Chief Operating Officer 2

Expert Insights

Responding to change: what next for social housing?

The Social Housing sector faces unprecedented challenges as Housing Associations and Local Authority ALMOs have to provide more homes and better services with less money. Change management expert David Lister argues that restructuring and developing a new Target Operating Model can create greater efficiencies and more modern ways of working – leaving organisations in better shape for the future.

Quality data starts with good governance

High-quality, well-managed data is crucial to give you a more sophisticated understanding of your customers and to drive better decision making. But before you can exploit data, it’s vital that you have sound governance in place – and the responsibility for that lies with the board, not your IT department.

Is now the time to sell your shared service centre?

A boom in internal shared service centres (SSCs) over the past 20 years has helped many organisations lower costs and drive efficiencies. But should you go a step further and outsource altogether? Interim finance manager Ben Chapman, who’s helped many companies set up and / or outsource their SSCs, explains the benefits of doing so, and why now’s a good time.

Going digital: a golden opportunity

We’ve all seen how digital has transformed the consumer experience. But what about in the B2B world? Henry Boyden specialises in helping organisations capitalise on the potential of digital business. He tells us how B2Bs who haven’t undertaken significant digital transformation, are in danger of leaving it too late.

Are you really listening to your customers?

Over the past decade the likes of Amazon and Apple have transformed the way we buy and use products. The key to their success has been a complete focus on the needs and experiences of their customers. So could B2B organisations learn from their B2C cousins and do more for their customers? Peter Fisher, an expert in customer focus, believes so.

SSCs: are companies missing the bigger picture?

Shared services centres (SSCs) have been used successfully by businesses to streamline back office functions and save money. But could they do more? Could the SSC extend its portfolio to wider business services to drive performance and growth? Business services design and management expert Phil Lambert believes so.

Towards a new style of management

The financial disaster of 2007-08 was not just a failure of economic policy, but also a failure of corporate management as we know it. So argues Julian Birkinshaw, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, and author of several books including Reinventing Management. We spoke to him about why he believes current management is flawed and what companies can do to inspire the ‘Google generation’ of future leaders.

Complex change is easy…

Complex change is easy so long as you have a clear plan, the skills to deliver it and the ability to engage with people at all levels and bring them along. Highly experienced interim transformation programme director Tony Martin lists a few simple rules to make effective change easier.

The world has changed. Are your managers ready for growth?

With signs of global economic recovery, senior interim manager Matthew Warham argues that now’s the time for organisations to think about growth. More specifically, senior leaders need to look at their management and systems, and ask whether they have the right people in place to deliver.

Project Finger-Printing – How to avoid organisational amnesia

Lessons learned are important for continuous improvement and future success. While many are happy to discuss what went right on a project, exploring what went wrong can be easier said than done. Finance executive and change manager Siva Shankar explains a system he calls ‘project finger-printing’ which provides a mechanism for people to share valuable information on factors that drove success and failure.

Shared services optimisation – the next generation

Shared services began in the early 1990′s when large corporates were seeking a new, more cost-efficient model for running back-office services. Today, the concept is well established with shared services saving organisations millions of pounds. But what’s next? We asked business consulting expert and Interim Manager Allan Robb to look at the options.

Creating a business change function

In many organisations, business change programmes are managed by IT. But as Programme Manager Luke Evans argues, this can create a number of problems. He believes there’s a better way: and that’s to create a dedicated business change function.

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