WORKSHIFTER - Dispatches from the New Executive Frontier

 

 

The Unicorn Group and Epoch Workforce form strategic partnership

Organization provides interim business management for early stage companies 

Washington, DC (April 22, 2010) - The Unicorn Group is proud to announce that Boston, MA based interim workforce solutions firm Epoch Workforce have formed a partnership.  The companies will leverage each others' resources to expand market share.

Epoch provides project based resources for companies and individuals alike.  The company specializes in helping start ups businesses, acting as a business concierge.  Epoch's professionals are available to clients on a project basis rather than full time.  This model helps drive business results while also keeping down fixed costs.  Epoch provides solutions for clients that are expert, independent and progressive.

"I am really looking forward to working closely with John and his Unicorn executives," says Linda Stewart, CEO and Founder of Epoch.  "We both have services for clients that compliment each other and we both feel strongly about helping our clients succeed with accomplished professionals that can drive business results and lower fixed costs.  We know that our combined efforts can bring a value added service to the marketplace."

John Aggrey, Chairman and CEO of the Unicorn Group is excited to work with Epoch as well.  "Epoch is a company with a growing reputation for providing interim professional and executive resources for companies.  I am looking forward to working with Linda and her team.  They provide to our clients, a needed resource as a crucial step in the pre-funding phase when the need for a full service executive search firm is often premature."

The Unicorn Group is expanding as well.  Over the next year, the company will be adding more business development people which will help to grow their business.  "When companies come to Unicorn, they are looking for us to provide services that will give them their best return on investment," said Aggrey.  "It is my job to be out there looking for the right people who can help provide that return for those companies."

About The Unicorn Group

The management of The Unicorn Group brings over 50 years of collective experience and has spent over 20 years developing a process of Executive Relationship Marketing (ERM) patterned after the Asian principles of Guanxi (pronounced Guan-chee). With a personal network of over 2,400 senior executives in the United States and around the world, we screen the technology landscape to identify hard to find, best-of-breed, early stage business solutions and present them to relevant decision-makers in targeted industry verticals across corporate America to create efficiencies and optimize productivity.  For more information, please visit http://www.useunicorn.com/ or contact CEO John Aggrey at 202-460-1150 or jwaggrey@useunicorn.com.

About EPOCH Workforce

Epoch provides business solutions for workforce management in the new economy.  For more information on how EPOCH's Business Solutions for Workforce Management can benefit your organization, please contact Linda Stewart at 617-440-3092 or e-mail us at lstewart@epochworkforce.com.

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This week's cover story in Business Week focuses on the shift in how companies are utilize their temporary workforce. "Right on up to the C-suite, more jobs will be freelance and temporary" write the authors, Peter Coy, Michelle Conlin and Moira Herbst. "The idea that any job is permanent has been well proven not to be true." The authors write that we can expect to see the perma-temp workforce dominate temporary staffing for the next 5-10 years. "Companies that seized on the recession as an opportunity to make drastic organizational changes for greater efficiency and flexibility aren't likely to reverse those changes once the economy begins growing again, says David H. Autor, a labor economist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And companies that turned labor into a just-in-time, flexible factor of production won't return to an old-fashioned job-for-life arrangement. For the last 10 years, I and others have been saying that these trends aren't just for a fringe workforce but increasingly are for the mainstream," says Sara Horowitz, founder and executive director of the Freelancers Union, a 130,000-member advocacy group for contract workers. "This recession has shown us that the future is here."

So why write about the temporary workforce here? Because last month's The Economist and this week's Business Week are discussing the use of interim executives at the C-level, "leadership-on-demand" if you will. For those who relish working on projects and engagements with the flexibility to accept only those opportunities that are a great fit, your time is here. For clients, highly qualified, well respected executives are now available to work on an interim basis, talent that would not have been available for consulting, interim and project work in the past, allowing organizations to benefit from outstanding resources on a variable basis.  Epoch has so far experienced a 75% increase in opportunities in the first quarter compared to this time last year, and as the economy improves, we expect requests to grow significantly.  The time has come to consider "leadership-on-demand" as both a viable and effective option for business. 

To read Business Week's cover story, click here: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_03/b4163032935448.htm?chan=magazine+channel_top+stories

 

After a busy fall for Epoch and the usual holiday festivities, I heard that Epoch was covered in the December 10th issue of The Economist. I ran to my tall pile of "magazines to be read", since I'm usually a good two weeks behind, and near the top was the most recent issue. The article highlights the trend of organizations to utilize interim executives, originally adopted by European companies, with increasing frequency.   

