Control & Risk Management

Control & Risk ManagementAs the marketplace becomes increasingly dynamic and unpredictable the successful application of these strategies becomes increasingly important as businesses seek to exploit new opportunities, respond to market forces and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

An indication of the importance of this area is demonstrated by the collapse some of the world’s largest global organisations resulting from failure to successfully implement these strategies and manage the associated processes.

These strategies and processes are fundamental to guide and steer businesses of any size and complexity.

Our approach to Control & Risk Management is to provide:

Education and awareness services, emphasising the distinction between risk avoidance and control and risk management.

Risk analysis and assessment services, reviewing both the probability and impact of individual and combinations of risk. This can both provide a holistic view of an organisation or target individual departments.

Planning and implementation services, working in partnership with our clients to overcome operational inefficiencies or weaknesses.

Control & Risk Management

Interim ManagementEven the biggest and well run organisations need help from time to time. Whilst this can often be in the form of consultancy, outsourcing or staff development, there are times when you need a skilled and experienced manager to work as an integral part of your team. Typically this is required when:

There is a specific skills gap in a key management function and there are no suitable internal candidates

A key manager leaves the organisation creating an immediate need for a suitable replacement

The solution to this type of problem is often to appoint an interim manager for a period of between 3 to 18 months. Our approach to interim management is to:

Provide suitably skilled and experienced staff

Ensure there are a clear set of objectives and exit strategy

Provide coaching and mentoring to existing staff that may be future candidates for the role

Control & Risk Management

Business StrategyJohn Harvey Jones once said that warfare is easier than business. One of the key reasons for this is that many Managing Directors and Chief Executives have a clear view of what they want to achieve when they take over but soon became immersed in day to day operations, not taking the time to refresh their ambitions and plans. The following dialogue taken from the popular children’s book Alice in Wonderland illustrates the point:

Rabbit…”which way are you going”

Alice…”I don’t know”

Rabbit…”then any direction will get you there!”

A good business strategy will help overcome this scenario. Our approach includes assisting in the following areas:

Establishing and testing the vision and supporting objectives

Review or developing a supporting business plan

Ensure that the vision and plan are supported by strategies for control & risk management, performance enhancement, organisational development and staff development

Establishing a culture of change management

Control & Risk Management

Performance EnhancementEvery organisation, no matter what its type of business or size, is under pressure to continually enhance its performance as viewed by a range of diverse communities such as consumers, investors, staff, partners, regulators and environmental groups. This can be a considerable challenge, especially as each community may have different and apparently contradictory measures of performance.

Performance enhancement is the process of exploiting available resources and opportunities to provide a greater return. It is equally applicable at all levels including organisational, departmental or team.

Our approach to performance enhancement is to:

Provide education and awareness services, reviewing a range of performance enhancement strategies, to assist our clients in choosing the most appropriate one for them Provide benchmarking services, reviewing existing practices against standards within an industry and against standards throughout the marketplace. This also includes a health check of existing processes and procedures to provide a snap shot of current performance Identify appropriate measures and supporting metrics for each community of interest Design operational procedures to ensure timely reporting and feedback of the previously identified measure and metrics Planning and implementation services, working in partnership with our clients to overcome any shortcomings and to exploit opportunities for innovation and areas for creative development

Control & Risk Management

Vision ImplementationThe most successful organisations are those that are able to focus all their resources to achieve a common set of objectives. Typical challenges include:

Clearly documenting and explaining objectives so that they can be understood and internalised at all levels of the organisation Translating high level objectives into specific actions plans that can be implemented and measured Aligning people from different locations, departments or functions to form effective mutli-disciplinary teams Aligning people from different organisation to form effective partnerships

Vision implementation is the process of successfully aligning people, at any level of the organisation, with a set of stated goals and objectives. Our approach to vision implementation is:

Assisting our clients to both develop new visions or test existing visions to ensure that they are achievable and aligned to the business strategy Develop communication strategies so that the stated vision and objectives can be properly communicated, understood and internalised Ensure that the vision is supported by strategies for control & risk management, performance enhancement and staff development

Control & Risk Management

OutsourcingIn today's ultra competitive market place with increasing pressure to continue to deliver enhanced performance, the trend for most organisations is to focus on their core competencies. In addition to enhancing performance by focusing on core business there are also considerable opportunities to reduce costs through selective outsourcing to partner organisations.

