Today’s interim executives operate on the front lines of organizational complexity—stabilizing operations, accelerating transformations, and closing critical capability gaps under intense time pressure. When speed and precision are the job, AI-enabled ways of working are not a bonus; they are becoming a baseline expectation.

In Heidrick & Struggles’ 2026 Talent Lens: The State of Interim Talent, it’s no surprise that three in four interim leaders and experts report actively upskilling—learning new AI tools and platforms—and nearly 40% are collaborating with others who have AI expertise. Only 11% say they are not using AI at all, and nearly half expect clients to soon require them to bring AI expertise to their engagements.

For organizations, this shift toward AI-enabled ways of working is happening in parallel with rising complexity and persistent capacity gaps. Modern leadership roles expand faster than the structures supporting them; priorities multiply while decision rights and resourcing lag behind. When that happens, even strong leaders fall into a triage mindset—constantly reacting instead of shaping the agenda.

AI workflow solutions empower interim experts and leaders to do what they do best—create immediate impact, sharpen focus, and increase the speed of execution.

Note: Interim leaders and experts must follow their clients’ AI policies, use only client-approved and client-controlled tools and platforms for engagement work, and never input sensitive or proprietary data into any external model. Also remember that AI models are developing technologies and can make mistakes. Always double-check responses!

What It Means to Streamline Workflows with AI

Streamlining a workflow means removing the operational drag that slows decisions. In a purely manual environment, an interim leader might spend their first two weeks synthesizing historical data, interviewing stakeholders, and mapping existing processes before they can even begin to shift the agenda.

It’s not about replacing judgment or leadership. It’s about reducing manual friction in how work moves, standardizing repeatable processes so teams spend less time reinventing the wheel, and focusing scarce leadership attention on the choices and relationships that truly require it.

In practice, this often means introducing targeted AI workflow tools and workflow automation tools that handle tasks to avoid all the work repetition, such as:

• Drafting and refining status reports, executive updates, and board materials
• Turning unstructured meeting notes into clear action lists with owners and timelines
• Monitoring project risks and dependencies before they become emergencies
• Synthesizing data from multiple systems into concise, decision-ready summaries

This is not about cutting corners. When applied thoughtfully, the use of artificial intelligence is less about experimentation and more about operational design—a deliberate choice about where machines can handle the mechanical aspects of work so people can concentrate on higher-order thinking.

With an outsider’s perspective beyond the constraints of internal politics or legacy habits, interim leaders are well equipped to put these technologies to work. Interim leaders are not passive placeholders; they are brought in specifically to stabilize operations, lead complex projects, and create momentum through periods of transition. That same mandate—to move fast, cut through complexity, and deliver results—makes embedding AI a natural part of how they work, not an add-on to it.

Practical Ways Interim Leaders Are Using AI at Work

The ways people are using AI at work have shifted considerably—and nowhere more visibly than in how interim leaders manage the first weeks of an engagement. Arriving to a tangle of decks, spreadsheets, and email threads, interim leaders can use AI to scan and synthesize the material into a concise briefing rather than spending manually reviewing everything. It compresses a two-week discovery process into something closer to two days.

The same logic applies during transformations and integrations. Drawing on AI-enabled diagnostics, interim leaders can surface trends in data—as well as anomalies—far faster than manual analysis allows. This allows them to spend their time pressure-testing assumptions and sequencing decisions rather than chasing down data. AI also excels in communication-related tasks. Interim leaders using generative tools as an AI writing partner can translate technically complex progress into clear narratives for boards, executives, and frontline managers who each need a different version of the same story.

Many leaders also rely on workflow automation tools to maintain project rhythm — assembling status materials from live issues and milestones, and flagging items at risk before they require escalation. The use of AI here is not about replacing judgment. It is about making sure the administrative pulse of a project does not consume the attention that should be going toward the harder, human work of alignment and decision-making.

AI at Work—Beyond the Engagement

The use of AI for interim leaders extends well beyond any individual project. When researching potential clients and opportunities, AI can synthesize the prospect’s industry landscape, recent financial performance, leadership changes, and competitive pressures—enabling an interim leader to walk into an interview or first meeting well oriented in advance.

Winning work is another area where AI-enabled independents are pulling ahead. The need to tailor resumes, proposals, and communications to the opportunity at hand has become ubiquitous for both independent talent and permanent employment seekers alike. Generative tools acting as an AI writing partner can sharpen that output considerably, helping independents present themselves with the same polish they would bring to a board communication.

Finally, there is the longer game of knowledge management. Every engagement produces insights—what worked, what did not, which frameworks proved durable. But capturing those lessons requires discipline about what belongs to the client and what belongs to the interim. Workflow notes, general frameworks, and personal observations about approach are fair game; client data, internal analyses, and proprietary processes are not. AI tools can help interims build a compounding knowledge base from that portable layer alone—and over a career of back-to-back engagements, that accumulation becomes a genuine differentiator.

How to Get Started with AI for Productivity

Remember that goal is not to master every application at once, but to start with a few high-value use cases that align with your role and your clients’ priorities.

1. Select a pilot workflow. Rather than trying to build out a full AI workflow from scratch, choose a single repetitive task—summarizing weekly stakeholder meetings or cleaning up a disorganized data set—and use it as a testbed. Measure the time saved and the quality of the output before deciding whether to expand.
2. Experiment with different types of AI—within your client’s approved platforms. A common question is: what are the different types of AI, and which one fits my needs? Broadly, large language models handle content generation while agentic AI handles task execution. Understanding how to learn AI in the flow of work—rather than as an abstract side project—helps you choose the right tool for a specific problem rather than forcing one solution onto every use case.
3. Establish guardrails. In an executive capacity, security and trust are non-negotiable. Ensure that the use of AI complies with the client’s data privacy and governance policies. Never feed proprietary or sensitive data into public models without a secure, enterprise-grade environment, and be explicit about where human review is always required.

The Value-First Approach to AI Integration

By embedding AI into your independent practice, you are not just making your work easier; you are compressing the time between arrival and impact. The average interim leader arrives with 20-plus years of experience that can be applied almost immediately; used effectively, AI can be a powerful force multiplier in their toolkit.

In a world where 42% of interim projects now last longer than six months, using AI to streamline your AI workflow is one of the fastest ways to stay focused on the work that only a human leader can do: building trust, aligning culture, and navigating the complexities of human-led change. Those who pair deep experience with AI-enabled capacity will be best positioned to turn both into a structural advantage for the organizations they serve.

When stepping into a new role, it’s natural to feel compelled to act quickly: to decide, to change, to make an immediate and obvious impact. But leaders who create durable momentum tend to do something more deliberate first. They slow down just enough to understand the system they’ve inherited, the people who power it, and the forces—visible and invisible—that shape outcomes.

It’s generally not speed or bold moves that determine success for a new leader—it’s strategic alignment. When priorities, internal expectations, and resources are aligned early, leaders can create real momentum.

On the flipside, one of the most underestimated risks for new leaders is misalignment. Success can mean very different things to different stakeholders: short-term results versus long-term transformation, stability versus disruption, speed versus precision. When those internal expectations remain implicit, even strong execution can miss the mark.

Early on, it’s critical to align on what matters most, how success will be evaluated, where authority begins and ends, and which constraints are truly non-negotiable. Just as importantly, these assumptions need to be revisited as conditions change and new information emerges.

Strategic alignment creates freedom. When expectations are clear, you and your team can move decisively toward a well-defined goal. Let’s look at some ways to slow down, gather and evaluate insights, make early progress, and ultimately work toward strategic alignment in your new leadership role.

When you’re ready to dig in further, find the resources you need to develop your 30-60-90 plan in our 90-Day Leadership Playbook.

Conduct a Listening Tour as a Source of Strategic Intelligence

As a new leader, listening is both a relationship-building tool and your most valuable means of gaining insight. Structured, intentional listening allows you to see how work actually gets done—not just how it’s described in decks or org charts.

As you conduct a listening tour, place more weight on patterns than individual opinions. When you ask consistent questions across functions and levels, disconnects often begin to surface: between strategy and execution, priorities and resources, authority and accountability. You also start to see informal power structures, cultural fault lines, and long-standing friction points that rarely show up in formal reports.

Essential Questions for a Listening Tour

• The Organization: What do we do especially well? What are the biggest opportunities for improvement?
• Strategy and Priorities: What are the most important priorities for the next 12 months? Are there initiatives we should reconsider or stop?
• Culture and Ways of Working: How would you describe our culture in a few words? What gets in the way of people doing their best work?
• Leadership and Teams: Who are the unsung heroes making a big difference? Where do you see gaps in leadership or critical capabilities?
• Relationships and Stakeholders: Which relationships should I focus on strengthening immediately?

The posture you bring to these conversations is just as important as the content. Curiosity, patience, and authenticity signal genuine interest and invite candor. In these moments, credibility is earned less by having answers and more by demonstrating the discipline to fully understand the problem before acting.

Understand Culture Before Trying to Change It

Culture either reinforces strategic alignment—or quietly undermines it. It shapes how decisions are made, how conflict is handled, and which behaviors are rewarded or discouraged. Culture is shaped and reinforced through everyday interactions.

As a new leader, it’s important to be mindful that you are stepping into a culture that predates you. Take time to observe and acknowledge underlying threads, assumptions, and forces at play across the organization.

In the early days of a leadership tenure, small actions carry disproportionate weight—how you listen, how you follow through, and how you respond under pressure. These signals shape internal expectations about what will be rewarded, what will be tolerated, and what kind of environment is being reinforced.

While cultural change takes time, cultural awareness starts immediately. By noticing and naming patterns—without rushing to judge or fix them—you make the invisible visible and begin building the trust required for meaningful change later.

Evaluate the Team with an Eye Toward Trajectory

Assessing a team isn’t simply about identifying top performers or underperformers. It’s about understanding whether the current configuration is suited for what lies ahead. Keep in mind that strong results can hide exhaustion or inefficiencies, and quieter contributors may hold disproportionate influence or institutional knowledge. Misalignment between capability and strategy often shows up as underperformance.

Rather than rushing into structural change, this is the moment to focus on clarifying roles, stabilizing responsibilities, and identifying gaps in capability or capacity that could slow progress. A measured approach gives you space to make better long-term talent decisions while still addressing risks that require near-term attention. Ultimately, team structure should reflect strategic priorities, not historical roles.

Remember that not every priority needs to be resourced internally. Thoughtful use of cross-functional partners, short-term specialists, or external project leadership can unlock progress without waiting for ideal conditions.

The Power of Interim Talent in the First 90 Days

Interim leaders and experts can be extremely valuable when strategic alignment is still forming. Used thoughtfully, on-demand talent can stabilize critical functions, deliver rapid diagnostics, and absorb operational demands, while you stay focused on getting your 360-degree view of the organization and fostering leadership alignment.

A 30-60-90 look at how interim support can help new leaders:

Days 1-30

Buy Time: Place interim leaders in critical roles so you’re not forced into rushed hiring decisions. Deploy project-based specialists to stabilize while you assess long-term needs.

Reduce Risk: Tap seasoned leaders and subject matter experts to run rapid diagnostics (financial health, cultural risks, operational bottlenecks). Lean on experienced operators to manage sensitive initiatives or transitions where early missteps could erode credibility.

Create Bandwidth: Assign interim talent to handle day-to-day execution, freeing you to focus on strategy and leadership alignment. Bring in short-term project leads to deliver quick, visible wins that build early momentum.

Days 30-60

Deepen Insight: As you build your 360° view of the business, tap subject-matter experts to analyze market dynamics, customer data, or operational performance.

Accelerate Cross-Functional Alignment: Deploy project managers or interim leaders to coordinate cross-functional efforts, ensuring your strategy synthesis doesn’t stay theoretical. Facilitators or coaches can help run workshops or off-sites to align leadership teams.

Unlock Options: Bring in specialists to model scenarios, stress-test strategies, or evaluate transformation pathways. This builds confidence that your plan is grounded, feasible, and resilient to external shifts.

Days 60-90

Deliver Results: Bring in interim leaders or project specialists to drive execution of your first few visible initiatives, ensuring momentum doesn’t stall while you balance strategy with delivery.

Strengthen Systems: Use interim experts to assess, design, or refine core processes so improvements stick.

Extend Capacity: Assign short-term project leads to accelerate change initiatives or manage workstreams that would otherwise stretch your permanent team.

Look Ahead: Engage specialists to scope future opportunities, risks, and capability needs for the next 6–12 months. Begin building optionality with talent pipelines and external partners so you’re not starting from scratch later.

The flexibility harnessed through the use of on-demand talent in the early days of a leadership position allows for greater speed, agility, and confidence later on.

Aligning Around a Clear Focus and Shared Priorities

As information accumulates, it can be tempting to act on everything at once. But narrowing the field to a small number of priorities—and being explicit about what will pause or stop—demonstrates discipline and clarifies intent.

Once you have both granular insights (from a listening tour) and high-level perspective (from strategy and performance reviews). It’s time to distill that into a clear, integrated understanding of the business—its strengths, risks, and opportunities.

Synthesize findings into a concise, shareable narrative—whether as a strategy brief, visual map, or presentation. Use it to align your leadership team, inform key stakeholders, and create a shared understanding of the priorities ahead. This synthesis becomes your compass for decision-making and your foundation for future planning.

Wondering if your team is aligned and ready to move forward? Here are some questions you can ask:

A quick strategic alignment check:

• Are success metrics consistent across stakeholders?
• Do decision rights match accountability?
• Are resources aligned to stated priorities?
• Do incentives reinforce or contradict strategy?
• Is culture supporting—or resisting—the direction of travel?

Turn Early Progress into Credibility

Visible progress—delivered through a small number of focused initiatives—demonstrates competence and builds confidence among stakeholders and teams alike.

Early wins don’t need to be sweeping transformations; they should be real, measurable, and aligned with stated priorities. Clear ownership, defined metrics, and regular communication are essential.

Celebrating progress builds energy and signals that effort leads to impact. As results accumulate, your credibility grows—and with it, the ability to take on more complex or contentious change.

Reflect, Recalibrate, and Look Ahead

Establishing clear rhythms for communication, decision-making, and accountability creates stability—not rigidity. Teams work more effectively when they understand how decisions are made, how issues are escalated, and how progress is tracked.

Remember to pause periodically to reflect. What’s working? What remains stuck? Which assumptions need revisiting? What new feedback have you received? Capturing these insights—individually and with the team—helps refine direction and reinforce team alignment. Leaders who regularly recalibrate stay adaptive, grounded, and credible as conditions evolve.

The Throughline: Alignment

Strategic alignment between people, priorities, and execution is the first step toward sustained momentum. Leaders who invest early in team alignment don’t just move faster; they move together.

Ready to put these concepts into action? Our 90-Day Leadership Playbook offers a practical 30-60-90 plan, with diagnostic tools, worksheets, and checklists to help you stay grounded and moving forward in your new role.

There’s a paradox at the heart of today’s business landscape. The pace of change—driven by AI, geopolitical disruption, and macroeconomic shifts—is lightning fast. Yet many organizations feel paralyzed by this very speed. During a recent Heidrick & Struggles webinar discussion on the 2026 leadership agenda, a striking 86% of attendees reported they are currently undergoing or planning a major transformation. But confidence in those efforts remains a scarce commodity.

The path forward requires a shift in how organizations view human capital. While technology dominates the headlines, Dustin Seale, Managing Partner of Heidrick Consulting, argued that we are entering the “age of the people function.” He noted that while AI agents are entering the workforce, business remains a human institution—yet only 11% of companies currently have a culture fully optimized for their strategy.

The consensus among the Heidrick & Struggles panelists—including Seale; Lauren Ridge, a Principal in executive search; and Allen Mueller, Chief Revenue Officer, On-Demand Talent, Americas —was that readiness is the new leadership currency. For many organizations, achieving that readiness will mean embracing a more flexible, agile approach to talent acquisition known as the “Build, Buy, or Borrow” framework.

Watch the webinar on demand or keep reading for highlights from the conversation.

Today’s Talent Gap and Bridging the “Borrow” Imperative

The pressure to transform is colliding with a difficult talent market. Mueller highlighted a critical disconnect: 77% of employers report difficulty finding the skilled talent they need, yet there is a massive pool of nearly 2 billion independent professionals globally.

Bridging this gap requires honesty about organizational capabilities. Mueller advised leaders to map out their key gaps—whether in skills, process, or governance—and apply the “Build, Buy, Borrow” model. While building internal talent and buying permanent hires are traditional routes, the “borrow” strategy is increasingly vital for agility. On-demand talent allows companies to tap into a highly skilled workforce of senior operators and former consultants who can step in immediately to drive outcomes without the long-term commitment of a full-time hire.

Today, leveraging interim leaders can be the catalyst that helps large enterprises close that speed gap and break through the paralysis of “waiting to be right.”

“Large companies now take about 270 days to move from an AI idea to a pilot, while smaller organizations can do it within 30 to 90 days. And that gap truly represents a competitive risk for all of these organizations,” Mueller explained.

Beyond Gap Filling: The Rise of Catalytic Leadership

The application of interim talent has evolved far beyond simple gap-filling. While about a quarter of on-demand work involves traditional interim roles—covering for a leave of absence or an unexpected resignation—the majority is focused on accelerating change. Mueller described these professionals as “catalytic leaders” who bring both a strategic lens and an operator mindset to specific initiatives.

This is especially relevant for AI adoption. Rather than viewing AI solely as an IT project, forward-thinking leaders are treating it as a governance and people challenge. On-demand experts are frequently brought in not just to define an AI strategy, but to conduct the complex change management required to make that strategy live and breathe within the organization’s culture. This allows internal teams, which may already be fully deployed or lacking specific niche skills, to maintain momentum on core business priorities while the on-demand resource drives the transformation.

Accelerating Is About Aptitude Over Attributes

The shift toward flexible talent mirrors a broader trend in executive search: prioritizing potential over a perfect resume. Ridge noted that the most sought-after skillsets are shifting from “attributes” (years of tenure, specific industry titles) to “aptitudes” (curiosity, humility, and agility). In an environment where there is often “no playbook” for the problems leaders face, companies need individuals who can thrive in ambiguity.

On-demand talent aligns perfectly with this shift. Because these professionals move between engagements frequently, they are tested for agility and the ability to deliver results quickly in varied environments. They offer a practical way for organizations to inject these high-aptitude behaviors into their teams immediately, fostering a culture of experimentation and learning that Seale identified as critical for high-performing organizations.

Breaking Inertia Through Experimentation

For organizations hesitant to embrace fractional or interim leadership, the advice is simple: just try it. Mueller argued that the on-demand model is inherently low-risk because it allows for experimentation. Leaders can engage a catalytic leader to tackle specific hurdles—such as the SMB automation initiatives Ridge highlighted, or specific workstreams within complex post-merger integrations—without a long-term commitment.

Success in these pilot projects builds momentum, helping to alleviate what Seale described as the pervasive fear currently gripping the C-suite. Seale noted that for organizations to survive, they must balance the survival mechanism of fear with the collaborative power of trust. By creating space to experiment—whether with AI tools or flexible talent models—leaders can foster a more resilient, people-first culture that is prepared for whatever 2026 brings.

Watch the full webinar for more insights!

The trick lies in moving beyond simply checking a world clock. It requires adopting a strategic, empathetic approach to scheduling across time zones. This companion piece builds on the general principles of working globally by offering a deep dive into the tactical strategies and tools necessary to make cross-time zone meetings productive, fair, and sustainable.

Today’s Core Challenge is the Time Zone Tango

The primary hurdle in planning meetings across time zones is the inherent trade-off. Unless two teams are in very close proximity (e.g., London and Paris), an optimal time for one group often means an inconvenient or disruptive time for another. The core of the problem can be visualized by breaking the globe into three major work blocks:

• The Americas (PST to EST): Late afternoon/Evening overlap with…
• EMEA (GMT to MSK): Morning/Lunch overlap with…
• APAC (IST to AEDT): Early Morning/Late Night.

A single meeting time cannot fall within the standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. work window for all three regions simultaneously. Therefore, the goal shifts from finding a perfect time to finding the most humane time, and crucially, ensuring the burden of inconvenience is shared equally.

Your Toolkit for Scheduling Across Time Zones

The right technology doesn’t just display time; it facilitates empathy and automates compromise. Before you send out an invitation, ensure your team is leveraging these three essential tools:

The Dynamic World Clock & Universal Time Converter

Relying solely on “local time” mental math is a recipe for errors. Your team must standardize on a reliable, dynamic time zone converter tool. More importantly, everyone should have an understanding of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). By referencing meeting times in UTC, you establish a single, unambiguous global standard, allowing each recipient to translate it accurately to their local time, regardless of Daylight Saving Time (DST) shifts.

Time Zone-Aware Calendar Systems

Most modern calendar applications (like Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, or dedicated scheduling platforms) offer features that are indispensable for global teams. The most critical features are:

• Default Time Zone Display: Ensure your calendar clearly shows your local time zone and allows you to temporarily view other time zones.
• Attendee Local Time View: When creating an event, the system should automatically display the proposed time in the local time zone of each invited attendee. Seeing that your proposed 9:00 a.m. is 1:00 a.m. for a colleague in Sydney immediately stops you from making that mistake.

Automated Scheduling Assistants

For meetings with five or more participants spanning three or more time zones, manual iteration is inefficient. Tools designed to schedule across time zones shine here. These assistants allow users to input their availability, and the system algorithmically calculates the best shared window, showing clearly which potential times minimize the imposition of early mornings or late nights across the entire group. This feature dramatically reduces the “reply-all” email chains and negotiation overhead.

Golden Rules for Planning Meetings Across Time Zones

If you’re looking to effectively plan meetings across time zones, it requires more than just picking a time; it demands a larger transformation in meeting culture and execution.

Rule 1: Rotate the Sacrifice (The Fairness Principle)

This is perhaps the single most important rule for team morale and preventing burnout. The onus for logging on at an inconvenient hour must be rotated. If the team in London had to stay up late for a 7 p.m. call this week, the team in New York should be asked to log in early for an 8 a.m. call next week, or the team in Sydney for a 10 p.m. call the week after.

Planning the overall meeting schedule—not just the individual event—around a principle of rotational fairness ensures that no single team or individual is consistently penalized for the company’s global footprint. Over the course of a quarter, the inconvenience should balance out.

Rule 2: Aim for the Overlap Sweet Spot

When scheduling, identify the largest possible window that minimally impacts the most people. This usually means aiming for one team’s early morning (8 a.m. to 10 a.m.) and another team’s late afternoon (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.).

• Example: A meeting between a team in London (GMT) and New York (EST -5) is easiest: 4 p.m. GMT is 11 a.m. EST.
• Example: A meeting between a team in London (GMT) and Singapore (SGT +8) is harder: 9 a.m. GMT is 5 p.m. SGT—a doable end-of-day slot. 4 p.m. GMT is 12 a.m. SGT—not humane. In this case, the London team must log on earlier (e.g., 7 a.m. GMT) to catch the Singapore team at 3 p.m. SGT.

Rule 3: Keep It Short and Focused (Respecting the Sacrifice)

If a team member is attending a meeting outside of their standard work hours, the meeting must be ruthlessly efficient.

• Tight Agenda: Every cross-time zone meeting needs a published agenda with clear time allocations for each topic.
• Preparation: Assign pre-reading or pre-work (e.g., draft reviews, data analysis) that must be done before the meeting. The meeting time should be reserved for debate, decision-making, and critical alignment—not passive information sharing.
• Time Cap: If a one-hour meeting can be condensed to 45 minutes, do it. If it can be broken into two 30-minute sessions over two days, that’s often better than one long, draining session.

Rule 4: Record Everything and Prioritize Asynchronous Work

For extreme time differences (like EST and AEDT, a 16-hour gap ), it is often impossible to find a shared time that works for a regular cadence. For these situations, synchronous meetings must become the exception, not the rule.

• Asynchronous-First: Plan to use tools for asynchronous updates (video messages, detailed project documentation, shared dashboards) for the bulk of communication.
• High-Quality Recording: All synchronous meetings should be recorded and transcribed. The recording link, a summary of decisions, and next steps should be posted immediately for those who could not attend. This acts as a vital backup and a courtesy to those whose sleep was prioritized.

Planning Meetings Across Time Zones for Different Spreads

Different time difference scenarios call for different strategies:

By categorizing your meetings based on the time zone spread of the attendees, you can set realistic expectations. For “Extreme Overlap,” for example, your planning should stipulate that the meeting is non-mandatory for one group, which will rely on the recording for information.

The Bottom Line

The challenges of planning meetings across time zones are ultimately human ones that require patience and empathy to overcome. While tools and technology help with the logistics of scheduling across time zones, the lasting success of a global team depends on a foundation of empathy, mutual respect, and strategic forethought.

A meeting should never feel like a punishment. By applying the principles of rotational fairness, leveraging the right time-aware technology, and enforcing a culture of tight, agenda-driven meetings, your organization can successfully navigate the global clockwork. By trying these tips and tricks, your global team will not only survive the time zone challenge but may just thrive because of it.

How strategic capacity planning restores focus, bandwidth, and execution

Every leader eventually encounters a moment when the demands of the role begin to outpace the available capacity. Sometimes the shift is slow and almost invisible—more decisions, more meetings, more escalations. Other times it’s abrupt, triggered by organizational change, shifting priorities, external disruption, or the loss of a key team member.

Regardless of how it emerges, the result is familiar: leaders feel stretched thin, important work slows, and attention becomes fragmented across too many fronts.

A capacity gap is not a sign of weak leadership. It’s a resource management challenge born out of modern organizational complexity. But when left unaddressed, it puts pressure on performance, clarity, and a leader’s ability to operate at the right altitude.

Workforce Capacity Gaps Can Overwhelm Even Strong Leaders

Modern leadership roles expand faster than the structures supporting them. Growth initiatives stack on top of business-as-usual work. New expectations emerge, but old ones remain. Cross-functional needs spike. Most leaders assume this intensity is temporary, but complexity rarely unwinds itself.

Initially, a high-performing leader may simply absorb the swelling workload, creating an illusion of keeping pace. But over time, the effects begin to compound and ripple out across the organization.

Execution slows. Key initiatives lose steam. The organization develops a culture of reactive urgency, instead of strategic clarity. High-potential team members risk burnout. And worst of all, decisions begin to get rushed, deferred, or made without full context—eroding leadership credibility over time.

Indeed, the real danger isn’t simply doing too much. It’s never having enough space to think, delegate, or design for the long term.

What Drives the Gap

Behind this struggle are structural dynamics—not just overwork:

• Leaders tend to pick up anything and everything during periods of transition or transformation (“the hero reflex”), absorbing work that hasn’t yet been delegated or embedded within a team.
• Decision rights aren’t always clear. When there’s ambiguity about who should decide what, more decisions get escalated, slowing everyone down.
• Teams may lack specific capabilities (transformation experts, analytical specialists, program leaders), but hiring full-time can be slow or misaligned with the urgency or temporary nature of the work.

These factors combine in ways that make capacity gaps feel inevitable, especially in fast-moving, high-stakes environments.

Closing the Gap with Strategic Capacity Planning and Resource Management

When executives find themselves in a constant state of urgency and triage, it’s often because their operating environment hasn’t been calibrated to the demands of the role. Even strong leaders can find themselves reacting instead of shaping direction when priorities multiply, teams expand, or the pace of change outstrips available bandwidth.

This is where strategic capacity planning becomes a powerful lever—not as an operational exercise, but as a leadership discipline. Before adding more effort, great leaders redesign the system around them so it can support clearer decisions, faster execution, and increased agility.

Executive Capacity Reset: 5 Ways to Move from Stretched to Strategic

1. Clarify what truly requires your ownership.

Identify the decisions, relationships, and initiatives that only you can lead. Then, just as importantly, name the ones you don’t need to own. This becomes the foundation for freeing up meaningful capacity.

2. Strengthen your operating rhythm.

Bring predictability to how work moves: establish a clear cadence for alignment, decisions, and escalations. A strong rhythm reduces ad hoc interruptions and keeps teams moving without constant oversight. (Learn more about developing and refining your leadership style in The 90-Day Leadership Playbook).

3. Map and simplify workflows.

Trace how work actually moves through your team. Where are handoffs unclear? Where do approvals stall? Small changes—cleaner ownership, fewer bottlenecks, tighter decision rights—can unlock hours of leadership bandwidth each week.

4. Recalibrate regularly.

Capacity isn’t a one-time fix. Reassess monthly: What’s changed? Where is work accumulating? What’s creating noise? Leaders who treat capacity as a strategic input—not a finite personal resource—maintain agility when conditions shift.

5. Expand your capacity with flexible support.

Oftentimes, stretching internal teams further isn’t the answer—and adding permanent headcount may not be feasible or timely. When priority initiatives or transitions outstrip the team’s bandwidth, consider on-demand experts or interim leaders. They can run point on programs, lead a function through change, or stabilize an overloaded team—without requiring long-term headcount.

How to Extend Leadership Capacity with On-Demand Talent

The right external expert can absorb critical work, stabilize overloaded teams, and help leaders stay out of firefighting mode while keeping high-priority initiatives on track. Two recent examples illustrate how powerful this model can be:

Client Story: Stabilizing a Busy Season with Specialized Expertise

Heading into a high-pressure commissions cycle, the Chief People Officer of a mid-sized professional services firm faced a sharp spike in workload on her rewards team. The team was already running lean; adding more onto their plates risked errors, burnout, and delays during one of the most important periods of the year.

Through Business Talent Group (BTG), she brought in a compensation lead with deep experience in professional services environments. The consultant quickly embedded into the team, driving key activities tied to variable and performance-based compensation while flexing between full- and part-time support as the season demanded. The result: a smoother cycle, reduced strain on internal staff, and the ability to maintain rigor and accuracy without compromising broader priorities.

Client Story: Pulling a Leader Out of Triage Mode

A newly hired Controller for a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing business line was juggling competing priorities from day one—managing a 20-person team, overseeing an ERP upgrade, and still getting up to speed himself. When unexpected audit remediation demands landed, the operation quickly tipped into triage mode.

Leadership recognized the risk and acted quickly, bringing in a seasoned Chief Accounting Officer and former Deloitte Audit Partner as a finance advisor. The advisor immediately took ownership of the remediation process, knocked out urgent action items, and laid the foundation for stronger controls and clearer processes. She also advised on long-term role design and hiring needs to prevent similar capacity shocks in the future. The impact: accelerated remediation, reduced pressure on the Controller, and a stronger, more resilient finance function moving forward.

Why Flexible Leadership Support Works

These examples share a common thread: leaders were able to stay focused on what mattered most because they had the right-level, right-moment support beside them. Flexible experts don’t just fill gaps—they create room to breathe. They bring specialized capabilities, absorb mission-critical work, and give leaders the space to make smart, long-term decisions instead of reactive ones.

In environments where priorities shift fast and internal teams are already at full stretch, this kind of agile support can mean the difference between slipping into triage mode and sustaining strategic execution.

Harness Capacity as a Strategic Asset

As we’ve seen, persistent capacity gaps lead to the slow normalization of overload. Leaders make incremental adjustments, teams compensate, and the organization adapts to a constant state of strain.

But once capacity is rebuilt—through clearer structure, stronger rhythms, and additional leadership support—momentum often returns quickly. Priorities sharpen. Execution accelerates. Teams move with more confidence and less friction.

Leaders who treat capacity as a strategic asset not only perform better—they build healthier, more resilient organizations capable of navigating complexity with far greater clarity and speed. In a world where leadership demands will only continue to rise, the ability to recalibrate and extend capacity becomes one of the most powerful differentiators of performance.

Amid constant complexity and uncertainty in today’s business landscape, traditional executive succession planning is being tested right when it’s needed most. The long-standing practice of identifying heirs apparent for a few key roles on a static template is a relic from a more predictable era.

This gap between old methods and new realities is reflected in recent data, which reveals a stark crisis of confidence. Research from Heidrick & Struggles highlights a significant gap between the need for and the reality of effective executive succession planning:

• Only 11% of CEOs and directors are “entirely confident” that their executive talent strategies are positioning the organization well for the future.
• A mere 4% of Chief People Officers cite their current leadership transition leadership planning as being as effective as it needs to be.
• 55% of CPOs think they have succession plans for the wrong roles.
• In the average F1000 corporation, fewer than 5 executive roles are even considered in the formal executive succession plan.

These findings signal that most organizations are dangerously exposed to leadership risk beyond the CEO succession process, lacking a ready-now plan for critical roles like the COO, CHRO, or CTO. When a high-impact executive transition occurs—whether planned or unplanned—a lack of preparation can create a vacuum that stalls momentum, rattles investors, and burns out the remaining team.

The answer isn’t simply a more detailed, yet still static, plan. Leading companies are embracing an entirely new, agile mindset that includes external interim leaders—along with scalable, digital assessments, more dynamic succession planning, and more targeted leadership development—to de-risk high-impact transitions and strengthen long-term leadership transition planning.

Today’s interim leaders are not simply “seat-warmers.” They are proven, high-caliber executives deployed to play a critical, surgical role in stabilizing operations, bridging to moments of clarity, and actively developing an organization’s internal teams.

Based on our work deploying interim executive talent, we have identified three key moments to engage an interim leader in the executive succession process.

1. Getting Ahead of a Potential Executive Retirement or Departure

The traditional succession planning playbook often relies on a long, predictable runway, such as a planned retirement 18 months out. In reality, things are rarely so clear. The final timing of a transition is often influenced by factors beyond a simple retirement date. Interdependent moves at the top of the team, key financial triggers like vesting windows, and unpredictable personal matters such as health issues or caregiver contingencies can all create a fluid—or even compressed—timeline while successor readiness is still being built.

While many organizations maintain emergency succession plans for critical roles, these common scenarios—where the timing is unclear or an internal successor is not yet fully defined—require more than just a stopgap. An organization cannot afford to simply wait for clarity. This situation calls for a proactive approach to bolster capabilities and bridge gaps, often even while the incumbent is still in place, ensuring the team is supported as the long-term transition takes shape.

In moments like these, engaging a proven executive in a supporting role can be the best tactic to ensure progress continues while leadership decisions are made. This interim leader’s mandate is not to fill the top spot, but to take on complex projects that are critical for forward momentum, such as leading a major systems implementation, executing a business-unit turnaround, or standing up a new center of excellence.

This strategy achieves two critical objectives simultaneously. First, it immediately ensures there’s a designated leader for key initiatives through the transition, which de-risks the initiative and takes immense pressure off the incumbent and the team. Second, it provides the board and CEO with invaluable breathing room to conduct a thoughtful, unhurried search for the permanent successor, ensuring the right long-term fit rather than a reactive, “good enough for now” hire.

2. Redefining an Existing Role Prior to Naming a Successor

A common trap in succession planning is assuming the goal is to find a “carbon copy” of the incumbent. The reality is that the role itself is almost never static. Even in stable conditions, market demands, new technologies, and shifting strategies are constantly redefining what a key leadership position requires.

This space between the current role and the future one becomes a critical challenge during moments of profound transformation—a digital pivot, a new go-to-market strategy, or a post-merger integration. The skills that successfully built the business are often not the same ones needed to transform it.

Hiring a permanent, senior-level executive into a newly defined, untested position can be exceptionally high risk. This new leader is being asked not only to do the job but also to invent the job, all while navigating legacy processes and, often, internal resistance. This can lead to a costly and high-profile flameout.

A more agile approach is to deploy an interim leader to trial the reformed executive mandate before committing to a long-term hire.

External leaders bring a distinct advantage. They often have no internal political baggage and can operate with a degree of objectivity that is difficult for an internal candidate. Their mandate is to absorb the friction of change, pressure-test the new scope, and validate what the role truly requires to be successful.

Of course, this approach requires selecting an interim who can navigate the existing culture and build credibility quickly. When done right, the permanent successor steps into a role that is already functioning, tested, and aligned with the future-state strategy—increasing the odds of success from day one.

3. Providing Executive Scaffolding for the Next Leader

One of the most common succession dilemmas is the “high potential, but not quite ready” internal candidate. This is a rising star who is worthy of promotion but lacks notable experience or skills. In such scenarios, companies are sometimes left with two perhaps equally undesirable options: “promote and pray,” risking a critical business unit on an untested leader; or pass over for an external hire, demoralizing the star and sending a negative signal to the internal talent pipeline.

Appointing a seasoned, “been there, done that” leader to act as an advisor high-level accelerator for a preferred “step-up” candidate mitigates risk and shortens the learning curve, effectively fast-tracking the successor’s transition into the new position.

The interim executive’s role in this case is to provide real-time, on-the-job development and serve as an operational backstop. As the internal candidate takes the lead, the interim advisor can personally own one or two high-risk areas where the candidate is weakest, providing a masterclass in execution while protecting the business.

This “scaffolding” model closes experience gaps in real-time and builds the candidate’s confidence, ensuring the internal talent is fully prepared to take sole command. It also transforms what was once a reactive process into a proactive, strategic component of the executive planning cycle.

Modernizing a Succession Planning Strategy

Companies have used standardized, static succession planning templates for decades. Today, it’s clear that this approach rarely captures the dynamic realities of current leadership needs.

Rethinking the traditional succession playbook doesn’t mean abandoning planning. It requires augmenting those plans with more agile and responsive tools. This is where engaging interim executives becomes a core component of a modern, more resilient strategy.

Modern succession planning should include not just who might fill a role, but how and when the transition would occur under different scenarios. This includes:

• A clear understanding of critical role profiles and success metrics.
• Defined contingencies for both planned and unplanned executive transitions.
• Access to on-demand or interim succession options for immediate coverage.
• Built-in leadership development goals that link internal talent readiness to strategic needs.

Ultimately, the question for every board and CPO is not just “Do we have a succession plan?” It is, “Do we have the agile options, like interim leadership, to ensure that our plan succeeds in the real world—not just on paper?”

The role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has fundamentally changed. No longer a back-office support function, technology is now the central nervous system of the modern enterprise—driving growth, enabling strategy, and defining the customer experience. From generative AI and data analytics to cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity, the demands on tech leadership are more intense, complex, and strategic than ever.

As the CIO’s remit expands, the cost of a leadership gap or failed initiative has never been higher. A six-month search for a permanent leader can stall a critical digital transformation or leave a company vulnerable. That’s why leading organizations are increasingly calling on interim CIO talent as part of a flexible and modern workforce approach. These executives are not just placeholders—they are strategic accelerators deployed to manage critical transitions, lead high-stakes projects, and drive immediate change.

For leaders asking what is a CIO in today’s business landscape, the answer has evolved. The CIO role has shifted to center around business strategy and transformation , not just IT gatekeeping. And when organizations need that caliber of leadership on demand, interim CIO services provide a proven solution.

Based on our work providing top-tier technology leaders, here are the most common and high-impact scenarios for engaging an interim CIO.

1. Bridging a Critical Leadership Gap

The most traditional use case remains one of the most critical. When a CIO departs suddenly, a temporary CIO can be in the seat within days, providing a steady hand and keen oversight. Interim CIOs ensure business continuity, manage the IT team, maintain cybersecurity protocols, and keep critical systems (like the ERP and CRM) running smoothly. This stability gives the organization the breathing room to conduct a thorough search for the perfect permanent leader without rushing the decision or losing momentum.

2. Driving Digital, Data, and AI Transformation

Today, nearly every company is a technology company. But leading a true digital transformation—reimagining business models, workflows, and customer engagement—is an enormous challenge. Interim CIOs who have led these transformations multiple times bring an invaluable outside-in perspective. They’re not tied to internal politics or legacy systems; instead, their focus is clear: accelerate innovation, strengthen data strategy, and align the technology roadmap directly with business goals.

Organizations that use interim CIO services often see faster progress because these leaders can quickly assess the current environment and apply proven frameworks to move forward with confidence.

3. Leading High-Stakes Technology Projects

Major projects typically require specialized leadership. An interim CIO acts as a “special forces” leader for these initiatives—de-risking delivery, managing vendors, and ensuring outcomes are achieved on time and on budget. These are often one-time events that the permanent team may lack experience in:

• ERP Implementation or Overhaul: A massive undertaking (e.g., migrating to SAP S/4HANA or Oracle Cloud) that touches every part of the business. With their deep ERP expertise, an interim leader can provide critical oversight, hold third-party vendors accountable, and drive the initiative to a successful, controlled finish.
• Cloud Migration: Shifting complex, legacy infrastructure to a public or hybrid cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) requires specialized architectural and security skills.
• Application Modernization: Rebuilding or replacing legacy applications that are holding the business back.

Some companies also use this as an opportunity to explore fractional CIO roles or a part-time CIO arrangement, particularly when ongoing oversight is needed but a full-time hire isn’t yet warranted. This flexible approach does more than just right-size the leadership investment; it unlocks access to an entirely different, high-caliber talent pool.