I invite you to read the article, Talent on Tap, at: http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15064293.

Happy holidays to all!

 

We officially launched our new business assessment service this week, and here is an excerpt from the press release: 

BOSTON--(Business Wire)--

EPOCH launches a complimentary service for companies looking to drive business results and reduce budgets.

Boston, MA, August 25, 2009 - Professional services firm EPOCH, a leading provider of interim executives and project-based consulting services to help companies solve business problems and execute critical initiatives, announced today it is launching a business assessment service. Through September 30^th, EPOCH will provide a free assessment of a business, working with a company's leadership to analyze how to drive business results and reduce fixed costs (travel-related expenses may apply). Following thorough discussions with key leaders in the organization, EPOCH will present a comprehensive report identifying the strategic and tactical opportunities to immediately impact the business.

ABOUT EPOCH

EPOCH is a pioneering company dedicated to The Next Way to Work and provides:

• Thought leadership on the evolution of work and consults directly with progressive organizations on how to integrate these concepts into the workplace to drive results and reduce fixed costs. 
• Talented project based resources for companies seeking senior level professionals and executives to solve business problems or accelerate critical business initiatives.  These knowledgeable and experienced resources are available on site for larger projects or virtually for smaller advisory services.
• Comprehensive products and services for consultants and freelancers to establish, grow or manage their businesses.

EPOCH works with an organization's management team to accelerate the execution of critical business initiatives by identifying and engaging proven executives who have successfully completed similar projects around the world. Accomplished professionals in their portfolio have proven track records in planning and executing complex projects here and abroad.

Please let us know if we can assist your company!

Barbara Haith has joined EPOCH as Vice President of Business Development at EPOCH, focusing her energies on educating organizations on EPOCH's model and executive talent resources while developing a strong network of long-term client partnerships for EPOCH and interim executive portfolio.  Barbara is a strategic sales leader with over 15 years experience delivering workforce and HR-related solutions to Fortune 1000 companies nationally.  She has direct experience providing outsourced recruiting and staffing solutions to clients within the Financial Services, Life Sciences, Higher Education and Technology industry sectors. Barbara's background includes 10 years as a senior manager leading high performing field sales teams.

Prior to joining EPOCH, Barbara recently served as Vice President of Business Development at TAC Worldwide where she helped customers create practical talent acquisition and workforce strategies for the high tech manufacturing, medical device, and life science industry sectors.

Before joining TAC Worldwide, Barbara was Vice President of Sales for Veritude, a Fidelity Investments company.  In that capacity, she was the primary business development leader for Managed Services Programs and Recruitment Process Outsourcing solutions, initiating and closing more than 20 multi-million dollar accounts including Millipore, EMC, Avid Technology, Akamai, Boston Scientific, JP Morgan Chase, Citizens Bank, MIT, and Columbia University.

Prior to joining Fidelity, Barbara served in senior level sales capacities within the outsourced recruiting sector with firms including Randstad and MRI International.  Earlier in her career, Barbara held executive level field sales management roles in fashion retailing for the specialty retailers Banana Republic and The Limited.

Barbara graduated from Lesley University with a degree in Organizational Development.  She resides in Boxford with her husband Malcolm, and retriever champion Hunter.

For businesses wanting just-in-time access to deep knowledge and expertise for specific business issues or concerns, the new EPOCH Advisor Network can be accessed online or by phone for an hourly fee beginning later this month.  This service is a cost effective way for businesses to get the high quality talent and support they need to grow and effectively manage their businesses with industry leaders as their on line business partners.  EPOCH has a select group of executives and professionals with significant experience in key disciplines and industries.  EPOCH's portfolio of independent advisors helps businesses obtain the key information, counsel, support, ideas or guidance they need to address and manage their critical business issues.  EPOCH gives organizations access to professionals with expertise in marketing, sales, operations, human resources, compliance, risk, finance, executive coaching and cultural awareness, to name just a few.  All of these professionals and executives engage in on line sessions to help advise business leaders about the key concerns affecting their business.  This service is available on demand for an hourly fee.  Payment for these services can be made on line through PayPal or a with a major credit card.  When specific expertise is required, a client calls 617.440.3087 and speaks with an Advisor Coordinator. They will identify and schedule the session between the customer and the advisor.  If you are a business in need of these services, I hope you will call us.  And, if you know others that might be interested, I hope you will share this with them.