There are however considerable challenges such as:

Selecting partner organisations with compatible cultures

Managing demand rather than supply Assuring the quality of service whilst delivering cost reductions Effectively managing the relationship with partner organisations

Our approach includes assisting in the following areas:

Assessing the requirements and business components for outsourcing Developing criteria for the selection of outsourcing organisations Selection of outsourcing organisations Negotiation of contracts

Control & Risk Management

Coaching and MentoringAs the business climate becomes increasingly competitive staff are under increasing pressure to deliver greater levels of performance, often by working harder and smarter. Lengthening hours and increasing workloads has made corporate life a lonely place to be.

Whilst there are often formal training and development programmes in place, it is often difficult for staff, particularly senior and middle management, to find an independent, trusted and experienced sounding board for advice and support.

Within our staff development framework, the coaching and mentoring programme focuses on working directly with key staff to:

Provide confidential advice on an individual basis Assist in the transfer of knowledge and implementation of best practice to enhance performance Assist in the development of specific and realistic goals and targets Use techniques such as "peer assist" to build and extend effective networks within the organisation Facilitate the exploration of needs, motivations, desires, skills and thought processes to assist the individual in establishing lasting change Engage hearts as well as minds in order to generate and exploit high levels of energy within the organisation that translate into breakthroughs in actions, solutions and decisions

Control & Risk Management

Personal Development PlanningWhilst it is the responsibility of the organisation to ensure that it has suitably qualified and trained staff to conduct its business, it remains the responsibility of each individual to ensure that they continue to develop their skills and knowledge to support their career aspirations.

An increasing number of organisations are now recognising the mutual benefits of encouraging and facilitating the development of their staff by establishing personal development programmes. This helps to motivate & retain staff as well as developing the long term capability of the organisation.

Within our staff development framework, the personal development programme focuses on working with your functional and Human Resources team to:

Assess the development needs of staff within the programme Facilitate the implementation of the development programme, identifying opportunities to improve quality, reduce costs and exploit the use of new technologies Assess feedback as part of a continual learning programme

Control & Risk Management

Business TrainingIn today’s frenetic market place, organisations increasingly have to respond to the challenges created by such factors as e-business, outsourcing, knowledge management, and globalisation. As a result, formal training requirements can all too easily be overlooked. Our business training service is designed to assist our clients in identifying and managing these requirements.

Within our staff development framework, business training focuses on working with your functional and Human Resources teams to:

Assess the functional training requirements of the business Assess the current capability of staff Design an appropriate development programme to suit your budget and timescale Facilitate the implementation of the development programme, identifying opportunities to improve quality, reduce costs and integrate the use of new technologies Assess feedback as part of a continual learning programme

Control & Risk Management

Search and SelectionThe ability to attract, develop and retain the right people remains as one of the key determinants of any professional firm’s competitive successs. One of the greatest challenges most organisations face is how to select the right people for the job. This involves considerably more than hiring the 'best' or most 'experienced' people. It is fundamental to ensure that potential staff will be able to succeed within your unique culture and environment.

With our wealth of experience and extensive networks, we are perfectly placed to assist our clients in making the right choices when it comes to staff selection and placement.

Our approach includes assisting in the following areas:

Assessment of your needs and providing advice on a candidate profile Employing the appropriate search strategy to find the right type of candidate Filtering potential candidates to produce a hand picked short list Assisting in the final selection and placement process, including negotiation of the package and contract