After all, a significant segment of ‘been-there-done-that’ technology executives now exclusively prefer this way of working. By embracing a flexible model, organizations can source world-class expertise from leaders they would otherwise never be able to access through the traditional, full-time talent marketplace.

4. Steering Post-Merger (M&A) Integration or a Carve-Out

Mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures test even the strongest IT functions. An interim CIO with M&A experience can lead the integration of systems, data, and teams—navigating complex compliance requirements and technology stacks. In a carve-out scenario, a temporary CIO may be tasked with building a standalone IT function from scratch, separating networks and applications from the parent company while setting up the new entity for success.

5. Hardening Cybersecurity and Risk Posture

Whether in the wake of a security breach or preemptively adapting to evolving threat landscapes, companies need to move quickly. An interim CIO with deep cybersecurity expertise can assess vulnerabilities, rebuild trust with the board and customers, and implement modern frameworks. When time is of the essence, interim CIO services offer a rapid, capable response without the long lead time of a full executive search.

6. Mentoring and Developing the Next Tech Leader

Sometimes a company has a high-potential “number two”—a strong VP of IT or Engineering who isn’t quite ready for the C-suite. A part-time CIO can be engaged to act as a mentor and coach, preparing this internal successor for the permanent role. The interim can handle the complex board-level strategy while upskilling the internal leader, ensuring a smooth and successful transition to the next generation of leadership.

Find Your Next Chief Information Officer in the Interim

In a world where technology drives competitive advantage, companies cannot afford to press pause on leadership. Interim CIOs provide agility and expertise exactly when it’s needed most. They are a flexible, strategic asset—bridging gaps, accelerating transformation, and ensuring progress never slows.

The global business environment has never been more fluid. From market volatility and technological disruption to evolving talent expectations, executives today operate in a constant state of change. In this dynamic arena, the effectiveness of an organization is often a direct reflection of the strength and adaptability of its leadership.

It is no longer enough to rely on seniority or title. Modern success requires leaders who can do more than manage; they must inspire, pivot, and execute complex strategies. This demanding reality means leadership qualities, leadership styles, and leadership skills must be continuously assessed, cultivated, and deployed with precision.

For senior executives and boards navigating transformation, understanding the anatomy of excellent leadership is the first step toward building a high-impact, resilient enterprise. This guide explores the blend of character, approach, and capability that defines the modern, effective executive.

Essential Leadership Qualities that Define the Modern Executive

Leadership qualities are the foundational, character-driven traits that form a leader’s internal compass. They are the non-negotiable elements that build trust and credibility, especially during high-stakes decisions and organizational stress. Without these inherent traits, a leader’s strategies and tactics will quickly falter.

The most successful executives consistently exhibit the following core leadership qualities:

• Integrity and Authenticity: A leader’s word must be their bond. This quality is the currency of trust, ensuring stakeholders—from employees to investors—believe in the mission and the decisions made to achieve it.
• Visionary Thinking: True leadership requires the ability to look beyond the immediate quarter and articulate a compelling future. A visionary leader provides the necessary context and direction to rally teams around a shared, ambitious goal.
• Resilience and Adaptability: The path to growth is rarely smooth. Effective leaders display the mental fortitude to absorb setbacks, manage ambiguity, and pivot strategies without losing momentum or confidence.
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ): The capacity to understand and manage emotions effectively—in oneself and in others—is paramount. High-EQ leaders build stronger teams, manage conflict constructively, and foster an environment of psychological safety.
• Decisiveness: While consultation is key, an executive must possess the confidence to make the final, tough call. Decisiveness, coupled with the wisdom of calculated risk, translates strategy into action.
• Curiosity and Humility: The most impactful leaders recognize they don’t have all the answers. They approach challenges with an open, questioning mind, driving continuous learning and encouraging innovative ideas from their teams. This focus on continuous growth is also key to overcoming barriers like imposter syndrome, a challenge even the most qualified executives face.

These leadership qualities are the internal architecture that supports someone’s external impact.

The Strategic Use of Leadership Styles

If leadership qualities are who a leader is, then leadership styles are how a leader interacts with and motivates their team. No single style is universally effective. Superior executives possess situational fluency—the wisdom to adapt their approach based on the specific context, team maturity, and task complexity.

The ability to fluidly shift between approaches is a hallmark of strategic leadership.

1. Transformational Leadership: This is arguably the most powerful style in modern business. It focuses on inspiring and motivating followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes, often by connecting their individual contributions to the organization’s overarching vision. It empowers individuals and drives long-term growth.
2. Strategic Leadership: More than a style, this is a lens. It involves continuously analyzing the market, allocating resources effectively, and setting the organizational direction. The strategic leader blends vision with practical execution, ensuring daily decisions align with long-term goals.
3. Coaching Leadership: This style prioritizes the long-term development of team members. The leader acts as a guide, asking powerful questions and giving targeted feedback to unlock individual potential, thereby building a more capable and resilient bench.
4. Democratic/Participative Leadership: Engaging teams in the decision-making process is crucial for buy-in and utilizing collective expertise. While the leader retains final authority, this style fosters ownership and boosts morale.
5. Pacesetting Leadership (used judiciously): Setting extremely high standards of performance and modeling those standards can drive rapid results. However, this style must be used sparingly and thoughtfully, as overuse can lead to burnout and stifle innovation.

Today’s best leaders know that their role is not to simply direct, but to calibrate their style to maximize team performance and accelerate organizational change.

The Core Leadership Skills in the Executive’s Toolkit

While qualities are inherent and styles are adaptable approaches, leadership skills are the actionable, measurable capabilities that translate strategy into execution. They are the tools in the executive’s toolkit. For those focused on delivering tangible impact—especially during high-stakes projects like M&A integration or major transformations—these skills must be razor-sharp.

To drive execution and achieve strategic objectives, modern leaders must master competencies such as:

• Strategic Communication: Beyond simply speaking, this involves articulating complex ideas clearly, ensuring consistency across all channels, and managing the narrative for all stakeholders—internal and external.
• Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking: The ability to quickly analyze multifaceted issues, separate symptoms from root causes, and develop innovative, practical solutions under pressure.
• Effective Delegation and Empowerment: Successfully distributing tasks, authority, and accountability to the right people. This skill is key for scaling an organization and fostering team ownership.
• Talent Development and Mentorship: Proactively identifying high-potential employees and investing in their growth. This is the foundation of succession planning and organizational longevity.
• Change Management: Guiding an organization through significant transitions. This involves addressing resistance, clearly communicating the why, and ensuring continuity of operations during disruption.
• Negotiation and Influence: Achieving consensus, securing resources, and managing competing interests with stakeholders, partners, and governing bodies.
• Data Literacy: The capacity to interpret complex data and metrics to make informed, objective decisions rather than relying on intuition or legacy assumptions.

The 90-Day Leadership Imperative

For a newly appointed executive—whether internally promoted or externally sourced—the first 90 days are not merely an orientation period; they are the critical window for establishing credibility and setting the organizational trajectory. This period is the ultimate test of the qualities, styles, and skills discussed above.

A leader must rapidly execute on three fronts:

• Diagnosis: Quickly absorb data, understand the political landscape, and identify the true root causes of organizational challenges, not just the symptoms.
• Alignment: Secure early wins and build consensus among key stakeholders (board, peers, direct reports) on a unified vision for the path forward.
• Mobilization: Launch initial, high-impact projects that demonstrate strategic competence and build momentum for long-term change.

Failing to establish control and momentum within this window can jeopardize long-term success. Success demands speed, precision, and the ability to immediately deploy expert knowledge.

Access our guide to help your leaders navigate this transition with proven strategies and help them hit the ground running today.

Sourcing Unparalleled Leadership via Interim Roles

Market urgency often reveals a critical mismatch: the urgent need for a specific, high-level skillset versus the time it takes to source it through traditional hiring channels. This is where the strategic advantage Business Talent Group (BTG) offers becomes clear.

BTG provides immediate access to an unmatched network of proven, independent executives who already embody these essential leadership qualities, have mastered diverse leadership styles, and possess specialized leadership skills. Whether the need is an interim executive to lead a turnaround, a CFO to guide a merger, or a project leader to manage a complex integration, BTG ensures leadership gaps are closed with speed and precision. We don’t just fill seats; we inject proven expertise that drives significant, measurable impact from day one.

For organizations looking to strategically augment their leadership bench and ensure project success with immediate, top-tier expertise, partnering with a proven talent solution is the definitive next step.

The pursuit of great leadership is not a destination, but a continuous journey of self-assessment and strategic alignment. The modern leader understands that authority is earned through character, deployed through adaptable leadership styles, and validated through demonstrable skills. By rigorously cultivating these three pillars—qualities, styles, and skills—executives can ensure their organizations are not simply surviving the current climate, but poised to define the next era of their industry.

Trust in the workplace is one of the most valuable assets any professional can build. When colleagues know they can rely on each other, collaboration comes easier, communication is smoother, and teammates become true allies. Without workplace trust, even the best strategies can stall. With it, organizations move faster, take smarter risks, and deliver stronger results.

Still, learning how to build trust at work takes time and intention. It develops through consistent follow-through, sound judgment, and fair dealing. And knowing how to rebuild trust after it’s been damaged is just as important. Building lasting trust requires deliberate actions, clear communication, and consistent follow-through—no matter your role or title.

Understanding Workplace Trust

In the workplace, trust is more than a feeling—it’s a belief in someone’s reliability, competence, and integrity.

Three elements form its foundation:

• Reliability – Following through on commitments and delivering as promised.
• Competence – Demonstrating the skills and judgment needed to perform at a high level.
• Integrity – Acting with honesty, fairness, and respect, even under pressure.

When these qualities are present, employees feel safe sharing ideas, asking for help, and admitting mistakes without fear of judgment. This psychological safety often separates good teams from great ones.

Why Building Trust Is Essential

Trust is a business advantage. It keeps people engaged, accelerates decision-making, and reduces friction. In high-trust environments, communication is clearer, misunderstandings are resolved faster, and collaboration feels natural.

The opposite is equally true. In low-trust settings, employees may withhold information, question motives, and avoid taking initiative. Over time, that hesitation erodes morale, slows progress, and drives away top performers.

Leaders who understand how to build credibility and maintain it in their teams are better positioned to avoid these pitfalls. They can spot trust breakdowns early, address them directly, and reinforce behaviors that keep trust strong.

How to Build Trust at Work: Strengthen Your Credibility

If you want to know how to build credibility with colleagues and leaders, start with consistency. Align your actions with your words. Communicate openly about both successes and setbacks. Deliver on commitments—no matter how small—and acknowledge the contributions of others.

For a quick credibility check, ask yourself:

• Do I follow through on what I promise?
• Do I share information proactively rather than reactively?
• Do I give credit generously and fairly?

When the answer is “yes” most of the time, you’re laying the groundwork for long-term trust. Over time, this kind of credibility can help you shift from being simply competent to being seen as a trusted advisor in your organization.

Leadership’s Role in Building Trust in the Workplace

For leaders, building trust isn’t just about managing well—it’s about learning how to become a confidant, an anchor, a guide. That means being transparent about your decision-making, holding yourself accountable to the same standards as your team, and creating space for others to speak up.

Leaders who consistently explain the “why” behind decisions model accountability in both successes and failures; this sends a clear signal that trust is not just encouraged but expected.

When you are seen as a trusted advisor, colleagues come to you not only for solutions but also for perspective, guidance, and reassurance during uncertain times. That role requires both technical competence and emotional intelligence—an ability to read the room, understand motivations, and balance short-term needs with long-term priorities.

Building Trust in Remote Teams

Remote work adds complexity to trust-building. Without in-person cues, misunderstandings can happen more easily, and relationships can feel transactional. To counteract this, leaders and team members need to be deliberate about connection.

10 Ways to Foster Workplace Trust

• Schedule “connect 4” time: Dedicate the first four minutes of a one-on-one or team meeting to non-work topics, such as weekend plans, family, or shared hobbies.
• Arrange time for personal blueprint sharing: Discuss personal values, strengths, and common struggles. This isn’t therapy; it’s a strategic, structured way to understand motivations and pressure points.
• Cultivate idea safety: Implement “spaghetti to the wall” brainstorming sessions where every contribution is welcomed and no idea is immediately dismissed. This rewards creative risk and encourages fearless contribution.
• Model accountability and high-trust delegation: Be willing to visibly own your own missteps as a leader. Furthermore, demonstrate deep trust by delegating workstreams, granting direct reports ownership and autonomy for execution.
• Conduct failure debriefs: This could be a post-mortem review. But it could also be a pre-mortem exercise for a future project, identifying where things could go wrong. This models accountability and vulnerability.
• Plan low-stakes team challenges: Engage in team-building exercises that require interdependence and shared problem-solving (e.g., escape rooms, cooking classes, complex puzzles). The focus is on how the team collaborates, not just the outcome. And, these options often have virtual offerings!
• Coordinate structured volunteering events: When you prioritize volunteering with your limited in-person time, you can align the team’s professional competence with shared values, demonstrating a commitment to something larger than the bottom line.
• Conduct role-specific strengths-mapping: Spend time mapping out who on the team has which strengths and how they apply to the current project. This ensures everyone feels valued and understood for their unique contribution.
• Define “why now” and “why us” for every initiative: Consistently articulate the strategic “why” behind every major decision and project. This honors the team’s intelligence and allows them to connect their daily work to the macro business goals, signaling respect.
• Establish a culture of specific, public appreciation: Implement a kudos board or dedicated public time for peers and leaders to acknowledge specific effort, courage, or help—not just successful results—reinforcing that the journey matters as much as the destination.

Remote trust also hinges on visibility. Sharing progress, giving timely updates, and being responsive in digital channels help colleagues feel confident in your contributions.

How to Rebuild Trust at Work When It’s Broken

Even in strong teams, trust can be damaged—whether through missed deadlines, communication breakdowns, or perceived unfairness. While rebuilding trust is harder than establishing it, it’s possible with deliberate action.

Start by acknowledging the issue openly and taking responsibility for your role in it. Apologies should be paired with concrete steps to prevent a repeat. Then, focus on small, consistent wins—meeting commitments, showing transparency, and keeping communication open. Over time, consistent behavior is the only way to restore confidence.

Building Trust Across Departments and Functions

Knowing how to build trust at work doesn’t stop at your immediate team. Cross-functional collaboration often tests trust because priorities, processes, and success measures can differ. Here, credibility matters just as much as competence.

Practical approaches include learning the pressures and goals of other departments, making an effort to understand their language and timelines, and avoiding the perception that you’re only looking out for your own team’s interests. Shared wins—where multiple teams benefit—are powerful trust-builders.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re leading a department, managing a project, or advancing your career, learning how to build trust at work is an investment that pays off every day. Clear communication, integrity, and competence form the foundation of trust. When practiced consistently, they not only strengthen credibility but also position you as a trusted advisor in your organization.

Emotionally intelligent professionals know that trust is never “done”—it’s built, reinforced, and sometimes repaired over time. By making trust a conscious priority, you create a workplace where people are willing to collaborate, innovate, and support one another in pursuit of shared goals.

In the UK and across Europe, the term interim manager describes a highly skilled leader who steps into an organisation on a temporary basis to deliver critical impact. These leaders are often called in at moments when delay isn’t an option—covering a sudden leadership gap, steering through disruption, or managing a high-stakes initiative where the cost of inaction is high.

The terminology may differ—interim executive in the US, interim manager in the UK—but the underlying value is the same: immediate access to expertise without the long hiring cycles or commitments of a permanent appointment.

What makes this especially relevant now is the speed of change. Companies are dealing with compressed timelines, unpredictable markets, and increasing scrutiny from investors, boards, and regulators. Interim managers give organisations a way to respond decisively in the face of these pressures—delivering results today while helping build resilience for tomorrow.

What Does an Interim Manager Do?

Interim managers are not advisors standing on the sidelines. They take direct ownership, assume leadership responsibilities, and are accountable for results. They may stabilise operations after a leadership departure, lead a transformation programme, or manage a critical project such as post-merger integration.

The common thread is action. Interim managers join with a clear mandate: deliver rapid results, transfer knowledge to the permanent team, and then exit once the business is back on stable ground.

Why Hire an Interim Manager?

The appeal of interim management is speed and impact. Appointments can be made in days, not months, which means organisations avoid losing momentum during transitions. Interim managers also bring specialized skills—often the kind that aren’t found in house—such as turnaround expertise or experience scaling into new markets. They arrive with proven playbooks, which saves time and reduces risk.

Because they come from outside the organisation, interim managers offer a fresh perspective that can cut through internal dynamics. That objectivity often accelerates decision-making. And while they’re highly experienced, they don’t come with the ongoing cost of a permanent senior salary—an important consideration when budgets are tight.

When Should Companies Use Interim Management?

Interim managers are most valuable in moments of change. They are often brought in to:

• Cover a leadership transition while a permanent search is underway
• Drive restructuring or turnaround initiatives
• Integrate teams and systems after an acquisition
• Support expansion into new markets or business lines
• Manage a crisis or urgent project with no internal owner

Interim Benefits for UK and European Businesses

In an environment defined by uncertainty and constant transformation, interim managers offer organisations something increasingly rare: flexibility without compromise. They can be deployed quickly, often within days, and immediately begin closing leadership gaps that might otherwise slow progress or stall critical initiatives.

Because many interims have worked across multiple sectors and geographies, they bring perspectives that go beyond industry silos. They know what has worked in other contexts and can adapt proven strategies to fit the unique dynamics of a new organisation. That breadth of experience helps businesses avoid common pitfalls and move faster with more confidence.

The value of an interim manager isn’t measured only in the results delivered during the assignment. Equally important is the enduring impact they leave behind. By transferring knowledge, strengthening processes, and coaching permanent team members, they create improvements that endure long after the engagement ends. In many cases, an interim acts as both a leader and a mentor, ensuring continuity and expanding capability for the future.

For UK and European businesses facing volatile markets, regulatory change, or global competition, that combination of immediate impact and lasting uplift makes interim management an indispensable tool.

Interim Manager vs. Acting Manager

Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there’s a clear distinction. An acting manager is usually a current employee who temporarily steps up to cover a vacant role, often alongside existing responsibilities. The goal is to maintaini continuity until a permanent hire is made.

An interim manager, by contrast, is an external expert with experience handling transitions, transformations, or urgent challenges. Rather than simply keeping the seat warm, an interim manager is tasked with delivering measurable outcomes and leaving the organisation stronger than before.

Key differences at a glance:

• Acting managers preserve continuity; interim managers drive change.
• Acting roles usually go to insiders; interim roles are filled by external leaders.
• Acting managers focus on stability; interim managers focus on impact.

The distinction matters: When a business needs more than continuity—when it needs transformation or rapid execution—it’s an interim manager who can deliver.

How to Find the Right Interim Manager

Success depends on the match between the interim’s experience and the organisation’s challenge. A proven track record of similar assignments, the ability to adapt quickly, and strong communication skills are essential. Cultural fit matters, too—especially when the interim is working closely with existing leadership teams.

BTG helps make it possible to identify and place interim managers quickly, ensuring that businesses can respond to challenges without delay.

For UK organisations navigating disruption, growth, or transformation, interim managers provide a proven way to secure the right expertise at the right moment. They deliver leadership with precision, speed, and flexibility—helping companies manage uncertainty while building toward the future.

Explore how on-demand executives and interim managers can support your next business challenge.

Interim Manager FAQs

What does interim manager mean?

An interim manager steps into a leadership role temporarily to solve specific challenges, manage transitions, or lead critical projects.

How long should an interim position last?

Most assignments last three to twelve months, though some may extend based on project scope.

What industries use interim managers most?

Interim managers are common in finance, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, and professional services—sectors where change and transformation are constant.

Significant forces are at play in the UK industrial sector, opening up opportunities for companies to harness interim talent to drive transformation and growth. These forces are headlined by the government’s Industrial Strategy, a long-term plan targeting eight sectors – among them advanced manufacturing, clean energy, life sciences and digital tech – which includes measures aimed at boosting industrial production.

Alongside this, we’re seeing the trend for manufacturing contraction easing: in July, PMI had improved for the fourth straight month, with the slowest decline since January. Market confidence is gradually returning and executive optimism is at a five-month high. There is a marked shift towards greater localisation, driven by geopolitical risks, cost pressures and the need for supply chain resilience, with UK businesses planning to invest $650bn over three years to bring operations closer to home.

Digital transformation—encompassing AI, robotics and IoT—also promises productivity gains, cost reduction and further innovation, with a competitive edge the reward for those embracing Industry 4.0.

All of that being said, persistent inflation, constrained near-term business investment and rising labour costs are still creating drag in the sector, with British Chambers of Commerce forecasts projecting only a modest recovery in manufacturing production in 2026.

Non-tariff barriers and compliance burdens remain acute pain points for SMEs in particular, and a severe labour shortage remains a paramount obstacle, with many industrial businesses citing skills gaps as a barrier to growth – compounded by recruitment and retention challenges. Business Talent Group’s 2025 High-End Independent Talent Report: Industrials found the most in-demand skills to be financial controls and planning, project management, and growth strategy, with companies in fierce competition for the best talent across these areas.

Interim leadership: supplying skills and strategic advantage

On-demand talent is a route to countering these leadership and skills gaps. That’s why we’re witnessing large and mid-market organisations across US and European markets leveraging interim leadership to catalyse high-impact transformations during critical inflection points.

BTG’s research shows that industrials’ requests for interim executives rose 59% in 2025, making up 39% of total demand, with independent talent being brought in for turnaround projects; to bridge roles while permanent searches run; or to steady the ship during restructuring efforts. Large transformation agendas all benefit from time-boxed executives who bring expertise, networks and the ability to work at scale. Our reporting shows the most common use cases to be:

• Programme/transformation directors for plant consolidation, ERP/PLM rollouts, supply-chain redesign, and ESG or energy transition work – with the demand for ERP experts for industrials increasing by 200% in 2025 as an example.
• Acting CEO/MD to stabilise operations, preserve customer confidence and maintain momentum during permanent leadership searches.
• Interim CFO to anchor the finance function during transition moments, maintaining progress while bringing clarity to key decisions – for example, shoring up controls, driving refinancing or disposals, or rebuilding investor credibility.

Business strategy is another fertile ground for on-demand talent, with cost pressures including energy, tariffs and demand volatility prompting industrials to make course corrections, carve-outs and site decisions at pace. Seasoned interims can hit the ground running to take organisations to the next stage; we’ve seen a 71% increase YOY in hiring independent experts for manufacturing excellence projects, and a 200% increase on supply chain projects.

Demand for independent talent at the top is also on the rise: requests for interim CEOs and presidents has increased 80% YOY. This is being driven by a convergence of factors—including economic volatility, executive retirements, and the ever-evolving demands placed on today’s business leaders. Although CEO exits can have significant financial and reputational implications, Heidrick & Struggles reporting shows that succession planning often doesn’t get the board attention it deserves. In such cases, interim CEOs can quickly backfill leadership gaps and ensure continuity.

On-demand talent takeaways for UK industrials

Interim leadership isn’t a stop-gap solution. It’s a strategic move to increase resilience and make organisations future ready. Boards and executive teams in industrial organisations can maximise the use of independent talent by hiring credible interims to ensure continuity and execution rather than pausing transformation during hiring cycles.

There’s also a strong argument for putting finance first, with finance chairs pivotal in taking advantage of industry opportunities. This is perhaps why interim CFOs continue to be the most frequent plug-in at the high-end of the on-demand talent market, tasked with handling cash, controls and transaction readiness.

To succeed, industrials should also seek out specialists for large transformation programmes, such as decarbonisation of heavy industry, supply-chain reconfiguration and digital programmes which, more often than not, require leaders who’ve seen and done it before at scale – making interim talent the ideal option.

With experienced individuals in high demand, organisations need to move quickly to secure the best interim talent. For support in accessing the skillsets you need, reducing hiring friction, and meeting internal demands quickly, please get in touch with me directly, or contact Business Talent Group.

Remote work has made it easier than ever for independent consultants and interim executives to partner with clients anywhere in the world—but working across time zones brings unique challenges. Managing clients in different countries can mean navigating early-morning calls with Europe, late-night updates from Asia, and midday check-ins with North America, all without losing focus or flexibility.

At Business Talent Group (BTG), we’ve seen hundreds of geographically dispersed projects succeed not because consultants worked around the clock, but because they used time zones strategically to deliver impact. Here’s how you can do the same.

1. Start with the clock conversation

The smoothest projects begin by setting clear time expectations, especially when planning meetings across time zones. Confirm working hours, outline response-time commitments, and identify where schedules overlap. Even a single 90-minute window that’s available for real-time interaction can keep momentum going—but only if everyone knows when it is.

2. Think like a relay team

Use a “baton pass” approach. Just like in a relay race, the goal is a smooth handoff so work doesn’t stall. Instead of sending a vague end-of-day note, record a short video, annotate key documents, and organize files so the client can take action immediately. That extra 15 minutes turns a 12-hour gap into continuous progress—a tactic that works across industries and time zones.

3. Guard your golden hours

Overlap time is a limited resource. Use it for high-value activities like decision-making, problem-solving, and relationship building. Shift routine updates into shared dashboards, recorded walkthroughs, or written recaps so meeting time is spent on what really matters.

4. Let tools do the time math

When it comes to scheduling across time zones, calculating differences in your head invites mistakes. Instead, pin client clocks to your desktop, add multiple time zones to Google Calendar, or try schedulers like World Time Buddy. Some consultants even add a “Current Local Time” link to their email signature, making it easy for clients to know when they can expect a response.

5. Manage your energy as carefully as your calendar

Working with international clients sometimes means adjusting your working hours. If you have a late-night meeting, block a lighter morning. If the most critical call is at 6 a.m., prepare the day before and start later. Energy is as important as time when it comes to delivering your best work.

6. Build trust from afar

Distance and time delays can erode confidence if you’re not proactive. Frequent, structured updates—even when there’s no major change—reassure clients you’re in control. Share progress early, flag potential risks quickly, and be transparent about timelines. Reliability builds trust faster than constant availability.

7. Work with the culture, not against it

Time zones are linked to work patterns. We’ve seen projects move faster when consultants understood their client’s local workweek, holiday schedule, and preferred communication style. Adjusting to those rhythms signals you’re not just delivering the work—you’re invested in how it gets done.

The bottom line:

Managing clients in different time zones isn’t about working longer hours—it’s about working smarter. When you’re intentional about how you structure your day, you can turn time differences into an asset rather than a barrier.

For independent consultants, success comes from more than just showing up on time for calls—it’s about creating a consistent rhythm that works for both you and your client. That means setting clear expectations early, designing handoffs so projects keep moving while you’re offline, and protecting your own energy so you can deliver high-quality work over the long term.

It also means thinking beyond the calendar. Time zones carry cultural nuances, local business habits, and communication preferences that shape how work gets done. Adapting to those patterns isn’t just good manners—it’s a competitive advantage that builds trust and strengthens client relationships.

With the right systems, tools, and mindset, working across time zones can expand your reach, open doors to new markets, and position you as the go-to consultant for high-stakes projects. Instead of letting the clock dictate your work, you can make it work for you—anywhere in the world.

Leadership strategy is at an inflection point. The speed of disruption—from market volatility to organizational change—is outpacing traditional workforce planning. When leadership requirements can change in weeks, annual succession reviews and rigid talent pipelines simply can’t keep up. Companies need an approach that is as agile and dynamic as the environment they operate in.

To meet the challenge, forward-looking organizations are pairing scalable leadership assessments with interim executives—an approach that delivers visibility and insight on leadership depth, insight into at-risk functions and business units, and immediate access to high-caliber expertise.

That was the focus of a recent Heidrick & Struggles webinar that explored how scalable digital assessments and interim executive talent are enabling organizations to identify capability gaps, respond in real time, and future-proof their leadership strategies. Read on for highlights from the conversation and insights for leadership teams navigating today’s volatile business environment.

Why Static Leadership Planning Fails in Today’s Market

The gap continues to grow between traditional leadership planning and the pace of today’s business environment. Even companies with sophisticated HR functions often rely on processes designed for more predictable times—and those processes are buckling under the pressure of constant change.

“Our Heidrick search team places over 300 chief people officers per year,” said Brad Warga, Partner and Co-Head of Heidrick & Struggles’ Global CHRO Practice. “And there’s no doubt that HR leaders are being asked to be more strategic than ever before.” This isn’t just about filling roles; it’s about guiding organizations through cultural transformation, workforce planning, and operational resilience while delivering measurable business impact.

Yet, the way most organizations plan for leadership hasn’t caught up. “The vast majority of companies are still only doing succession planning for the top 5 roles in the company,” Warga noted. What’s more, over 70% of those plans are static and do not connect to individual development plans—a major disconnect between HR and the board.

Heidrick & Struggles Partner Melissa Lind reinforced the point, calling out the risk of narrow planning: “Organizations can’t plan for the future using yesterday’s data.” She added that “Succession pipelines are not keeping pace” with the changing nature of roles—particularly as new executive-level positions emerge to address transformation agendas, digital enablement, or expansion into new markets.

Warga and Lind agreed that the world in which these leadership models were created no longer exists. The pace of business change, coupled with rising expectations for leaders, demands a more flexible, data-driven, and continuous approach to succession planning—one that reaches deeper into the organization and anticipates needs before they become urgent.

Strategic implication: Organizations that fail to expand and modernize leadership planning risk being caught unprepared when the next shift—whether market-driven, operational, or regulatory—hits.

How Scalable Assessments Deliver Enterprise-Wide Visibility

If outdated planning models are the problem, scalable, digital assessments are proving to be a critical part of the solution. Too often, companies rely on gut instinct or outdated competency models, leaving them unsure who is truly ready to lead or where capability gaps exist.

Lind illustrated the shift with a client example: a successful professional services firm that had been holding annual, insular succession discussions. Seeking an outside-in perspective, they first defined future-forward role requirements, then assessed their leadership population against those benchmarks. This role-based, data-first approach revealed readiness by role, pinpointed at-risk areas, and uncovered capability gaps.

The result was a revamp of development programs—both their design and who was enrolled—grounded in clear insights rather than assumptions. By moving from “guesswork to visibility,” the company aligned its leadership planning with future needs, using assessment data as an active tool for succession, promotions, and targeted development.

Strategic implication: Scalable, digital assessments give organizations the ability to anticipate leadership needs, make faster and more confident decisions, and align talent strategy directly with business priorities. When combined with the right follow-through, they shift leadership planning from reactive replacement to proactive readiness.

Interim Executives: From Stopgap to Strategic Asset

If scalable assessments give organizations clarity on readiness and capability gaps, interim executives provide the means to act on those insights immediately. Once seen mainly as a stopgap for unexpected vacancies, interim leaders are now a deliberate component of forward-looking leadership strategies.

Sandra Pinnavaia, Partner and Global Head of On-Demand Talent Strategy and Innovation for Heidrick & Struggles, spoke on how interim leaders can now help companies address fast moving challenges and opportunities while not experiencing a delay in advancing the strategic priorities for the longer term.

Defining interim leadership today as an innovation that enables companies to bring in “outside talent that has deep experience and critical skills not only for the role, but for the moment—the specific moment in time,” she clarified that these roles are not solely limited to formal seats on the org chart. They can also be “a project-based or advisor role to a sitting executive or CxO”.

To illustrate the momentum, Pinnavaia noted that Business Talent Group, a Heidrick & Struggles company, has seen a 310% increase in the use of interim leaders at all levels in the last five years, while in Fortune and Axios noted that up to one-third of CEO placements this year in the United States are actually interim CEO placements. Pinnavaia suggests that this signals a real-time evolution in leadership strategy, with boards, “being a little bit more flexible around what they’re going to need long term while covering in the short term”.

Strategic implication: Interim executives are no longer just a bridge between full-time hires. They are a high-impact lever for adding specialized expertise, accelerating initiatives, and maintaining momentum through periods of uncertainty—all without adding permanent headcount. Organizations that integrate interim talent into their leadership strategy are constructing built-in resilience.

When Interim Leadership Delivers Impact

Pinnavaia pointed to four recurring situations where interim leaders have become an essential strategic tool today. The first involves what she called “the atypical nature of challenges and opportunities” companies are facing, where sudden, unexpected issues disrupt existing plans. As an example, she cited the recent tariff situation which has led multiple clients to put opportunities on pause as they rethink supply chains and pricing strategies. In these moments, interims with experience in these areas are able to help leadership teams pivot quickly and effectively.

A second driver is the need for optionality in uncertain conditions—as companies adopt a “wait and see” posture when long-term decisions aren’t yet clear. One client in the luxury goods sector, expecting to be acquired later in the year, lost its CMO at a critical juncture. “It was going to be really hard to recruit a permanent CMO,” Pinnavaia explained, knowing a transaction was likely. Instead, they brought in an interim who “was able to exploit the current moment very successfully with a set of partnerships that significantly advanced the revenue line.”

A third scenario stems from headcount sensitivity, even at the executive level. In the healthcare space, Pinnavaia noted, some clients are ready to launch major digital and data-based initiatives but are not yet ready to commit to permanent hires. By “using interim leadership to keep moving the ball down the field,” they can make progress while waiting for the right timing to build out a full team.

Finally, she highlighted transformation execution as a major growth area for interim leaders. Noting that transformations are extraordinarily difficult, and almost always on top of a day job, Pinnavaia pointed out roles created to lead them frequently should be designed to “actually go away at the end.” Bringing in interims avoids the challenge of placing permanent hires into positions with no long-term fit, while also allowing companies to “mix and match the set of skills and experience that’s explicitly needed in each phase of transformation.”

Across all of these scenarios, Pinnavaia emphasized a common shift: interim leaders are being deployed not just to fill gaps, but to make leadership teams “stronger and more fit for the moment now,” evolving capabilities in real time.

Strategic implication: Interim leadership gives organizations a decisive advantage in volatile environments. It ensures they can seize opportunities and navigate crises without compromising strategic priorities, while also protecting and developing their permanent leadership team.

Key Takeaways

1. Static succession planning isn’t enough

Limiting succession planning to the top few roles leaves organizations vulnerable to leadership gaps in a fast-changing environment.

2. Scalable assessments reveal the full talent picture

Evaluating leaders at scale creates a data-driven view of capabilities, gaps, and potential—informing development, promotion, and succession decisions.

3. Interim executives bring immediate capacity

Temporary, high-impact leaders can address urgent needs, lead critical initiatives, or fill unexpected vacancies without slowing strategic priorities.

4. Pairing the two tools builds agility

Assessment insights pinpoint where capacity is needed; interim leaders deliver it on demand, creating a dynamic, responsive leadership model.

The Bottom Line

The days of once-a-year leadership planning are over. Today’s most competitive organizations are using scalable assessments to see their leadership landscape clearly and interim executives to act decisively. This combination builds strategies that are fluid, fast, and resilient—ready for whatever the market brings next.

There’s no better time to integrate scalable assessments and interim executives into your talent approach. As business conditions shift and leadership demands evolve, these tools give you the agility to respond quickly and confidently. By working with Heidrick & Struggles, you’ll tap into our expertise, global network, and proven strategies for building resilient, high-performing leadership teams. Watch the full webinar or reach out today to learn more.

Transitioning from a corporate job to a career in consulting can be both exciting and overwhelming. A career change to consulting brings you more freedom—over your time, your clients, and the kind of work you take on—but building a sustainable consulting career doesn’t happen by accident. It takes focus, preparation, and a shift in mindset.

Whether you’re still wondering “is a career in consulting right for me?” or you’re ready to land your first client, this guide offers practical steps to help you launch your independent consulting practice with confidence—and grow on your own terms.

Why Corporate Professionals Are Making a Career Change to Consulting

More professionals are leaving traditional corporate roles to pursue flexible, independent consulting careers. For many, it’s not just about flexibility—it’s about freedom. Becoming an independent consultant offers the ability to choose your clients, set your own schedule, and apply your expertise in new and meaningful ways.

Still, the question remains: Is consulting a good career? It depends on your goals. If you’re seeking autonomy, variety, and the chance to build something on your own terms, consulting can be an ideal next step. It’s especially appealing to experienced professionals and post-MBA talent who want to stay hands-on, expand their strategic influence, or test the waters of entrepreneurship.

What Makes a Consulting Career Path Different from a Corporate Job

Moving from corporate to consulting means shifting from employee to entrepreneur. In a traditional role, your responsibilities are defined, the processes are set, and the work often comes to you. As an independent consultant, you create the opportunities by marketing your services, managing client relationships, and taking full ownership of outcomes.

That leap can feel daunting, but it also brings a new kind of freedom: the ability to shape your workload, build a personal brand, and align your work with your values and long-term goals.

For many—including MBA graduates and experienced professionals—becoming an independent consultant offers the chance to apply strategic thinking across industries while tackling a wide range of business challenges. It’s an ideal path for those who want to stay hands-on, operate at a senior level, and take control of their own careers in consulting.

A consulting career path takes focus, motivation, and intention. You’re not just doing the work; you’re running a business. And when done well, a consulting career can be just as financially and professionally rewarding as a traditional corporate role.

Is Consulting a Good Career for You?

Before you commit to making a career change to consulting, take stock of your own skills, working style, and career preferences. What are your strengths? What problems do you solve best—and enjoy solving? The more clearly you define your value proposition, the easier it will be to stand out. It’s also important to be financially prepared. A consulting career can often mean an unpredictable income, at least in the beginning. A financial cushion gives you the flexibility to grow your client base without added pressure.

Your mindset is equally important; a consultant career path requires comfort with ambiguity, the ability to self-direct, and a willingness to constantly learn and adapt. If you enjoy building, problem-solving, and managing your own time, it’s a promising fit.

How to Start Your Consultant Career Path

1. The first step to building a career in consulting is defining your niche. What kind of work do you want to do—and who needs it? Focusing on a specific audience or type of problem will help you attract the right clients faster.
2. Then, formalize your business. Choose the legal structure that makes sense—sole proprietorship, LLC, etc.—and get your operations in order. This includes establishing contracting processes, invoicing tools, and a basic system for managing projects and deadlines.
3. Next, establish your presence. Build a simple, professional website that explains what you do and how you help. Make sure your LinkedIn profile reflects your consulting focus. The goal is to make it easy for potential clients to understand your value and reach out.

How to Get Clients as a New Consultant

The fastest way to land your first consulting projects is to activate your network. Let past colleagues, mentors, and contacts know what you’re doing. Be specific about the kind of work you’re looking for—and ask for referrals. From there, increase your visibility. Post insights on LinkedIn. Join industry groups or professional organizations. Attend events. As you gain traction, ask happy clients for testimonials or introductions.

Pro tip: create a repeatable marketing system. You don’t need to be everywhere—but you do need to be consistent. Whether it’s email outreach, publishing content, or networking regularly, your consulting career will grow as your visibility and credibility grow.

Time Management Tips for Independent Consultants

One of the most common early challenges in a career as a consultant is managing multiple clients and projects without burning out. Start by blocking time for business development, client work, and admin separately—and protect that time. Use project management tools like Trello, Asana, or Notion to stay on top of deliverables. Try time-tracking apps like Toggl to understand where your hours go and improve future estimates.

As your workload grows, consider building standard processes for proposals, onboarding, and reporting. Efficiency matters—not just to save time, but to create a consistent, high-quality client experience.

How to Grow and Evolve in Your Consulting Career

A successful career in consulting is never static. The best consultants constantly evolve—expanding their skills, tracking industry trends, and staying connected to peers.

Invest in your growth through online courses, certifications, and webinars. Read widely. Follow thought leaders. Stay current on your clients’ challenges so you can offer fresh, relevant insights.

And don’t go it alone. While consulting can be isolating, it doesn’t have to be. Build community through peer groups, forums, or mentor relationships with other consultants who can offer feedback, support, and perspective.

Launch Your Independent Consulting Career with BTG

For established corporate leaders, a career change to consulting is both a professional evolution and a personal growth opportunity. With the right preparation, mindset, and support, you can build a career that’s aligned with your strengths, flexible to your needs, and rich in opportunity.

If you’re exploring this path, check out these other guides to help you navigate the early stages:

• 7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming an Independent Consultant
• How to Transition Your Side Hustle Into a Full-Time Consulting Business
• 5 Types of Post-MBA Professionals Who Pivot to Consulting

Ready to make a move? Business Talent Group helps top professionals grow their consulting careers by connecting them with high-impact work at leading companies. Learn more and get started.

In an environment defined by uncertainty, companies are finding new ways to stay agile. One increasingly vital strategy? Leveraging interim executives—not just to bridge leadership gaps, but to drive transformation, build resilience, and create forward momentum.

In a recent conversation, Heidrick & Struggles’ Sunny Ackerman and Sandra Pinnavaia explored how interim executives are helping organizations rethink traditional leadership models. Their discussion highlighted how interim and fractional leaders are being deployed not as a fallback, but as a flexible, strategic tool to meet evolving business needs.