I'm beginning to hear some real optimism in the market in the last few weeks.  It seems that businesses are beginning to recognize that despite the economy, it is time to get back to business.  And, the organizations I'm speaking to realize that they can't do it the way they used to....they just can't add back all that fixed cost. They need to find new and creative ways to deploy talent to drive business results AND reduce fixed costs.  Engaging independent professionals on a project basis to solve problems is a compelling value proposition in what will be The New Economy. 

We at EPOCH are out there advocating for all of you and encouraging companies to engage professionals and executives on site to help accelerate the completion of critical business initiatives.

In July, we will also be launching an "on-line" version, where small and mid size businesses can access our portfolio of professionals on an hourly basis.  When that is complete, we will have a service delivery model that supports small, mid-size and large companies.

So, hang in there.....I think there will be lots of work for lots of you over the next few months.  Keep working your networks and keep evangelizing the model.  As I've said in the past....engaging talent in this new way gives companies:

• Access to deep knowledge and expertise (with "done it before" resources)
• On a variable cost basis (no recruiting, benefits or severance costs)
• With goal oriented people who have no political agenda (giving business leaders the objective feedback they need to make great decisions)

Last but not least, if any of you ever get an assignment with a multinational organization, I learned of a terrific company this week called Globally Hip (www.globallyhip.com) that focuses on cultural awareness.  They offer one on one training for individuals in addition to speaking, education and broad based training for corporations.  I met the owner and I think they have a terrific model.  If you happen to be fortunate enough to work with people around the globe, having this kind of training and support will give you a tremendous advantage...check them out! 

 

 I thought you might be interested in what Workforce Management recently talked about......

Temp Execs Gaining Favor in a Troubled Economy
Objectivity and the lack of a political agenda allow a temporary executive to make tough decisions like layoffs and cutbacks.
By Jessica Marquez
Comments 0 | Recommend 1

any employers today are finding the need to shift course given the changing economy, but they don't have the leadership they need to do so. In hard times, firms want executives who can make difficult decisions and not worry about relationships, experts say. And that's why more employers are turning to temporary executives.

     Los Angeles-based Business Talent Group, which has more than 1,500 temporary executives and 100 clients, has seen its business grow 47 percent year over year since its inception 2½ years ago. "We hear a lot from companies that want to bring in an interim executive to deal with a turnaround or crisis and who can make tough calls and be the bad guy," COO Amelia Warren Tyagi says. "And then the next person can come in and rebuild loyalty and culture."

    Workforce Management New York bureau chief Jessica Marquez recently spoke to three temporary executives who work with BTG-William Kuehn, who often temps as an interim CEO; Philip Deming, who temps as a head of HR; and Sydney Drell Reiner, who temps as a chief marketing officer-about their experiences.

William P. Kuehn
Consultant, interim CEO

    Workforce Management: How did you get involved in temporary executive work?

     William Kuehn: I had my own business, Bolstad Industries, for several years through the mid 1980s. I decided to close that down during what was really in the middle of an industrial depression. Then I decided to go into turnaround consulting. And I found that doing that kind of work as an interim executive was preferable to being a consultant because you have the authority to make the tough decisions. Since then, I have worked as an interim CFO and CEO and interim COO at a number of companies in health care and technology.

    WM: Do you prefer this to a permanent position?

     Kuehn: There is always a permanent job that I would enjoy, but the danger in a permanent job is that it could become stale and you could become a caretaker. One of the things that I find very attractive about interim executive work is that you are constantly learning and growing as a person.

    WM: What are the advantages for employers in hiring temporary executives?

     Kuehn: Often when a company wants to bring in a new CEO, they don't want to wait four to six months to conduct a search and find the ideal person, so this is a way of addressing that. The other thing is if you have nasty things that need to get done, you want someone who is willing to take the rap from employees or shareholders for making the difficult decisions. Then the new person doesn't get tagged with having made those decisions.

    WM: What are the challenges for employers in bringing on interim executives?

     Kuehn: The biggest challenge is finding someone who is qualified. Companies also need to make sure that the other executives are on board with the hire, and that the hire has the authority to make decisions. Finally, interim executives don't have the benefits of knowing all of the personalities and the culture of the company, so it's important that someone makes him or her aware of those issues.

