in the life and work styles of the future workforce, while also changing employee and business expectations and interactions with one another and the world around them. Savvy young workers flock to companies that best adapt to innovative technology to meet market needs. This is already evident from companies such as Google, who receive 1,300 résumés a day.

One needs to take into consideration how business will be operating, and how one maintains the leading edge on attracting and retaining talent in this new and ever changing environment.

Do you have any comments! We would love to hear from you!

Do you have any questions or would like to discuss this subject in more detail? Helen Bimbassis from RecruitTalent at Deloitte
would love to hear from you! You can contact Helen on +27 (0)11 209 8772 or +27 (0)83 288 3748 or at hbimbassis@deloitte.co.za. Why don’t you visit the Deloitte RecruitTalent home page and see what they are all about?

The need for a stronger, deeper leadership pipeline is nearly universal. In a recent study by The Conference Board, CEOs in every industry rated leadership development as a top three priority.ⁱ Yet, during the economic crisis, many organizations discovered they didn’t have the depth of leadership necessary to navigate today’s challenging business conditions. Moreover, they lacked the data and insights to know which leadership candidates were truly worth developing and investing in — particularly when facing sharp budget cuts.

The task of identifying and developing high-potential leaders is nothing new. What’s different now is that many organizations are getting much clearer about what “high potential” really means — based on science, not anecdotes — and then investing in an integrated set of data-driven activities to accelerate the development of their most promising leadership talent.

Being ranked in the highest performance category does not necessarily make someone a high potential employee. What really distinguishes these special leaders from the rest of the pack is their critical leadership attributes and the value they can provide to drive the company’s growth.

High-potential leaders must be able to operate on a global scale and adapt quickly to change. They also need the depth and breadth of skills and experience to work across converging industries. For example, high potentials in the telecommunications world must be able to lead, manage and innovate across multiple business areas — including computing, entertainment and social media — as well as multiple geographic markets.

True high potentials are a precious asset that is critical to an organization’s future growth and success. They are the best of the best — and should be nurtured accordingly. Cultivating the right mix of personal attributes, skills and experience requires rapid evolution through a diverse range of leadership opportunities and career paths. Accelerated leadership development is about making this happen.

What’s driving this trend?

Aggressive growth targets in global and converging markets. Rapid expansion into new markets demands leadership that can handle the unknown. With growth as a dominant business driver — and the increasing importance of differentiation — companies require leaders who can make change and innovation happen across converging industries and diverse cultures.

Severe leadership pipeline shortages. High-potential leaders are scarce — especially executive succession candidates. Many companies are finding it increasingly expensive and risky to source senior leaders externally, particularly for top jobs in global growth markets and critical product/service segments.

Increased scrutiny from boards and investors. Boards, investors and analysts are taking a closer look at leadership risks across the organization, not just at the CEO level. They are asking tough questions about the numbers and types of leaders necessary to meet growth commitments and navigate uncertainty. Also, they are demanding multiple options for critical positions — and aren’t willing to wait 10 years for an organization to close the leadership gap.

Rising expectations and declining loyalty of top talent. Companies want more from their leaders — and leaders want more from their companies. When next-generation leaders believe their companies are underinvesting in their development, they will look elsewhere for opportunities to grow — often with competitors. They are expected to do more with less yet are not being sufficiently challenged with the diverse set of experiences that can help them expand their personal brand and value proposition in the enterprise. As a result, they grow impatient, especially as opportunities start to open up elsewhere.

Demand for leadership ROI. Although the C-suite recognizes the importance of developing the next generation of leaders, it wants to see a tangible return on its development investments. Are the right investments being made? What are the returns? How do you measure current investments when they are building future capabilities? Beefing up the leadership pipeline can drive a company’s growth agenda, reduce succession risk and deliver tangible business results.

Download the full article . . . .  Fast-Track to the Top

Did you find this article useful? We welcome your comments and feedback! We welcome you to share this article with your colleagues and network!

ⁱ “Go Where There Be Dragons: Leadership Essentials for 2020 and Beyond,” The Conference Board, 2010.

As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

Many companies around the world are moving to new global operating models, driven by the rapid rise of emerging and developing economies — both as customers and as sources of talent — and by continuing pressure to reduce costs.

Historically, companies doing business outside of their home country have tended to rely on one of two operating models. First is an entrepreneurial model (sometimes known as an international model) in which the rest of the world is subordinate to the company’s home market. Second is a federated model (sometimes known as multidomestic) in which multiple geographies are all treated as distinct and separate.

Looking beyond these two established models, many leading companies are increasingly shifting toward a third model, where major business operations (including both front- and back-office functions) are globally integrated, with the company’s home market treated as just one of many global markets.

The move toward a globally integrated operating model is likely to be one of the most significant transformations a company will ever face. Much of it involves people-related issues, such as change, talent and HR operations — and HR has important roles to play in this transformation. The question is how can HR leaders and their teams prepare to meet the challenge?

What’s driving this trend?

Rise of global customer markets

Different economies around the world are growing and recovering at different speeds. Mature markets in North America and Europe face flat or uneven demand, while emerging and developing markets — such as China, India, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East — are widely recognized as the primary engines for future growth. In Brazil, economic growth continues on the strength of its export economy, but also rising domestic demand. An estimated 35 million people joined the middle class between 2003 and 2009 and 20 million more are expected to be included by 2014.ⁱ In China, the middle class is already larger than the entire population of the United States.ⁱⁱ

Rise of global talent markets

Over the past decade, the talent pool has become increasingly global — and not just for commodity activities, such as offshore manufacturing, transactions and call center operations. Many companies are now using offshore resources for high-value activities, such as R&D, knowledge processing and advanced analytics. The United States used to lead the world in the number of 25- to 34-year-olds with college degrees. Now, it ranks 12th among 36 developed nations.ⁱⁱⁱ Also, China produces 10 times more natural sciences graduates than the United States.^iv While the quality of science and engineering graduates from emerging markets may not be as high as those from developed markets, the overall trend is clear.

Hyperconnectivity

Technology is accelerating the rise of global customer and talent markets by making it easy for people to communicate and collaborate, whether they are in adjacent cubicles or halfway around the world. In a business environment where everything is connected to everything else, geographic distances and national boundaries are almost irrelevant.

Cost pressure

The need to cut costs used to be the main reason for moving work to lower-cost locations and remains a key driver thanks to a tough economy that has prompted the most significant cost restructuring in decades. However, reducing costs is now just one of many important reasons for tapping the global talent pool.

Regulatory and capital requirements

In the financial services sector, increased regulation (both nationally and globally) and higher capital and solvency requirements are forcing many companies to adjust their global footprints and change how they operate.

Click here to read more about this trend.

Contact David Conradie at dconradie@deloitte.co.za for a more detailed discussion

Did you find this useful? We welcome your feedback and comments, and yes, please share this article with your colleagues and network!