Watch the full video below or read on for highlights about how leading organizations are leveraging on-demand talent to build more agile, responsive, and resilient leadership teams.

A Shift from Stopgap to Strategy

For years, interim executives were viewed primarily as short-term solutions—filling roles temporarily while companies searched for permanent leaders. That perception is quickly changing.

Today, we’re seeing interim talent being used to drive business-critical initiatives, launch new functions, pilot future-state capabilities, and strengthen leadership teams in high-impact ways. These leaders are no longer just stepping in to maintain continuity. They’re being brought in to lead transformation and deliver results—often under conditions of significant change or ambiguity.

This shift reflects a growing recognition that interim executives bring more than just availability. They bring experience, adaptability, and the ability to quickly assess challenges, align teams, and move the business forward.

Why Demand Is Growing

Uncertainty is becoming the norm. Companies are facing everything from global supply chain issues to shifting federal policies to sudden swings in demand—often all at once. As a result, traditional hiring models, long-term planning, and linear decision-making aren’t always sufficient.

Interim talent provides an immediate, flexible alternative. Leaders can bring in experienced executives in days—not months—who are ready to tackle specific problems, lead initiatives, or stabilize critical functions. This type of rapid deployment isn’t just convenient; it can be the difference between falling behind and staying competitive.

Three drivers stand out:

• Immediacy: Businesses can respond to real-time needs without waiting for a lengthy search process.
• Optionality: Companies can test new capabilities, pilot roles, or buy time while determining long-term direction.
• Headcount flexibility: Interim roles allow organizations to add leadership capacity without permanent commitments—particularly valuable during hiring freezes or restructurings.

Interim as a Leadership Development Tool

Interim talent isn’t just a bandage—it’s a scaffold. Used well, it can support existing leaders who are overloaded, inexperienced in a particular challenge, or navigating a demanding moment in their role. It can also help organizations avoid burning out critical talent by distributing the load more strategically.

This could mean adding a fractional CMO to develop and launch a digital growth strategy. Or deploying an experienced CFO to manage a transaction or prep for a fundraise. In many cases, interim leaders are helping organizations explore new directions or test future-state operating models—without overextending existing teams.

A Talent Model That Matches Today’s Business Reality

Many companies are recognizing that what they need now—and what they’ll need next year—are two different things. Interim talent offers a way to match leadership to the moment, whether that’s completing a carve-out, supporting a shift in business model, or responding to evolving customer or market dynamics.

It also aligns with workforce trends. More executives than ever are choosing to work independently, especially in later stages of their careers. This growing supply of experienced, high-impact talent makes it easier for companies to tap the right expertise at the right time—without waiting for the stars to align around a full-time hire.

Watch the Full Interview

The full discussion between Sunny Ackerman and Sandra Pinnavaia explores real-world examples across industries, from manufacturing and consumer goods to technology and healthcare. They also highlight the growing confidence among top companies to experiment with interim models—and how that flexibility is fast becoming a core element of modern leadership strategy.

Whether you’re navigating transformation, leading through change, or simply looking for new ways to extend your team’s capabilities, interim executives can help you move forward now—without locking yourself into decisions that may not fit your future.

Upheaval in the consumer landscape is impacting hiring trends, with on-demand talent offering an attractive blend of flexibility and instant access to transformation skills

Transformation is occurring across the consumer markets industry, forced onwards by the convergence of competing, contradictory pressures. Tight margins and rising costs, higher consumer expectations, international trade disputes, and ongoing, rapid tech developments mean consumer brands must upgrade or be left behind. Business strategy, operations, staffing, supply chains, digital and AI capability, and omni-channel consumer reach all have to be optimised if businesses are to generate growth in a contracting space.

Specialised talent is needed to handle the complexity of these multi-front change management programmes – and it’s needed now. As a result, we’re seeing consumer companies embracing the independent talent model, engaging interim, high-level expertise to help them navigate disruption while identifying and exploiting new opportunities to drive growth, build resilience and stay relevant in a challenging market.

A transformative staffing shift

Rising employment costs combined with sluggish economic growth are causing UK businesses to rethink their hiring strategies. The increase in employers’ National Insurance rates announced in last October’s Budget and concerns over the impact of the Employment Rights Bill in particular are suppressing the appetite to hire, causing the country’s labour market to noticeably cool in recent months.

ONS data reveals that the estimated number of available vacancies is down by 42,000 from February to April 2025, while payroll employment dropped by 109,000 in May – the steepest monthly decline, excluding the pandemic, since 2014. Across all sectors, there’s a shift to a short-term workforce, with the number of temporary workers rising by 7.4% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 1.56 million.

Consumer-facing firms are on the frontline of these employment trends. With UK retail sales growth slowing to just 1% year-on-year in May – failing to match inflation and signalling weak discretionary spending – there is no margin for extra staffing expenditure. Major retailers are slimming down, with Sainsburys planning to cut 3,000 jobs, and Morrisons and PrettyLittleThing both implementing redundancies across their operations. International organisations and consumer goods giants are also feeling the bite, with Unilever embarking on a cost-cutting restructure as part of its effort to save €800m, which sees it shedding 7,500 roles worldwide.

These moves are part of a wider transformative shift in workforce strategies across the UK, Europe and the US, with organisations reducing long-term payroll commitments to focus on a leaner, more resilient model based on temporary contracts and flexible, agile hiring models.

The time and place for interim executive talent

This reassessment of how talent is sourced and deployed in an unpredictable business environment extends to executive level, where on demand and hybrid talent is enabling companies to fill skills gaps efficiently and so quickly adapt to economic changes while maintaining productivity. Research from Business Talent Group, a Heidrick & Struggles company, shows that in the US and European consumer markets, demand for interim leaders at all levels has jumped by 310% since 2020.

Independent talent is particularly suited to transformation programmes, and it’s no surprise that respondents to the INIMA (International Network of Interim Manager Associations) annual survey 2025 cited change management and process optimisation as the most common focus for recent assignments. The top three specialities of European interim managers across all sectors are general management at 30.4%, finance (10.5%) and operations (10.4%).

Experienced executives are being brought into consumer organisations to lead critical transformation efforts – such as ecommerce expansion, ESG compliance and supply chain optimisation – while allowing businesses to avoid the delays and costs associated with permanent hires. The Business Talent Group data shows a strong focus on digital transformation, with the demand for AI and machine learning talent jumping 33% year-on-year, with business intelligence and analytics projects the priority. Strategy-related work is also key, seeing a 39% increase in requirements year-on-year, with supply chains, manufacturing strategy and financial controls all significant targets for on demand talent.

A win-win outcome

Within evolving employment structures, interim roles provide immediate access to leadership and industry expertise, helping consumer brands maintain momentum during periods of change and transition. The ability to inject fresh, specialised perspectives is proving particularly valuable in shaping customer-centric strategies that maximise engagement in a congested space where competitors clamour for consumers’ attention. Alongside this, companies are not having to commit to long-term executive contracts during a period of financial uncertainty.

There are also benefits from the perspective of interim talent. Flexible employment models align with changing worker expectations of greater control of their time and development paths. Many professionals now prioritise autonomy, varied experiences and work-life balance over traditional job security. This is reshaping what employees look for in employers and how they engage with their careers.

With 2025 proving to be a period of transformation, rewards are on offer for independent talent who can demonstrate adaptability, innovation and strategic focus, and upskill themselves to enable the adoption of AI and digital tools. By offering varied, shorter term opportunities, organisations can attract these high-calibre professionals, boosting their ability to grow in a competitive market.

For support in accessing interim talent with the skillsets you need, reducing hiring friction and meeting internal demands quickly, please get in touch with me directly, or contact Business Talent Group.

In April, The Reuters Pharma 2025 conference convened leaders from across the life sciences industry to share transformative ideas, bold innovations, and critical challenges shaping the future of healthcare. Sessions were structured by priority, not function—reflecting the breaking down of silos occurring across the pharmaceutical industry today. The fit-for-purpose content tracks included Collaboration and Change Management, Customer Engagement, and Launch and Value. Key trends around data activation, AI integration, patient centricity, and talent agility took center stage across dozens of keynote sessions and panel discussions.

The team from Business Talent Group, a Heidrick & Struggles company, joined in to engage with the industry’s most pressing questions. Below, we explore seven high-level trends that are redefining how pharmaceutical companies operate, collaborate, and deliver value to patients.

1. Global Health Equity and Access Moves from Mission to Model

Several sessions emphasized that improving access to medicine is no longer a corporate social responsibility side initiative—it’s central to pharma strategy. Efforts to embed global health equity into business operations, such as reframing underserved markets as viable areas for innovation and partnership, were a recurring focus.

Global indices tracking access to medicine have accelerated this shift, pushing companies to measure success not just in revenue, but in availability, adherence, and outcomes. At the same time, regulatory progress and harmonized approval processes are helping companies bring medicines to more regions faster.

These efforts are more than altruism—they reflect a strategic recognition that health equity is a growth driver and a competitive differentiator in the global pharmaceutical landscape.

2. AI and Advanced Analytics Are Rewriting the Pharma Playbook

AI’s transformative role was a dominant thread at the conference. Presenters laid out a compelling vision of AI as a central force in reshaping discovery, development, and engagement. For instance, machine learning is cutting target identification times, and clinical development timelines are shrinking thanks to AI-assisted authoring and digital simulation.

Other sessions demonstrated the shift from experimentation to enterprise adoption. Use cases shared included AI-generated content for physicians, productivity-boosting assistants for field teams, and agentic workflows that replace simple prompts with full-scale decision trees.

The message was clear: rather than just being a tool of the future, AI is a strategic imperative that demands new governance models, data maturity, and upskilling across all levels of the organization.

3. Digital Health and Omnichannel Engagement Reach Critical Mass

Omnichannel transformation—long discussed and haltingly adopted—has now become an industry-wide mandate. Case studies showcased how digital-only models can succeed in a range of global markets when supported by new roles, cross-functional coordination, and data-driven personalization.

Speakers emphasized the importance of moving beyond vanity metrics toward high-value interactions and customer performance indicators. It’s clear that a new generation of healthcare professionals is demanding content designed for them—short-form, on-demand, and interactive.

Video, gamification, and AI-generated content were everywhere. Platforms offering Netflix-style interfaces and interactive training are helping the industry embrace digital-first engagement just as a necessity, but as a strategic advantage. just as a necessity, but as a strategic advantage.

4. Patient-Centric and Outcome-Focused Models Take Center Stage

Putting patients first is no longer just a branding statement—it’s a design principle. From efforts to reach millions of patients to digital tools that drive adherence through gamification, patient experience and outcomes are now core metrics. , like—digital resources, symptom tracking, and community features—are becoming key to value delivery. Some sessions explored how to harmonize patient support metrics across markets. Presenters revealed the importance of triangulating self-reported adherence data with real-world delivery records and satisfaction scores to get a more honest picture of outcomes.

5. Organizational Agility and Innovation Culture Are No Longer Optional

To thrive amid regulatory shifts, AI acceleration, and patient demands, pharma companies are redesigning how they work. Presenters demonstrated the power of cross-functional teams, roadmap-driven planning, and dynamic operating models, on the back of which internal team satisfaction and measurable performance indicators showed strong improvements.

Multiple sessions emphasized the need to dismantle silos, adopt agile workflows, and foster psychological safety for experimentation. Leaders pointed to cross-functional fluency, soft skills, and a growth mindset as essential traits for future pharma professionals.

The bottom line: innovation isn’t just about the next molecule; it’s about how teams think, move, and learn.

6. Collaboration and Ecosystem Building Power Scalable Impact

The conference reinforced the idea that no company can go it alone. From Rare Disease acceleration playbooks to digital health challenges, presenters spotlighted examples of cross-sector collaboration producing tangible results.

Examples ranged from public-private partnerships and alliances with advocacy groups, to new models that co-develop services with startups. Whether enabling equitable access or accelerating clinical trial timelines, these partnerships are amplifying reach, relevance, and results.

Smaller organizations are also bringing fresh energy, using AI, to spotlight data gaps and unlock untapped markets. Meanwhile, large organizations emphasized how collaboration with community stakeholders is vital for translating global strategy into local execution.

7. ESG and Sustainability Priorities Are Becoming Operationalized

Sustainability is no longer confined to annual reports. Pharma companies are now embedding circular economy principles and climate impact considerations into digital health design and distribution. Some of the collaborative projects outlined specific strategies for reverse logistics, reuse frameworks, and cross-border training.

Beyond environmental goals, companies are also measuring societal value—like closing health equity gaps, improving digital health literacy, and expanding access in humanitarian crises. Sessions on AI ethics, equity in global health, and sustainable market entry in lower-income countries pointed to a broader redefinition of value creation.

The shift from compliance-driven ESG to opportunity-driven sustainability signals a deeper integration of purpose into pharma’s operating model.

Pharma’s Future Is Holistic, Digital, and Collaborative

Across every stage of the value chain—from molecule to market—the sessions at Reuters Pharma 2025 painted to a future of healthcare that is more inclusive, connected, intelligent, and outcomes-oriented. Companies that succeed will be those who can integrate AI with empathy, data with design, and global ambition with local nuance.

This is not a future that will be built with old structures or outdated strategies. It will be forged by agile teams, cross-functional collaboration, and a relentless focus on delivering real value to patients, providers, and society at large. As the industry looks ahead to 2030 and beyond, one thing is clear: the transformation is already underway.

To learn more or to discuss how sourcing on-demand talent through Business Talent Group can support your pharma teams, please contact me any time.

AI interest and use have surged as next-gen capabilities disrupt industries, redefine work, and reshape the future at an unprecedented pace. But while generative AI and other advanced models are poised to deliver enormous benefits for companies, many struggle to understand how to use them—let alone implement them successfully. Independent AI consultants are an innovative solution—but demand for their niche expertise outweighs talent supply and availability.

As large language models (LLMs) gain broader adoption, their inconsistent performance across languages has become a significant concern. To address the disparity in LLM performance between English and African languages, a major non-profit global health organization enlisted Ghamut Corporation—a boutique AI consulting firm led by Dr. Mohammad Ghassemi, an AI expert and former BCG strategy consultant with deep experience in artificial intelligence and data systems—and Dr. Tuka Alhanai, a renowned AI innovator named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Identifying the Need 

Among AI experts, it’s known that LLMs perform near human levels in English, but in other languages, it’s not even close. While AI capabilities are improving every day—to the point that the difference in performance between top-of-the-line LLMs and humans is fading away—all of those advancements are occurring, again, almost exclusively in English. Performance drops on African languages compared to high-resource languages—and we lack benchmark data to fully understand how LLMs perform on key tasks like reasoning, reading comprehension, and domain knowledge.

When readily available linguistic resources—such as dictionaries, extensive bodies of written works, and annotated datasets—are scarce for a particular language, it is considered low-resource. And without that data to train conversational models, LLM performance is reduced. More than 2,000 native African languages are considered to be low-resource, and 31 of those languages have over 10 million speakers—an undeniably sizeable market. So, in their current form, LLMs are least effective for the very people who could gain the most from AI capabilities bridging language gaps in education, healthcare, and digital services.

This was a top priority for the global nonprofit, whose core mission is to support communities where non-English languages are predominantly spoken. The organization’s goal is to provide critical resources—such as contraceptives, vaccines, and other tools that empower people to live healthier lives. But to do this effectively, it needed a way to communicate clearly and meaningfully with these populations.

From Insight to Action 

The team began by translating two gold-standard reasoning and knowledge benchmarks into 11 African languages that are frequently spoken, geographically diverse, and have limited AI training resources.

By translating, validating, and fine-tuning these benchmarks, they were able to create a dataset of more than a million human-translated words in eleven underserved languages spoken by more than 230 million people. They then used the translated benchmarks to measure how well state-of-the-art, “frontier” models (including Anthropic’s Claude 3, Google’s Gemini, and OpenAI’s GPT-4 models) perform in these languages and identify targeted strategies to improve them.

With the performance gap effectively assessed, the team could shift their efforts toward closing it.

Next they developed a method to retrain LLMs that improves their accuracy in limited data contexts generally, and for African languages specifically. Their approach combines small, high-quality datasets from a targeted African language with larger, lower-quality datasets from related languages, enabling LLMs to extract broad knowledge from the larger data while developing domain-specific reasoning from the higher-quality sources.

While their focus for this project was on African languages, their approach offers a scalable solution for improving AI performance in any domain with limited data.

It might appear that translating the queries into English and running them through an English LLM presents a simple solution. But that was impossible in this case, as back-translation wasn’t an option for 10 out of the 31 unsupported languages.

The Impact of Innovation

“This project holds a special place in my heart because it will help us improve the performance of LLMs for over 230 million people… That’s a lot of people!” Dr. Ghassemi shared.

“And also very importantly, people can take the code and continue to build on it and extend it to create more public good,” he continued, citing the publicly available resources released once the team completed the project—which will help others build more inclusive and effective AI models across diverse languages and low-data environments.

The team’s work earned recognition from the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), one of the most prestigious conferences in the field. Selected for an invited talk—an honor extended to only the top 5% of AI research globally—the project was acknowledged not only for addressing a meaningful problem, but also for introducing innovative AI methods to tackle it.

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For all the benefits expected to be unleashed by AI in business, there’s a lot standing in the way of widespread adoption and acceptance: a lack of understanding, a lack of excitement, fear about the tech itself and the efficacy of its use, and implications for staffing and job security. Not to mention a vast gap in the availability of AI skills and talent.

While 92% of companies plan to increase their AI investments over the next three years—as of yet, only 1% of leaders report that AI is fully integrated across the company and driving substantial business outcomes. To guide leaders through this new age of AI in the workplace, Heidrick Navigator—an AI-powered leadership talent intelligence solution from Heidrick & Struggles—recently hosted a webinar on Addressing the AI Talent Shortage: Actionable Strategies for HR Executives, featuring:

• Ryan Bulkoski, Global Head, Artificial Intelligence, Data & Analytics Practice
• Maria Konat, Global Managing Partner, Go-To-Market Integration
• Jennifer Wilson, Co-Head, Global Human Resources Officers Practice

Join us as we recap some of the key points.

Reframing AI in Business

Many leaders are sharing that they don’t know what they have relative to AI skills and expertise in their existing org. But as Bulkowski said, “AI isn’t just about technical expertise, it’s about connecting innovation to people,” noting the importance of simplifying complex tech capabilities to foster success. It’s not about coding courses so much as it is about AI awareness and education. Wilson shared that “The skill of harnessing the power of others is crucial for HR success in navigating the uncertainty around AI,” advising listeners to “lock arms” with the different parts of their organizations and tap into external networks of expertise.

There is likely not enough AI talent today for every company to have exactly what it needs, internally or externally, so it’s critical to figure out how to make the most of what’s available and accessible. Konat reminded listeners that “sometimes the best ideas come from somebody who has less tenure in the organization,” not a sitting C-suite or senior executive, because the grassroots professionals are often the ones going out and testing things, resulting in new ideas and different points of view.

Today’s tone has shifted to one of pragmatism when it comes to the intersection of AI and talent. Questions to consider include:

• How do all leaders learn to lead in the world of AI?
• How do we understand and harness AI in any function or business?
• How do we learn to understand how it affects external strategy?
• Where or how should we use it?

AI in Business, Today

Business leaders have the unique opportunity to tap into a broader set of skills across and outside the organization to expertly excel with AI. Today’s in-demand AI leader can serve as a “chief translator,” or storyteller—one who can show and tell how AI concepts turn into insights. They are the ones who understand that these topics need to be approached with empathy, since empathy is what fosters trust. This is especially important with the subject of integrating AI, as workers wonder whether—or even when—robots will take their jobs.

On that note, Bulkoski pointed out that “only humans can envision the extraordinary.” So even if AI systems play a more present role in today’s society and workforce, their value will never be realized without human innovation and ideation. Bulkoski shared that this “plays right into the need to adapt to change in an agile manner. AI advancement requires leaders to really embrace continuous learning and pivot around their strategies swiftly.” He explained that the most effective and agile leaders are quick to make decisions, demonstrate a willingness to experiment, and most importantly, remain open to embracing failure.

As for finding those AI leaders and experts, Konat later asked how the panel is looking at the marketplace; if there are shortages across the board; if there are different geographic complexities we should be thinking about as our talent landscape; and whether the capability demand we’re seeing internally match up with what’s in the market today. In short, Bulkoski confirmed that there is more demand than there is supply.

“The expectations are now outsized in terms of what you have to pay for talent,” he said. “That means you may have to get a little bit creative in terms of who you bring in, and then we go back to this human element. If you can’t afford the PhD in computer science who has built teams from zero to 300 and comes from a top five tech company, maybe you get creative and you look at somebody who has a master’s in anthropology or philosophy, or you know, they’ve done something where they’re creative in connecting disparate points of view. Maybe they started their career as a developer and then they went to strategic consulting,” explaining that sometimes, the most successful businesses are successful because they think outside the box in terms of what type of candidate should be considered suitable for a given role.

Wilson corroborated his point, “The gains from the experimentation and the productivity that you get from that as a leader hopefully frees you up to spend more actual time with your people,” explaining that “most managers right now are overburdened with work, so let’s figure out how to decrease that to be leaning into the more inspirational and human sides of leadership.” Konat agreed and said, “Let’s become more human in our work by using AI.”

Enabling the AI Talent Ecosystem

According to Wilson, the most successful organizations are first defining their strategic objective, then assessing whether their current structure—likely developed ad hoc—aligns with existing goals. That involves prioritizing AI use cases by both business value as well as practicality.

“Some buy, some rent, some build, some do a bit of each,” she continued. When it comes to “renting” talent, Wilson shared that “one of the interviewees from our research who leads HR at a large global consulting firm created a flexible talent ecosystem to bring in AI expertise. So how did they do that? They brought in freelancers, gig workers, part-time employees, and that allowed them to adapt to their changing client needs while also infusing that new AI expertise into their organization.” And on the “build” side, she said they’ve seen some HR leaders redesign roles to get their own teams exposed to AI, which can in turn be rolled out across the organization.

At the end of the day, confronting the opportunities and challenges requires a cross-functional, collaborative approach. Wilson encouraged listeners to “lead from the front and show the promise of flexible talent, ecosystems, human centric cultures, and importantly cross-functional governance.”

On-Demand Expertise for AI in Business

In one example of how companies are tackling AI talent shortages, Bulkoski shared a case in which he was working with a large, publicly traded fintech company. After the company had spent time working with a strategy consulting firm, leadership recognized they needed an AI strategy, as well as a new head of AI, data, and analytics to implement it. Once the new leader assessed their organization, however, they quickly realized that they didn’t have all the talent they needed to actually carry out the strategy. Bulkoski suggested that on-demand talent could be a perfect solution.

“Here is a bench of talent who would be able to step in as soon as you’re ready. You say the word,” he said. “That could be today, it could be three weeks from now, it could be three months from now. But if there are specific projects that you don’t want to wait to hire somebody for the long term, you’d be able to utilize that talent at any given moment.”

On-demand talent can even be helpful in the midst of an executive search, notes Bulkoski. “We have an AI and data project that we need to kick off in the next eight weeks, and we’re not sure we can finish an executive search in eight weeks. What do we do to bridge that gap? That’s where it’s been incredibly helpful to have our business called BTG.”

He continued, “Let’s say, an organization wanted to jumpstart an AI assessment or an AI project. We’d be able to procure within three days a number of on-demand executive leaders who would be able to step in and jumpstart that project.” At the same time, Heidrick & Struggles’ executive search team is conducting a search to bring in a full-time executive. Bulkoski said to think about it “not just in the lens of let’s do one executive search, but is there a bridge to be able to get there from an on-demand perspective?”

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If AI is a priority for your organization this year, you can’t afford to waste time when talent is so in demand. Don’t settle for keeping pace—accelerate your competitive advantage with top AI consultants and leaders from Business Talent Group. Get started today.

Stress is something most of us experience at one point or another, but it’s often not discussed openly. It’s a natural response to life’s challenges, but when stress becomes chronic, its effects can be far-reaching and impact every facet of our physical and mental well-being.

Symptoms of Stress

When stress hits, our bodies release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to prepare us for the “fight or flight” response. While this reaction can be helpful in the short term, prolonged activation of these stress hormones takes its toll over time, leading to a wide range of physical and emotional issues. In the long run, chronic stress can leave us feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, both at work and in our personal lives.

Physical Symptoms of Stress

Chronic stress can affect our bodies in several ways:

• Weakened Immune System: Prolonged stress lowers the body’s ability to fight off illnesses, leaving you more susceptible to infections.
• Increased Risk of Heart Disease: Stress raises blood pressure and heart rate, which can contribute to long-term heart problems.
• Muscle Tension: Continuous stress can lead to tight muscles, headaches, and even chronic pain, particularly in the neck and shoulders.
• Sleep Disruptions: High stress levels can interfere with sleep, leading to insomnia or poor-quality rest, which in turn can make stress worse.

Mental and Emotional Symptoms of Stress

Stress also takes a toll on our mental and emotional state:

• Cognitive Impairment: Chronic stress can impair memory, focus, and decision-making abilities.
• Anxiety and Depression: Prolonged stress is linked to mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression, as it affects the brain’s chemistry and emotional regulation.

How Stress Affects Your Work-Life Balance

Stress doesn’t just impact your health; it can also disrupt the delicate balance between work and personal life. When stress levels rise, it becomes harder to focus, prioritize, and maintain healthy boundaries between your responsibilities and personal time.

• Decreased Productivity: Tasks that could normally take you an hour may end up taking much longer due to the cognitive effects of stress and their impact on your overall productivity. As a result, you may feel like you’re constantly chasing deadlines, leaving little room for personal time or relaxation.
• Blurred Boundaries: Stress can lead to a constant mental “overload,” making it difficult to mentally “switch off” when it’s time to leave work. Whether you’re working from home or the office, when you’re stressed, it’s easy to carry work into your personal time, whether through late-night emails, worrying about pending tasks, or neglecting to take breaks.
• Impact on Relationships: Chronic stress can cause irritability, exhaustion, and frustration—emotionally affecting how you connect with others. This could mean less quality time with family or friends, as well as strained relationships due to emotional withdrawal. Stress can also lead to neglecting your own well-being, which further impacts how you interact with loved ones.
• Burnout: The ongoing stress of juggling multiple responsibilities without adequate rest or self-care leads to burnout—a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion. When you’re burned out, it becomes incredibly challenging to perform at work, and you may find yourself resenting both your job and your personal commitments, creating a vicious cycle of stress.
• Lack of Motivation: Stress can lead to decreased motivation, making it difficult to stay engaged in both work and personal activities. You may start to feel that everything is too overwhelming, making it harder to tackle both work-related tasks and personal projects, leaving you feeling stuck and unproductive.

If you feel the effects of stress wearing you down both in the workplace and at home, try these tips to prioritize work-life balance.

Common Causes of Stress + Tailored Remedies

Authenticity

Stressor: Striving to show up authentically at work can feel overwhelming, especially in environments that encourage compartmentalization or conformity.

Why It Happens: Many of us juggle concerns about saying the wrong thing, doing too much, or not being accepted or liked. These anxieties are exacerbated in remote or flexible work environments where clear boundaries and personal interactions can blur.

How to Address It: Building self-awareness and setting personal boundaries can help alleviate the pressure. Focus on gradual, consistent efforts to align your actions with your values. Learn more about authenticity and professionalism here.

Disorganization

Stressor: Disorganization, whether mental or physical, creates chaos that can heighten stress levels.

Why It Happens: When our thoughts or physical spaces become cluttered, it becomes harder to focus and prioritize tasks, leading to a cycle of mounting stress.

How to Address It: Break the clutter cycle with small, intentional actions—decluttering digitally, organizing your physical space, and creating a prioritization system. We’ve outlined some advice for getting organized here.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Stressor: Being in tune with emotions, both yours and others’, can make you vulnerable to secondhand stress.

Why It Happens: High EQ means understanding and empathizing with others’ emotions, but this can lead to emotional overload—especially if you’re surrounded by individuals projecting their stress or frustrations.

How to Address It: Set emotional boundaries and practice self-care to safeguard your mental space. Discover more about emotional intelligence and stress management here.

Feedback and Criticism

Stressor: Feedback, especially when poorly delivered, can feel like criticism and cause unnecessary stress.

Why It Happens: A lack of context or constructive framing can trigger overthinking and lead you to catastrophize or question your abilities.

How to Address It: Shift your mindset to see feedback as a growth opportunity, even when it’s not perfectly delivered. Here are our best tips for leveraging feedback and criticism for professional growth.

Focus and Motivation

Stressor: Losing focus or feeling unmotivated creates frustration and compounds stress.

Why It Happens: Distractions, forgetfulness, and perceived lack of progress can make it feel like your productivity is slipping, creating a cycle of guilt and overwhelm.

How to Address It: Break tasks into manageable chunks, take intentional breaks, and reestablish clear goals to regain momentum. Here’s some advice on how to stay focus and motivated.

Imposter Syndrome

Stressor: Feeling like a fraud, even when you’re competent, can be deeply unsettling and stressful.

Why It Happens: Self-doubt often creeps in when you’re navigating new challenges or responsibilities, making it feel like you’re figuring things out on the fly without a safety net.

How to Address It: Acknowledge your accomplishments, seek support from peers, and remind yourself that growth often feels uncomfortable. Explore more insights on overcoming imposter syndrome.

Project Setbacks

Stressor: Unexpected disruptions to projects can create stress for all involved.

Why It Happens: When things go wrong, even outside your control, it creates a sense of failure or disappointment, especially for problem-solvers and planners who thrive on structure.

How to Address It: Stay solution-oriented, and remember setbacks are part of the process. Try these steps to mitigate common setbacks.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Stressor: Seasonal changes, especially reduced daylight, can trigger stress and sap motivation.

Why It Happens: Shorter days and limited sunlight disrupt sleep patterns and serotonin levels, leading to fatigue and low mood.

How to Address It: Light therapy, regular exercise, and proactive planning for seasonal transitions can help. Find more tips to tackle SAD here.

Tech Challenges

Stressor: Technical difficulties are a significant source of stress, especially for remote workers.

Why It Happens: Hardware failures, software bugs, or connectivity issues create immediate frustration and can delay productivity.

How to Address It: Establish a reliable tech support system and learn proactive troubleshooting strategies. Discover ways to solve common tech challenges here.

The Bottom Line

Stress is a universal challenge, but it’s one we can learn to manage with the right strategies and mindset. After all, recognizing how stress affects our bodies and minds is the first step toward taking control of it. Whether it’s recognizing the triggers, finding balance in the chaos, or taking small steps to protect your mental health, you’re working toward a more stress-free day to day. And by learning to manage stress effectively, you can prevent these negative effects and improve your overall quality of life.

We’ve all felt the pressure of balancing work, personal commitments, and the constant pull of everyday life. And when stress mounts, it doesn’t just impact your productivity—it affects your health, relationships, and overall happiness. Work-life balance is more than just a self-help buzzword—it’s essential for your well-being and success.

10 Work-Life Balance Strategies

Whether you’re handling remote work, office deadlines, or family commitments, creating balance leads to greater happiness, productivity, and peace of mind. Here are 10 powerful strategies to help you craft a more fulfilling, balanced life.

1. Define What Flexibility Means for You

Flexibility in your work schedule can transform your day. Research shows that flexibility is a top priority and that it leads to higher job satisfaction and lower stress. Consider exploring options for flexible hours or compressed workweeks with your employer. Or, if you have autonomy over your schedule, tailor it to align with your peak productivity times and personal commitments.

For example, if you’re an early riser, you might prefer starting work earlier to have afternoons free for family or hobbies. A flexible schedule isn’t just about convenience—it allows you to better integrate personal priorities into your daily life, creating a natural flow between work and leisure.

2. Prioritize with Strategic Time Management

Time management is the backbone of a balanced life. Use tools like the Eisenhower Box to categorize tasks by urgency and importance, making it easier to prioritize. Dedicate blocks of time for work and personal activities—and protect these blocks fiercely. Productivity tools like Toggl and RescueTime can help you refine your approach, ensuring that your time is optimized and freeing up hours for rejuvenation. For instance, set aside “distraction-free” time for focused work and separate moments for personal relaxation or family time.

3. Adapt Your Strategy for Different Work Environments

Work-life boundaries can vary depending on where you work. Tailor your approach to your environment for the best results:

• Remote Work: Structure is essential at home, where it’s easy to blur work and personal time. Create a dedicated workspace, set clear start/stop times, and schedule breaks to maintain focus and avoid burnout.
• In-Person Work: Use downtime such as lunch breaks to recharge. For example, stepping outside for a walk during lunch can help reset your energy. Be sure to also set limits around after-hours communication so you can fully disconnect.
• Hybrid Work: Maintain similar hours across locations, grounding your day with routines like morning exercise or coffee breaks to keep work from spilling into personal time. A consistent routine helps you establish a clear distinction between work and home life.

4. Prioritize Self-Care Every Day

Self-care isn’t selfish—it’s essential. Begin your day with a grounding activity, such as meditation or yoga, and take small breaks during your workday to stretch or go for a quick walk. Research shows that self-care reduces stress and strengthens emotional resilience, helping you stay centered and energized. Daily self-care is an investment in your well-being that builds the foundation for balance. Whether it’s enjoying a cup of coffee in silence or taking a 10-minute meditation break, these moments recharge your body and mind.

5. Disconnect with a Technology Detox

Digital distractions can drain focus and intrude on your downtime. Introduce tech-free hours—especially before bed—to recharge. Research links reduced screen time to better sleep, improved focus, and a more fulfilling personal life. And small breaks from technology can help you reconnect with yourself and others. For example, consider a “digital sunset,” where you turn off all screens an hour before bed to wind down naturally. You could also try an app like Forest to help you stay off social media and remain on task.

6. Set and Protect Your Boundaries

Clear communication is essential for maintaining balance in both your professional and personal life. Set expectations with colleagues, clients, and family members about when you’re available and when you’re off-limits. Boundaries aren’t just about saying “no” to requests—they’re about making space for what matters most to you. It’s also important to practice saying “no” to things that disrupt your priorities, whether it’s work demands or personal commitments. When others respect your boundaries, you can focus on what matters without spreading yourself too thin. Protecting your time is essential for ensuring that you can give your best to both work and personal life.

7. Build a Support Network

Lean on friends, family, and coworkers, and seek out communities for shared advice and camaraderie. Strong support systems are linked to lower stress and greater satisfaction, helping you feel more connected and capable. Surrounding yourself with people who understand your needs can help relieve pressure and offer encouragement when you’re feeling stretched thin.

8. Learn to Delegate and Share Responsibilities

Another key to maintaining balance is knowing when to delegate tasks and share responsibilities with others. Whether it’s at work or in your personal life, you don’t have to do it all alone. Trust your team, family, or friends to take on some tasks, freeing up your time for other matters, including self-care or relaxation. Delegating doesn’t mean you’re not capable; it means you’re taking a more strategic approach to managing your time and energy, allowing you to focus on what truly matters.

9. Embrace Work-Life Integration

Instead of strict separation, look for harmony between work and personal life. For example, use lunch breaks for a quick workout if you’re passionate about fitness, or attend work events that align with personal interests. Blending work and personal priorities where possible creates a more fluid, fulfilling day. Flexibility allows you to maintain energy and productivity without feeling like you’re constantly juggling two separate worlds.

10. Reflect and Adjust Regularly

Work-life balance is a continual process. Set aside time each month to reflect on your current balance. Are you honoring your priorities? If not, make small adjustments to your schedule, boundaries, or routines. Balance isn’t about perfection; it’s about making intentional choices that bring you joy and satisfaction. Reflecting periodically allows you to assess what’s working and what isn’t—giving you the chance to course-correct before things feel too out of balance.

The Bottom Line

Finding a healthy work-life balance is not about doing everything perfectly but about making conscious choices that prioritize both your well-being and your ambitions. By incorporating even a few of these strategies, you can foster a work-life harmony that keeps you energized and fulfilled, rather than overwhelmed and overworked. Remember, balance is a journey that evolves with your needs and goals. Start by embracing one or two strategies, make adjustments along the way, and give yourself permission to continually refine your approach. In time, you’ll see how small, intentional changes can lead to a life that feels both rewarding and sustainable.

The successful implementation of a business integration strategy can be a powerful way to achieve growth. However, integration can be challenging, and a project is only as successful as the strength of its plan. Identifying and aligning goals is a critical piece of the puzzle, but ample consideration must also be given to potential risks, roadmap effectiveness, and resource allocation. When the planning stage is rushed, at least 70% of post-merger integrations fail to achieve the deal thesis.

Another common weakness in business integration strategies is an underestimation of the resources required in order to implement the plan properly. When a strategy relies entirely on internal resources, teams can quickly become overwhelmed or overworked, leading to burnout, organizational gaps, and substantial, costly delays. Hiring additional leaders requires a great deal of time—another resource that’s severely lacking when speed and momentum are essential.

Frequently, companies will engage an outside consulting firm to assist with strategic planning or execution. These arrangements can provide crucial support, but they also tend to be fairly rigid in scope and focused on broad objectives. Once the merger is closed and basic workstreams are in place, the consulting firm’s engagement concludes. But internal teams often aren’t yet acclimated to the resulting process changes and organizational shifts.

A Layered Integration Process

The strongest approach is a layered one that allows for greater flexibility and efficiency while ensuring the project is fully supported from beginning to end—and beyond. By bringing in independent integration consultants, an organization can bridge gaps wherever and whenever they might pop up. These highly experienced, deeply knowledgeable experts also offer an unbiased perspective that’s invaluable during initial strategic stages and indispensable when issues emerge.

Whether the integration is being handled entirely internally or with the assistance of an outside consulting firm, independent business integration managers can provide an additional, much-needed layer of support. They can even help identify potential acquisition targets.

We’re going to explore three of the most helpful ways independent talent can be deployed to strengthen your business integration strategy.

1. During Initial Planning Stages

Due Diligence Doesn’t Replace Integration Strategy

Business integrations have the potential to drive growth and improve an organization’s competitive position in a number of ways. Strategic mergers, acquisitions, and vertical integrations provide access to economies of scale, larger market share, and streamlined supply chains. Through diversification, conglomerations can help reduce risk exposure and accelerate cross-industry innovation. Regardless of the type of integration, however, one thing remains true across the board: Success depends on early, consistent alignment.

Due diligence conducted prior to closing the deal can uncover and potentially help resolve points of difference, but any discoveries or resolutions do not, by themselves, define a fully mapped-out plan for integration. The integration process requires its own due diligence, and a neutral third party, such as an independent integration consultant, can provide a fresh perspective, one uninfluenced by the business negotiations themselves.

An On-Demand Integration Management Office

These highly skilled consultants can also operate like an on-demand integration management office (IMO), bringing in industry-specific expertise to help businesses outline clear goals, identify potential risks, and establish effective roadmaps and timelines.

This was the case when a global pharmaceutical company acquired a large company and decided to use on-demand talent through BTG to drive the HR integration. The team of integration experts that BTG provided established critical workstreams and bridged knowledge gaps when internal expertise was insufficient.

Cost-Efficient Collaboration

Independent integration consultants are also more cost-effective than permanent hiring. They’re skilled at hitting the ground running, and the flexible, temporary nature of their engagements allows them to jump in—or out—whenever necessary. They often come from traditional consulting backgrounds, which can help smooth coordination with outside firms.

2. During Execution

Integrating Tech Ecosystems

As the integration process gets underway, it’s essential to foster and maintain alignment across teams and ensure the smooth integration of systems. IT, in particular, requires additional diligence, as the entities being integrated each have their own “tech ecosystem.” A thorough application rationalization process can help uncover synergies and redundancies to improve asset management and drive overall efficiency.

Impartial, independent integration consultants can ease the burden on internal teams by evaluating these various IT assets to identify optimization opportunities. This was the case when BTG connected an F500 B2B company with an experienced technology strategist. After the company completed its acquisition, it brought back the strategist and three additional consultants to support its lean PMO in leading workstreams, scoping resources, and monitoring progress of the systems integration.

Keeping Internal Teams Aligned

The integration of teams is similarly complex, yet it requires a different, specific sort of expertise. This type of human-centered change management expertise is less common in internal teams, unless the organization frequently targets integration opportunities. Even in those cases, the objectivity offered by an independent third party can be preferable when developing and executing plans for process standardization, employee training, and communication processes.

When an F500 tech company realized it lacked the internal change management expertise it needed in order to integrate the employees from its newly acquired global data firm, they turned to BTG for support. BTG brought in a former Arthur Andersen consultant to design and lead a comprehensive change management plan that included employee training and retention benchmarking, as well as content review and approval policies. The processes she established helped position both the company and the employees for post-integration success.

3. Post Integration

Smoothing Transitions

Engagements with traditional consulting firms are frequently focused on high-level strategic planning, though sometimes these teams can also be brought in to help with execution. Once this support ends, however, the transition to internal ownership can remain a challenge.