    WM: What are the challenges for the interim executive?

     Kuehn: Again, there is the challenge of coming into a company that you don't know. Also, the executive needs to make sure that they are well-received by other executives so that they can work together as a team.

Philip Deming
Consultant, interim HR chief

    WM: How did you get involved in doing interim HR work?

     Philip Deming: I was at a company where the chief administration officer got caught embezzling money, and so we terminated that person and I took on the role along with my existing responsibilities as head of HR. That was 15 years ago.

    WM: Being the head of HR requires having a good understanding of the organization and the employees. When is it appropriate to have an interim head of HR?

     Deming: I usually get involved where a company is getting out of a crisis. For example, one client I just worked with had come out of bankruptcy and terminated their chair of the board and the CEO. People were devastated and they needed someone. So I came in and handled the human capital issues and helped establish some stability.

    WM: Isn't it challenging though to come in as an interim HR executive when you don't know the employees?

     Deming: Most HR people don't like to lay off people and do restructurings. After you do something like that, it permanently affects your relationship with the existing employees. So in that kind of situation it's helpful to have an interim HR executive.

    WM: What are the challenges that a company may face in bringing on an interim HR executive?

     Deming: HR always needs the full support of senior management. Companies need to make sure that is the case.

    WM: What are the advantages for the company in hiring an interim HR executive?

     Deming: I remember being called in by a CEO at one client who told me that they wanted the best and brightest. I told them, 'No one is going to work for this organization.' So having the advantage of an interim executive is that we can say things that are politically threatening. I have no political agenda.

Sydney Drell Reiner
Interim chief marketing officer

    WM: After years of working in top marketing positions at large companies, you decided to go temp. Why?

     Drell Reiner: For me it was a lifestyle decision. I have a little girl, Hayley, and I loved my career, but I was working 80 hours a week. Being an interim executive allows me to do what I love doing but I don't have to commit to a long period of time.

    WM: What are the advantages to employers in bringing on an interim chief marketing officer?

     Drell Reiner: I think there is a certain advantage in having someone with complete objectivity. You don't have a vested interest. It's not your stock options on the line.

    WM: But couldn't that be a double-edged sword for hiring companies?

     Drell Reiner: Well, you still have a reputation to protect. And you are being brought in for a specific purpose, so to that extent the accountability is very high.

    WM: What are the challenges for employers in hiring an interim marketing executive?

     Drell Reiner: One thing companies need to really think about when hiring an interim marketing executive is how well they will work with the product development people and the research people. That's still important even if it's a short-term position.

    WM: Other interim executives have said that they are often brought in to deal with a crisis. Is that true for you?

     Drell Reiner: Well it's a little bit of a case of the chicken and egg. If a company is looking to hire an interim chief marketing officer, it often means that they aren't ready to pull the trigger on hiring a permanent person. They know they are going through some big change and they don't know if they will keep that role.

Workforce Management Online, June 2009

Last week, Time magazine did a great story on the future of work and the workforce.  If you didn't get a chance to read it, let me share what I thought was the most compelling thing for those of you working as consultants and freelancers.....they said and predicted the following:

"Employment is at a 25 year high. Work will eventually return but it won't look the same.  We will see a more flexible, more freelance, more collaborative and far less secure work world.  40% of the US workforce will rent out its skill and boomers will be working as part time coaches, strategists and consultants."

I think that's terrific news for those of you workshifters out there that wonder what the future holds. 

 

Are you wondering how you can spend more time growing your business instead of spending time managing your business?  We can now help support your ongoing technical needs as well as your accounting and bookkeeping for a very reasonable fee.  Then, once you've gotten that off your to-do list, we can also offer you the support services you need, to help you grow your business including:

• Web site development
• Creative new marketing materials
• Public Speaking Coaching
• Business Advisory Services
• Tutoring in Twitter, Facebook and Linked In

We want to help you grow and develop your practice and so we've provided you with all the tools you need to do just that.  The big companies outsource the work that is not what they consider their "core competency"....why shouldn't you?  Visit our consultant and freelance resource center for more information or call 617.440.3087 and speak with one of our representatives about how we can help you.

It's all about making more time for yourself so you can focus on your business.  Let us be your partner in making that happen.