SUCCESSFACTORS / WHITEPAPER WInnIng THROUgH TAlEnT In UnCERTAIn TImES 1. Establish clarity of new goals and rapidly align your workforce to execute the new strategy. When change is forced upon your business by the external environment, you cannot afford to lose focus or to delay the necessary course shift. If you don’t execute the right strategy quickly, more nimble competitors will. In these times of rapid change and heightened uncertainty, possibilities for relative gains abound. Downturns make the impossible dramatically possible — for you AND for your competitors. If you know what your company needs to succeed tomorrow, an economic slowdown is the best time to buy or build those assets. It’s easier to move upstream or downstream, develop a breakthrough innovation, take key customers away from competitors, and achieve operational efficiency. But knowing is not enough. Managers must find ways to boost their company’s strategic agility — their ability to respond to opportunities and threats more rapidly. Herein lies the challenge. Executing change is never easy, especially if the new strategy requires a cultural change. But mobilizing people becomes particularly challenging when your organization is distracted by the lack of clarity. Agile organizations can successfully drive and monitor activities related to the strategic objectives. They adopt best practices to: • Facilitate clear communication of goals and line-of-sight • Provide real-time accountability and visibility into project status • Take action if individuals fall behind on goals Clear communication of company-wide goals is of paramount importance. By being transparent, you show employees you have a plan — you inspire confidence and motivate them with the knowledge that “someone’s driving this ship in the right direction.” This organizational-wide alignment translates into financial performance relative to industry peers: WHITEPAPER In a study of 40 How Smart HCM Drives companies of various Financial Performance sizes, 44% of the stronger Erik Berggren Stronger Director, Global Research financial performers had Employees Dr. Jac Fitz-enz 44% CEO, Workforce Goals performers Intelligence Institute almost 100% aligned goals at the managerial Aligned 0% Weaker level. None of the weaker performers performers did. 020406080 100 Source: Berggren & Fitz-enz, How Smart HCM Drives Financial Performance, 2006. 5