Often, retained employees are still acclimating to new systems and processes, and additional support is needed to maintain momentum and accelerate growth. The post-integration adjustment period is still part of the integration process, and outside support can help smooth the transition.

Independent consultants can assist with post-merger integrations and other types of integration by applying specialized expertise to realize immediate gains and ensure long-term success. This was what happened when the board and executive teams of an F100 company wanted their internal teams to start owning the workstreams that a strategy consulting firm had implemented during the integration process.

They had acquired a multi-billion-dollar company seven months earlier, and the consulting firm had established an IMO and fully staffed it with more than 50 of their own people. Once the firm’s engagement concluded, the lean internal team that remained wasn’t resourced well enough to keep up the pace. Skills gaps and bandwidth shortages prevented them from being able to realize critical synergies.

The company turned to BTG for on-demand talent, and we delivered seven highly skilled consultants with integration-specific expertise to assist with knowledge transfer and support the internal team while they assumed ownership of the new workstreams. By working together, the teams were able to help the company realize exceptional savings and growth opportunities a full quarter sooner than expected.

Filling Leadership Gaps

Other times, resource gaps emerge during the pre-close process or during the integration process itself. Filling these gaps can be difficult in the absence of concrete knowledge about the ultimate deal approval or integration timeline, or about whether the roles will be needed long-term. The niche expertise and wealth of experience that independent talent possess often makes them a good fit for interim leadership positions in these scenarios. In the meantime, the on-demand business integration manager can help further define the new role and source full-time candidates to fill it permanently.

This was how a private-equity-backed provider of labor market data handled things when it realized it would need a long-term HR leader after acquiring its biggest competitor. BTG delivered a senior HR executive to help integrate their newly doubled workforce, a process that included resolving critical culture issues and developing policies to manage performance and enhance employee growth.

Alongside these broader objectives, the integration consultant also worked to attract and recruit a permanent leader for the company’s HR function. By clearly defining the ongoing support that the role would require, the talent was able to set up the incoming leader for success.

The Bottom Line

Anytime an organization pursues a merger, acquisition, vertical integration, or conglomeration, risk is inherent. By putting a solid business integration strategy in place, however, companies can reduce this risk while also ensuring they’re able to fully leverage combined strengths and increase collective efficiencies.

An organization may choose to manage the integration internally or engage an outside firm for strategy and/or implementation support, but the benefits of either option are accompanied by challenges that can threaten the integration’s success. Gaps will pop up, whether due to a lack of integration-specific expertise, bandwidth, or ongoing support.

Rather than waiting for the gaps to appear, a solid post-merger integration plan identifies opportunities to bridge them with another layer of support: highly skilled independent talent. These cost-efficient, on-demand resources offer targeted expertise backed by decades of experience—not to mention the flexibility they provide. When it comes to de-risking integrations, a layered approach is a smart approach.

A consulting portfolio is your opportunity to showcase your skills, experience, and success stories. In other words, it’s your professional story in action. Unlike a resume that simply lists job titles and responsibilities, a portfolio demonstrates your experience through case studies, testimonials, and examples of your successful projects.

With a well-designed portfolio, you can illustrate the impact you’ve had in your roles and prove your ability to solve unique, challenging problems. Whether available publicly online (on LinkedIn or a personal website) or tailored for sharing privately on a case-by-case basis, this tangible show and tell presentation guides potential clients toward seeing you as their perfect-fit solution.

Follow these tips to create a compelling consulting portfolio that reflects your unique value-add, wows potential clients, and helps you fill your project pipeline.

Understanding Your Audience

To make your portfolio effective, it’s essential to know your audience. Every client has unique needs, and your portfolio should address those needs directly.

Start by researching your target clients. Understand their industry, challenges, and what they value in a consultant. Then craft your portfolio to demonstrate how your expertise aligns with their goals. When selecting which projects and testimonials to include, focus on those that align with the client’s industry. A portfolio tailored to resonate with the needs of potential clients is much more persuasive.

While your public portfolio might serve as more of a broad overview of your skills and expertise, privately, you might create more specific versions based on industry or type of work. For example, someone might create a version of their portfolio for tech startups and another for healthcare clients. This customized approach ensures your portfolio feels relevant to each audience.

Elements of a Strong Portfolio

A great consulting portfolio covers multiple aspects of your professional experience. Here’s what to include:

• Case Studies: Present detailed accounts of projects you’ve worked on, including the challenges faced, solutions implemented, and results achieved. Find more on how to create engaging case studies below!
• Testimonials: Showcase endorsements from clients that highlight your skills, professionalism, and the positive impact of your work.
• Personal Branding Elements: Share information about your background, expertise, and a summary of your unique value proposition.
• Visuals: If possible, utilize high-quality images, charts, and graphs that illustrate your work and make your portfolio visually appealing.
• Contact Information: Make it easy for potential clients to reach out to you by including your contact details and links to your LinkedIn profile or personal website.

These elements combine to give potential clients a well-rounded picture of your skills and the results you can deliver.

Creating Engaging Case Studies

Case studies are the backbone of any consulting portfolio. They bring your achievements to life and show how you approach complex problems. Here’s how to build an engaging case study:

1. Start with a Clear Structure

• Introduction: Briefly describe the client and the challenge they faced.
• Approach: Explain the steps you took to address the challenge, including any innovative strategies or techniques used.
• Results: Highlight the outcomes of your work, using quantifiable results wherever possible.
• Conclusion: Summarize the key takeaways and the impact of your work on the client’s business.

2. Include Metrics

Specific numbers make a difference. Saying “Reduced operational costs by 25%” makes a stronger impact than general statements. Use charts or graphs to present data in a visually appealing way.

3. Tell a Story

Frame your case study as a narrative. Set the scene, describe the initial problem, detail the journey of solving it, highlight the outcomes, and encourage reflection. Storytelling humanizes your skills and expertise, setting the stage for clients to start to build trust with you and connect with your work. Consider including the following (where applicable and available):

• Describe the industry, client, role, and scope of work
• Outline goals and problems the client faced in achieving them
• Include past attempts to solve the problem and how the client came to need YOUR expertise
• Describe specific actions you took to help the client achieve their goals
• Include quotes or testimonials
• Recap results and share next steps where applicable
• When choosing and writing up case studies, ensure they mirror common challenges so readers can see how your services and skills apply to their problems and pain points

By following these guidelines, you can create case studies that not only showcase your expertise but also capture the interest of potential clients. That said, remember to blind or avoid confidential details; check out our Consultants’ Guide to NDAs and Confidentiality to learn more.

Gathering and Using Testimonials

Client testimonials are an incredibly effective way to build credibility by providing social proof that others value your work. Here are some tips to help you effectively gather and present testimonials:

Find Your Moment: The best time to ask for a testimonial is usually right as the engagement or project starts to wrap up and you begin to hand off deliverables and workstream ownership. Don’t wait too long or the client might begin moving on to the next thing and not recall all of the great work you’ve done.

Seek Specific Feedback: When requesting testimonials, prompt clients to mention specific aspects, such as your problem-solving skills or the results they saw.

Leverage Diverse Voices: Include testimonials from different industries to demonstrate versatility. Show you can solve diverse challenges across multiple sectors.

Be Intentional with Placement: Place testimonials where they support key claims in your portfolio. Ensure each testimonial has the client’s name, title, and company for authenticity.

Incorporating a diverse range of detailed testimonials, strategically placed to support key claims, can significantly bolster your portfolio’s credibility and illustrate your ability to address various industry challenges effectively.

Designing Your Portfolio

Whether you’re presenting your portfolio online or sharing an offline version directly with prospective clients, a clean, intentionally designed portfolio makes a difference in how your work is perceived.

Simplicity Wins: Opt for a modern, clean layout with ample white space. Avoid overloading pages; let your visuals and text breathe.

Organize for Clarity: Arrange your content so it flows logically, guiding readers naturally from section to section. Headings and subheadings help readers navigate.

Focus on the User Experience: Ensure digital portfolios are easy to browse, mobile-friendly, and interactive. Adding clickable links or embedded videos can make the experience more engaging.

A well-designed portfolio not only looks professional but also enhances the overall user experience, making it more likely that potential clients will take the time to review your work.

Making Your Portfolio SEO-Friendly

Optimizing your online portfolio for search engines can increase its visibility and attract more potential clients. Here are some basic SEO principles to apply:

Use Relevant Keywords

• Identify keywords about your skills and expertise that your target audience is likely to search for, such as “freelance operations consultant”, “fractional HR leader”, “business strategy consultant in [Your City]’ or “independent product launch expert”.
• Integrate these keywords naturally throughout your portfolio, including in headings, subheadings, and body text.

Optimize Meta Descriptions

• Write compelling meta descriptions for each page of your online portfolio. Include relevant keywords and a clear call to action.
• Keep meta descriptions under 160 characters to ensure they display correctly in search engine results.

Augment with Images

• Use descriptive filenames and alt text for images to improve their visibility in search engine results.
• Compress images to reduce load times and enhance the user experience.

By implementing these SEO strategies, you can increase the chances of your portfolio being discovered by potential clients searching online.

Putting It All Together

Creating a consulting portfolio involves several steps, but the effort is well worth it. Here’s a checklist to help you get started:

• Research your audience to understand their needs and preferences.
• Gather and organize content, including case studies, testimonials, and personal branding elements.
• Design your portfolio to ensure it’s visually appealing and easy to navigate.
• Optimize for SEO to increase visibility and attract more potential clients.

By following these steps, you can create a consulting portfolio that effectively showcases your skills, experience, and results. If you feel that there are gaps or areas for strengthening, check out our top tips for expanding your skill sets or pursuing microcredentials and certifications to bolster your business acumen.

The Bottom Line

A strong consulting portfolio is an invaluable tool for freelancers and aspiring consultants. It provides a comprehensive view of your professional accomplishments and demonstrates your ability to deliver results. By investing the time and effort to create a compelling portfolio, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and position yourself as a top-tier consultant.

Start building or improving your consulting portfolio today. Your next big project could be just around the corner. Eager for more tips and how-to’s? Explore our talent resources for more content tailored for you!

Artificial intelligence is driving unprecedented advancements across the entire pharmaceutical value chain—from drug discovery and clinical development to patient-centric care and operational optimization. By leveraging the power of AI, pharmaceutical companies can unlock insights from vast, complex datasets, streamline R&D processes, and expedite the delivery of cutting-edge therapies. This not only accelerates time to market but also paves the way for more personalized, effective treatments and significantly improved patient outcomes. The strategic deployment of AI in the pharmaceutical industry is no longer a future consideration; it is a competitive imperative shaping the industry’s next era of innovation.

That was the focus of a recent digital roundtable hosted by Atreus, the leading provider of interim leaders and experts in Germany and Europe, and a Heidrick & Struggles company. Led by Christian Wagner, director at Atreus, the webinar convened a panel of industry leaders and AI experts to explore both the extraordinary potential and the current limitations of AI in the pharmaceutical sector.

Watch the discussion or read on for highlights on how AI is reshaping the pharma landscape—as well as the strategic challenges that must be navigated to fully realize AI’s promise in this highly regulated and data-intensive field.

AI in Pharma: Insights and Takeaways

The Importance of Aligning AI with Business Objectives

Jack Lampka, a keynote speaker with 27 years of experience in technology and AI, cautioned against the common mistake of starting AI initiatives by focusing on the technology, which often results in a “solution looking for a problem.” Noting that 70% of AI projects fail—often for this very reason—he instead advises companies to start with concrete challenges that need to be addressed in the business. In the pharmaceutical industry, this means decision-makers should first identify specific areas where AI can deliver measurable value—such as optimizing sales strategies or streamlining research and development—and establish clear KPIs to ensure focus and accountability.

Lampka also notes that bringing the business side into the early stages of AI initiatives is essential. Because success hinges not just on the quality of the AI solution, but on whether it is actively used, it’s crucial to involve business stakeholders in setting usage goals and make them co-owners of the AI-driven outcomes. But Lampka emphasizes that adoption will not be automatic. AI leaders should develop a well-thought-out internal marketing strategy to effectively communicate the benefits of their initiatives to stakeholders and ensure solutions are both understood and embraced across the organization.

Corporate Culture’s Role in AI Adoption  

Successful AI implementation hinges on fostering a corporate culture that embraces innovation and change. These initiatives require employees to shift how they operate, adopt new tools, and adapt workflows. Without openness to change, even the best AI solutions will falter. Lampka also stresses the importance of addressing employees’ key question: “What’s in it for me?” Clear communication about how AI benefits individual roles is essential to securing buy-in.

To increase buy-in, Lampka suggests that organizations work to promote a data mindset company wide. One way to do so is by creating data literacy programs that demonstrate how AI can improve employees’ daily activities and operations, while helping data scientists understand operational challenges. Engaging enthusiastic employees in AI development in this way can help companies develop advocates, further driving adoption. Executive support is equally crucial; leaders should be actively involved in fostering organizational acceptance of AI solutions.

AI Is a Diverse Ecosystem of Technologies

Lampka emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between different forms of AI, including machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and generative AI (gen AI). While ML and DL have been used for years in contexts such as predictive analytics for sales and marketing, gen AI, the “new kid on the block,” excels at creating content such as text, images, and videos. For pharmaceutical companies, understanding these distinctions helps in selecting the right AI technology to meet specific business needs.

Lampka also notes that while generative AI is currently generating buzz, traditional ML and DL have the potential to provide even greater business value. While McKinsey estimates that gen AI could contribute up to $4 trillion annually to the global economy, it’s possible that ML and DL could generate up to four times that amount. Accordingly, Lampka cautioned companies to not let the hype around gen AI overshadow the proven impact of ML and DL, which continue to drive significant value across industries.

AI’s Role in Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing

In pharmaceutical sales and marketing, AI offers significant opportunities. AI can define customer segments, provide insights into key physicians’ preferences, and estimate patient numbers in regions with strict regulations. For sales teams, AI can recommend next best actions, advising on which physicians to target, which channels to use, and what content to deliver. By analyzing vast customer data, AI uncovers insights that enhance marketing strategies and improve return on investment (ROI).

Additionally, AI optimizes resource allocation, identifying the most effective sales channels and marketing strategies. It also enables customized content creation, including avatar training videos in multiple languages, helping pharmaceutical companies scale their marketing efforts efficiently.

Navigating Compliance Issues Around AI

AI strategy expert Dr. Marlon Rück stresses the importance of and challenges around regulatory compliance when integrating AI into the pharmaceutical industry. Given the high stakes, particularly around patient safety and treatment efficacy, AI systems must be thoroughly tested at all levels to ensure safe and reliable implementation.

Rück also highlights that compliance must be considered from the very early stages of AI planning. Organizations should prioritize transparency and closely collaborate with authorities to ensure their AI solutions meet all regulatory standards. By embedding these practices into AI development, companies can mitigate risks and ensure successful, compliant AI integration that delivers real value.

Balancing AI Capabilities with Human Oversight

AI consultant and interim leader Dr. Maximilian Pinker cautions against overestimating AI’s capabilities, especially in decision-making processes that require human judgment. He emphasizes that while AI excels at processing data and recognizing patterns, it cannot replace human oversight in critical areas like compliance and accuracy. In the pharmaceutical industry, AI systems lack the predictability of traditional systems, making it difficult to validate AI for good manufacturing practices (GMP), as the same input may produce different results over time.

Pinker acknowledges that AI can enhance efficiency, speeding up content creation and handling parallel processes that would otherwise be costly. However, the limitations, particularly around validation and regulatory compliance, remain a challenge. He advises a balanced approach—leveraging AI’s strengths while ensuring human oversight to meet compliance needs. Staying informed and pragmatic as AI technology evolves is crucial to navigating both its potential and limitations.

Operational Efficiency Gains through AI

AI offers significant opportunities to streamline production, from planning and optimization to maintenance scheduling. Automating routine tasks and using AI-driven analytics enables better resource allocation, quicker market responses, and a stronger competitive edge. Furthermore, AI can optimize production planning, process workflows, procurement, and energy consumption, ensuring smoother operations and timely availability of materials.

Rück also highlights how AI-driven knowledge management can prevent knowledge silos, while automating manual tasks like document writing speeds up processes. This combination of automation and optimization can help companies increase efficiency, maintain compliance, and reduce costs throughout the production cycle.

AI’s Impact on Drug Development

Rück highlights AI’s transformative potential across the drug development cycle, from discovery to clinical trials. AI can streamline the discovery process by predicting the properties of proteins and drugs, helping pharmaceutical companies identify promising candidates faster and allocate resources more efficiently.

On the clinical side, AI can predict patient profiles for trial site selection, forecast adverse effects, and generate synthetic patient data for virtual trials. By reducing development time, companies can improve time-to-market and launch drugs faster—gaining more time under patent protection and increasing revenue potential during exclusivity.

The Bottom Line

Even as adoption rapidly grows, companies are still only scratching the surface of AI’s use cases in the pharmaceutical industry. By focusing on strategic alignment, development of a company-wide data mindset, and regulatory compliance, life science leaders can unlock the enormous potential of AI to improve patients’ lives and drive business success.

Need help with your AI strategies and implementation? Reach out today to learn how our expert talent solutions can accelerate your critical AI initiatives.

Imagine this: you’re wrapping up a big presentation that you spent hours perfecting. As soon as it’s over, your boss approaches you. You brace yourself—what’s coming? Praise or a list of what went wrong? Moments like these shape our growth. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned executive, knowing how to handle feedback and criticism is a pivotal skill for all types of professionals. This post will explore the different types of feedback, how to receive criticism, and how to offer each in a way that inspires growth.

Understanding the Different Types of Feedback

Positive vs. Negative Feedback 

Positive feedback reinforces what’s working, boosts morale, and motivates people to keep it up. Constructive negative feedback highlights areas for improvement, which is essential for growth.

Example: 

• Positive Feedback: “Your teamwork on the recent project was outstanding. Keep up the great collaboration.”
• Negative Feedback (Constructive): “Your report had great content, but it needs better organization for clarity.”

Constructive Criticism vs. Personal Attacks

Constructive criticism is aimed at improvement. It focuses on specific behaviors and offers actionable suggestions. Contrast that with general criticism that can feel like a personal attack as it leaves you with no clear direction for improvement—and can even hurt feelings.

Example:

• Constructive Criticism: “Your presentation was well-researched, but I noticed you spoke very quickly. Slowing down can help your audience better understand your points.”
• Personal Attack: “Your presentation was terrible,” or even worse, “You’re terrible at presentations.”

Knowing the difference between constructive criticism vs. personal attacks allows you to frame your comments in ways that help rather than harm.

How To Receive Feedback

With any type of professional feedback, it’s important to adopt a growth mindset. The right mindset keeps you resilient and focused on continuous improvement, especially when receiving constructive criticism that might be challenging. If you view feedback as a tool for learning, these best practices can help ensure you get the most benefit possible out of the feedback you receive.

Active Listening

Fully concentrate on what’s being said, without planning your response while the other person is speaking. Active listening helps you truly understand the feedback you’re receiving and how to use it effectively.

Steps:

1. Maintain eye contact.
2. Nod to show understanding.
3. Avoid interrupting the speaker.

Asking for Clarification and Examples

When receiving feedback, especially if it’s critical, ask for specific examples to better understand the context and the areas needing improvement. Specific feedback is easier to act on.

Question Examples:

• “Can you provide an example of when I exhibited this behavior?”
• “What specific actions can I take to improve in this area?”

Reflect Before Responding

After receiving feedback, take some time to process it before responding. Reflecting on the feedback helps you to absorb the information and think critically about how you can use it to improve.

Tip: Write down the feedback and revisit it after a few hours or days to gain a fresh perspective.

Real-Life Scenario for Receiving Feedback:

Think of a time when someone provided you with constructive feedback—perhaps on a presentation, a creative project, or even your communication style. At first, you might have felt a bit defensive or unsure. But if you sought clarification and approached it with an open mind, perhaps you found ways to adjust and improve. This is a great example of how receiving feedback thoughtfully can lead to meaningful progress.

Strategies for Giving Feedback Constructively 

The Feedback Sandwich

The feedback sandwich is a popular method for delivering feedback constructively. It starts with positive feedback, followed by constructive criticism, and ends with more positive feedback. This approach makes the criticism easier to digest.

Example: “I appreciate your enthusiasm during meetings. One area for improvement is staying on topic, as this will help us stay within the time limits. Overall, your energy is a great asset to the team.”

The SBI Model (Situation-Behavior-Impact)

The SBI model offers a structured approach to feedback by describing the situation, the behavior observed, and the impact of that behavior. This method provides clear, actionable insights.

Example:

• Situation: “During yesterday’s meeting…”
• Behavior: “You interrupted several times…”
• Impact: “This caused confusion and slowed down the meeting.”

Turning Feedback into Action

Setting SMART Goals

Use feedback to set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. SMART goals turn vague intentions into actionable steps.

Example:

• Specific: “I will practice my presentation skills…”
• Measurable: “for one hour weekly…”
• Achievable: “with the help of a mentor and online resources…”
• Relevant: “to enhance my communication skills for leadership roles…”
• Time-bound: “and achieve a noticeable improvement in three months.”

Tracking Progress and Measuring Improvement

Regularly track your progress and measure your improvement to stay motivated and on course. Use tools like performance reviews, self-assessments, and in-the-moment feedback at work to help you stay focused and motivated.

Tip: Keep a journal of your goals and achievements. Reflect on your progress regularly to stay committed to your growth.

The Bottom Line

Feedback is one of the most powerful tools for growth—whether you’re just starting your career, experiencing a professional pivot, or leading a team. By understanding how to receive feedback, accepting constructive criticism, and mastering the art of giving and receiving it, you’ll be well on your way to continuous improvement. After all, learning to handle criticism without taking it personally builds emotional strength. Remember, feedback is about your work, not your worth.

Embrace feedback, use it as a stepping stone, and let it propel you forward. It’s what turns good professionals into great ones and what makes great teams unstoppable. The next time you get feedback at work, see it as an opportunity rather than a challenge. With these strategies, you’ll be ready to learn, grow, and strive for excellence in everything you do.

The Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) is a senior executive responsible for formulating and executing strategic initiatives that drive business growth and success. As companies navigate a complex and competitive business environment shaped by shifting consumer behaviors, geopolitical challenges, and rapid technological advancements, the need for a dedicated executive to steer strategic initiatives has never been more pronounced.

CSOs excel in aligning business objectives with market conditions, identifying growth opportunities, and working in close collaboration with other C-suite executives to establish comprehensive strategies that ensure their company remains competitive. By providing strategic guidance and direction, CSOs help organizations navigate challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and foster sustainable growth.

The key responsibilities and functions of a Chief Strategy Officer include:

• Strategy Development: The CSO is instrumental in creating and refining the overall corporate strategy. This involves analyzing market trends, identifying growth opportunities, and setting strategic objectives that align with the company’s vision and goals.
• Business Planning: CSOs develop comprehensive business plans that outline strategic initiatives, resource allocation, and key performance indicators necessary for achieving organizational objectives.
• Market Analysis: CSOs monitor market dynamics, customer preferences, and industry trends to uncover new market opportunities, assess competitive threats, and recommend strategies to maintain a competitive edge.
• Partnerships and Alliances: CSOs actively seek strategic partnerships, collaborations, and alliances to enhance market presence, drive innovation, and leverage shared resources for mutual growth.
• Change Management: CSOs lead and manage organizational change initiatives, ensuring effective communication, stakeholder engagement, and smooth implementation of strategic initiatives throughout the organization.

By providing strategic direction, ensuring alignment of business activities with the overall strategy, and driving innovation and transformation, a Chief Strategy Officer significantly contributes to business growth and success. They help organizations anticipate and respond to market disruptions, identify new revenue streams, and optimize resource allocation to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Qualifications And Skills

The role of a Chief Strategy Officer demands a high level of expertise and strategic thinking, as well as excellent leadership and communication skills to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders. CSOs should be adept at interpreting data and possess a deep understanding of the company’s market and competitive landscape. Remaining adaptable and cool-headed in the face of business change and challenges is also crucial for a CSO’s success.

Education and Experience

Most CSOs hold advanced degrees such as an MBA or a Ph.D. in fields such as business administration, economics, or finance. A solid educational background provides the foundation for understanding complex business strategies and market dynamics. Additionally, extensive experience in strategic planning, corporate development, or management consulting is crucial for aspiring CSOs.

Key Skills and Competencies

Successful CSOs possess a range of skills that enable them to drive an organization’s strategic initiatives. These include:

• Analytical Thinking: CSOs must analyze market trends, evaluate business opportunities, and make data-driven decisions.
• Leadership: CSOs lead cross-functional teams, collaborate with stakeholders, and influence other executives.
• Strategic Vision: CSOs need to develop a clear strategic vision for the organization and align it with overall business goals.
• Communication: Excellent communication skills are crucial for CSOs to effectively convey complex strategies and gain buy-in from key stakeholders.

Certifications and Professional Development

Although not mandatory, becoming a certified Senior Business Strategy Professional (SBSP) or Strategy Management Professional (SMP) can enhance a CSO’s credibility and demonstrate their commitment to ongoing professional development. Attending industry conferences, participating in executive education programs, and networking with peers can provide valuable insights and keep CSOs updated on the latest strategic trends and best practices.

The Benefits of a Chief Strategy Officer

Having a Chief Strategy Officer within an organization offers numerous advantages. The key benefits of having a CSO include:

Strategic Expertise

A CSO brings a unique set of skills and expertise to the table, including a deep understanding of market trends, competitive landscapes, and industry dynamics. This knowledge enables them to identify opportunities and threats, develop innovative strategies, and drive growth.

Strategic Decision-Making:

A CSO plays a pivotal role in guiding strategic decision-making within the organization. They collaborate with other senior leaders to set goals, define objectives, and prioritize initiatives. By leveraging their strategic thinking and analytical abilities, CSOs help organizations make informed decisions that align with their long-term vision.

Long-Term Business Strategy

A CSO is responsible for developing and executing the company’s long-term business strategy. They assess market conditions, identify emerging trends, and evaluate the competitive landscape. Based on their analysis, CSOs formulate strategies that position the organization for sustained success and competitive advantage.

The Chief Strategy Officer vs. Other C-Suite Roles 

While each C-suite officer plays a crucial part in the success of an organization, there are distinct differences between a Chief Strategy Officer and other roles such as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operations Officer (COO), and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

• CEO vs. CSO: As the highest-ranking executive, the CEO oversees the entire organization and is responsible for setting the overall direction of the business. In contrast, the CSO focuses specifically on developing and implementing strategic initiatives to further the company’s goals.
• COO vs. CSO: The COO primarily focuses on the operational side of the business, ensuring smooth day-to-day operations. While the CSO collaborates with the COO to align strategic initiatives with operational capabilities, their primary focus is on long-term planning and growth.
• CMO vs. CSO: The CMO is responsible for marketing and promoting the company’s products or services. The CSO works closely with the CMO to ensure that strategic objectives are reflected in marketing efforts, but their role extends beyond marketing to encompass the overall strategic positioning of the organization.

Collaboration and synergy between the CSO and other executives are crucial for organizational progress, but the unique contributions of a CSO lie in their ability to provide a clear strategic direction for other functions to orient toward—ensuring that the organization is well-positioned for long-term success.

Finding a Qualified Chief Strategy Officer

Finding the right Chief Strategy Officer is critical for businesses seeking to implement effective strategic initiatives. Here are some best practices to help identify and attract top talent for this crucial role:

1. Clearly Define the Role: Start by creating a clear and comprehensive job description that outlines the responsibilities, qualifications, and expectations for the CSO position. This will help attract candidates who possess the necessary skills and experience.
2. Utilize an Executive Search Firm: Partnering with a reputable executive search firm like Heidrick & Struggles can significantly enhance your search for a CSO. With extensive networks and expertise in identifying and recruiting top-level professionals, executive search consultants can help you tap into a wider pool of qualified candidates.
3. Leverage Professional Networks: Engage with industry-specific professional networks and associations to connect with potential CSOs. Attend relevant conferences, workshops, and networking events where you can interact with professionals specializing in strategic leadership.
4. Utilize Online Platforms: Use online platforms such as LinkedIn to search for CSO candidates who have demonstrated expertise in strategy development and execution. Join industry-specific groups and participate in discussions to expand your network and find potential candidates.
5. Tap into Internal Talent: Consider existing high-performing employees within your organization who may possess the skills and potential to excel as a CSO. Providing opportunities for professional development and growth can help groom internal candidates for this crucial role.
6. Engage an Interim Executive: If your organization’s strategic needs can’t wait, or if you’d like to take some time to develop the ideal leadership profile for your permanent executive, you may want to engage an interim executive to serve as your Chief Strategy Officer until a long-term leader can be found. Business Talent Group can help you access thousands of experienced strategy leaders and former management consultants who are available for interim engagements lasting from just a few months to several years.

By implementing these best practices and leveraging various resources and networks, you can increase your chances of finding a qualified CSO who can drive your company’s strategic initiatives and deliver impactful results.

Future Trends and Challenges

The Chief Strategy Officer role is continually evolving to keep pace with the changing business landscape. One emerging trend in the CSO role is the increasing focus on innovation and digital transformation. CSOs are now responsible for identifying growth opportunities through the adoption of new technologies and digital strategies. They play a crucial role in developing and executing innovative business models to stay competitive in the digital age.

Another trend is the shift toward data-driven decision-making. CSOs are leveraging big data and analytics to gain insights into market trends, customer behavior, and competitive intelligence. By analyzing and interpreting data, they can make informed strategic decisions and drive business growth.

Along with these emerging trends, CSOs also face several challenges in today’s business landscape, including the increasing uncertainty of the global market and the difficulties of developing and executing strategic plans in this environment. Another challenge is balancing short-term goals with long-term sustainability. CSOs are responsible for driving immediate results while ensuring that the company’s strategies align with its long-term vision. This requires effective prioritization and resource allocation to achieve both short-term wins and long-term success.

To adapt to these evolving market dynamics and disruptions, CSOs can employ various strategies. They can foster a culture of innovation and collaboration within the organization, encouraging employees to think creatively and embrace change. CSOs can also build strategic partnerships and alliances to leverage external expertise and access new markets. Furthermore, CSOs can invest in continuous professional development to enhance their strategic thinking and leadership skills.

By staying ahead of the curve and adopting strategies to adapt to evolving market dynamics and disruptions, CSOs can drive foster innovation and lead their organizations toward long-term success.

How On-Demand Talent Support Chief Strategy Officers

Experienced Chief Strategy Officers are well accustomed to a continual ebb and flow of strategic initiatives—and the challenges of accessing much-needed expertise for the moment at hand. While the inherently variable nature of strategy work demands a lean team structure, the specialized expertise needed for each initiative requires a ready source of elite resources. Highly skilled on-demand talent offer the speed, agility, and expertise CSOs need at up to 63% lower costs than traditional consulting firms.

Chief Strategy Officers often tap on-demand talent to support important needs such as: 

• Annual planning and budgeting: To enable surge capacity during peak activity periods
• Long-term planning: To leverage external expertise without the overhead of a large consulting firm
• Corporate development and M&A: To remain agile amid a highly irregular demand cycle
• Operational excellence and innovation initiatives: To drive innovation and change

This flexible resourcing approach allows CSOs to access top talent with the right skill set precisely when they need it. Independent talent can seamlessly integrate into your team, providing specialized support they need to achieve strategic goals.

The Bottom Line

A Chief Strategy Officer plays a pivotal role in shaping and steering an organization’s strategic direction. By leveraging their expertise in strategic planning, data analysis, and communication, a CSO ensures that the company remains competitive and poised for long-term success. As businesses continue to evolve in response to market dynamics and technological advancements, the role of the CSO will only become more critical.

Interested in learning more about engaging an interim Chief Strategy Officer or other on-demand talent to support your organization’s strategic objectives? Reach out today.

Establishing family-first corporate policies can be a powerful way to retain and attract talent in a competitive hiring market. However, without giving proper consideration to how family leave programs will actually play out, the morale boost they initially provide can quickly devolve into burnout.

Regardless of how temporary or pre-planned a leader’s leave of absence may be, the fact remains that their departure will create a gap. At best, this gap is likely to slow or stall project momentum. At worst, it can stretch internal teams so thin that critical mistakes are made, productivity suffers, and resentment builds.

In the past, organizations would generally opt for one of two ways to fill this gap: contract with an outsourced services provider or reallocate the residual work internally. Neither offers an actual bridge solution, though. Each is more like a fraying tightrope: an illusion of continuity that’s unable to support much weight. External firms might be able to handle discrete projects, but they’re not going to advance the company’s strategic goals. Internal teams already have full plates, not to mention disparate skill sets.

Now that 45 percent of the workforce is composed of independent talent, however, there’s a new, far more effective option: the interim leader.

With their extensive experience in similar roles, these highly skilled professionals are able to effectively fill temporary leadership gaps to provide ongoing stability and seamless continuity. It’s their nature to hit the ground running, and when it’s time for those on family leave to return—whether in three months or 12—the interim leader can help facilitate a smooth transition.

Flexible leave requires flexible coverage

Each family leave scenario is unique, and it’s important for companies to be prepared for all possibilities. Certain types of leave are federally protected, whereas others might be state-specific or codified by the business’ own policies.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), for example, is a statutory right that covers a broad range of scenarios. Though a foreseeable leave of absence requires a minimum of 30 days notice, an unexpected event that triggers FMLA family leave can lead to a covered, unpaid absence of up to 12 months. Currently, 13 states have passed legislation to create mandatory paid family leave programs, as well.

At minimum, your organization needs to be compliant; and in order to foster a supportive culture, you’ll likely want to establish your own family leave policies, too. Whether they’re required to or not, many businesses already choose to offer paid leave as part of an employee’s benefits package. In today’s job market, paid family leave can be an attractive differentiator, and it helps demonstrate a company’s commitment to the health and happiness of its employees.

As Crystal Landsem, CEO of curated apparel brand Lulus, puts it, “At Lulus, we believe in empowering parents-to-be and their partners to excel both in their careers and their roles as parents. Providing immediate and flexible executive coverage during family leaves is not just a policy, it’s a reflection of our commitment to supporting the whole person—because you can lead a thriving career while acclimating the profound journey of parenthood. As a women-led organization, we embrace the strength, resilience, and balance that come with being both a leader and a caregiver, proving that excellence in both is not only possible but celebrated.”

The mode of coverage matters, and if you design your strategy only around planned leaves of absence, your organization will be blindsided by those that aren’t. Plus, some absences might last a few weeks, while others might span a year or more. The recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act also federally requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for limitations that arise due to pregnancy or a pregnancy-related medical condition. This means there might be periods of time where additional capacity is needed, even if someone going on leave hasn’t left just yet.

All of these family-friendly policies intend to provide workers with adequate flexibility, but if you don’t build at least as much flexibility into your coverage strategy, you’ll be woefully underprepared for the gaps they inevitably create.

Pitfalls of traditional coverage strategies

A well-designed family leave program ensures that any length of time an employee spends away from their role (or in a temporarily limited capacity) is as supportive for them as it is for the larger team. In the absence of adequate coverage, critical work can fall through the cracks, and productivity and morale are likely to suffer. Worse still, the absentee will be burdened with resolving these issues upon their return, thus further delaying any forward progress and compounding frustration.

So, why not just reallocate the work internally? Often positioned as an opportunity for junior staff to gain experience or for executive peers to diversify their skills, this shuffling of roles and responsibilities raises a number of concerns. First and foremost, the internal talent assuming these new duties still have their own roles to fulfill. Overwhelm and burnout become imminent risks, and gaps are likely to pop up in other areas as they struggle to focus on competing priorities.

Second, those stepping up or stepping in are likely to have different skill sets. An accounting executive can’t seamlessly transition into a CFO’s role. Despite their shared focus on numbers, one looks to the past, while the other looks to the future. This mismatch of skills increases the likelihood of failure and frustration, regardless of how competent the individual might be.

Third, the variable duration of family leave makes this strategy difficult to apply unilaterally. Redistributing tasks for a few days is one thing; reassigning responsibility for the company’s strategic vision for the next 12 months is something else entirely.

Okay then, what about hiring an outside firm to pick up the slack? Outsourcing projects to relieve pressure on internal resources can be effective if the strategic piece is already there and the milestones are well defined. But outsourcing work is costly, and minimum contracts are often longer than needed. These teams also tend to operate entirely outside the organization, which can affect team dynamics and cause disconnects that lead to inefficiencies and process breakdowns.

How, then, to provide coverage for absences of indeterminate duration while also supporting internal teams and maintaining organizational momentum? Enter: the interim leader.

Interim leadership as a versatile solution

When it comes to flexibility, effectiveness, and value, independent talent checks all the boxes—and then some. Many have backgrounds that blend operational expertise with executive experience, and when rapidly immersed in a company’s ecosystem, they’re able to quickly grasp its goals and challenges. Their versatility allows them to fill leadership roles at any level of management, from the C-suite to the head of marketing or IT.

Here are three ways that bringing in an interim leader can bridge the gap to maintain—and even accelerate—momentum during an executive leave of absence:

1. Relieving resource pressure while adding strategic value

By bringing in support that actively takes pressure off internal resources, family-first leave of absence policies become truly human-centered. This sort of bridge can actually result in an improved strategic position for the company.

Case study: Support for Fundraising Strategy and Impact Frameworks During Parental Leave

BTG helped a strategy and impact portfolio manager at a philanthropic organization in the global health space find the perfect interim leader to keep critical projects on track while she was on parental leave. The results-oriented interim leader shared the organization’s world-positive vision and quickly went to work prioritizing initiatives and developing fundraising programs to support them. By bridging the gap between technical and fundraising teams, she was able to deliver a cohesive global outreach messaging strategy.

For extended engagements, interim leaders can even provide transformative strategic guidance or facilitate the smooth implementation of existing strategy. Because they’re bringing in a pair of fresh eyes, they have the ability to introduce different perspectives and shine a spotlight on angles that might have otherwise gone unseen.

Case study: Interim HR Leader for Parental Leave Backfill at a Tech Startup

When a FinTech startup needed coverage for their HR leader’s planned leave of absence, BTG brought in an HR operations executive to fill the role. The interim leader drew on 15 years of experience strategically guiding organizations through periods of rapid growth to not only help steady the ship, but also to support and add value across HR, recruiting, and executive leadership.

2. Paving the way for a seamless transition

Transitioning in and out of coverage for a leader’s family leave is nearly as important as the work that gets done while they’re away. Interim leaders are highly experienced with jumping in and getting right down to work without interrupting the current project flow. This seamlessness goes a long way toward reassuring internal teams and maintaining momentum and positive morale during the original leader’s absence.

Case study: Senior Marketing Project Leader to Cover a Family Leave Gap in Retail

With several big holidays approaching, an ecommerce apparel retailer needed a strong marketer who could fill in while its senior marketing director was on leave. BTG matched the company with a seasoned operations and growth leader whose extensive marketing experience and global perspective allowed her to slip right into the role. She took ownership of the customer retention channels without hesitation, and she even helped shepherd the organization through the re-platforming of its planned email service provider switch.

3. Accommodating variable timelines

From unexpected FMLA family leave to planned parental leave, the start and end times of these absences can vary widely. In certain circumstances, a leave of absence might need to be extended or a returning leader may need additional support while they transition back to their role. Prior to their leave, an organizational leader might even want to work side-by-side with their interim counterpart to align objectives, define processes, and make introductions to the larger team.

Due to their flexibility, interim leaders provide a true Goldilocks solution in these scenarios. They’re uniquely positioned to step in for six weeks, six months, a year, or more, and they’re able start whenever it makes the most sense and stick around afterwards to help finish up projects or streamline a leader’s reentry.

Case study: Interim Finance Manager

The former senior financial analyst and interim leader that BTG supplied to cover a finance manager role at an F100 pharmaceutical company wound up delivering more than just backfill. For 27 weeks, she helped maintain the company’s accounting needs, and when the finance manager returned from maternity leave, she stayed on to assist with quarterly close activities, year-end reporting, process improvements, and the development of training documents.

Build bridges before you need them

Whether your current policies are shaped by federal law or you offer a generous, flexible paid leave program, it’s essential to have a solid coverage plan in place to support them. In order to nurture a family-positive corporate culture while maintaining the capacity and morale of your internal teams, that coverage plan needs to be flexible, versatile, and easy to implement.

Interim leaders are an ideal solution, because they can drop into the role seamlessly and provide temporary coverage for a wide range of situations. In many cases, they can even go above and beyond the existing position to help streamline operations and strategically advance the company’s mission.

Seamless and strategic business integrations can be pivotal for driving growth, fostering innovation, and maintaining competitive advantage today. But what is business integration, and how exactly can it benefit your organization?

Without a plan, 70% of integrations fail to deliver the results desired, which is why it’s important for a company to understand not only what an integration is, but why and how a company decides to integrate. After all, companies only have two options when it comes to growth: organic (growing from within) and inorganic (growing through external factors like mergers, acquisitions, or partnerships). In the case of an acquisition, leaders must think ahead and consider whether it will be beneficial to integrate the businesses at all, which parts to integrate when, and so forth. Timelines and to-dos vary depending on the goal of the acquiring organization. Will it be a gradual integration, or will it happen all at once? Which approach will deliver the most value? Is this the right next step on the quest for growth?

Since understanding a business integration’s nuances and benefits is imperative to its success, we’ll explore the different types of business integrations, their strategic imperatives, and real-world examples to illustrate their effectiveness to see how they can support various goals and objectives across industries.

Understanding Business Integration

What is Business Integration?

Business integration is a strategy that involves consolidating different segments of a business or combining with other companies to streamline operations and enhance competitive advantage. This can include merging processes, technology, or even entire companies.

By integrating various facets of your business, your business might experience any of the following:

• Improved operational efficiency
• Enhanced data accuracy and accessibility
• Better collaboration and communication
• Accelerated real-time decision-making
• Reduced operational costs

The Importance of Integrations

The primary goal of this process is to create synergy and improve efficiency. By integrating different parts of a company, or other companies in the case of mergers and acquisitions, organizations can reduce costs, improve productivity, and offer better products or services to their customers.

By streamlining operations and fostering collaboration across different segments, business integration enables organizations to respond faster to market changes, innovate more effectively, and deliver superior value to customers. Other key components include internal process alignment, technological synchronization, and human capital cohesion.

Benefits of Business Integrations

A well-executed integration can drive corporate growth and enhance competitive positioning, in the following ways:

• Economies of Scale: By consolidating operations, reduce redundancies, and achieve economies of scale, leading to significant cost savings.
• Increased Market Share: By consolidating resources and capabilities, strategic integrations can help companies capture a larger share of the market, strengthen their competitive edge, and create barriers to entry for potential competitors.
• Enhanced Innovation: Combining resources and expertise from different entities can spur innovation and lead to the development of new products and services. They also provide greater flexibility to adapt to market changes and customer demands.
• Improved Supply Chain: Vertical integrations can streamline the supply chain, reduce dependency on external suppliers, and improve quality control
• Risk Diversification: Conglomerations can spread risk across different industries, providing greater stability and resilience

Join us as we explore five different types of business integrations: horizontal (mergers, acquisitions), vertical (forward, backward), and conglomerations.

Horizontal Integration

What is a Horizontal Integration?

Horizontal integration involves merging with or acquiring businesses at the same stage of production in the same industry. Companies often pursue this strategy to expand market share, reduce competition, and achieve economies of scale. This is often done at the same production stage.

Benefits of Horizontal Integration

Horizontal integration offers several advantages, such as:

• Increased market share and reduced competition
• Enhanced economies of scale, leading to cost savings
• Expanded product or service offerings through combined capabilities

Challenges and Considerations

A few challenges with a horizontal integration may include potential antitrust issues, cultural clashes between merging entities, and the complexity of integrating operations and technologies.

Types of Horizontal Integrations: Mergers

Mergers involve the strategic consolidation of two companies into a single entity, aiming to harness synergies that enhance market power and operational efficiency. This approach not only expands market share but also allows the combined entity to operate more effectively while reducing redundancy. A merger can take various forms, including mergers of equals, where both companies retain a sense of parity, or more traditional structures where one entity clearly acquires the other.

Benefits of Mergers

A few motivators for a merger might include:

• Increased market power
• Cost efficiency and economies of scale
• Enhanced innovation and resource sharing

Challenges and Considerations

Cultural clashes between merging entities can hinder integration and reduce employee morale. Clear communication and thoughtful integration strategies become essential as leaders must navigate this complex landscape, ensuring that the combined organization harmonizes its values and operational practices.

Real-World Example

Take JetBlue’s merger with Spirit Airlines in 2022. By combining their operations, the two airlines leverage synergies that boost efficiency and enhance service offerings, thereby making strides to reshape the competitive landscape of the airline industry.

Types of Horizontal Integrations: Acquisitions

Acquisitions occur when one company purchases another to bolster its market presence and operational capabilities. This strategy is often implemented to achieve immediate market expansion, enhance product offerings, or acquire valuable technologies and intellectual property. Unlike mergers, acquisitions can lead to one company assuming full control over the other, often resulting in a shift in organizational structure and culture.

Benefits of Acquisitions

The following are some primary benefits of acquisitions:

• Rapid market expansion
• Diversification of product lines
• Access to talent and expertise

Challenges and Considerations

The integration period can be turbulent, with potential redundancies causing staff dissatisfaction or loss of key talent. An effective integration strategy is critical in ensuring that the acquired company aligns with the parent organization’s goals while maintaining operational continuity and morale.

Real-World Example

A prominent example of horizontal integration is Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram. Both companies operate in the social media space, and this integration enabled Facebook to capture a broader audience and fortify its market position.

Vertical Integration

What is a Vertical Integration?

Vertical integration involves a company expanding its operations along the supply chain, either by acquiring suppliers (backward integration) or distributors (forward integration). This approach aims to gain greater control over the production process, reduce dependency on external partners, and increase profit margins.

Benefits of Vertical Integration

The key benefits of vertical integration include:

• Improved supply chain control and reliability
• Enhanced profit margins by eliminating intermediaries
• Increased ability to innovate and customize products

Challenges and Considerations

Vertical integration can be capital-intensive and complex to manage. Companies must ensure they have the expertise and resources to handle additional stages of the supply chain effectively.

Types of Vertical Integration: Forward Integration

Forward integration involves a company taking control of distribution channels by acquiring or establishing its own distribution networks. This strategy seeks to reduce dependency on third-party distributors, improve customer relationships, and increase profit margins.

Benefits of Forward Integration

The advantages of forward integration include:

• Greater control over the distribution process
• Enhanced profit margins by bypassing intermediaries
• Improved customer relationships and brand loyalty

Challenges and Considerations

Forward integration requires significant investment in distribution infrastructure and expertise. Companies must also manage potential conflicts with existing distribution partners.

Real-World Example

Apple is a classic example of forward integration. By operating its retail stores, Apple provides a cohesive customer experience, from purchase to after-sales support, thereby maintaining control over its brand and customer interactions

Types of Vertical Integration: Backward Integration

Backward integration occurs when a company acquires or merges with suppliers to secure raw materials or components. This strategy aims to reduce supply chain disruptions, improve cost control, and enhance production efficiency.

Benefits of Backward Integration

Backward integration offers the following benefits:

• Improved supply chain stability and reliability
• Enhanced cost control and production efficiency
• Increased bargaining power with suppliers

Challenges and Considerations

Backward integration can be capital-intensive and require expertise in managing upstream operations. Additionally, companies must balance the benefits of integration with the risk of overextending their resources.

Real-World Example

Starbucks’ acquisition of coffee farms is an example of backward integration. By owning the supply chain from farm to cup, Starbucks ensures the quality of its coffee beans and reduces costs associated with sourcing from third-party suppliers

Conglomeration

What is a Conglomeration?

Conglomeration occurs when a company acquires or merges with unrelated businesses, creating a diversified portfolio of operations. This strategy aims to spread risk, tap into new markets, and leverage synergies between different industries.

Benefits of Conglomeration

Conglomeration integration offers the following key benefits:

• Diversification reduces risk exposure
• Access to new markets and revenue streams
• Potential for cross-industry innovation and synergies

Challenges and Considerations

Managing a conglomerate can be challenging due to the complexity of overseeing diverse operations. Additionally, the lack of focus on a core industry may dilute brand identity and strategic direction.

Real-World Example

General Electric (GE) is a prime example of conglomerate integration. From aviation to healthcare, GE’s diversified portfolio helps mitigate risks and leverage opportunities across different sectors.

Best Practices for Successful Integrations

Effective and seamless business integrations require careful planning and execution. The following are business integration best practices:

• Conduct thorough due diligence: Before proceeding with any integration, conduct comprehensive due diligence to assess the target company’s financial health, operational capabilities, and cultural fit. This involves evaluating the target company’s assets, liabilities, and potential synergies.
• Develop a clear integration plan: Create a detailed integration plan that outlines objectives, timelines, responsibilities, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Monitor progress closely and address any issues promptly.
• Communicate effectively: Ensure transparent and consistent communication with all stakeholders throughout the integration process to manage expectations and address concerns.
• Align cultures: Take proactive steps to align organizational cultures and foster a sense of unity and collaboration.
• Monitor progress: Continuously monitor the integration process to identify any issues and make necessary adjustments.

Ensure a seamless integration with on-demand talent

If you’re looking to maximize and accelerate synergies and value creation while aligning cultures and org charts to drive the integrated company forward, on-demand talent are the perfect-fit solution. Complement your internal resources rather than risk team burnout, slipping deadlines, and org gaps from reallocating leaders’ time. Highly skilled external resourcing can help not only prepare new processes and workstreams but equip and work with internal teams to take them over effectively and efficiently.

Get help when and where you need it

On-demand integration consultants, change managers, FP&A experts, project managers, former consultants, and interim leaders can help flexibly support integration initiatives in a number of ways, including:

• Backfill gaps in leadership roles
• Bring in specific expertise
• Add extra project management support for key workstreams
• Transition to internal ownership faster (when working with a consulting firm)
• Open new roles before long-term hiring needs are known
• Create and run an integration management office (IMO)
• Support HR, operations, and supply chain optimization and integration

With a wealth of knowledge, in-demand skills, and deep experience at traditional consulting firms and top companies, our typical talent could be your perfect-fit business integration solution.

Conclusion

Business integration is a powerful tool for achieving strategic growth. Whether through horizontal, vertical, forward, backward, or conglomerate integration, businesses can find new ways to enhance their competitive edge, streamline operations, and unlock new revenue streams.

Whether you’re at the beginning of the integration process or seeking a bridge solution post-close, reach out to see how precise, tailored resourcing via our network of experts can support your organization as you work to achieve your desired results.

When the role of a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) or Chief People Officer (CPO) is done well, it can be one of the broadest roles in an organization. Not only are these executives critical human capital strategists charged with overseeing an organization’s end-to-end talent agenda, they are also key business leaders who can impact everything from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to commercial outcomes and investor interests. The best CHROs and CPOs are agile enough to serve in roles ranging from strategic talent advisor to crisis lead to diversity and inclusion champion and more.

As the HR function navigates a landscape of near-constant scope expansion, innovation, and change—and as human capital opportunities and challenges become increasingly technical and complex—it’s no surprise that finding a perfect-fit permanent HR leader usually isn’t a short and sweet process. But the demands of both day-to-day people operations and moments of significant organizational change frequently can’t wait. In these scenarios, engaging an interim CHRO or senior HR leader can be an ideal solution to fill gaps, address immediate priorities, and define the ideal leadership profile while a search for a long-term executive is underway.

In fact, human resources is the #2 interim function revealed in our 2024 High-End Independent Talent Report as increased focus on reskilling and upskilling workers, digital transformation and AI adoption, and culture human capital initiatives prove paramount across industries. Read on for more insights on how leading companies are leveraging interim CHROs today.

The Benefits of Engaging an Interim CHRO

An interim CHRO is an accomplished and experienced HR executive who steps into a critical role within an organization to offer a steady hand and strategic leadership to the HR department during periods of transition, such as leadership changes, post-merger integrations, or carve-outs and spin-outs.

Engaging an interim CHRO can bring about several benefits:

• They bring a fresh perspective and an unbiased approach to review existing HR practices, identify areas of improvement, and implement effective strategies for positive change.
• With a wealth of HR leadership experience to draw on, they are adept at aligning human capital strategy with business goals, reinventing talent acquisition, leading culture changing initiatives, transforming the function, optimizing the organization, and adding expertise to supplement your full-time team.
• The limited tenure of their interim engagement drives them to adapt to the organization’s culture quickly and jump right in to make an immediate impact.

For a business to thrive, its people must too. As noted by Deloitte, “We’re operating in a world where work is no longer defined by jobs, the workplace is no longer a specific place, many workers are no longer traditional employees, and human resources is no longer a siloed function.”

Historically, HR leaders were tasked with using tools and technologies to “unlock the power of the workforce” by trying to make humans better at work rather than making work better and more meaningful for the organization’s people. Today, amid workers’ rising demands for work-life balance and flexibility in how and where they work, the goals have shifted. What’s more, because of widespread skill shortages in many of today’s most in-demand disciplines—AI, for example—increasingly the most important professionals that HR must keep top of mind are not part of the organization’s permanent workforce at all.

To navigate this labor labyrinth, companies must enable a hybrid work environment and increasingly incorporate a liquid workforce approach—all while remaining more mindful of the organization’s culture than ever before. They must explore new ways of thinking human capital, human potential, and human performance. Thanks to their wealth of knowledge, years of experience, and external perspective, interim CHROs are especially well suited to the task.

When to Engage an Interim CHRO

Like all types of interim executives, the reasons why and ways in which companies engage interim CHROs have expanded significantly from their traditional use case as seat-fillers following an HR leader’s departure. Today’s interim CHROs infuse immediate expertise and skill to both help companies cover leadership gaps as well as to stand up or expand an HR function, try out new roles and organization designs, develop and advise internal talent, or manage through moments of significant growth or change.

Here are four perfect times to engage an interim CHRO or other senior HR leader:

Sudden Departures

When a senior HR leader suddenly departs, the gap can disrupt vital functions, from talent acquisition to total rewards. Organizations need an immediate solution to maintain stability and continue operations without missing a beat. Interim HR leaders are ideally suited to step into these situations, bringing immediate expertise and neutrality to manage the transition effectively. They can swiftly assess the current landscape, address immediate issues, and ensure that ongoing HR initiatives remain on track.

For example, a global financial services company sought Business Talent Group’s (BTG) help when its head of compensation and benefits resigned during an HR team expansion that also included a head of total rewards role. BTG promptly provided an interim global compensation and benefits consultant with extensive HR leadership experience across various financial sectors. This interim leader managed the responsibilities of both open roles, allowing the head of talent to focus on hiring permanent replacements, ensuring continuity in HR functions, and minimizing organizational disruptions.

Standing Up an HR Function

Building an HR function from the ground up requires strategic planning, expert insight, and a clear vision of the organization’s goals. Interim HR leaders can be pivotal in setting up a robust HR framework, establishing policies and procedures, and creating a sustainable HR strategy tailored to the company’s growth trajectory. Their tried-and-tested skills allow them to swiftly develop a comprehensive HR infrastructure that aligns with the organization’s long-term objectives.

Consider a private equity firm that was working on a the carve-out acquisition of an undervalued pharmaceutical business. The operating partner knew it would take time to find the right long-term leader, but needed help standing up the HR function in the interim. BTG provided an interim HR executive with over 20 years of experience setting the HR agenda for rapid-growth life science companies. The interim leader assumed responsibility for the management of all HR operations, including the company’s Professional Employer Organization (PEO) relationship and driving recruiting efforts. After a full-time CHRO was found, she stayed on for an additional two weeks in a part-time advisory capacity to help ease the transition.

Transforming the HR Function

When an existing HR function isn’t meeting its potential due to outdated practices, misalignment, or inefficiencies, transformation may become necessary. Interim HR leaders are ideal for these situations, providing the expertise needed to revitalize the HR function, while ensuring uninterrupted operations. They swiftly identify areas for improvement and devise strategic plans that align with the organization’s goals. By bringing a fresh perspective and vast experience, interim HR leaders facilitate smooth transitions, minimize disruptions, and enhance the effectiveness of the HR function.

A global insurance company found itself in this position, after churning through four CHROs in as many years. Realizing that the structure of the organization could be playing a role in the turnover, the CEO reached out to BTG before kicking off a search for yet another new leader. BTG deployed an interim HR executive who worked closely with senior leadership to understand their strategic objectives. After performing a detailed diagnostic of the company’s HR service model, the talent delivered an organizational transformation plan informed by experience and vision.

Moments of Significant Change

Organizations undergoing large-scale transactions and transformations—such as initial public offerings (IPOs), mergers, or digital overhauls—require specialized interim leadership to navigate these complex shifts. Interim HR leaders can play a crucial role in these periods by delivering been there, done that experience to facilitate rapid adaptation and seamless transitions without disrupting ongoing business operations.

For instance, an ultraviolet radiation start-up in the midst of preparing for an IPO needed strong finance and HR leadership to prepare the functions for large-scale growth and major transition. BTG provided two senior executives: an interim CFO and PWC alum with a background in renewable energy and an interim CHRO with experience establishing human capital infrastructure and operational procedures for a public company. These experts equipped the start-up to handle significant growth opportunities and transition smoothly into a public entity.

Periods of Rapid Growth

Companies experiencing rapid expansion must augment their HR capabilities swiftly to keep pace with growth. In such scenarios, an interim HR leader can help the organization seamlessly integrate new employees, optimize talent acquisition processes, and scale HR operations effectively. These leaders can be instrumental in maintaining organizational culture and productivity during times of intense growth, ensuring that the company can continue its upward trajectory without disruptions.

Take the example of a PE-backed provider of labor market data that acquired its largest competitor, and faced the challenge of integrating two organizations of similar size, but with very different cultures. BTG delivered a senior HR executive with experience at companies such as Microsoft, AT&T, Comcast, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Along with creating policies, processes, and leadership commitments to sustainably scale and level up the workforce, the talent provided strategic guidance to resolve critical culture issues and worked to define, attract, and recruit a long-term leader for the integrated company’s HR function.

Finding an Ideal Interim CHRO with Business Talent Group

Access the right HR leadership at the right time can significantly impact your organization’s success, which is why many leaders turn to BTG for experienced and capable interim CHROs, HR functional leaders, and other HR experts. Our network of highly skilled talent have the niche expertise to be your in-seat solution whenever a challenging situation or opportunity presents itself. We provide access to perfect-fit on-demand talent solutions: remote or on-site, part-time or full-time, individuals or teams, all around the world.

Let us connect you with the human resources professionals you need to support your most pressing HR projects and priorities. Reach out today.

In an era defined by shifts in workforce dynamics, worker expectations, and the means by which we communicate and collaborate—which has become more remote and virtual than ever before—emotional intelligence (EQ) has emerged as a critical pillar for sustainable organizational success.

Cultivating EQ within an organization’s culture enhances interpersonal interactions and empowers teams to engage more meaningfully, fostering an environment ripe for collaboration, innovation, and resilience. By prioritizing EQ, leaders and organizations can strategically position themselves to thrive amid uncertainty, securing a robust competitive advantage in the evolving business landscape.

The Essence of Emotional Intelligence

So what is emotional intelligence? It’s when a person possesses awareness of their emotions, control over them, and the ability to effectively express them in appropriate contexts. It also includes the individual’s ability to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

At its core, emotional intelligence encompasses five key components:

1. Self-Awareness – Recognizing one’s emotions and their impact
2. Self-Regulation – Managing emotions and adapting to changing circumstances
3. Motivation – Harnessing emotions to pursue goals with energy and persistence
4. Empathy – Understanding others’ emotions and perspectives
5. Social Skills – Building and managing relationships effectively

These components collectively empower individuals to navigate complex social environments, make informed decisions, and lead with authenticity and empathy

Benefits of Cultivating EQ

Improved Communication and Collaboration

Emotionally intelligent individuals excel in communication, listening actively and conveying messages clearly. This fosters an environment where team members feel heard and understood and paves the way for more effective problem-solving and decision-making. Enhanced communication skills also minimize misunderstandings, ensuring that projects run smoothly and objectives are met efficiently.

Increased Empathy and Understanding

Developing EQ fosters empathy, which enhances relationships with clients, customers, and stakeholders. For organizations, empathetic employees are better equipped to anticipate and address the needs and concerns of clients, thereby improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. This empathetic approach also extends to internal relations, promoting a supportive and inclusive workplace.

Enhanced Leadership Skills

Leaders with high emotional intelligence are adept at motivating and inspiring their teams. They create a vision that resonates emotionally with employees, fostering a sense of purpose and engagement. Such leaders are also more approachable and responsive, which builds trust and encourages open dialogue. Consequently, teams led by emotionally intelligent leaders are more cohesive, innovative, and resilient.

Reduced Conflict and Stress

Workplace stress and conflict are inevitable, but leaders imbued with emotional intelligence are better equipped to handle them constructively. EQ enables individuals to recognize and manage their stress responses, leading to a more composed and positive workplace atmosphere. Additionally, emotionally intelligent employees are skilled in conflict resolution, addressing issues before they escalate and maintaining harmony within the team.

Greater Adaptability and Resilience

In an era characterized by rapid change and uncertainty, adaptability and resilience are invaluable traits. Emotional intelligence enables these qualities by helping leaders remain calm and focused when facing adversity. Organizations that prioritize EQ are more agile, able to pivot strategies and operations as needed without compromising morale or productivity.

How to Develop Your Emotional Intelligence

Cultivating EQ is essential for personal and professional growth. Below are several strategies professionals can adopt to enhance their own emotional intelligence:

• Self-Reflection: Regularly assess your emotional responses in various situations. Identify your triggers and patterns of behavior to gain deeper insights into your emotional landscape.
• Seek Feedback: Reach out to colleagues and mentors for constructive feedback about your interactions. This additional perspective can highlight areas for improvement.
• Active Listening: Focus on truly hearing what others are saying. Active listening not only strengthens your connections but also enhances your understanding of different viewpoints.
• Mindfulness Practices: Engage in mindfulness exercises to increase your emotional awareness. This practice will help you stay grounded and in control, especially during stressful situations.
• Goal Setting: Establish personal goals catered to emotional growth. This proactive approach encourages continuous self-improvement and accountability in your journey towards greater emotional intelligence.

How to Develop Emotional Intelligence in an Organization

Building emotional intelligence in an organization is a continuous process. Here are key strategies on how to develop emotional intelligence within your corporate culture:

1. Provide Training and Development: Offer workshops and training sessions focused on emotional intelligence. This can help employees develop their EQ skills and apply them in the workplace.
2. Encourage Open Communication: Create an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and emotions. Open communication fosters trust and understanding.
3. Lead by Example: Leaders should model emotionally intelligent behavior. When leaders demonstrate high EQ, it sets a standard for the rest of the organization.
4. Recognize and Reward Empathy: Acknowledge and reward employees who display empathy and emotional intelligence. This reinforces the importance of these skills within the corporate culture.

Independent Professionals: Harnessing EQ for Success

Emotional intelligence is as important for independent professionals as it is for any other leader. As self-starters who often work in dynamic environments, the ability to manage emotions, build strong client relationships, and navigate complex interpersonal situations is essential. Understanding what emotional intelligence is and how to develop emotional intelligence allows these independent professionals to differentiate themselves in a competitive market and unlock new levels of performance, innovation, and success.

Consider the case of freelance consultants or entrepreneurs who rely heavily on their ability to connect with clients and stakeholders. A high EQ enables them to read the room, anticipate client needs, and provide tailored solutions that resonate emotionally. This not only leads to higher client satisfaction but also builds long-term relationships that are crucial for sustained success.

Conclusion

By adhering to these principles and strategically working to cultivate emotional intelligence, leaders and their organizations can anticipate a more engaged, productive, and harmonious workplace. The investment in EQ is an investment in the future, ensuring that businesses remain inclusive and resilient in an ever-changing landscape.

If your organization is seeking to undertake a culture transformation and become more emotionally intelligent, Business Talent Group and our network of highly skilled independent experts are standing by to help. Reach out today!

Break out the bubbly and pass the poutine: we’re launching in Canada!

As of June 2024, Canadian business leaders can now access a rapidly growing network of more than 1,500 on-demand talent and interim executives in Canada—and 35,000+ worldwide—from Business Talent Group (BTG), a Heidrick & Struggles company. Likewise, BTG talent will now have more opportunities to leverage their considerable skills and experience for meaningful projects and roles at leading Canadian companies.

“Globally, we’re seeing incredible demand from companies across all industries and business functions for greater access to leadership bandwidth, specialized skills, and organizational agility,” said Sunny Ackerman, global managing partner of on-demand talent at Heidrick & Struggles. “We’re excited to help business leaders in the Canadian market supplement their workforce strategies and complete critical work with the help of highly skilled on-demand talent and interim executives.”

BTG enables business leaders across all industries to nimbly react to changing business environments with fast access to top independent talent, including:

• Interim executives to quickly cover unexpected gaps, backfill critical roles, or supplement existing leaders through unfamiliar moments
• Special project leads with deep experience in transformation, innovation, implementation, expansion, and change initiatives
• Top management consultants, subject matter experts, and project and program managers unbundled from a traditional consulting firm model

Founded in 2008 and acquired by Heidrick & Struggles in 2021, BTG is the leading provider of top on-demand talent for the world’s best companies. BTG delivers just the right on-demand talent needed: remote or on-site, part-time or full-time, individuals or teams, all around the world. More than 50% of the Fortune 100 and hundreds of other leading companies trust BTG to curate, vet, and compliantly deliver talent who fuel growth, innovation, and performance improvement.

The full breadth of Business Talent Group’s on-demand talent and interim executive offerings are available in Ontario. Limited offerings are also available in all other provinces except Quebec.

When it comes to “typical” talent from Business Talent Group (BTG), our network of carefully curated, vetted consultants, subject matter experts, operators, executives, and interim leaders are anything but typical. They’re leaders, thinkers, and doers hailing from Big 3 consulting firms and boutique and specialty firms, as well as Fortune’s 50 most admired companies across industries and functions. In fact, more than 50% of the F100 and hundreds of other leading companies trust BTG to curate, vet, and compliantly deliver talent who fuel growth, innovation, and performance improvement.

Starting with stats: a BTG typical talent overview

Among our network of 35,000+ experts, we have:

• Senior operators and executives specialized in moments of transformation, innovation, and expansion
• Project leaders skilled in integrations, product launches, standing up new business lines, upgrading key functions, and more
• Top management consultants and project and program mangers “unbundled” from the traditional consulting firm model 
• Cutting-edge specialists with data science, AI, and other emerging, in-demand skills 

Your perfect resourcing solution might not be a one-in-a-million unicorn. It could be a duo, trio, or team of experts. It might be a project split into multiple phases, each requiring differing skills and a seamless hand-off to execute effectively. It could be an interim leadership engagement. Regardless of your needs, BTG can deliver your ideal talent, with the skills, expertise, and capacity you need to move onward and upward.

BTG talent go far beyond bullet points on a page. They are in-demand experts with illustrious backgrounds and a wealth of industry and functional expertise. Instead of just telling you what (and who) we have to offer, today we’re going to show some examples of the highly skilled independent professionals available in the BTG talent community.

Management consultants

When internal problems or special projects arise, the corporate instinct is often to turn to the Big Three. In addition to brand name recognition, these firms deliver expertise from skilled management consultants with experience from a single firm—but it’s often fulfilled through pre-packaged frameworks completed by large, pyramid-shaped teams composed of new analysts and junior consultants. The fees are fixed (and high, at that) which can make this avenue high-risk for varied rewards.

With BTG, on the other hand, clients can quickly access in-demand talent with consulting firm expertise to solve specific business problems, maximize value, and deliver savings of up to 63%. Our streamlined, targeted engagements deliver cost-effective custom talent configurations in addition to a dedicated BTG team that supports, scopes, curates, and vets to find the perfect solution and ensure quality execution.

The former big firm consultants in BTG’s talent network are seasoned experts who excel at diagnosing complex business problems and implementing effective strategies. They bring a wealth of industry experience and analytical prowess to each engagement, ensuring that organizations achieve strategic objectives. Whether it’s driving growth, optimizing operations, or transforming business models, our management consultants deliver actionable insights and tailored solutions with precision and impact.

Join us as we share a few examples of talent profiles and the engagements they have worked on with and through BTG.

International Integration Lead

A former KPMG consultant and managing director of Hitachi Consulting with over 20 years’ experience driving business transformation, organizational restructuring, and turnaround projects across multiple industries. With commercial, due diligence, carve-out, and post-merger integration expertise, this leader has managed and delivered countless integration initiatives, operational restructurings, and turnaround projects in the healthcare, industrial, private equity, and professional services sectors.

BTG Placement: 

Post-merger integration lead for an international consulting firm

When an international consulting firm was seeking a senior leader to support post-merger integration efforts, this consultant led the integration initiative, oversaw related workstreams, and supported the client’s growth targets.

Strategy & Transformation Consultant

A former BCG strategy consultant with extensive experience defining, shaping, and realizing ambitious transformations in asset-intensive sectors across Europe. Experienced in cost reduction, PMO, carve-outs, organizational restructuring, change management, and more, this leader’s tenacity for rolling up sleeves and getting work done alongside colleagues, senior leadership, and the like is evident on every project he’s placed on.

BTG Placement: 

Transformation lead for business separation

When a PE-backed European specialty chemicals company needed the support of a transformation leader, this expert collaborated with senior leadership while effectively overseeing and leading the transformation through completion.

HR Leader & Strategic Advisor  

A renowned consultant, coach, and adjunct professor with more than 25 years of experience creating and implementing initiatives to drive positive social and community impact, foster diversity and inclusion, and enhance ESG and sustainability performance, having held roles like chief ESG and people officer and global head of D&I, corporate responsibility, and ESG.

BTG Placement: 

ESG expert to establish an office of sustainability

When the leadership team of a Fortune 500 convenience store chain recognized the importance of maturing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approach and wanted to establish an office of sustainability for the Americas to prioritize related strategic initiatives, this consultant conducted a comprehensive assessment of the existing ESG roadmap. After performing gap and opportunity analyses, the talent identified and prioritized improvement areas and offered recommendations on establishing the new sustainability office.

Interim leadership

Our pool of interim leaders contains highly skilled professionals who are equipped to step into critical roles to provide executive leadership during times of transition or transformation. With a proven track record of navigating corporate challenges, they offer immediate stability and strategic direction. An interim leader from BTG can drive performance, manage change effectively, and achieve sustainable results, ensuring business continuity and long-term success.

In this year’s High-End Independent Talent Report, we found that demand has increased for experienced and capable interim leaders at all levels (+23% YOY, +170% since 2022) to address critical challenges, guide strategic initiatives, and maintain stability during times of transition. Not only that, but the report shows that the finance function still leads the pack with interim placements. Continually we’ve seen significant increases in requests for interim CFOs, ringing in at 54% of all interim C-suite needs (+46% YOY), as well as SVP/VP-level finance leaders like Controllers and heads of FP&A (+114%). Additional areas of high demand include leaders in human resources (#2 interim function) and digital, data, and IT (#3 function, +47%).

Interim CFO

An experienced interim CFO and former Deloitte Senior Manager with right-fit strategic, financial, accounting, and operational expertise across financial services, private equity and venture capital, retail, professional services, and tech. This leader is adept at partnering with financial sponsors, management teams, and boards of directors to drive sustainable change and value and has a knack for utilizing creativity to design and execute innovative business solutions.

BTG Placement: 

Interim CFO to carve out a healthcare company

A private equity firm with $4.5 billion+ in assets under management was looking for an interim CFO to lead a portfolio company’s finance team through the carve-out of two business units. This perfect-fit interim executive supported the stand-up of the businesses and navigated FP&A staffing, organization, and a complex multi-unit ERP implementation.

Interim Operations Director

A demonstrated contact center leader and transformation consultant with experience in all aspects of the customer lifecycle, both in-house and with outsourced multi-site contact center operations. This executive’s wealth of knowledge includes customer service, sales management, operational excellence, cost control and reduction, engagement, performance analysis, and more.

BTG Placement: 

Interim operations director for a UK-based financial services firm

When a UK-based financial services firm sought an interim operations leader to steady the ship during the period between the incumbent director’s departure and the start date for the replacement, this leader provided critical coverage during the leadership gap as the client explored long-term solutions and additional supporting roles.

Interim Operations and Client Experience Expert

A strong and accomplished transformational enterprise technology leader with deep B2B SaaS experience and a proven record delivering and developing sales leadership, product enhancements, and client services for large financial institutions. This expert also possesses M&A, turnaround, system integration, Six Sigma process reengineering, and rapid growth expertise.

BTG Placements: 

Interim general manager in fintech

Interim strategy and transformation leader in retail banking

For the former, the consultant provided critical transformation expertise and supported the client in streamlining billing and invoicing operations amid a larger leadership structure transformation. The talent focused on achieving revenue targets, client satisfaction, and more effective team management while leading the overall business and providing strategic direction, leadership, and guidance for both day-to-day activities and broader strategic initiatives.

For the latter, the talent focused on developing segment journey experience strategies to grow segments that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty. They demonstrated success by creating a customer experience improvement plan and coordinated onboarding of retail colleagues on the effective use of CX principles, ensuring consistent application across the business.

Project managers, product managers, and program managers

These skilled project leads are adept at steering complex initiatives from inception to completion. They possess a deep understanding of project management methodologies and best practices, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within scope, and under budget. Their robust skillset encompasses strategic planning, resource management, and risk mitigation, enabling organizations to execute high-impact projects that drive innovation and competitive advantage.

Independent Life Sciences Consultant

A renowned scientist turned project manager specializing in pharma and biotech research and development (R&D) with experience seamlessly integrating quality organizations. Broad experience in corporate and entrepreneurial strategic planning, business development, sales and marketing, process optimization, and change management make this expert an effective solution for life science leaders today.

BTG Placement:

Project manager for a post-merger biotech integration

With business process optimization and change management know-how, this talent developed and executed a detailed integration plan for a large pharmaceutical firm after it had acquired a biotech company. The expert designed tailored communication strategies for various stakeholders and oversaw quality assurance to standards and regulatory requirements.

Pharma Strategy & Transformation Consultant

A former Gemini Consulting practice lead turned operational strategy and transformation consultant with expertise in post-merger integrations for quality and compliance systems, PMO and remediation management, analytics and AI, and supply chain

BTG Placement:

Integration and regulatory program manager in pharma

When an F100 pharma company sought integration and regulatory expertise, this leader supported several initiatives, including accessing source data and documents, populating inspection readiness templates, and quality checking transcribed data to ensure cohesiveness during the integration period.

Product Management Consultant

Skilled strategy, digital transformation, and product management leader and McKinsey data product owner with over 18 years of experience in innovation with startups, and agile product management and development.

BTG Placement:

AI and machine learning digital product manager to support product strategy initiatives

When the AI and machine learning team at an F500 chemicals company needed a product manager to support ongoing digital transformation efforts, this PM led product strategy efforts by focusing on product vision and creating a roadmap for success using data gleaned through validation efforts—namely, the validation of relevant customer, value proposition, growth and viability, and ROI assumptions. This work paved the way for a holistic digital transformation.

Operators and executives

Our operators and executives bring practical knowledge and a results-oriented mindset to their roles. They are adept at optimizing business processes, driving efficiency, and enhancing organizational performance across various functions. With a focus on achieving measurable outcomes, these leaders empower businesses to scale operations and sustain growth, ensuring agility and resilience in ever-changing market conditions.

Former CEO, Board Member, Angel Investor and Independent Business Leader

A former Senior Advisor at Bain and General Manager at L’Oreal, Hatch Beauty, and Kate Somerville, with experience developing brand strategies and international growth plans. This talent has an established aptitude for brand management, assessing market opportunities, value creation, growth, and strategy related to the cosmetics and personal care, luxury goods, food and beverage, and private equity and venture capital industries.

BTG Placement:

Strategizing a five-year growth plan in beauty

When a PE-backed French perfume brand sought support and strategic expertise to construct a five-year plan, this exceptional executive stepped in quickly to assess the current state of the business and refine brand positioning for a more modernized approach through historical data and KPIs. By doing this, the talent was able to scope future opportunities for the brand and enhance brand depth and category awareness.

Entrepreneur and Business Executive

A former CEO and management consultant with a PhD from the University of California and over 20 years’ experience providing guidance to F100 corporations, private companies, and government entities. This leader is adept with business and management consulting, process improvement, growth and planning, joint ventures, operational streamlining, profitability, and more. 

BTG Placement:

Strategic growth plan for a restaurant chain 

A restaurant brand was selling off a sub-brand and needed to develop a robust growth plan for its remaining fast casual chain. The talent’s ability to solve complex problems and find innovative, cost-effective solutions allowed them to step in quickly and pull together information to help the restaurant group determine how to grow beyond the regional market ahead of a significant deadline.

Healthcare Consultant, Author, and Digital, Data, and AI Leader

A former cardiologist, McKinsey consultant, and founder and CEO of a digital health company. This healthcare and life science leader specializes in market assessment and strategy, digital technologies, drug development and commercialization, real world data and analytics, and artificial intelligence.

BTG Placements:

Industry thought leader to lead internal training session on AI

Clinical digital strategy and technology market landscape

In the first example, a large pharma company sought support assessing digital efforts and creating a digital technology investment roadmap to maximize asset potential. This deeply knowledgeable healthcare consultant outlined a five-year roadmap highlighting the best opportunities to integrate digital technologies that would improve clinical development and enhance adoption, with a business case for each featuring required investments, timelines, and plans for implementation.

In the latter, the talent provided a full assessment of the digital health investments and initiatives to date compared against organizational objectives and industry best practices. The five-month project concluded with the consultant team delivering recommendations for several options along with a cost/benefit analysis and high-level implementation plan for each.

Subject matter experts (SMEs)

BTG’s subject matter experts (SMEs) are distinguished by their deep domain knowledge and specialized skills. Drawing upon years of experience in their respective fields, they offer unparalleled insights and technical expertise to tackle specific business challenges. Whether it’s regulatory compliance, IT systems, or market analytics, our SMEs provide the critical knowledge necessary to make informed decisions, innovate, and maintain a competitive edge.

What that looks like today: as digital transformation is top of mind across the board and leaders seek to prioritize data-driven decision-making, BTG’s clients rely on our 10,700+ talent with today’s most in-demand digital skills, including data science, AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics. This on-demand solution is of particular interest for those struggling to keep up with rapid technological advancements and near-constant change who want to expand bandwidth to stay competitive and grow.

Professor and Internationally Renowned Scientist and Entrepreneur

An award-winning scholar and entrepreneur with a PhD from MIT in artificial intelligence, deep experience in technical and strategic consulting across several key industries, over fifteen years of technical and strategic consulting experience in former roles such as a director of data science at S&P Global and as a strategic consultant with BCG. This talent is the lead inventor on multiple US patents, wrote a widely consumed book on health informatics, and has authored over 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

BTG Placements:

Data-driven decision making in insurance

AI expert for long COVID modeling

The CIO of a global insurance company needed a consultant who could leverage data, lead cross-functional teams, and utilize AI and machine learning to conduct a proof-of-concept for these data initiatives. This leader effectively supported the buildout of a data science capability within the business and identified opportunities for growth through data science methodologies.

In the latter case, an even more specialized situation, a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation sought to validate its Long COVID model, generalize an AI model, and establish disease definition workflows to other disease types. The talent also developed a tool to map features from literature to features in Optum and generalized the algorithm and modeling framework for prediction to create data-driven disease definitions while providing advice and insights on best practices and strategies for conducting and translating technical work to be used by a variety of audiences.

Speaker, Thought Leader, and Innovation Consultant

A new markets specialist with experience finding whitespace opportunities and assessing markets, building business plans, creating market entry and adjacency strategy, developing new models, and building corporate innovation units and capabilities to support their endeavors.

BTG Placements:

AI thought leader to assess market opportunities and support growth strategy efforts in tech

Developing an innovation plan for a fast-growing mattress company

When an intelligence technology company sought to better understand the emerging world of AI (specifically as it pertains to exploring and taking advantage of recent AI developments within a manufacturing environment), this consultant evaluated the customer base and built recommendations for the top emerging areas in AI by industry vertical and furthered the client’s knowledge base on the latest developments and opportunities.

In the second case, over the course of three months, the talent was able to work collaboratively to audit capabilities and analyze gaps, prioritize initiatives, define new organizational units, establish metrics, provide an overarching change management plan, and, finally, sequence the rollout of a key innovation initiative.

Inspired by these success stories? Let’s find your perfect-fit talent

With a network as vast as ours, these examples of Business Talent Group’s typical talent serve as a starting point to showcase the breadth and depth of our capabilities. For a more exhaustive overview of how we can support your unique problem, priority, pain point, or project, reach out today to schedule a quick conversation about your needs.

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European and UK companies find themselves at a critical juncture in enhancing their competitive edge amid global shifts, crises, and the complexities of today’s economic environment. Leaders are becoming increasingly aware of significant needs such as addressing gaps in their teams’ expertise, rejuvenating outdated and underdeveloped operations, and increasing their investments in innovation and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies. While these efforts are vital to propelling UK businesses forward, aligning these initiatives with sustainable growth requires a strategic approach.

To gain some insight on the current growth landscape in Europe and the UK, we connected with Derek Mackey, an experienced commercial leader and expert from BTG’s talent community. Read on for his thoughts on where companies should be focusing to fuel growth, important things to consider when framing growth objectives, and more.

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Broadly speaking, is the current economic environment in Europe more ripe for organic or inorganic growth opportunities?

The current economic environment presents both opportunities and challenges for organic and inorganic growth, but the better option largely depends on specific industry conditions and individual company circumstances. Organic growth is generally more sustainable and aligns with long-term strategic goals, leveraging internal capabilities and market conditions. However, with ongoing technological disruptions and market consolidations, inorganic growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can offer rapid market expansion and diversification. Companies with strong balance sheets might find M&A particularly attractive in a low-interest-rate environment, whereas those with innovative products might prioritise organic growth to build a strong, differentiated market presence.

The current economic environment presents significant challenges for driving organic growth, particularly in a depressed economy. Businesses face tight budgets and are often reluctant to invest heavily in new initiatives due to economic uncertainty. Consumers and clients alike may reduce spending, which can dampen demand for new products and services. Additionally, heightened competition and market saturation can make it difficult for companies to achieve substantial growth through organic means alone.

Challenges of Driving Organic Growth in a Depressed Economy:

Reduced Consumer Spending: Economic downturns typically lead to reduced consumer spending, which can stifle demand for new products and services.

Tight Budgets: Companies often implement strict budget controls and prioritise essential expenditures over new investments, making it harder to fund growth initiatives.

Market Saturation: In saturated markets, finding new avenues for growth requires significant innovation and differentiation, which can be resource intensive.

Increased Competition: Economic pressures can lead to increased competition as companies vie for a smaller pool of consumer spending.

Business Responses to Economic Challenges:

While businesses are interested in pursuing growth, they demonstrate caution and prefer low-risk strategies. This environment makes relationships and trust paramount.

Relationships and Trust: In challenging times, businesses gravitate towards partners and suppliers with proven credentials and a history of reliability. Companies want to work with those they can trust to deliver consistent results, minimising risk and ensuring stability.

Proven Credentials: Having a track record of success becomes a critical factor. Companies with established reputations and demonstrated expertise in their fields are more likely to secure new business, as clients and customers seek assurance of quality and reliability.

Safe Pair of Hands: Businesses prefer to engage with partners known for their dependable execution and ability to navigate uncertainties. A reputation as a “safe pair of hands” becomes a significant competitive advantage.

In summary, while both organic and inorganic growth opportunities exist, the current economic environment often necessitates a focus on proven relationships and trust.

How can organisations effectively identify and capitalise on new market opportunities today?

Organisations can identify and capitalise on new market opportunities by conducting thorough market research, leveraging data analytics to understand consumer trends, and staying agile to adapt to market changes. Building strong relationships with local stakeholders, such as industry bodies, can provide insights and support.

Know Your Market

Understanding customer drivers such as financial terms, assortment, service, consultation, activation, and relationship management is crucial for businesses aiming to build strong, lasting customer relationships and drive growth.

Financial terms, including pricing and payment options, directly impact customer satisfaction and purchasing decisions.

Offering a diverse assortment ensures that customer needs and preferences are met, enhancing the overall value proposition.

High-quality service and expert consultation build trust and position the business as a knowledgeable partner.

Activation strategies, such as onboarding and user training, help customers maximise the value of their purchase.

Effective relationship management fosters loyalty and long-term engagement by ensuring consistent, personalised communication and support.

By comprehensively understanding and addressing these drivers, businesses can create tailored experiences that meet customer expectations and drive repeat business.

In a B2C environment, understanding consumer drivers is essential for crafting effective strategies that enhance customer satisfaction and boost sales.

Key drivers include availability and affordability, ensuring products are easily accessible and priced competitively to attract a broad audience.

Understanding pricing elasticity is critical to balancing profitability against sales volume, allowing businesses to adjust prices to maximise revenue.

Quality remains a top priority, as consumers seek reliable and high-performing products.

Visibility through effective marketing and promotion ensures that products stand out in a crowded market.

Persuasion, especially through targeted promotions and compelling messaging, plays a crucial role in driving the rate of sale by influencing consumer behaviour and encouraging immediate purchases.

By aligning strategies with these consumer drivers, businesses can foster loyalty and drive sustained growth.

Optimise Lead Generation and Pipeline Management

Effectively identifying and capitalising on new market opportunities in the UK requires a focused approach to lead generation and pipeline management.

Lead Generation:

Targeted Marketing Campaigns: Use data analytics to identify target demographics and tailor marketing campaigns to attract potential leads. This could involve using social media advertising, content marketing, email campaigns, and search engine optimisation (SEO) to reach the right audience.

Content Marketing: Develop valuable content that addresses the needs and pain points of your target audience. This content can draw potential customers into your sales funnel by providing solutions and insights, establishing your organisation as a thought leader.

Networking and Events: Participate in industry events, trade shows, and webinars to connect with potential clients and partners. These platforms provide opportunities for direct engagement and lead generation.

Referral Programs: Implement referral programs to incentivise existing customers to refer new leads. Word-of-mouth referrals often convert at higher rates due to the established trust.

Pipeline Management:

Lead Qualification: Develop a robust lead qualification process to ensure that sales efforts are focused on high-potential leads. Use criteria such as budget, authority, need, and timeline (BANT) to evaluate leads.

CRM Systems: Implement Customer Relationship Management systems to track and manage leads throughout the sales pipeline. System helps in organising contact information, tracking interactions, and setting follow-up reminders, some systems can be automated to on the follow up based on dwell time on specific topics or elements. Advanced CRM systems also offer automation tools for lead scoring, segmentation, and nurturing, ensuring that high-potential leads receive timely and relevant communications. Additionally, CRMs facilitate the tracking of each lead’s journey through the sales pipeline, from initial contact to conversion, allowing sales teams to monitor progress, identify bottlenecks, and prioritise efforts. Real-time analytics and reporting features help businesses assess the effectiveness of their strategies, optimise their processes, and ultimately increase conversion rates and drive sustainable growth.

Segmentation: Segment leads based on their readiness to buy and tailor your approach accordingly. This can involve nurturing leads with targeted content until they are ready for a sales conversation.

Pipeline Stages: Clearly define the stages of your sales pipeline, from lead generation to closing. This helps in monitoring progress and identifying bottlenecks in the sales process.

Focus on Conversion Rates

Understanding key success factors is vital for unlocking new customer acquisition and driving business growth. These factors, which can include market demand, competitive positioning, product differentiation, and customer experience, provide insights into what drives success in acquiring new customers. Assessing and weighting these factors helps businesses prioritise their efforts and resources effectively.

By focusing on high-impact areas, salespersons can tailor their strategies to meet the specific needs and preferences of potential customers. Unfortunately, this crucial analysis is often overlooked, leading to missed opportunities and suboptimal performance. By rigorously evaluating key success factors, sales teams can enhance their effectiveness, improve conversion rates, and achieve sustained growth in customer acquisition.

Identify Key Success Factors: Early in the process, identify key success factors that contribute to high conversion rates. This could include understanding customer pain points, offering competitive pricing, or providing exceptional customer service.

Monitor Metrics: Regularly monitor conversion metrics to understand the effectiveness of your lead generation and pipeline management efforts. Key metrics include the number of leads, lead-to-opportunity conversion rate, opportunity-to-deal conversion rate, and average deal size.

Optimise Processes: Use insights from your metrics to optimise lead generation and pipeline management processes. This might involve refining your lead qualification criteria, adjusting your sales strategies, or enhancing your follow-up tactics.

Sales Training: Invest in sales training to ensure your team is equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to convert leads effectively. Training should cover areas such as objection handling, negotiation techniques, and relationship building.

Build Strong Relationships and Trust

Businesses that can demonstrate reliability, a solid track record, and a low-risk approach will find more success in securing new opportunities and driving growth even in a constrained economic landscape.

Strengthen Customer Relationships: Focus on deepening relationships with existing customers by offering exceptional service and consistent quality. Customer loyalty programs and personalised marketing can help retain and grow the customer base.

Build Brand Credibility with Proven Credentials: Invest in branding and reputation management to highlight the company’s stability and reliability. Showcase your proven credentials, such as customer testimonials, case studies, and industry awards, to reassure potential clients of your reliability and expertise.

Adopt a Customer-Centric Approach: Understand and address the specific needs and concerns of each lead. Personalisation can significantly enhance the customer experience and improve conversion rates.

Practise Consistent Communication: Maintain consistent and transparent communication with leads throughout the sales process. This builds trust and keeps potential customers engaged.

Reliably Follow-Through: Demonstrate reliability by consistently following through on commitments and delivering on promises. A reputation as a dependable partner can be a significant differentiator in competitive markets

Foster Partnerships: Develop strategic partnerships and alliances with trusted entities to expand reach and capabilities without substantial financial investment.

Leverage Innovative Low-Cost Strategies: Utilise digital marketing and social media to engage with customers in cost-effective ways. Leveraging data analytics can help identify niche opportunities and optimise marketing efforts.

Invest in Digital Transformation

Investing in digital transformation can help organisations tap into the growing online market. Collaboration with local partners, and or distributors, attending industry events, and continually monitoring regulatory changes are also critical strategies for capitalising on new opportunities.

Online Presence: Enhance your online presence through a user-friendly website, active social media engagement, and online advertising. This not only aids in lead generation but also in building brand awareness and credibility.

Automation Tools: Utilise marketing automation tools to streamline lead generation and nurturing processes. Automated email campaigns, chatbots, and personalised content delivery can improve efficiency and engagement.

Data-Driven Insights: Leverage data-driven insights to refine your marketing and sales strategies continuously. Analysing customer behaviour, preferences, and feedback can help in making informed decisions.

What unique challenges do small to mid-cap European companies face with growth initiatives, and how can they overcome these barriers?

Small to mid-cap European companies often face challenges such as limited access to capital, regulatory complexities across different countries, and competition from larger, well-established firms. To overcome these barriers, they can focus on niche markets where they can leverage unique strengths, seek funding through alternative finance options like venture capital and crowdfunding, and build strategic alliances or partnerships. Additionally, investing in innovation and technology can help them stay competitive. Efficiently managing resources and scaling operations thoughtfully are also essential strategies to navigate growth challenges.

Appointing a distributor or partner with a joint business plan can significantly help small to mid-cap European companies overcome growth challenges by pooling resources and aligning objectives for mutual benefit. A well-chosen distributor can provide local market expertise, established networks, and logistical capabilities that a growing company might lack, facilitating smoother market entry and expansion. By developing a joint business plan, both parties can clearly outline shared goals, investment commitments, and strategies for achieving them, fostering a sense of collaboration and shared responsibility. This approach not only spreads the financial risk but also enhances the potential for success as both entities are incentivised to work towards common targets. Joint success and reward structures, such as shared profits or performance-based incentives, further motivate both the company and its partner to invest fully in the growth initiative, driving higher efficiency and better results.

Over manufacturing capacity in various industries presents a valuable opportunity for businesses to avoid substantial capital investment in production facilities and instead concentrate their efforts on sales and marketing. By leveraging existing manufacturing infrastructure through robust contracts and well-defined KPIs, companies can swiftly scale production without the financial burden and time required to build new facilities. This approach allows businesses to allocate more resources towards market penetration, brand building, and customer acquisition, driving growth and competitiveness. However, relying on external manufacturers can also have drawbacks, such as reduced control over production quality and potential supply chain vulnerabilities. Additionally, misaligned incentives between the business and the manufacturer can lead to conflicts. Ensuring clear agreements and strong oversight is crucial to mitigate these risks and fully capitalise on the benefits.

In what ways can fostering a culture of innovation contribute to successful growth, and how can companies diversify while maximising the value of their core product?

Fostering a culture of innovation contributes to successful growth by encouraging continuous improvement, creativity, and adaptability within a company. It allows businesses to respond swiftly to market changes, develop unique products, and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Companies can diversify while maximising the value of their core product through range extensions and new product development. These strategies not only add value for retailers and customers by expanding choices and meeting diverse needs but also position the company as a true category partner. By developing products at different price points, companies can grow category value by offering consumers great value for money and trade-up opportunities to higher quality, enhanced products, driving both value and margin. This approach enhances category management, fostering loyalty and boosting overall profitability for both the retailer and the company.

How can you predict the sustainability of growth initiatives within an organisation?

Predicting the sustainability of growth initiatives within an organisation involves a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including market demand, competitive landscape, financial health, and operational capacity. One critical element is conducting thorough customer research and leveraging consumer insights. Understanding customer needs, preferences, and behaviours allows organisations to tailor their products and services to better meet market demands. This alignment ensures that growth initiatives are not only attractive to consumers but also positioned for long-term success.

Consumer insights can reveal emerging trends, potential market gaps, and areas for innovation, providing a foundation for strategic decision-making. By continuously monitoring customer feedback and market data, companies can adjust their strategies proactively to maintain relevance and competitiveness. Additionally, incorporating predictive analytics can help anticipate future market shifts and consumer behaviours, allowing for more informed and forward-looking planning. Sustainable growth initiatives are those that are adaptable, customer-centric, and grounded in data-driven insights, ensuring that they can withstand market fluctuations and evolving consumer expectations.

Market testing of new products is an essential step in predicting the sustainability of growth initiatives. By introducing new products to a small, targeted segment of the market before a full-scale launch, companies can gather valuable feedback on product performance, customer satisfaction, and market reception. This process allows for the identification and rectification of potential issues, fine-tuning of marketing strategies, and validation of product demand. Effective market testing not only reduces the risk of product failure but also provides actionable insights that can enhance product development and positioning. Ultimately, it ensures that new products are well-received and aligned with consumer needs, thereby supporting sustainable growth.

Quick market testing followed by fast scaling offers several benefits for businesses. It allows companies to validate product-market fit early, reducing the time and resources spent on ideas that may not resonate with consumers. Rapid scaling after successful market testing capitalises on initial positive feedback, enabling businesses to capture market share swiftly and stay ahead of competitors. This agile approach also fosters innovation by encouraging iterative improvements based on real-time customer feedback, ensuring that products meet evolving market demands effectively. Overall, quick market testing and fast scaling minimise risks, optimise resource allocation, and accelerate growth trajectories for businesses.

What factors should be considered when designing an organisational structure and processes for sustainable growth?

When designing an organisational structure for sustainable growth, consider factors such as scalability, flexibility, and alignment with strategic goals. The structure should facilitate efficient decision-making and clear communication channels. Processes need to be streamlined and standardised where possible, but also adaptable to change. Investing in technology and training ensures that employees are equipped to handle growth. Additionally, fostering a collaborative culture and ensuring that leadership is supportive and visionary can drive sustainable growth. Regularly reviewing and adjusting the structure and processes in response to internal and external changes is also crucial.

Leveraging temporary contract staff can offer distinct advantages. These professionals bring specialised skills and experience to the organisation without the long-term commitment and costs associated with permanent hires. This flexibility allows businesses to scale their workforce according to fluctuating demand and specific project needs. Moreover, engaging temporary staff provides an opportunity for mutual assessment: businesses can evaluate the fit of these individuals within their organisational culture and operations, while contract staff can demonstrate their capabilities and cultural alignment. This trial period can pave the way for potential future collaboration on a more permanent basis, ensuring that businesses can access top talent when needed and foster sustainable growth through strategic workforce management.

Personal profiling and personality profiling can significantly aid businesses in building an organisational structure that aligns with their goals and values, ensuring they attract and retain the right talent. Personal profiling involves assessing individual skills, qualifications, and experience to match job roles effectively. This process ensures that candidates possess the necessary competencies and expertise required for specific positions within the organisation. Personality profiling, on the other hand, focuses on understanding individuals’ behavioural traits, communication styles, and work preferences. By incorporating personality assessments like DISC, Insights or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), businesses can gain insights into how candidates may fit into the team dynamics and organisational culture.

These profiling methods help businesses in several ways:

Alignment with Organisational Culture: Assessing personality traits ensures that new hires align with the company’s values, culture, and work environment. This alignment fosters employee engagement and reduces turnover.

Enhanced Team Dynamics: Understanding personality profiles enables businesses to build diverse teams that complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This diversity promotes collaboration, innovation, and effective problem-solving.

Improved Hiring Decisions: Personal and personality profiling provides objective data that aids in making informed hiring decisions. Employers can better predict how candidates will perform in specific roles and adapt to organisational challenges.

Tailored Development Strategies: Once hired, personalised profiling can guide individualised development plans and training initiatives. This approach helps employees maximise their potential and contribute effectively to the organisation’s growth.

In summary, personal and personality profiling enables businesses to build a cohesive organisational structure by ensuring they recruit and retain individuals who not only possess the right skills but also fit seamlessly into the company culture.

How can organisations strike a balance between investing in the workforce they need for growth and maintaining profit margins?

Organisations can strike this balance by adopting a strategic approach to workforce planning. This involves aligning workforce investments with business objectives and growth projections. Implementing efficient processes and leveraging technology can enhance productivity, reducing the need for excessive hiring. Offering training and development programs can upskill existing employees, making them more versatile and valuable. Additionally, employing flexible workforce models, such as part-time or contract workers, can help manage labour costs. Regularly reviewing workforce performance and productivity metrics ensures that investments are yielding the desired returns without compromising profit margins.

Many businesses use a rule of thumb measurement known as the “revenue per employee” ratio to gauge the efficiency of their workforce investments. This figure typically represents the total revenue generated per employee, taking into account salaries, training, and development costs. By tracking this metric, businesses can assess the productivity and effectiveness of their workforce investments relative to revenue generation. A higher revenue per employee ratio indicates that the organisation is efficiently utilising its workforce to generate revenue, potentially justifying higher investments in staff salaries, training, and development to support growth initiatives. However, striking the right balance involves careful consideration of industry benchmarks, market conditions, and strategic goals to ensure that investments in the workforce contribute positively to both growth and profitability without compromising margins.

What role can independent, on-demand talent marketplaces and models play in supporting organisations with their growth aspirations?

Independent, on-demand talent marketplaces and models play a pivotal role in supporting organisations with their growth aspirations by offering flexibility, expertise, and scalability. Providing access to a diverse pool of freelance professionals, interim employees, and external consultants who bring specialised skills and experience without the long-term commitment of traditional employment. For organisations navigating growth phases or undergoing strategic initiatives, tapping into this talent pool allows them to quickly fill skill gaps, execute projects efficiently, and accelerate time-to-market for new products or services.

Outsourcing tasks to independent professionals through these marketplaces can also enhance operational agility and cost-effectiveness. Companies can leverage external expertise for specific projects or roles, without incurring overhead costs associated with full-time hires. This approach not only reduces administrative burdens but also allows businesses to scale resources up or down as needed, aligning workforce capacity with fluctuating demand and market conditions.

Hiring interim employees and management through on-demand talent platforms offers strategic advantages during transitional periods or leadership vacancies. Interim professionals bring immediate leadership and expertise, helping organisations maintain continuity, drive strategic initiatives, and manage change effectively. Their temporary placement allows businesses to bridge critical gaps in leadership without the immediate need for permanent hires, providing stability and leadership during periods of transition or crisis.

This approach not only ensures operational continuity but also allows organisations to benefit from seasoned professionals who can implement necessary changes and improvements swiftly. Additionally, the use of external consultants from these marketplaces enables businesses to access specialised knowledge and industry insights for specific projects or strategic advisory roles. Consultants bring fresh perspectives, best practices, and a depth of experience that can drive innovation, improve decision-making, and accelerate business growth. Overall, independent, on-demand talent marketplaces empower organisations to optimise their workforce strategies, achieve operational flexibility, and effectively pursue their growth aspirations in a dynamic business environment.

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As an experienced professional, you’re likely aware of the immense value that networking and continuous learning can bring to your career. But even with extensive experience and established expertise, joining a professional organization can provide numerous benefits once you’ve embarked on your independent career.

As the business landscape evolves and new challenges emerge, staying connected with a community of like-minded professionals can be a pivotal factor in maintaining your competitive edge and achieving long-term success. Here are a few reasons you should consider joining a new professional association or becoming more involved in associations you are already part of:

Expand Your Professional Network

One of the most compelling reasons to join a professional association is the opportunity to expand your network. These organizations provide a platform to connect with your peers, mentors, and industry leaders, fostering both professional and personal growth. Networking can lead to:

• New referrals for projects and clients: Connecting with other professionals can result in valuable referrals, opening doors to new business opportunities.
• Collaborative opportunities with other professionals: Working alongside like-minded individuals can spark innovative ideas and partnerships, enhancing your capabilities and scope of work.
• Mentorship and guidance from experienced practitioners: Gaining insights and advice from seasoned experts can help you navigate your career path more effectively, offering support and knowledge to overcome challenges and achieve your goals.

Additionally, professional associations often host events specifically for the purpose of networking. Attending and participating in these gatherings can be a significant step towards career advancement and personal development.

Stay Updated on Industry Trends

In today’s fast-paced world, staying updated on industry trends is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. By joining a professional association, you can often access a variety of resources to help you keep up-to-date on new developments:

• Newsletters and journal subscriptions featuring the latest industry news, ensuring members are always informed about recent developments.
• Webinars and seminars discussing current trends and challenges, providing opportunities for learning and professional growth through expert insights.
• Research papers and case studies that provide in-depth insights and detailed analyses, helping professionals apply new knowledge to their own work and stay ahead of the curve.

By leveraging these resources, professionals can continuously enhance their knowledge, skills, and expertise in their respective fields.

Learn from Fellow Professionals

Being part of a professional association gives you access to a wealth of knowledge from fellow members. This invaluable resource allows you to tap into a collective pool of expertise and experiences, enhancing your own professional journey. You can learn about:

• Effective marketing tactics employed by other independent professionals, including innovative approaches to building your brand and client engagement.
• Growth strategies that have helped others expand their practices, such as scaling operations, entering new markets, and optimizing business processes.
• Best practices in various aspects of your field, covering everything from day-to-day operations and client management to advanced techniques and emerging trends.

By actively participating in a professional association, you not only gain the opportunity to learn from others, you get a chance to share your own insights and build meaningful connections that can lead to collaborations, mentorship opportunities, and long-term friendships.

Enhance Your Resume

Having an industry association listed on your resume signals professionalism and commitment to your discipline. It not only enhances your credentials but also demonstrates your proactive approach to your career. It shows potential clients and employers that you are:

• Dedicated to your profession: Being associated with a professional organization indicates that you take your career seriously and are willing to go the extra mile to stay connected with industry leaders.
• Actively participating in its advancement: Active participation signals that you are engaged in the growth and development of your field.
• Committed to continuous learning and professional development: Membership often provides access to exclusive resources, workshops, and educational opportunities, showing that you are committed to staying updated with the latest trends, skills, and knowledge in your industry.

Enjoy Member Discounts

Many professional associations offer discounts on a wide range of products and services from participating vendors. These benefits can significantly reduce expenses for members and enhance their professional toolkit. The discounts can include:

• Software subscriptions for essential tools such as productivity suites, design software, and industry-specific applications.
• Office supplies ranging from everyday essentials like paper and pens to more substantial items like furniture and technology.
• Professional services such as accounting, legal advice, and consulting, which can provide valuable support for managing business operations and compliance.

By taking advantage of these offers, members can save money while accessing high-quality resources that support their professional growth and efficiency.

Advocacy and Representation

Being part of an organization that advocates on your behalf in public policy is another significant benefit. Professional associations work tirelessly to ensure that your voice is heard and your interests are represented. Here are some key ways they support you:

• Lobby for legislation that benefits your industry: These organizations actively engage with lawmakers to push for laws and regulations that will positively impact your field. This can include everything from securing funding for new initiatives to pushing for favorable tax policies.
• Represent your interests in public forums: Whether it’s a legislative hearing or a media appearance, professional associations make sure your perspective is included in the conversation. They often have seasoned professionals who can articulate your concerns effectively.
• Provide a unified voice on important issues affecting your profession: One of the major strengths of these associations is their ability to bring together diverse voices from your industry. This creates a strong, collective stance on critical matters, ensuring that your concerns are addressed in a coherent and powerful manner.

Final Thoughts

Joining a professional association can provide numerous benefits for independent talent. From expanding your network and staying updated on industry trends to enhancing your resume and enjoying member discounts, the advantages are substantial and the range of professional associations that are available to you are many. 

If you are serious about advancing your career and making meaningful connections, consider joining a professional association today. Your participation can not only enhance your own practice but also contribute to the advancement of your profession as a whole. 

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Finance sits at the center of the talent storm. With the CFO becoming the strategic consigliere in most organizations, high-calibre financial expertise is in high demand. Meanwhile, the increasingly complex needs of UK companies are pushing the evolution of the finance function. Technological advancements that create efficiencies and allow for deeper financial analysis are requiring teams to shift focus rapidly from auditing and accounting to big data analysis, technology and AI investment, risk management, and sustainability – leaving many finance teams under resourced and under skilled.

While the need for specialist experience grows, the supply of qualified talent is shrinking. Accordingly, we’re seeing a rising demand for highly skilled finance experts to act as interim CFOs, Controllers, and Heads of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A). But what particular advantages can on-demand talent offer UK companies? And how can these individuals best be deployed in bridging the skills gap?

The UK’s finance skills crisis

Across the board, the UK’s skills gap is at a breaking point, with the imbalance between supply and demand causing chronic staff shortages. According to the government’s 2023 Employer Skills Survey, 23% of workplaces had at least one vacancy in 2022 – with 36% of all UK vacancies chalked up to skills deficits. In tandem with this, overall economic inactivity has been on the rise in the UK since the pandemic.

A significant factor in this landscape is the finance talent gap. Research by software provider Alvalara found that 92% of CFOs in the UK face talent shortages and struggle to recruit within their accounting and finance teams. They need robust players who are both commercially and technically savvy. Among the most in-demand technical skills are financial controls, accounting, and audit; FP&A and modeling; and tax strategy. Meanwhile, key finance-related projects competing for the limited talent include interim leadership, business processes optimization, business intelligence and analytics, and financial operations improvement.

In response to Alvalara’s survey, 47% of CFOs cited employee burnout around hours and menial tasks, as well as accounting and finance employees switching careers, as notable factors in the evaporating talent pool. Traditional ways of working are less attractive to new talent, and organizations that are not moving to automate the basics and instead utilize finance professionals in value-adding projects are failing to attract them.

An interim talent solution for complex finance roles

This skills shortage is particularly acute at C-suite level. With the increasingly strategic role of the CFO and growing complexity of the position beyond its historical boundaries, finding the right talent can take time UK companies do not have. In addition to traditional finance capabilities, CFOs now have responsibilities for harnessing data for actionable insights; costing sustainability; risk management in unpredictable financial waters; financing genAI; and being a key strategic partner to the CEO.

Consequently, the search for a new permanent, full-time CFO with the right capabilities can be extensive. To keep moving on key initiatives and daily operations, companies are choosing to engage interim finance leaders. At Business Talent Group, 54% of the requests we receive for interim C-suite talent are for CFOs – making it the top interim C-suite requirement – while across all seniority levels, finance makes up 52% of interim needs. This is against the backdrop of a 46% year-on-year increase in requests for interim CFOs; and a 114% rise in demand for SVP and VP-level finance talent, such as Controllers and Heads of FP&A.

The benefits of interim finance talent

Combined with far-sighted succession planning, interim finance leadership offers an agile route to improving skillsets within the finance department. During periods of transition, an interim CFO can maintain continuity, provide guidance, and contribute specialized expertise when assessing new opportunities and driving innovation. They bring an external, neutral perspective, enabling them to provide an honest view of company culture and operations without being influenced by internal politics.

Interim CFOs can use their background to balance lack of experience within internal teams and help with hiring into the finance talent pipeline, ongoing career development, internal training, and mentoring – ultimately establishing a dynamic, business-critical department.

More broadly, in engaging on-demand finance talent, companies gain experienced talent, ready to hit the ground running, within as little as two weeks. And, working within a fixed timeline, interims are highly motivated to accomplish essential tasks and put specific processes in place at pace. They can complete short-term initiatives that will set the existing, and future, team up for success.

Companies can use the period of interim support to advance the finance team’s capabilities, allowing them more time to find the perfect permanent solution, while refining their criteria for what that means. This includes aligning the role(s) to the company’s future goals – yesterday’s ideal financial leader might not have the right mix of skills and experience to get the business where it wants to be in six months.

A guide to utilising interim finance talent

There are a number different capacities in which organizations can draw on the skills and experience of interim CFOs and finance leaders. Key among these are:

1. 1. Traditional interim CFO: Interim CFO talent can step in to provide steady leadership and keep workstreams moving during a temporary leave or gap in the organizational chart.
   2. Support for acting finance leaders: When internal resources have been redeployed to fill the CFO role, companies can tap experienced interim CFOs to consult, guide, and back-stop acting CFOs.
   3. Backfill for internal talent currently acting as CFO: Companies may also seek on-demand CFO-level talent to provide targeted support in roles such as interim Treasurer or VP of FP&A.
   4. Fulfilling critical near-term components of the finance function: By carving out certain workstreams and objectives, the interim role can be hyper-focused on special projects and niche needs.
   5. Assessing the finance function and wider business operations: This analysis enables the incoming permanent leader to understand the lie of the land and be effective from day one.
   6. Support for newly appointed permanent CFOs: With organizational knowledge and a trusted relationship established through their period of engagement, interim finance support can oversee immediate project-based priorities as the permanent CFO gets up to speed – and round out missing expertise in the existing team.

To discuss options for sourcing the immediate financial skills needed within your business, and how interim finance talent could work for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

This post originally appeared on LinkedIn.

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Today’s strategy leaders are navigating the intricate landscapes of immediate budgetary decisions, long-term planning, and performance excellence, all while contending with a backdrop of constant transformation and change. As chief strategy officers (CSOs) and business professionals, they are acutely aware of the demands placed upon them to adapt quickly and effectively. One critical challenge they face is accessing specialized expertise precisely when needed, without overextending their resources.

In this dynamic environment, the concept of on-demand consulting services has emerged as a game-changer. This model allows organizations to tap into highly skilled professionals on a flexible, as-needed basis, providing the agility and expertise required to meet strategic objectives. Here, we explore the multifaceted benefits of on-demand consultants and how strategy leaders can harness their potential to drive success.

The Evolution of Strategy Work

The inherently variable nature of strategy work necessitates a lean team structure capable of scaling up or down based on project demands. Traditional consulting firms, while valuable, often come with high costs and long-term commitments that may not align with the fluctuating needs of strategy offices. On-demand consultants, by contrast, offer a cost-effective solution, saving companies up to 63% compared to traditional consulting models.

Four Key Ways Strategy Leaders Can Use On-Demand Consulting Services

1. Annual Planning and Budgeting

Annual planning and budgeting periods are characterized by intense activity and critical decision-making. During these peak times, strategy leaders often require additional capacity to manage the workload efficiently. On-demand consultants provide the necessary surge capacity, enabling organizations to meet tight deadlines and deliver comprehensive plans without compromising quality.

In one recent case, a restaurant group was selling off one brand and needed to develop a robust strategic growth plan for the remaining brand (a fast casual regional chain) in advance of an upcoming board meeting. Lacking the internal capacity to synthesize the necessary information, the group engaged a former CEO and management consultant with strategic planning expertise, who stepped in quickly and pulled together information to help them determine how to grow beyond the regional market.

2. Long-Term Planning

Long-term planning involves complex analyses and strategic foresight that benefit from external perspectives. By leveraging on-demand consultants, strategy leaders can access specialized expertise without the overhead of a large consulting firm. This approach allows for a more nimble and adaptable planning process, incorporating innovative insights and methodologies that drive future growth.

For example, a global F100 food and beverage company was looking to better understand how potential industry shifts might impact business. Company leaders wanted to explore go-to-market capabilities to employ across customer and channel cohorts in the forecasted retail environment. BTG delivered a former L.E.K. consultant who provided a projection of the retail landscape through scenario-based modeling, as well as analyses on changes in consumer requirements, supply chain, and service operation effectiveness.

3. Corporate Development and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

The corporate development and M&A landscape is highly irregular, with demand cycles that can be unpredictable. On-demand consulting services offer the flexibility needed to stay agile in such an environment. These professionals can be brought in to provide critical support during due diligence, integration planning, and execution phases, ensuring that each transaction maximizes value and aligns with strategic goals.

For instance, a corporate strategy group of a major diversified conglomerate regularly leverages on-demand professionals to support target assessment. The heads of strategy and M&A within each of the product lines reach out to the BTG team when they lack the internal commercial or operational expertise in a specialized industry. BTG rapidly deploys strong subject matter experts with operations and commercial expertise to support the deal team in any knowledge gaps as they go through the various diligence stages.

4. Operational Excellence and Innovation Initiatives

Driving innovation and operational excellence requires a blend of deep expertise and creative problem-solving. On-demand strategy consultants and subject matter experts can infuse fresh ideas and cutting-edge practices into an organization’s operations. By tapping into these resources, strategy leaders can accelerate innovation initiatives and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Case in point: The R&D strategy and operations team at an F100 pharma company had developed a high-level vision and detailed design plan for their continuous improvement program and needed help implementing the initiatives in order to bring drugs to market faster. BTG provided a team of two: a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt paired with a former Accenture consultant. Together they provided training, governance, and change management to support the initiative.

Advantages of On-Demand Consulting Services for Strategy Leaders

1. Agility and Flexibility: On-demand consultants allow organizations to scale their teams based on project needs, ensuring that the right expertise is available at the right time.
2. Cost Efficiency: By avoiding the long-term commitment and high costs associated with traditional consulting firms, companies can allocate their budgets more effectively.
3. Access to Specialized Skills: On-demand professionals bring niche expertise and diverse experiences that can be pivotal in addressing specific strategic challenges.
4. Speed to Market: With the ability to quickly deploy talent, strategy leaders can expedite project timelines and respond swiftly to market changes.
5. Enhanced Innovation: External perspectives and specialized knowledge can stimulate innovative thinking and drive transformative change within the organization.

Embracing the Future with On-Demand Consultants

As the business landscape continues to evolve, the ability to adapt and innovate is paramount for strategy leaders. On-demand consulting services offer a strategic advantage, providing the expertise, flexibility, and cost-efficiency needed to navigate the complexities of modern business. By embracing this model, organizations can enhance their strategic capabilities, drive performance excellence, and secure a competitive edge in the market.

Whether you’re seeking consultants with big firm experience, seasoned project managers, or simply expertise you lack in-house, Business Talent Group delivers the talent you need to achieve your strategic goals. Reach out and talk to our team about your most pressing projects and fast-moving opportunities.

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For companies seeking competitive advantage, data has become invaluable in every regard. From buyer intent alerts to performance metrics to industry forecasts, the ability to leverage data to guide organizational strategies and decisions has become a business imperative. Globally—across industries and functions at companies large and small—leaders are not just looking to read and understand these insights, but to learn how to leverage their data as an asset to innovate, optimize, and drive growth. No surprise then that many of today’s top companies are seeking to implement data-driven decision-making (DDDM) as a best practice underpinning all aspects of their business strategy and operations.

So what is data-driven decision-making? DDDM is a methodology that enables businesses to make informed choices rooted in data analysis rather than relying solely on gut instincts or assumptions. After all, it can be easy to leap to decisions based on emotion or intuition, but the best way to tackle big business decisions is to start from the data—facts, numbers, findings. With the explosion of data availability and technological advancements, the intelligent use of reliable and robust data has become a beacon guiding leaders through the cacophony of market fluctuations, competitive pressures, and the relentless pursuit of growth.

Companies that harness data for decision-making find themselves in a better position to outmaneuver their competitors and make more strategic, informed choices in today’s increasingly digitally dependent landscape.

Understanding Data-Driven Decision-Making

The foundation of DDDM lies in the power of data to reveal insights, drive superior results, and identify trends that might go unnoticed with subjective observations. But what are data-driven decisions based on? Essentially, they rely on—unsurprisingly—data, analytics models, and predictive mechanisms to inform strategic directions, operational efficiencies, and even personnel allocations. It’s a procedure that involves setting precise, actionable objectives (KPIs), collecting and analyzing relevant data, and continually refining decisions based on outcomes.

This systematic approach to decision-making ensures that a leader, team, or organization has a solid foundation to execute and oversee the implementation of strategic initiatives relative to their unique goals and objectives.

The Importance of Data-Driven Decision-Making

Adopting a data-driven approach can effectively improve accuracy and efficiency, removing the guesswork often associated with traditional decision-making methods. DDDM can also assist in mitigating risks and unveiling new opportunities such as emerging market trends or customer preferences, enabling businesses to stay ahead of the curve. By analyzing both historical and real-time data, businesses can anticipate potential risks and opportunities to act preemptively.

3 Benefits of Data-Driven Decision-Making

While not exhaustive, the following benefits of DDDM create a compelling argument to embrace this methodology:

Enhanced Objectivity and Accuracy

One of the paramount strengths of DDDM is that it injects objectivity into the decision-making process. By basing decisions on verifiable data, businesses can eliminate biases and guesswork, ensuring that strategies are not swayed by subjective influences but are aligned with actual market and internal performance data.

Increased Organizational Agility

Agility in responding to market trends and consumer needs is another key benefit. Data and decision-making go hand-in-hand to enable businesses to quickly pivot strategies in response to real-time information, thereby staying competitive and agile.

Boosted Profitability

Perhaps the most compelling argument for DDDM is its potential impact on the bottom line. Through optimized operational efficiencies, targeted marketing strategies, and enhanced customer experiences, companies that utilize data-based decision-making invariably find themselves on a path to increased growth and profitability.

How to move toward more data-driven decision-making in your org:

Adopting DDDM is essential for businesses aiming to stay competitive in today’s data-rich landscape. The first step involves identifying and collecting relevant data. For example, organizations might be interested in gathering data on customer interactions with marketing channels or customer support, performance metrics and data from internal tools and business intelligence systems, or competitor and market analyses. Once you have the data, you can begin analyzing and interpreting it to derive actionable insights. Technology can streamline these processes, improve efficiency, and facilitate more accurate and timely decisions.

Implementing DDDM isn’t a one-and-done effort. It demands a cultural shift within the organization, emphasizing continuous data collection, analysis, and utilization for decision-making. Embracing this approach helps businesses gain a competitive edge and ensure long-term success.

Here are some key steps to take if you’re looking to evolve into a more data-driven org:

• Cultivate a Data-Centric Culture: Encouraging an organizational culture that values data as a critical asset is foundational. This involves training, educating, and incentivizing teams to utilize data in their everyday decision-making processes
• Invest in the Right Tools: Implementing robust data analytics tools and platforms that can churn through vast datasets to extract meaningful insights is crucial
• Foster Collaboration: Bridging the gap between data scientists, analysts, and decision-makers ensures that insights are not only generated but are also effectively communicated and acted upon.
• Commit to Continuous Learning and Improvement: As technology evolves, so do the tools and techniques for making data-driven decisions. Organizations must engage in continuous learning and improvement to stay ahead of the curve.

Real-World Examples of Data-Driven Decision-Making at Work

Developing strategies to actualize data

Before you can make informed decisions, you must have some sort of strategy or plan of what you want to do with your data. Without a roadmap of sorts, finding the right path arbitrarily is like finding a needle in a haystack: it can be done, but it’s better to start by determining the desired outcome or objective and what that will look like for your org. This scenario is a perfect opportunity to harness the expertise of an on-demand data strategist.

For instance, when a major asset management firm acquired a large shopping enterprise, they soon realized they had a significant gap in their data strategy. They had a bulk of historical data but needed a specialized consultant trained in working with clients to actualize the data and optimize the operation, improve customer engagement, and execute on forward-thinking initiatives like sustainability. To fill that gap, Business Talent Group (BTG) delivered an established data leader to serve as an interim chief data officer and help the organization build a robust data ecosystem, enhance its technical infrastructure and data knowledge, and establish clear governance to manage and start using data in a more effective, compliant, and secure manner.

Establishing solid data foundations

Despite today’s vast and often overwhelming digital, data, and IT landscape, it’s never too late to focus on your data foundations. This might involve initiating an extensive data cleanup project to improve data hygiene, leveraging AI to analyze data and report on findings, or employing software to support decision-making efforts. If these ideas align with your org’s priorities, consider bringing in an on-demand data scientist or AI expert.

In one example of this scenario, the CIO of a global insurance company needed a data science expert to take a leadership role on several initiatives, including risk identification, efficiency efforts for acquisition marketing programs, and development of an Agile Scrum team model. To support this leader, BTG provided a seasoned data science and AI expert who oversaw a team of three internal resources and conducted the work that would ultimately support a larger effort to build out and sustain a data science capability within the company.

Using data to enhance marketing campaigns

One powerful use case for DDDM is to inform objectives and enhance campaigns with the help of an on-demand digital marketing consultant. That was the case when the CRO and CMO of a PE-backed direct-to-consumer global skincare brand needed to plug in an expert to upgrade their digital marketing and market growth strategies to meet high-growth targets. BTG provided a former McKinsey consultant and Sr. Manager of Marketing Strategy at Gap Inc., who ramped up quickly, establishing data-driven integrated marketing programs and direct response campaigns to drive sustainable growth for the ecommerce business.

Need Help Implementing Data-Driven Decision-Making in Your Organization?

The use cases for DDDM are endless. Our network of digital and data strategists, AI and machine learning experts, C-level tech leaders (CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs), and digital project managers are ready and able to support your data-related project needs. Ready to find your right-fit solution? Just reach out.

As a sector, pharma doesn’t give itself enough credit for being innovative. It is one of only a handful of industries that have had a dramatic influence and impact on society and human life in recent decades – and it needs to recognise both its power and its responsibility.

This was the argument of one panellist at Reuters Pharma 2024 in Barcelona, where the overarching motif was the changing role of pharma within the healthcare sector, dictated by increasing demand, innovation, regulatory change, and economic constraints. In April, our team from Business Talent Group, a Heidrick & Struggles company, joined 1,200 delegates from across the sector at the event to discuss the industry’s most pressing issues.

Understandably, the core focus of the event was on patient outcomes, and how innovations in technology can be employed to improve them. Patient engagement, the development of new technologies, and the unification of fragmented healthcare systems were common themes across many of the sessions, as leaders in commercial, digital health, communications, and medical affairs came together to share best practices and possible solutions.

Effectively employing digital and AI

It was remarkable, but perhaps not surprising, that nearly all of the sessions, no matter which conference track they followed, touched on AI in some way. As one panellist noted, artificial intelligence has become impossible to ignore, saying: “With AI, we’re now in a revolution similar to the internet and the cloud.”

The sessions that specifically addressed digital and analytics focused on utilising these technologies to significantly improve the patient experience. One speaker suggested that, by combining the power of AI with scientific expertise, pharma companies should be able to find answers to some of the most pressing questions in healthcare: accelerating breakthroughs in understanding and treating diseases; discovering and developing therapies; equipping healthcare providers with better insights; and personalising care for patients.

Another attendee pointed out that pharma has access to the “Rolls-Royce” of tech stacks. Now, they added, the sector needs to start making this technology work harder. Generative AI, for example, is offering an unprecedented breadth of opportunities. It can be used to create integration right across the entire patient experience journey – enhancing response times and allowing high levels of customisation for specific populations and individuals.

AI’s capabilities include providing health care professionals with more targeted access to information, allowing them to make better treatment suggestions. One speaker also noted that there has been a general return from a state of “digital remoteness” in new tech solutions. They asserted that most successful launches since COVID have involved more interpersonal interactions in addition to their digital elements.

The power of patient data

Another strong theme at the event was the transformative power of patient-reported data. “Pharma companies are really data management businesses,” stated one speaker. “We rarely touch the product – the drug – but we do touch a lot of real-world data.”

This discussion centred on one key insight: that embracing a data-driven approach will prove fundamental in improving global healthcare outcomes. Moving forward, it will therefore be crucial to support healthcare policies that enhance data integration. Data needs to be less fragmented – but equally important are data accessibility and connectivity, making data fair, and the consistency of data – particularly real-world data.

Ensuring a homogenous approach to data management will require greater synergy of multidisciplinary teams, bringing together data scientists, clinicians, and ethicists, each contributing unique insights. And ultimately, attendees were told, the sector needs to be able to move from data theory to practice – because the future lies in reviewing patient outcomes in real time.

Putting engagement at the forefront

Key questions asked at the event included: how can the sector partner with governments, researchers, and health systems to sustainably fund innovation for future generations? And how do pharma companies meaningfully engage with patients and physicians in the new healthcare ecosystem? 

One answer to both questions is for the sector to help overcome fragmentation in healthcare systems and build bridges between different stakeholders. As one speaker outlined, the current complexity leads to silos, with too many different teams involved – for example, global versus local market teams. They added: “Don’t fall in love with a specific solution for a market or hub – fall in love with solving the problem.”

This end can be achieved through a focus on outcomes, said another speaker – creating outcome-based solutions, better patient outcomes, and win-win partnerships for pharma companies, healthcare systems, and patients.

‘Omnichannel’ continues to be a buzzword across the sector and was much in evidence at the event. But, noted one attendee, it’s a word that lazy marketers tend to hide behind. It inhibits innovation and gives marketers an excuse not to think beyond traditional channels and ways of doing business.

By contrast, a true omnichannel approach should open up new areas of patient engagement. Both the preferences of healthcare professionals and the broader macro-economic context are evolving, pointed out one speaker. Lasting changes in physician preferences require new engagement models, with health care professionals asking for innovative channels of engagement and personalisation.

Patient engagement is another area where AI can drive innovation, through content generation, virtual assistants, workflow automation, and insight generation.

A new model for pharma

In a resource-limited environment, the right capabilities need to be in exactly the right place in order to succeed. Global macro-economic headwinds have increased internal pressure on resources within the pharma sector, resulting in product lifecycle compression amid growing competition and complexity. Pharma teams are being expected to do more, faster, with less.

They therefore need to keep patient outcomes front of mind at all times. No one size fits all for every company, but there are a few key transversal trends. These include moving away from traditional, functional pharma models in order to revolutionise resource allocation across brands and functions; and exploring radically different health care professional engagement models, with digital and AI at their centres.

For further insights, and to discuss how sourcing on-demand talent through Heidrick’s Business Talent Group (BTG) can support your pharma teams, please contact me any time.

This post originally appeared on LinkedIn. 

At the organizational level, the ability to keep pace with innovation is an increasingly important performance differentiator, and rewiring the digital ecosystem to allow for continual improvement is a business imperative. The rewards of getting digital transformation right can be abundant and tangible: enhanced cybersecurity, streamlined operations, more actionable data, increased customer engagement—and at the end of the day: competitive advantage.

But getting it right is no simple task. Approximately 90% of companies have launched some kind of large-scale digital transformation. Yet they have captured only a third of the expected revenue lift and 25% of expected cost savings from the effort, according to McKinsey.

Why the results gap? Digital transformations are complex and require a wide variety of skills and expertise across the process—from the initial vision and strategy through implementation, culture change, and scale. There’s a lot of room for error. One key differentiator between success and failure McKinsey identifies: executive-level talent.

Companies are increasingly engaging on-demand transformation leaders to provide niche knowledge, strategic insights, and experienced oversight to accelerate progress from one phase to the next. In fact, BTG’s 2024 High-End Independent Talent Report found that demand increased 47% YOY for interim data, digital, and IT leaders at all levels and 67% for interim CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs in particular.

From change managers, project managers, and interim executives to experts with digital skills like data and analytics, AI, or machine learning, experienced digital transformation leaders are available on demand to offer high-level advice, integrate with internal teams, or drive and manage workstreams.

On-Demand Talent for Every Phase of a Digital Transformation

Each stage of a transformation relies on the groundwork established in the previous phases. A meticulous approach ensures that strategic planning, stakeholder involvement, and implementation build upon each other, reducing risks, making the best use of resources, and increasing the chance of reaching the end goals. Let’s look at how companies engage on-demand talent across a holistic digital transformation.

1. Envision: Defining Success

Decisions made in the first phase of a digital transformation will cascade throughout the rest of the initiative and have lasting implications on the company’s ability to capture evolving tech opportunities down the line.

In this phase, the purpose and objectives must be clearly defined. Typically there are multiple end goals such as enabling AI decision-making tools that enhance the customer experience and improve operational efficiency, for example. Stakeholders, including company leaders, employees, and customers, are engaged both to communicate the vision and gather input on priorities and desired outcomes. Independent strategists frequently support these activities by helping to align goals and objectives, streamline communication, and foster transparency.

Current and future state assessments are critical in this phase. This includes a detailed examination of the organization’s existing digital capabilities—including infrastructure, systems, and processes—to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. From there, the desired future state of the organization’s digital ecosystem can be mapped out, informed by emerging technologies, industry trends, and competitive dynamics. Independent consultants are often brought in for projects such as:

• Conducting systems and process evaluations
• Identifying areas for improvement
• Providing an outside perspective on best practices and suitable technologies
• Performing risk assessments
• Evaluating security vulnerabilities
• Providing data and analytics expertise to bolster a strong data foundation

In one recent example, the emerging technology group of a major life insurance company was in the first stage of an AI transformation aimed at improving efficiency. The team was struggling to identify the tools, processes, and business areas to prioritize. BTG provided a former AT Kearney partner and disruptive technology executive to assess the current state, get buy-in, and develop the go-forward AI vision.

2.  Plan: Developing a Comprehensive Transformation Strategy

The second stage of a digital transformation layers on the strategy and resource allocation necessary to achieve the phase one vision. This includes detailing the approach, priorities, and roadmap, as well as the budget, talent, and technology investments necessary to support the implementation and transition. A crucial step in this phase is the design of a scalable and flexible technology architecture that supports the organization’s digital objectives.

Independent experts and transformation leaders can be an asset here—stepping in to provide strategic insights as well as niche tech knowledge to inform critical decisions and next steps. For example, when a global financial services firm was transforming its IT operating model with overarching goals of increasing efficiency, building a stronger data foundation, and enabling cloud technology, the leadership team needed an experienced and objective view of what could be done differently. Through BTG, they sourced a senior IT transformation expert who had trained at McKinsey and served as CIO at several major companies. After analyzing the team’s topline business imperatives and long-term aspirations, the consultant refined the IT operating models based on the company’s internal drivers, leveraging best practices to draft a high-level framework for the future.

Another phase two priority is creation of a change management plan that addresses cultural shifts, skill gaps, and organizational readiness for adopting the new digital technologies. Change management is key to maximizing the effectiveness of any transformation, and independent change managers can provide a fresh, unbiased perspective and specialized expertise to ensure all the integral pieces are put into place. This might entail facilitating communication, tracking KPIs, or collecting feedback and making adjustments.

3. Implement: Executing the Digital Transformation Plan

In the third phase, strategic plans and designs are executed, and the organization begins the transition to new systems and processes. Technology deployment might span multiple fronts, such as enterprise software, mobile apps, IoT devices, and AI solutions—a web of processes that requires skilled leadership and hands-on expertise across multiple teams and departments.

Change management continues to be integral to ensuring success and maintaining momentum. In addition to on-demand change managers, independent talent are often engaged to provide program and project management for specific workstreams, enabling multiple facets of the transformation to run in tandem with one another.

Take the case of one retailer in the midst of a major transformation to digitize its end-to-end design and manufacturing process. In need of help keeping the project on track, the innovation team brought in an independent program manager to drive project streams for technology and supply chain, prepare content for governance reviews, and make sure all milestones were met.

In this phase, hands-on roles that require specialized skills, such as machine learning, large language models, and advanced analytics, are incredibly important, and those skills can be difficult to source in-house. In fact, a 2023 survey by BTG found that more than one-third of executives anticipate expertise limitations in data and analytics; compliance, reporting, and risk management; and process improvement and business transformation. Independent experts offer fast and flexible access to such skills and can also step in to provide training and development to equip in-house teams with the necessary digital skills and capabilities to succeed in the organization’s new digital environment.

4. Scale and Sustain: Fostering a Culture of Innovation

The technology has been deployed, new processes are in place, and most employees have been trained, but the transformation isn’t complete. This final phase focuses on evaluating, optimizing, and leveraging lessons learned from pilot projects, as well as documenting the progress and developing in-house champions to encourage adoption and ensure long-term success.

On-demand talent is often a source of bandwidth and expertise for activities such as developing continuous improvement mechanisms, implementing robust cybersecurity measures, and establishing risk management practices to protect digital assets and data, ensuring the resilience and sustainability of the digital transformation efforts.

A critical component of the final phase of a digital transformation is fostering a culture of innovation—encouraging employees to explore new ideas, technologies, and business models that drive digital innovation and differentiation. On-demand talent can be brought in to provide objective feedback, inject new ideas, and serve as mentors and coaches for internal teams.

In one instance, the global procurement team of a multinational life science team was nearing the end of a major transformation to implement a new cloud-based procurement system, which was going to require the team to adopt an entirely new way of working. The head of strategic project delivery worked with BTG to engage a former senior consultant at PwC and IBM to collaborate closely with content and process owners to determine training needs and then develop a curriculum to support the company’s change initiative.

If done well, a digital transformation can act as a force multiplier, allowing companies to achieve multiple strategic objectives through a single investment: adopting tech that improves both the customer and employee experience, for example, or creating efficiencies that both reduce costs and enhance security.

Five Benefits of Bringing in On-Demand Talent to Support and Accelerate a Digital Transformation

1. Access to Specialized Expertise: Many of the specialized skills and expertise necessary to get it right may not be readily available within the organization. Engaging independent experts allows transformation leaders to access talent that is often hard to find in the full-time market.
2. Flexibility and Scalability: Transformation workstreams are inherently temporary. Bringing in external talent provides flexibility in terms of engagement duration and scope of work. Business leaders can scale resources up or down based on project needs, allowing for efficient resource allocation.
3. Cost Reduction: Hiring on-demand talent for short-term engagements is a cost-effective way to support projects that require expertise for a limited period of time and can also function as an alternative to or follow-on from a large consulting firm.
4. Objective Perspective: External consultants and specialists bring a fresh perspective to the transformation process, free from internal biases or constraints and rich with outside knowledge and broad industry insight.
5. Augmentation of Internal Resources: On-demand talent can complement internal teams by filling skill gaps or providing additional capacity during peak periods of transformation activity, as well as serve as mentors or interim leaders for in-house teams.

A successful digital transformation establishes a technical and operational foundation that can withstand disruption, new tech, market fluctuations, and changing customer demands. Harnessing the power of on-demand talent throughout the course of a digital transformation can help achieve sustained success in driving meaningful and lasting change. Reach out today to find talent to support your digital transformation.

For today’s leaders, an increasingly critical responsibility and key area of leadership development is creating an authentic organizational culture where employees can feel at ease not only being themselves, but voicing their thoughts, opinions, and concerns candidly. Why? Because cultivating an environment built on trust, communication, and teamwork enables your employees’ motivation, productivity, and professionalism to thrive.

In this post, we’ll explore what professional authenticity means, why it’s important to be authentic professionally, how to foster an authentic professional environment, how to develop authenticity and professionalism within yourself, and how to prioritize those traits as a leader.  

What do authenticity and professionalism have to do with each other?

Generally speaking, when one feels comfortable being themselves—being authentic—at work, studies show increased life satisfaction and well-being, which provides a launch pad for a professional to flourish. Not only that, but authenticity at work yields better motivation and performance. It can be tough when you feel comfortable being yourself everywhere but work, or if you feel like being yourself will bring about judgement or some sort of reprimand. Of course, authenticity manifests differently depending on where you are and who you’re with, but while at work, remind yourself that you belong in the room (or in the meeting) and you have something to offer.

If you’re worried about saying the wrong thing or saying too much, try setting boundaries and practicing active listening. Consider the following, “Your boundaries are based on your unique needs and wants. They are rules, created by you, that indicate what you will accept and what you will not, including how you want to be treated by others and show up at work. What and how much you feel comfortable sharing varies from person to person.” Author Lan Nguyen Chaplin, professor of marketing at Northwestern, continues, “When you listen deeply, you allow yourself to be silent. Silence allows you to declutter your thought process, be present, reflect, and make an honest contribution to whatever is being discussed.”

How to create and maintain a professional environment rooted in authenticity

Unsurprisingly, finding comfort at work is a marathon, not a sprint. While 72% of people say they are authentic at work, it can take a while to reach that state. While the majority begin to feel comfortable being authentic within two to three months, others may take up to a year to show their true selves. But corporate culture starts at the top, and creating an authentic, candid professional environment can speed up this process and make it significantly easier for everyone to operate with authenticity. Here are five ways to encourage authenticity at work as a business leader:

1. Encourage finding strength in being one’s authentic, best self
2. Recognize that authenticity can be a journey
3. Consider the implications of code-switching (or, adapting one’s communication, appearance and mannerisms to fit in)
4. Build diverse teams
5. Support conversations about lived experiences

While communication is key, patience is essential. Everyone has their own experiences, boundaries, preferences, and priorities, so if someone isn’t ready or willing to share something or participate in a particular way, it’s important to give them space. If your company culture is rooted with the right intentions and beliefs, closed-off colleagues will eventually come around.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts are especially critical here. DE&I should feel like a company value rather than simply a program. If that’s not the case, leadership should be held accountable and make a genuine effort to improve. According to one expert in a recent Forbes article, “If leaders need to understand the delicacies of race and ethnicity, employ an expert who has lived that experience. If leaders need to understand gender issues, hire an expert who has lived that experience. If leaders need to understand the issues of workplace age bias, employ an expert who has lived that experience.”

The individual approach to developing authenticity and professionalism 

Despite some arguing that authenticity and professionalism are at odds with one another, it’s really all about balance. Wendy Barclay, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at England Logistics outlined a few tips for finding that balance:

• Be clear on your values and priorities
• Be respectful of others’ expectations
• Communicate openly and honestly
• Embrace your quirks and individuality\

Additionally, authors at HBR outlined common mistakes and pitfalls leaders make when trying to be more authentic and provided a five step plan to guide you toward more effective self-disclosure:

1. Build a foundation of self-knowledge. The best approach is to solicit honest feedback from coworkers and follow it up with coaching.
2. Consider relevance to the task. Before sharing personal information, ask yourself if it’s germane to the situation.
3. Keep revelations genuine. Making up or exaggerating stories is easily discovered and can damage credibility.
4. Understand the organizational and cultural context. Some societies are more inclined than others to disclose personal information.
5. Delay or avoid very personal disclosures. First take note of how open others are.

Now that you’ve learned about authenticity and professionalism and are able to identify your own strengths and weaknesses in that regard, you’ll be able to identify strengths and weaknesses within your team, department, and organization. Once you’ve put these recommendations into practice, you’ll be better equipped to enable others to do the same, effectively starting an authentic company culture transformation from the inside out.

Lean in to the leadership qualities shaping the modern workforce.

Authenticity isn’t the latest buzzword. It’s not a trend or a fad, it’s a pivotal piece in the future of work. It’s not a box to check, either. The authenticity journey is ongoing; it will evolve year by year, job by job, and team by team. Remember to take a step back and enjoy the ride, let the goal to be yourself at work be a guiding force that propels you toward endless success.

If you’re looking to move on pressing priorities and your top to-dos, loop in Business Talent Group and our network of independent experts and get started today.

The C-suite landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, with thousands of CEOs and long-tenured executives either retiring or transitioning to non-traditional roles like independent consulting. Meanwhile, the positions they’ve left behind continue to grow in complexity and scope.

It’s no longer enough for corporate officers to focus on a specific area of functional expertise, such as financial planning or talent acquisition. Today’s leaders also have to be strategists, salespeople, technology experts, regulatory specialists, and more—all while moving at breakneck speed and keeping both the forest and the trees within view.

With the C-suite version of the Great Resignation still underway, it may not be a surprise that many of those who have been hired or promoted to fill these ever-growing shoes are first-time executives. According to a 2023 analysis by Heidrick & Struggles, “72 percent of current Fortune 100 CFOs were appointed to their current roles as first-time CFOs, with no prior CFO experience.”

Though there’s something to be said for the enthusiasm of fresh-faced talent, there’s also the reality of their roles’ ongoing expansion to contend with. Leveling up to the C-suite is a daunting transition in and of itself, let alone when expectations are always evolving. Even for the executive-level unicorns out there, the sheer number of plates they’ve got spinning and the amount of work on each of those plates is a lot to manage.

What support do leaders need right now?

To help new leaders succeed, many top companies are tapping independent talent for executive mentorship and support. A cost-effective alternative to traditional consulting firms, high-end independent consultants have CVs rich in executive experience and subject matter expertise, allowing them to step in quickly and assist wherever they’re needed.

They also know how to support C-suite executives in their new roles by providing supplemental expertise for emerging trends such as AI, guidance on ESG compliance, and much-needed capacity for critical, time-sensitive projects such as IPOs or acquisitions. Whether it’s their first time in a leadership role or they’ve worn the executive mantle for years, corporate officers don’t need to have all the answers—they just need to have the right people in place.

These flexible, on-demand engagements can be broad and strategic or short and execution-focused. Below, we’ll explore three ways in which independent talent can boost the effectiveness of a new executive.

How independent talent help new leaders succeed

1. Providing key insights to help cut through complexity

New corporate officers benefit greatly from the establishment of a support network that can provide expert guidance and advice. From shaping strategic frameworks and refining reporting relationships to identifying new opportunities and policy gaps, an experienced mentor can offer valuable insights and illuminate potential paths forward.

Though its advantages are evident, networking can also be a challenge—particularly for those who have never held an executive position before. Many of these advisory relationships develop mutually and organically over time, but at the outset, bringing in an independent consultant can give new corporate officers a stronger foundation upon which to build.

A significant number of independent consultants today are the very same C-suite executives who recently left their corporate gigs to strike out on their own. They possess a wealth of leadership experience and operational expertise, and their mentorship can be the difference between new executive effectiveness and a swift exit.

Case study: Mentorship as a springboard for success
In one example, a privately held, mid-market professional services company wanted to ensure their new COO was properly set up for success. The new executive candidate was promoted from within and had been identified as having high potential for the COO role. The company had already seen two COOs exit in two years, so they sought to avoid previous mistakes by providing increased support to the “step up” executive candidate.

They reached out to BTG for an independent consultant with COO experience who could advise the new COO and help develop a high-functioning operations unit. The organization involved the candidate in the process to ensure the selected consultant meshed well with their personality and working style. It was also important that the consultant had technical and/or financial expertise, as part of the new COO’s duties would be to streamline processes between the IT and Finance teams.

BTG delivered an experienced services company COO to serve as a temporary, part-time advisor to the first-time COO candidate. Together they focused on building key infrastructure for the organization’s operations, including frameworks for opportunity identification and governance policies and processes. The independent advisor also helped redesign reporting relationships among the C-suite and then coached the candidate on how best to step into the re-envisioned role.

2. Building flexible, high-performing teams to help free up capacity

Regardless of experience level, one thing remains true for all executives: delegation is key to staying out of the weeds. This becomes even more critical for first-time executives, as they may feel driven to prove their aptitude, and acknowledging knowledge gaps can feel risky.

Bringing on additional, skilled on-demand talent can help round out the executive’s team and handle project delivery so that the corporate officer can focus on the big picture. After all, it’s not necessary for a CFO to know all of the technical aspects of a cybersecurity transformation—they just need to understand the technologies’ impact and potential.

Similarly, independent talent can help minimize distractions and maintain momentum by temporarily taking high-priority projects off of the executive’s ever-growing to-do list. This way, new corporate officers can better focus on strategic initiatives and other immediate needs, then return to the projects when they have the capacity to do so.

Case study: Increasing executive bandwidth
In one example involving a critical—but short-term—initiative, a fast-growing public biotech company had important work to do around compensation and benefits. The HR leadership team knew that time was of the essence, but pressing matters in the organization’s people functions repeatedly drew their attention away from the workstream.

They could have brought in a permanent hire, but given the temporary nature of the work, it made more sense to source independent talent with a skillset aligned to the company’s specific needs. This approach would also be more cost-effective, and it would allow the CHRO to retain control and oversight over the project.

BTG matched the project with a seasoned HR professional, placing her in a special project role that would last three months—long enough to complete critical tasks and provide much-needed bandwidth while freeing up capacity for the CHRO.

Case studies: Filling executive skills gaps
In other instances, BTG’s independent experts have provided interim support to global executives while their organizations built out standalone functions. On-demand talent has also proven valuable in situations where sitting executives lacked the experience to take the company through specific landmark events, such as an IPO or Series B fundraising.

In the latter case, the former private equity partner and finance executive that BTG brought in helped a biotech company close Series B well beyond its fundraising goals while also developing a financial strategy that made it possible to create a permanent CFO position—essentially preparing the organization to go public.

3. Delivering subject matter expertise to support emerging needs

It’s essential for new executives to fully understand the ways in which emerging technology can and will affect the overall business. Artificial intelligence and environment, social, and corporate governance (ESG) are the hot topics right now, and the speed at which they are evolving can make it difficult for thinly stretched corporate officers to keep up. Plus, the ever-increasing complexity of these trends makes specialized expertise a must.

Carbon compliance and reporting are of particular concern, as greenwashing has corporate watchdogs on high alert. The guardrails for AI, on the other hand, are still being put in place—and as these regulations evolve, it’ll be important to already have a strategy in place and a compliance framework ready.

Many top companies are bringing in on-demand talent to help identify opportunities and shape strategies for digital transformation, AI implementation, and ESG reporting and compliance. In addition to their strategic chops and specific subject matter expertise, these independent consultants also possess the operational knowledge necessary to effectively implement new technologies and data capabilities across functions.

Case study: Understanding AI capabilities
When a multinational technology corporation wanted to assess the market landscape with regard to AI use in startups, they knew they’d need to bring in an expert from outside the company as internal leaders lacked the necessary knowledge on this cutting edge technology. They specifically wanted to compare competitive large-scale AI models, with a focus on the models’ ability to generate and understand language, images, and videos.

BTG provided an independent consultant with extensive expertise in growth strategy, innovation, marketing, and business development. The consultant’s resulting landscape analysis and research helped the company identify and better understand the leaders in the space, as well as their competitive embedded technology products.

Case studies: From sustainability efforts to ESG communications
Recycling is a core part of many sustainability strategies, but when the baby care division at a global consumer goods company wanted to explore a new approach, leaders found that they lacked the expertise needed to effectively assess potential options.

BTG connected them with a former Bain consultant who specializes in consumer goods. The independent consultant drew on his experience with improving the sustainability of end-to-end product lifecycles to assess the proposed program’s viability. After evaluating the competitive landscape and potential market size, he dove into a detailed analysis of operations and supply chain cost—including estimated reclamation revenue—to develop a proposal that the team could draw on to forge a more sustainable path forward.

In another case, a strategic advisory firm needed to develop communications and ESG strategies for a mining company based in the Middle East, but they didn’t have the in-house transformation and operational support to make it happen.

BTG brought in a senior strategy consultant and former mining executive with global experience to support their multifaceted initiative. In addition to conducting a landscape assessment and competitor benchmarking, the on-demand consultant also devised a strategic plan to improve the company’s global positioning and better communicate their ESG efforts to international audiences.

If it hasn’t happened already, it’s likely that at some point in the near future someone in your organization will ascend to the C-suite without prior experience in a corporate officer role. By providing them with adequate support and guidance, you can set them up for early success and help accelerate your organization’s own growth. Tapping independent talent for project-specific needs, capacity expansion, subject matter expertise, or strategic guidance can help bridge the divide and keep your company moving forward.

Ready now? Let’s get started.

One of today’s top leadership challenges is imposter syndrome. Studies show that this professional plight can affect individuals at all levels of the org—regardless of age or experience—at any time without substantial rhyme or reason. Overcoming insecurities is essential to your leadership development journey no matter your tenure. Explore these strategies to look confident on the outside, even if you feel anything but that on the inside.

When it comes to leadership traits, confidence is key.

According to professor of business psychology Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, “Competence is how good you are at something. Confidence is how good you think you are at something. Competence is an ability; confidence is the belief in that ability.” Often, a professionals’ accomplishments and merits speak for themselves, but one can be confident in their abilities while lacking confidence in themselves. Body language, speech, and appearance are three areas to target in order to exude an aura of confidence.

Body Language

Generally, three body language behaviors go into manifesting confidence: eye contact, smiling, and a steady, open stance.

Try these body language tricks to instantly appear more confident:

1. Keep your chin and head up.
2. Stand up straight.
3. Plant your feet in an open, wide stance.
4. Gesture with your palms up.
5. Keep your hands out of your pockets and always visible.
6. Maintain strong eye contact.

According to body language expert Lillian Glass, the best piece of advice for people who want to appear more confident is to “be interested, not interesting.” Dedicating your attention to the people you’re speaking with can help take your mind off your own insecurities about how others perceive you.

Speech

A confident tone and manner of speech are two key characteristics of leadership. The most successful leaders think before they speak and show intention with word choice. When it comes to filler words or sounds such as “um,” “uh,” “like,” or “you know,” they’ve either managed to limit their use or cut them entirely—an impressive feat considering this bad habit affects many if not most individuals. On the other hand, a deliberate pause is okay! To others, it can demonstrate that you’re thinking about your response and not hastily speaking off the cuff.

Rightly or wrongly, studies show that regardless of gender, those with relatively low frequency voices are seen as—and even perceive themselves as—more confident. So, consider playing with your pitch when trying to curate confidence as a part of your leadership development. How low can you go?

Appearance

First impressions are important, but they won’t necessarily make or break you. Remember, when you feel good, you look good, so dress to impress within reason. Within the expected dress code, wear what you love and what you feel comfortable and confident in. Interested in learning more about color psychology and clothing? Give this resource a read.

Comparisons and confidence don’t mix.

A critical part of overcoming imposter syndrome is working on not comparing yourself—your leadership style, your accomplishments, your title, your experience—to others as much as possible. Admittedly, that’s hard and only getting harder in the age of social media, but think about it: the more we fixate on our perceived shortcomings in comparison to others, the less mental space we have to focus on our own goals and good qualities.

Leadership challenges and how to overcome them

One of the biggest roadblocks to becoming a strong leader is fear. Learning your own work style, learning style, leadership style, and leadership orientation establishes a strong backbone of beliefs and behaviors to combat your insecurities.

Learn your leadership orientation

Forbes explored two different leadership orientations with the help of Betsy Leatherman of Leadership Circle.

“The first orientation we call Problem-Reacting. For example, a problem happens, and that creates some sort of fear for the leader. So, they respond. When they respond to the problem it gets a little bit smaller because they have given some sort of response to it. Their fear goes down a little bit. And then they don’t feel they have to respond any longer. However, because they are not responding to it or focusing on it anymore, all of a sudden, the problem starts to get bigger, again. And that creates fear, again, so they respond, again. That reactive pattern, we call it an oscillating loop, because it can continue over time. Problem-Reacting-Problem-Reacting.” Leatherman said.

The author explains that the Problem-Reacting loop lacks scalability and is often something that plagues leaders who want to fix things, to problem-solve. Conversely, the second orientation, Outcome-Creating, flips the script and reframes the focus on purpose rather than dwelling on problems.

“When a leader views problems as signs of systems that are broken, and as obstacles in the way of creating purpose (such as the purpose of the team or organization), then instead of hooking into fear, they begin hooking into passion. They can start to connect themselves and their team to a greater purpose in the world. When leaders connect themselves and their teams to this purpose, they unleash people’s passion.” Leatherman said.

To make that shift, here are three things to try:

1. Regularly checking in with yourself, physically and mentally
2. Stop trying to do it all yourself (delegate!)
3. Solicit feedback

By incorporating these behaviors into your leadership style, you can foster vision, purpose, and passion for both yourself and your team.

Practice makes perfect

Habits are just as hard to make as they are to break. Think of your mindset like a habit; it’s your default, it’s automatic, honed, second nature. As time goes on, that mindset—much like any habit—can be hard to shift, even imperceptibly. So, start small. Since habits are constantly forming, fluctuating, and should remain top of mind, start by improving your work habits and zoom out from there. Try reframing the way you think about a task you dislike or something work-related that bothers you. Then, move on to bigger pictures like how you manage people, ways to innovate, the broader company culture, or growth strategies.

Leadership challenges call for savvy solutions.

Overcoming imposter syndrome is one of the most significant and common challenges that today’s leaders face, but with a little time and practice, it’s not only achievable, but an essential goal worth prioritizing no matter your tenure. Often, an underlying cause of imposter syndrome is the feeling that you simply aren’t enough to tackle everything that’s on your plate. And that’s okay—it’s important to remember that none of us can do it alone.

If you’re struggling with a pile of projects or simply lack the expertise to tackle top priorities, Business Talent Group and our network of highly skilled independent experts can help. Reach out today!

From digital transformation to organizational change and supply chain optimization to R&D innovation, large-scale transformations in the life sciences are frequently a strategic imperative for efficiency and effectiveness. Yet, successful transformations are the exception, not the rule—with only about a third resulting in sustained performance improvement, according to McKinsey.

Mapping out a plan for success starts with determining clear answers to some common questions:

• What is the purpose of the transformation?
• What is the anticipated timeline, and how quickly can new tools and processes be adopted?
• Do we have a clear strategy and approach for our vision?
• What is the budget we need to adhere to?
• Are we able to operationalize the strategy and plans?
• Do we have key stakeholders identified?
• Do we have the expertise required for success?

Large transformations don’t work as side-of-desk projects. They require experienced strategists, knowledgeable oversight, dedicated project management, and niche subject matter expertise—with a wide range of knowledge and skills required across the project timeline.

From leveraging highly specialized digital and data analytics experts to accessing experienced professionals in regulatory compliance and restructuring, the integration of on-demand talent is proving to be a key driver in navigating the complexities of transformations within this highly regulated industry.

Fast, Flexible, and Affordable: On-Demand Talent for Life Science Transformation and Change Management

It’s no surprise that process optimization and transformation ranks consistently as one of the most in-demand skills in BTG’s annual High-End Independent Talent Report. Big events like transformations, mergers and acquisitions, and reorganizations often require outside skills and expertise because reallocating existing employees can leave initiatives under-resourced and disrupt daily business activities. Other resourcing options can be equally limiting—from large consulting firms that aren’t cost effective for all needs to contingent staffing firms that aren’t built to deliver high-end talent. Even a new full-time hire will take time to make an impact and can be costly if they don’t work out.

In comparison, independent life science consultants, project managers, and subject matter experts can be deployed quickly and flexibly on demand to offer high-level strategic advice, integrate with internal teams, or drive and manage workstreams over the course of a holistic end-to-end transformation—from design and planning through implementation and scaling and sustaining.

Supporting Life Science Transformation at Every Stage

Each phase of a transformation builds upon the foundation laid by the preceding one. A meticulous approach ensures that strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and execution align seamlessly—minimizing risks, optimizing resources, and ultimately enhancing the likelihood of achieving the transformation’s overarching goals.

With strategic resourcing, life science companies are not only able to achieve greater success at each stage, they are often able to move through the transformation process more quickly and effectively—seeing real results sooner. Let’s examine how leaders across pharma, biopharma, medical device, distribution, and healthcare companies are tapping on-demand talent every step of the way.

How on-demand talent support every phase of a holistic end-to-end transformation

Developing a Vision for Success

The first phase of a transformation is crucial for laying the groundwork and determining the direction of the transformation initiative. The process begins with assessment and analysis, such as evaluating the existing state and identifying internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats.

In this phase, stakeholders are identified, and plans are made for thorough communication and sustained engagement. Vision and objectives are established, ROI and cost-benefit analyses are conducted, and risk mitigation strategies are laid out. From there, the strategic plan can be shaped and the change management framework developed. A budget must be detailed, alongside a clear evaluation of the resources needed (including talent) to execute the transformation.

Frequently, large consulting firms assist with this phase, providing deliverables to inform the vision of the subsequent phases. Independent life science talent can add a specialized layer of expertise here by offering insights into life science-specific regulatory nuances. Companies frequently tap independent experts to provide a third-party perspective, planning support, and to serve as a liaison between a consulting firm and company leadership, ensuring that the subsequent phases are well-informed, strategically aligned, and effectively executed.

In one recent case, the internal strategy and consulting group of an F500 pharma company was redesigning a customer-facing team and reached out to Business Talent Group (BTG) in need of strategic thinking and change management expertise. BTG delivered an organizational design and transformation consultant who had done similar work for other life science companies. The talent assessed the current state and then designed the potential future state vision, structure, and business processes.

Creating a Plan and the Roadmap to Get There

As a transformation progresses into the next phase, the focus shifts to translating the vision and objectives into a detailed strategic plan. In the life science industry, the planning phase of a transformation is uniquely intricate.

Industry leaders often tap independent talent to drive PMO design and project management. These consultants and experts collaborate closely with stakeholders to design a PMO and project frameworks that align with Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), and other industry-specific standards. They can guide the establishment of robust project management methodologies, ensuring that the transformation aligns with regulatory expectations and adheres to the highest standards of quality and compliance.

At every stage of a transformation, but perhaps most often in the planning phase, it’s valuable to bring in a PMO and subject matter expert to help support the creation of practical and impactful plans. For example, an F100 wholesale drug company was establishing an office of privacy and needed guidance for the stand-up process and expertise on compliance. BTG provided a former EY consultant with 20+ years’ experience building and managing effective compliance, ethics, and privacy programs to develop plans and procedures to ensure data protection and oversee an effective transformation.

In this stage, on-demand talent often play a crucial role in collaborating with key stakeholders to develop a roadmap that outlines specific initiatives, timelines, and milestones. This involves refining the strategic plan, further aligning it with the organization’s capabilities, and addressing any challenges identified in the initial assessment. This detailed refinement process accounts for the unique challenges and dependencies inherent to the life science industry, such as considerations for regulatory submission timelines, clinical trial milestones, and the integration of data management and analysis.

By fostering collaboration and accountability within project teams, independent professionals ensure that the roadmap is not only a guide that provides clear direction for the implementation phase, but moreover a blueprint for achieving excellence long after the transformation is complete.

Implementing Meaningful Change

In the implementation phase, expertise in change strategy and change management becomes indispensable. Working closely with internal change management teams and stakeholders, independent consultants are often tasked with conducting thorough impact assessments to ensure that changes do not compromise patient safety or data integrity and crafting communication plans that address the unique sensitivities of stakeholders in the life science ecosystem, including regulatory bodies, healthcare professionals, and patients. Industry leaders often tap independents to develop training programs to equip employees with the necessary skills to adapt to the changes introduced.

Case in point: A large life science organization was implementing a new organizational and operational framework and needed support to manage the roll-out. BTG provided a former McKinsey EM with extensive BD&L expertise and organizational change management experience. The talent drove the implementation with deliverables including a current state assessment, gap analysis, tool implementation, and training/enablement.

On-demand talent is a perfect resource to fill hands-on roles. Independent life science project managers have “been there, done that” experience, and they are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to step in quickly and serve as intermediaries between project teams, regulatory bodies, and PMOs, ensuring that projects are executed in alignment with regulatory submission timelines and data integrity requirements. Their contribution can ensure that the implementation phase upholds the highest standards of compliance and patient safety in the life science sector—and fosters a culture of continuous improvement within the team.

Scaling, Sustaining, and Optimizing the Transformation

The tech has been implemented, new operations have been adopted, most of the staff is trained, and leadership is evangelizing the new systems, but the transformation isn’t over. This final phase is all about measuring, improving, optimizing, and documenting the work that’s been done to ensure success.

On-demand talent remains a key resource, particularly in governance strategy, governance management, and continuous improvement. Collaborating closely with organizational leaders, independent experts are often brought in to develop decision-making frameworks that align with industry-specific regulations, define roles and responsibilities, and implement mechanisms for ongoing regulatory performance measurement.

The need for dedicated project management continues through this final phase of a transformation to support training and development, knowledge transfer, stakeholder communication, and KPI tracking.

In one case, the clinical development group of an F500 pharma company was undergoing a transformation of clinical processes with a goal of eliminating waste, reducing complexity, and increasing speed to market and patient access—and needed flexible project management across the transformation. BTG created a flexible project manager resourcing model that enabled the client to deploy a customized stable of project managers against various projects and workstreams as needs changed. Over the course of a two-year transformation, the team had five to 10 consultants deployed at any given time.

As organizations strive to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of life science transformation, the strategic deployment of on-demand talent proves to be a key differentiator in achieving sustained success and excellence—from creating the transformative vision to driving meaningful and lasting change.

Whether you need a classically trained management consultant to help you turn your vision into a roadmap or a detail-oriented project manager to manage workstreams, BTG’s talent team can help you find a perfect fit. And there’s no cost to explore a project. Reach out today to get started!

In recent years, the way we approach work has undergone a remarkable transformation, reshaping the very fabric of organizational dynamics. The traditional norms of fixed, rigid, and siloed workforces have given way to a new paradigm—one defined by agility, adaptability, and flexibility.

Companies today navigate a landscape marked by rapid changes, technological advancements, and shifting consumer behaviors, compelling them to reassess how they structure their teams and engage talent. This seismic shift has propelled the rise of the liquid talent model, revolutionizing the concept of work itself.

What Is Liquid Talent?

A “liquid talent” model describes a highly adaptable and dynamic staffing structure marked by a strategic transition away from the constraints of traditional full-time employment. Instead, companies are embracing a hybrid, liquid workforce approach—strategically supplementing in-house teams with on-demand, independent talent such as management consultants, interim executives, project managers, and industry and functional experts—to fill roles and gaps and provide expertise as needed at any given time.

A liquid talent model enables teams to rapidly scale up or down based on organizational needs—quickly and easily harnessing specialized skills for specific projects or periods.

The New Workforce Landscape

This framework was already growing in popularity before the pandemic, but shifts in the way we think about work broadly and the tech we have at our disposal, as well as the onslaught of stressors and opportunities of the past several years, have accelerated the pace of change. In fact, the number of full-time independents surged 20% in 2023 to 26 million—a remarkable 73% growth since 2019, according to MBO Partners. Independents now make up 45% of the US workforce. That’s a lot of talented professionals who are accessible only on the independent market!

In this talent pool, you’ll find seasoned executives who prefer working as interim leaders, classically trained consultants who want to do more hands-on work, and experts in cutting edge fields like artificial intelligence who can offer their knowledge to all manner of companies—and these professionals are all used to jumping into new environments and seamlessly collaborating with existing teams.

Whether the task at hand is pharmaceutical product development, digital transformation, or a post-merger integration, the skills needed for one stage are often different from the next. Companies can now bring in talent who have “been there, done that” every step of the way. They can assemble bespoke teams for specific projects or objectives and pivot swiftly without getting bogged down.

Benefits of Embracing the Liquid Talent Approach

1. Agility and Adaptability:

In today’s volatile business landscape, agility is paramount. The ability to swiftly respond to market shifts and tech advancements is a competitive advantage. Liquid talent offers unparalleled agility, allowing companies to assemble specialized teams quickly, scale operations efficiently, and adapt to changing business landscapes.

2. Access to Specialized Skills and Hard-to-Find Talent:

The traditional workforce model often limits companies to the skills they have in house or the talent on the full-time market. However, a more agile approach unlocks access to a diverse pool of experts worldwide—talent who choose to work independently because they value the flexibility, challenge, and satisfaction of project-based work. Companies can bring in individuals with niche expertise, ensuring that every project benefits from the best-suited talent available.

3. Cost Efficiency:

Maintaining a large permanent workforce comes with fixed costs, including salaries, benefits, and overhead expenses. Embracing a variable staffing approach enables companies to optimize costs by engaging resources only when necessary. This strategy has already been proven to be especially effective in professional services staffing—an industry characterized by frequent cycles of high and low demand— and in this time of constant change and uncertainty, corporate leaders are increasingly also coming to realize the cost benefits of staffing variability.

4. Innovation and Fresh Perspectives:

Diversity in talent brings diversity in ideas. The infusion of fresh perspectives from a varied talent pool fosters innovation and creativity within organizations. Liquid talent introduces new ways of thinking and problem-solving, driving continuous innovation and allowing traditional full-time employees daily opportunities to learn and upskill.

5. Enhanced Flexibility and Scalability:

By adopting a liquid talent strategy, companies can scale their workforce up or down rapidly, aligning with project demands or seasonal fluctuations. This flexibility allows for better resource allocation, ensuring optimal efficiency and productivity.

6. A Global Talent Pool:

In a digitally interconnected world, geographical boundaries are no longer barriers. Liquid talent enables companies to harness expertise from anywhere, fostering a truly globalized approach to business operations.

Your New Competitive Advantage

With today’s pace of change, embracing this paradigm shift isn’t just an option—it’s a strategic imperative for companies aiming to stay competitive.

By working with a partner like Business Talent Group (BTG), companies can quickly tap into a deep network of highly skilled talent. BTG carefully and compliantly curates, vets, and deploys these professionals to ensure they fit in with an organization’s culture and can work hand-in-hand with existing teams. BTG also provides ongoing oversight to ensure that projects are delivered on time and expectations are met.

Reach out today to find the perfect talent for your pressing project.

Tradition tends to bind organizations to outdated methods, even when evidence exists to prove the efficacy of a more modern approach. Often, it’s not until traditional methods become obsolete that lagging companies grudgingly shift away from convention, though their skepticism persists.

Today, workers can pick and choose opportunities, and the burgeoning independent talent pool offers a win-win solution. Unfettered by geographic restrictions, companies get access to specialized expertise without the overhead, and independent talent get greater flexibility and a more diverse array of projects.

Companies that embrace both digital-first and independent talent strategies will have the greatest advantage when it comes to finding talent, yet tradition remains an alluring refuge and, thus, misconceptions still exist. Here are two of the most pernicious:

If they were that talented, they would be in a full-time role.

Remember that the vast majority of independent workers are independent by choice—with only 21% saying a job loss drove their decision to go independent—and less than half (43%) would even consider returning to the traditional workforce. Instead they value autonomy and flexibility.

The independent professionals that BTG works with have proven track records and CVs full of applied expertise, including experience at top consulting firms and the world’s biggest companies. Simply put, their expertise and flexibility becomes your expertise and flexibility—to scale quickly, to strategize or execute on strategic work, or to fill leadership gaps while you search for a permanent hire. They weren’t overlooked for full-time roles; they chose to look beyond them.

They’re too senior to get their hands dirty.

You can’t judge independent talent by their previous job titles or assume they’re too senior to want to join your team in the trenches. Often, independents chose that path because they enjoy hands-on analysis—and prefer doing work to talking about it.

In one case, a global industrial company was creating a new commercial group to standardize processes across business lines. A large consulting firm had been brought in to strategize the plan, but once they left, the project’s executive sponsors needed help establishing the infrastructure, processes, and governance to execute it successfully.

BTG paired the company with an independent consultant who had previously worked at McKinsey and Roland Berger. He worked to clarify governance structures and design a PMO, then staffed it with internal resources and led it throughout the transformation.

However, despite the generally positive outlook, there are multiple hurdles associated with adoption. Some of the top challenges that organizations anticipate include:

• A lack of clarity on the regulation of AI
• A lack of engagement at senior levels
• Little understanding about where these technologies can be best applied
• Leaders are too busy with other things
• Concerns about data lineage, provenance, and security

As companies seek to gain insight on AI opportunities and chart a path through disruption, highly skilled independent experts are proving to be invaluable in helping leaders harness these advanced technologies in pursuit of their business goals. In fact,

Business Talent Group’s 2023 Skills Index revealed spiking demand for talent with the strategic, technical, and operational skills to help, including a 100% YOY increase in requests for AI and machine learning skills, another +100% YOY increase for data science skills, and tech and systems implementation ranking as the #6 most in-demand skill overall. With 71% of executives saying their organizations don’t have the in-house expertise to adequately adopt generative AI, it’s no wonder independent, on-demand talent have become a key resource in this area.

Let’s dig into four key ways to leverage on-demand talent on your AI journey:

1. Leverage on-demand talent to support AI Assessment and Strategy

McKinsey’s recent State of AI report revealed that while AI adoption and investment continue to rise, some organizations are definitively pulling ahead. These AI high performers are seeing the biggest bottom-line impact from their investments and are more likely to report that AI is driving revenue. One key commonality among them: linking AI strategy to business outcomes.

But when the talent needed to develop and implement a strategy for this emerging technology is in short supply, it’s easy to fall behind. Many of today’s best AI business strategists and tech experts are working independently—stepping into an organization quickly to assess AI opportunities, craft an AI strategy, or create a practical roadmap for experimentation and beyond. Let’s look at how two BTG clients recently made significant strides by tapping independent AI strategy consultants:

The business development team of an intelligence technology company wanted to explore and take advantage of recent AI developments within a manufacturing environment. BTG provided a knowledgeable AI and new markets specialist with extensive experience finding whitespace opportunities, building business plans, creating market entry and adjacency strategy, and building corporate innovation units and capabilities. The consultant evaluated the customer base and built recommendations for the top emerging areas in AI by industry vertical.

In another case, a multinational technology corporation was looking for a hands-on consultant to conduct market landscape assessments, specifically related to startups utilizing AI.BTG sourced an impact-driven innovator with extensive growth strategy, marketing, and business development expertise. The consultant produced the requested landscape analysis and research that identified and informed about the leading competitors and startups in the space and aggregated competitive embedded technology products organized by vertical.

2. Data Foundation Development is an essential step on an AI journey

According to McKinsey, key AI roles are shifting fast—favoring data and machine learning engineers and generative AI adoption experts over last year’s software engineers.

With the talent pool for full-time expertise drying up as demand heightens, leaders can access independent, on-demand data scientists and advanced analytics consultants to refine data strategies, data processes, data organization, data quality, and data security to capture the most value from AI from BTG.

For instance, a leading pharmaceutical company needed an advisor to inform the company on sustainable capabilities within its digital workforce. BTG connected the client with a former PwC leader with a background in agile product management, strategic programs, go-to-market strategies, and proficiency with emerging technologies including AI and automation.The consultant was instrumental in establishing and maintaining health monitoring across the clients’ ecosystem of intelligent automation solutions and guided internal automation teams to build and refine capabilities to kickstart solution maturation while supporting the discovery of innovative use cases across the enterprise.

Or, when a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation sought to validate its Long COVID model, generalize an AI model, and establish disease definition workflows to other disease types, BTG paired the client with an award-winning scholar and entrepreneur who holds a PhD from MIT in artificial intelligence and has extensive experience in technical and strategic consulting. The team wanted to include user interface development for marketers to surface market access related insights and provide guidance on data processing, modeling, operationalization, and visualization efforts across multiple workstreams. The consultant supported the initiative by cleansing and preparing data assets for ingestion, characterizing performance, and preparing figures and materials to communicate results as a scientific paper in order to prepare the Long COVID model for deployment by health care providers. He also developed a tool to map features from literature to features in Optum and generalized the algorithm and modeling framework for prediction to create data-driven disease definitions.

3. Digital transformation starts with AI innovation

It’s no secret that digital transformation means much more than plugging in new tech. Successful transformation requires deep and meaningful shifts in the way a company operates and requires a wide range of expertise. AI is no exception. BTG’s network of trained management consultants, project managers, and change managers are exactly what’s needed to lead critical transformations and help clients navigate disruptive change, digitally or otherwise.

For instance, the data management and governance team within the neuroscience unit at an F500 pharma company was looking for a senior business analyst to support the re-architecture of various data feeds within their internal data warehouse—with the ultimate goal of breaking dependency on the internal system in favor of establishing direct connections to their third-party managed database. BTG paired the client with a hands-on data scientist and former Senior Analyst at Novartis who worked to ensure data quality by monitoring operational quality control and evaluating data anomalies to determine remediation.

Additionally, the talent defined and documented business and functional requirements for new and enhanced data capabilities, developed business and data process maps, swim lane diagrams, and definitions for data operation, and performed and managed User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for new data capabilities.

In another case, the AI and machine learning team at an F500 chemicals company needed strong digital talent to support ongoing digital transformation efforts.BTG provided a flexible, on-demand solution: a skilled strategy, digital transformation, and product management leader and McKinsey data product owner with key experience in Agile/Scrum product management, data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science.

4. Interim leaders are adept to advance AI capabilities and internal know-how

BTG’s 2023 High-End Independent Talent Report revealed that there has been a significant increase in demand for interim leadership—up 116%, to be exact. And while these interim executives fit the bill for an extensive list of initiatives, they’re especially keen to tackle special projects. By engaging an interim AI, data, digital, or tech leader with experience overseeing the strategic direction of technology, data, and IT functions at an enterprise scale, organizations can advance big-picture initiatives and learn from industry thought leaders directly, fueling awareness and knowledge from the inside out.

For example, a UK-based medical affairs and healthcare communications company faced challenges with its IT team—ineffective internal leadership coupled with inexperienced team members had led to stagnation and a lack of focus. In order to revitalize the function and get a handle on team dynamics, the CHRO reached out to BTG looking for an interim CIO. BTG provided a seasoned UK-based technology executive and strategist with 25+ years of experience as an IT leader. He was able to manage the team effectively while helping the organization develop a plan to transform the IT function—addressing organizational development and assessing people, skills, and technology. He also acted as a strategic advisor to the CEO on key technology concerns.

Or, consider this example in which a large healthcare company had recently launched a subsidiary and was in the process of setting up the organization and laying out the infrastructure. The client reached out to BTG, looking for hands-on interim leaders to step in as CIO and CISO, as well as several IT experts to support them.

The interim CIO took a hands-on approach and collaborated with leaders of other business units to ultimately create a product delivery function, develop a tech platform and IT infrastructure, and deliver a beta release for physician users, and the interim CISO who stepped in to work with the product and development teams on business requirements, maintained and executed on security-related controls, assessed the current risk state, provided recommendations, and directed the staff in security planning and design. BTG also provided a support team that included a senior IT architect, IT design consultant, and technical project manager.

AI experts are hard to come by, so don’t wait around

Quick adopters and AI innovators have competitive advantage and will retain the upper hand so long as slow adopters and skeptics persist. While questions and challenges abound, the opportunities and benefits connected with AI are almost endless. From automation, recommendation, generation, translation, and more, this is just the tip of the iceberg for AI business deployment.

For leaders looking to keep pace with the near-constant technological advances in today’s business landscape, explore new horizons with BTG and our network of high-end independent talent.

Dynamic shifts in the global business landscape necessitate a new level of agility. With so much disruption and innovation happening each day, companies often require flexible, high-caliber leadership to steer transformative initiatives, address sudden gaps, or drive rapid change.

Uniquely positioned at the crossroads of expertise and adaptability are interim executives. These seasoned professionals offer a compelling solution for firms looking to augment their strategic capabilities on a short-term basis and have immediate access to independent talent.

Understanding When to Engage Interim Executives

Identifying the right time to engage an interim executive is as imperative as understanding their potential. Four scenarios often necessitate their involvement: leadership gaps, sudden departures, special projects or transformations, and the need for specific expertise.

In periods of transition or growth, organizations may face an absence of strategic leadership. For example, when expanding into a new market, a company may not have the necessary experience on its leadership team. However, an interim executive with expertise in that market can lead a company through expansion and help establish permanent leadership.

Unforeseen resignations can disrupt operations, harming both internal morale and external stakeholder confidence. Interim executives, with their readiness and ability to step into complex situations, provide stability, continuity, and expertise during these challenging times. They ensure the organization’s strategic objectives remain on track, buying time for a thorough search for a permanent replacement.

Embarking on complex projects like digital transformations or post-merger integrations often requires special skills or added leadership. Interim executives fill this gap, providing needed expertise without long-term obligations. For instance, a firm lacking a seasoned chief digital officer for a digital overhaul can rely on an interim executive. This approach ensures successful execution and a smooth digital transition.

Sometimes, organizations require expertise not present in their current leadership, such as regulatory compliance in a new territory or advanced technology implementation. For example, consider a firm navigating regulatory changes in a foreign market; an interim executive with relevant experience becomes invaluable, facilitating a smooth transition through these complexities.

When Not To Use Interims

Interim executives bring a unique blend of skills and perspectives to an organization. However, successfully integrating them is never guaranteed; and might not be wise in specific situations. One key scenario stands out: when there’s a lack of internal alignment regarding the value of an interim executive.

Internal alignment – the consensus among team members, other executives, and stakeholders – is paramount when considering an interim appointment. The engagement could fall short of expectations if your organization lacks a unified understanding of the interim’s role and value. It’s not only about the contributions an interim can make but also how these are perceived and supported within the organization.

By the nature of their role, interim executives interact with various levels within the organization, so alignment on their value is essential to avoid miscommunication and unmet expectations. Any discord can undermine the interim’s impact, impede them from maximizing their potential, and pose unwarranted challenges that set up both the interim and the organization for failure.

Developing an Effective Plan for Utilizing Interims

A well-structured utilization plan is essential to unlocking interim executives’ full potential. It entails recognizing the need, defining objectives, and creating a robust onboarding plan. While these steps require some thought about your goals for the engagement and internal processes, they can happen fast if you have the proper buy-in and alignment from stakeholders.

Effective planning starts with identifying the need. Whether you’re filling a leadership gap, spearheading a transformation project, or requiring specific expertise, recognizing where an interim executive can bring value is the first step.

Outlining specific objectives for an interim role is crucial once the need is recognized. This clarity sets expectations and aids in performance assessment. If a company hires an interim executive to lead a digital transformation, it can establish clear objectives, such as completing the project within a set timeline and achieving specific benchmarks.

Adopting a strategic approach to using interim executives instead of sporadic, isolated engagements is a best practice that amplifies value and improves outcomes. Even though not all companies have an approach outlined, the ones that do can reap substantial rewards. Incorporating interim executives into the broader talent strategy promotes forward-thinking while facilitating swift pivots in response to various business challenges and opportunities. Moreover, it’s a practice that can enhance internal alignment, foster a shared understanding of the interim’s role and value, and result in better value and outcomes.

A crucial factor for interim executives is efficient onboarding and aligning them with your organization’s most immediate priorities and culture. Clear timelines, responsibilities, and “rules of the road” for the engagement—outlining team management structures and decision-making authority—aid in this transition. Partnerships with advisors like Business Talent Group (BTG), who are proficient in engagement scoping, talent delivery, and knowledge transfer, can expedite this process and ensure a successful start for your interim executive.

Navigating the Transition: Integrating Interim Executives

The arrival of an interim executive heralds a phase of transition, one that needs careful handling to ensure successful integration and collaboration.

Companies must clearly explain the business and its objectives to interim executives to ensure they can hit the ground running. A solid induction plan is crucial to enable this. This type of plan allows interims to meet the team, better understand their duties, and adapt to the company’s culture.

Interim executives must form productive relationships with permanent staff. Encouraging open communication, setting clear expectations, and promoting collaboration can foster cohesion and a positive working environment.

A key part of this transition phase is knowledge transfer. Interim executives bring a wealth of industry insights and experience. Creating channels for sharing this expertise with permanent staff is a game-changer.

Post-Engagement Strategy: Beyond the Interim Role

Planning a post-engagement strategy is a crucial step in maximizing the potential of interim executives in business strategy. Let’s explore two primary aspects: preparing for succession or transitioning back to permanent leadership and rolling into projects to support permanent leaders.

First, preparing for succession or transitioning back to permanent leadership is crucial for any organization. For instance, if a CEO suddenly departs, an interim leader can stabilize the company and prepare for a smooth transition. Moreover, the interim executive can coach internal candidates who may step up into the permanent role and sets the groundwork for the incoming CEO—whether they are an internal or external hire—to take the reins.

Second, the talent can further enable a seamless transition by rolling into projects to support permanent leaders, bridging the gaps between strategic vision and execution. For example, a Fortune 500 company undergoing restructuring can benefit from an interim CFO’s extensive experience turning around struggling businesses. The interim CFO initiates projects to realign financial processes and controls, providing immediate relief. Once the firm hires a permanent CFO, the interim exec can transition to a supporting role informed by their prior experience in the CFO seat, ensuring the successful implementation of value-adding projects.

Pitfalls of Reallocating Internal Talent as a Substitute for Interims

Reallocating internal talent sounds like a cost-effective option when considering alternatives to hiring interim executives. However, this approach carries several pitfalls that businesses must weigh.

Adding more responsibilities to an existing employee’s workload can overburden them, leading to burnout. Let’s take a scenario where a current executive takes on an additional role in crisis management. Despite initial enthusiasm, the added workload reduces productivity, lowers morale, and leads to resignations.

Transferring an employee to fill a critical role can deplete resources in their original department, disrupt workflow, and create inefficiencies. Imagine a large manufacturing firm temporarily promoting an important engineer to a project management role. The resulting gap in the engineering team would negatively impact their productivity.

Asking an employee to assume unfamiliar roles can set an otherwise capable leader up for failure. For example, what happens if a company tasks an accounting leader to own investor communications? Even if the accounting leader has financial expertise, they don’t necessarily have the expertise or ability to effectively communicate to investors, resulting in diminished confidence.

Case Studies: Effective Use of Interims in Different Industries

To fully understand the potential of interim executives, we must look to various industries for concrete examples. Life sciences, private equity, and consumer/retail are just a few examples of sectors that showcase the vital role of these executives and how an experienced on-demand talent partner like BTG can help.

Life Sciences

A rapidly growing public biotech company faced an urgent gap in its Total Rewards department. At the same time, it desired a forward-thinking retention strategy. To address these dual tactical and strategic needs, they sought assistance from BTG.

BTG swiftly connected the company with an HR consultant with Big 4 consulting experience and skills in process design, compensation, and employee relations. This specialist simultaneously kept day-to-day operations running smoothly and developed a future-focused strategy, providing much-needed support and strategic relief for the CHRO.

Private Equity

A private-equity-backed consumer apparel firm contacted BTG to find an experienced interim CFO to manage critical financial operations. It needed visibility into the business and to drive key initiatives related to audit and tax filings, monthly close activities, a rolling CF model, and the setup of ABL. This situation reflects a broader trend where CFOs are the most in-demand for interim C-suite roles, and the finance function broadly is the greatest area of demand for interim executives at all levels. 

In this case, BTG effectively matched the company with a seasoned consultant, boasting two decades of experience at McKinsey and Kearney, specializing in reshaping finance functions and business strategies. This story underlines the crucial role of interim executives in creating value in portfolio companies for private equity firms and BTG’s unrivaled capacity to satisfy this escalating demand.

Consumer/Retail

A multi-billion-dollar grocer had a crucial e-commerce optimization project which faced difficulties due to the absence of a chief data officer. To avoid delays, the chief customer and digital officer contacted BTG for temporary assistance. 

BTG provided a former Apple data science manager specializing in digital transformation and creating business value through data analytics. The independent consultant created a plan, set a structure, and developed an analytical framework that fulfilled internal and external user requirements. As a result, the project moved forward successfully, allowing the executive team to concentrate on long-term hiring needs.

Partner with Business Talent Group

Interim executives can provide targeted expertise and deep operating experience that drives positive transformations in today’s rapidly changing business world. By partnering with BTG, companies can capitalize on this dynamic talent to enhance performance and seamlessly navigate critical transitions. The key to unlocking the potential of interim executives lies in knowing when to bring them on board. By working with a partner like BTG, businesses can strengthen their resilience and ensure a thriving future in a competitive marketplace.

This shift presents us with three distinct types of executives: acting, interim, and fractional. Acting executives, often hired internally, take on additional temporary positions while fulfilling their primary duties. On the other hand, interim executives are seasoned professionals stepping in during transition periods, filling leadership voids with proficiency. Lastly, fractional executives, often handling roles across multiple organizations, bring a part-time or project-focused approach.

This shift isn’t a mere trend but a reflection of a new business reality. Industries across the board acknowledge and accept this change, prompted by the need for agility, versatility, and innovation. Let’s take a detailed look at this transformation.

Acting Executives: The Stand-In Solution

Acting executives represent an organization’s adaptability, stepping up in times of need. These internal leaders temporarily assume additional roles, often juggling their existing responsibilities with new ones. For instance, there may be a company where the CEO has taken an unexpected leave. In such cases, a CFO with a deep understanding of the business can step up, taking on the acting CEO role while also carrying out their CFO duties. This dual role allows the company to maintain its course, with the acting executive effectively guiding the team through the sudden change.

Acting Executives: Navigating Temporary Vacancies

When a key role becomes temporarily vacant, companies can rely on acting executives to maintain their momentum. If a CIO departs and the company has yet to find a permanent replacement, an executive with ample knowledge of the digital landscape can step in and keep the company on track as an acting CIO.

Interim Executives: The Power of Temporary Leadership

During times of transition, crisis, or opportunity, interim executives provide invaluable assistance to organizations and offer deep operating experience in similar roles throughout their careers. They possess extensive knowledge and expertise, allowing them to easily step in, provide temporary leadership, fill gaps, and address specific challenges.

In the course of business, emergencies are bound to happen. For instance, a firm may unexpectedly lose a key executive, causing operational disruption. However, the firm can engage an interim executive to restore stability, minimize disruption, and ensure business continuity while seeking a permanent replacement.

Transition periods, such as mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures, are often complex. For example, take a private equity firm integrating a new acquisition. An interim executive adept at such transitions can steer the company effectively during this transformative phase.

Sometimes, a unique project requires niche, short-term expertise—particularly in constantly evolving consumer markets. For example, a retailer struggling to launch an e-commerce fulfillment division may benefit from an interim executive with digital transformation experience to spearhead this initiative.

To take a look at another industry, executive changes perpetually impact financial services companies. For instance, say a bank has to maneuver a period between an incumbent director’s departure and the replacement’s start date. Seeking an interim operations leader to steady the ship during this time is often the best action. 

Fractional Executives: The Project-Based Approach

Fractional executives personify the agility and adaptability of the modern business world. As independent talent, they assume leadership roles on a part-time basis, often serving multiple organizations simultaneously. A fractional CMO could work two days a week for one company and another day per week for another organization. They embody flexibility, guiding discrete projects such as digital transformations or technology implementations.

If you’re a business owner, have you ever faced challenges when dealing with limited resources or rapidly changing environments? If so, implementing project-based strategies can help address these challenges. This concept, called projectizing, aims to optimize resource allocation and adaptability. But how does it work exactly? By beginning with the desired outcome and reverse-engineering the skills needed, teams can effectively respond to dynamic conditions and inject new expertise. For example, imagine a company entering the Chinese market, where conventional approaches falter. The strategic incorporation of a fractional executive with expertise in Asian markets—possessing targeted experience in areas as varied as regulatory landscapes, logistics and supply chain, or consumer preferences—can offer the specific know-how for success, showcasing the value of a projectizing.

Fractional executives are not just efficient; they’re also cost-effective. Take an e-commerce startup, for instance. It may lack the resources for a full-time CISO or CIO but needs expert guidance on cybersecurity. A fractional executive offers the required expertise without the long-term financial commitment, making it an excellent solution for a growing company.

Different industries can also benefit from fractional executives. Imagine a manufacturing company looking to double its supply chain throughput. It could use a fractional executive with a strong operations background. Or how about a digital marketing company aiming to scale its user acquisition strategies? A fractional executive with solid experience in growth hacking and digital marketing can provide the proper guidance.

Comparing Each to Traditional Executives

As businesses evolve, alternatives to traditional executive leadership offer distinctive advantages, standing up on cost, flexibility, experience, specific expertise, and commitment.

Interim vs. Traditional

With specialized skills and cost savings, interim executives offer unique value. Companies often engage them on a time-bound basis, tailoring their roles to address specific challenges during critical periods. While not always replacing the need for long-term commitments, they afford the company valuable time to stabilize, experiment, and make informed decisions about a long-term hire.

In some situations, these roles are purposely temporary, nullifying the need for ongoing commitments. Although generally, the idea of “temporary-by-design” roles better fit the project-based framework, this idea still makes interim executives an economical choice compared to traditional executives.

Fractional vs. Traditional

Fractional executives, holding simultaneous roles in different organizations, deliver experienced leadership at reduced costs. Fractional executives deliver experienced leadership at reduced costs—as much as 60-70% less than traditional executives, due to the part-time nature of their engagement, according to a Reforge.com report. In temporary-by-design roles, they can lend extra muscle and particular focus to critical projects and free up leadership capacity to improve their focus on other priorities. An experienced fractional executive who can stretch up and down—completing critical tasks, providing meaningful bandwidth to the org, and thinking strategically—can enormously benefit growing organizations.

Acting vs. Traditional

Acting executives outshine their traditional counterparts in flexibility and commitment. They step into interim roles without the typical search and hiring costs associated with a new traditional executive. Moreover, acting positions can be outstanding stepping stones for elevated roles. For instance, a CFO assuming the acting CEO role can showcase cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and a culture of internal growth if all goes well. Yet, an acting executive will only work by exercising caution and balancing the immense workload with adequate support. Be wary that piling too many responsibilities on a single leader can lead to burnout and detract from their primary duties without the necessary support provided.

The Synergistic Approach: Interim and Fractional Executives Supporting Acting Leadership

In the dynamic business ecosystem, leveraging a mix of leadership types, such as interim and fractional executives, bolsters acting leaders and yields remarkable results.

Interim and fractional executives inject distinct expertise, offering vital support to acting leaders. Acting CEOs can rely on an interim CFO’s financial prowess or a fractional CMO’s marketing acumen to guide decision-making, thereby enhancing organizational performance.

Project-based talent integrates seamlessly into this model. With a fractional executive driving a crucial transformation or functional buildout, an acting leader can stay focused on overarching strategies without getting mired in project-specific challenges.

Synergistic approaches offer numerous benefits, such as cost-effectiveness and flexible expertise deployment. However, it also requires careful orchestration to ensure clear roles, seamless collaboration, and effective communication across all leadership levels.

Choosing the Right Executive Leadership Model for Your Business

Selecting the optimal executive leadership model can be a daunting task. Nonetheless, carefully analyzing your organization’s needs and the potential benefits of each model will guide your decision-making.

Assessing business needs is vital to selecting the right executive model. Sometimes, an interim executive best suits short-term leadership gaps and strategic initiatives. On the other hand, ongoing part-time needs or temporary-by-design project leadership may call for a fractional executive. Finally, acting leadership may be ideal for immediate vacancies requiring stability and an established reputation within the organization. Each scenario differs, underlining the importance of thoroughly evaluating business requirements.

Integrating these leaders requires a well-thought-out onboarding process and a clear communication strategy. Moreover, fostering a culture of inclusivity and collaboration optimizes their impact, enhancing the value they offer your organization.

The Future of Executive Leadership

As we gaze into the horizon of executive leadership, a seismic shift is taking place. Independent talent is steering the helm of leadership, introducing more dynamic and flexible models for the C-suite.

As independent talent revolutionizes executive leadership, it creates agile solutions to unique business challenges. Business Talent Group (BTG) exemplified the transformative power of independent talent in executive leadership when a UK healthcare firm needed tech leadership support. Providing an experienced interim CIO, BTG revitalized the team, spearheaded the development of a transformation strategy, and gave the CEO vital technology advice. 

Expect to see an increase in the use of interim, fractional, and acting executives. Businesses recognize these flexible models’ value, particularly in navigating uncertain economic conditions.  

Moreover, expect to see the rise of “portfolio careers,” where executives and independent consultants concurrently serve in multiple interim or fractional roles, enriching their expertise and bringing a broader perspective to each role. Ultimately, executive leadership will become more flexible, diverse, and adaptive than ever before.

The Key Takeaways

When it comes to leadership, companies have more options than ever before. Interim, fractional, and acting leadership roles offer unique advantages that traditional leadership roles may not have. These non-traditional roles prioritize agility and adaptability, allowing businesses to remain flexible and cost-effective while achieving their strategic goals.

Businesses must embrace these new leadership models and consider how to integrate them into their organizational structure. By doing so, they can unlock new potentials and ensure a more robust, versatile, and resilient future for their business. Thus, with thoughtful planning and implementation, companies can leverage these dynamic, on-demand executive roles as powerful tools in their strategic arsenal.

On-demand talent partners like Business Talent Group provide essential guidance in decision-making and integration, utilizing a depth of experience in matching organizations with the right leadership model. Their unique insights can equip you to navigate this complex landscape effectively.

Today’s workforce is roiled by constant change, competition, and uncertainty in the market. Leaders are looking for niche know-how, professional prowess, and innovation that excites to maintain momentum in the turbulent business landscape.

But even with the best leadership teams in place, there will always be open roles, new opportunities, and fast-moving transformations and transitions. According to this year’s High-End Independent Talent Report, there’s been a significant increase in demand (+116% YOY) for interim leadership at all levels. With their strategic expertise and operating experience at industry-leading organizations, these on-demand leaders enable organizations to align skills and leadership for the immediate future.

When it comes down to it, lingering skills gaps and indecisive leadership will cause businesses to lag behind the competition, or worse, cede the game completely. Let us walk you through the latest data and today’s top trends so you can better explore your options amid uncertainty.

The finance function is focusing on fluidity

The most significant demand for interim leadership is in the office of the CFO, with interim CFO requests increasing by 103% YOY, buoyed by the growing complexity of and turnover in the CFO role. Other key finance roles are also highly in demand with Controller taking the spot as the fastest-growing interim C-suite role (+233%), and 43% of interim requests at all levels originating from needs within finance (+71%). Today’s tumult is the aftershock of events earlier this year, and top companies are still fighting to figure out how to navigate their financial needs in this environment.

Above all else, there’s demand to fill C-suite seats

Amid widespread talent shortages, renewed focus on work-life balance, and ongoing market uncertainty, top levels of leadership are experiencing rapid change and transformation. Sourcing the skills needed can be difficult in a short period of time, which is why companies are turning to on-demand talent for experienced leadership at the C-suite level (+78%), with especially acute needs for CEOs (+220%), CHROs (+100%), and Chief Transformation Officers (+100%). These needs are commonly seen in the private equity space, as firms seek skilled interim leadership to help their portfolio companies drive significant transformation initiatives, build out business functions, and experiment with leadership profiles ahead of the long-term hire.

IT and tech talent are in demand

Amid skyrocketing interest in generative AI, 5G, cloud solutions, automation, and more, the competition for right-fit skills and expertise is fierce. If you are looking to augment areas such as software development, data analytics, and cybersecurity, an interim IT or tech leader can lend a hand. It’s no wonder demand for IT and tech transformation projects and tech and system implementation each rose about 20%. Top tech executives have a knack for knowing what’s what even as the trends ebb and flow, making them well-equipped to innovate and enhance your business.

Human resource heroes help you help others

HR is the backbone to every organization, and their critical place in the modern workforce can’t be glossed over. When there’s a lull in the market or threats of further uncertainty, having the right human capital in place can be a game-changing move. Interim HR executives have the capacity and skillset to hit the ground running on DE&I initiatives, improve organizational design and effectiveness, review and restructure compensation packages, and manage all things people amid layoffs, hiring freezes, and reorganizations or restructures while maintaining day-to-day employee operations and relations.

Operations leaders keep the ball moving org-wide

It’s no secret that even the smallest disruption can have lasting impacts on an organization, be that in terms of cost or in required recovery labor. At all levels through the role of the COO, interim operations leaders can come in, identify the problem, and strategize solutions on day one if need be. If there’s no problem to solve, they can support internal development efforts and focus on improving efficiency, sustainability, and resilience through process optimization or reprioritization.

Interim executives are outside-the-box solutions for today’s problems

What’s stopping you from investing in an interim executive? Conversations show that hesitancy stems from outdated myths such as the idea that interim leaders are only useful in crisis situations. That couldn’t be further from the truth, because these industry leaders are ideal for a wide variety of situations. Here are some of the many services an interim executive can provide:

• Fill a temporary leadership or skill gap
• Lead and manage a team during a merger or acquisition
• Overhaul operations and optimize for growth
• Provide stability, continuity, and an outside POV
• Provide a temporary-by-design solution for immediate priorities
• Stand in as effective leadership on day one
• Pilot and support new launches, initiatives, programs, and strategies
• Improve performance and maximize revenue
• Help you experiment with and shape the leadership profile needed for a permanent hire
• Get a newly hired permanent leader up to speed avoid disruption
• Seamlessly transition to project-based work to help the new-in-seat leader hit the ground running

If that doesn’t get the wheels turning, we offer complimentary consultations and have an extensive library of case studies and resources exploring the vast possibilities interim executives bring to the table.

Get started with an interim executive

On-demand interim executives bring the most in-demand skills and expertise to the table with extensive in-seat and on-the-ground experience. If you have a gap to fill or if you’ve simply been looking to try something new, join savvy business leaders at top companies who are innovating with on-demand talent in critical capacities. Loop in Business Talent Group so we can pair you with right-fit talent who can tackle your top initiatives with insight you won’t find anywhere else.

Book a free consultation today to explore how on-demand talent can support your team. There’s no upfront cost to explore a project or interim engagement.

Please note: This post is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need advice about entering into an NDA or any other contractual agreement, you should consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

Credibility, consistency, and quality of work are among the top fundamental needs for becoming and maintaining your status as a successful independent consultant. Another important requirement is the ability to manage client confidentiality with care and discretion.

One way businesses can ensure confidentiality is through a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or confidentiality agreement. In this post, we’ll delve into the world of NDAs by providing an NDA definition, outlining the purpose these agreements serve, as well as providing you with essential insights on how to navigate client confidentiality needs effectively.

What is a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)?

A non-disclosure agreement, also known as an NDA, is a legally binding contract established between two or more parties that outlines the information they wish to protect to ensure that it will remain confidential. This type of agreement may also be referred to by other names, such as a confidentiality agreement (CA), a confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), or a proprietary information agreement (PIA). Once an NDA is signed, the parties outlined within that agreement legally cannot disclose the specified information detailed to anyone unauthorized to do so.

Understanding the purposes of non-disclosure agreements

NDAs are most commonly used to help safeguard sensitive business, technical, or proprietary information from being disclosed to unauthorized individuals or entities. Their purpose is to:

• Establish expectations and obligations
  As an NDA clearly outlines which business information is protected, guidance on how to handle trade secrets, and the consequences for employees or consultants who violate the agreement.
  
• Protect intellectual property
  Businesses often rely on their intellectual property as a competitive advantage. NDAs ensure that proprietary information, including business plans, product designs, marketing strategies, or trade secrets, remains confidential and secure from potential competitors.
• Facilitate collaborative partnerships
  NDAs foster collaboration between parties involved in a project. By clearly defining the scope of confidential information and its permitted uses, consultants can work closely with clients, discuss sensitive matters freely, and propose innovative solutions without the fear of compromising proprietary knowledge.

Three types of NDAs

1. Unilateral – Also known as a one-way NDA, unilateral agreements only protect the confidential information of one party. This type of NDA is the most common and most often used when companies need to share confidential information such as trade secrets, business and development plans, pricing data, or technical information with employees, partners, clients, and other stakeholders.
2. Bilateral – Also known as mutual NDAs or two-way NDAs, these agreements require both parties to disclose confidential information. Each party can also limit how the other party will use and share the information. These agreements are most common when the parties involved need to exchange a lot of private business information during negotiations, such as during a corporate takeover, joint venture, merger, or acquisition.
3. Multilateral – These multiparty agreements are most often utilized in complex, negotiation-heavy deals involving three or more parties where at least one will disclose information to the other parties and require the prohibited information from further disclosure. This agreement can streamline confidentiality needs across multiple parties and avoid the need for separate bilateral or unilateral NDAs across parties.

An NDA, regardless of type, is a critical tool for establishing trust and enabling open and trusted lines of communication.

The DNA of an NDA

NDAs use very specific language to ensure the agreement can be enforceable in court. Before you sign, check to make sure that the non-disclosure agreement clearly defines:

• Proper identification of all parties in the agreement
  An NDA should identify the disclosing party (the entity sharing confidential information) and the receiving party (the entity receiving the information).
  
• What is considered confidential information
  An NDA should explicitly define the types of information considered confidential, such as proprietary technology, financial data, customer information, marketing plans, or any other information the disclosing party wishes to protect. It is also standard for an NDA to define what is not considered confidential information, such as information that has entered the public domain through a source other than the parties.
  
• Clarity regarding non-disclosure and non-use obligations
  An NDA should clearly outline the obligations of the receiving party to maintain confidentiality beyond the agreed-upon project or collaboration.
• The duration of the agreement
  The NDA should specify how long the receiving party must protect the disclosed information. Some NDAs have a fixed time frame, while others may extend indefinitely.
  
• Requests that are deemed unlawful
  An NDA should not request anything illegal from the parties involved. For example, it would be illegal to request for the recipient to engage in withholding information that would be considered a legal duty to report.
  

Navigating Client Confidentiality Needs

Understand the scope

As a legally binding contract, NDAs can carry serious consequences for employees and consultants who violate the agreement, resulting in a lawsuit. Before signing into an agreement, carefully review the NDA to grasp the breadth of information covered and request clarity on what can be shared, what can’t, and the permissible use of confidential information as needed. Also, sometimes companies include non-confidentiality obligations such as non-solicitation terms in an NDA. These may be appropriate depending on the context, but make sure you understand what you are agreeing to and can maintain those commitments.

Adhere to best practices

Familiarize yourself with best practices in information security, confidentiality, labor compliance, and contracting processes.

Safeguard the data

Take proactive measures to protect client data and confidential information throughout your engagement. Utilizing secure cloud storage and encrypted communication channels can demonstrate your commitment to maintaining the confidentiality of your clients. For BTG guidance on how to reinforce your tech security and find tech support as an independent consultant, visit here.

Share information on a need-to-know basis

Limit access to confidential information only to individuals who require it to help minimize the risk of inadvertent disclosure and ensure that all sensitive information remains within a trusted circle.

Maintain documentation

Keep an updated record of all NDAs signed, noting any instances where confidential information is shared or accessed and terms for the agreement. Maintaining clear documentation helps demonstrate your commitment to client confidentiality and serves as evidence of your adherence to contractual obligations.

The Bottom Line

Client confidentiality is more than a legal requirement; it is the cornerstone of your reputation as a trusted advisor and expert in your field. As an independent consultant, your ability to navigate non-disclosure agreements and confidently protect sensitive information reflects your professional reputation and standards. By protecting confidential information, you position yourself as a reliable and trustworthy consultant, ensuring long-term success and a steady stream of satisfied clients.

With Business Talent Group, talented independent consultants and businesses seeking talent can rest easy with best-in-class information security, confidentiality, labor compliance, and contracting processes that adhere to the strict requirements of leading organizations. Join or learn more about the BTG talent network here.

The role of interim executives in business is becoming increasingly prominent. Catalyzed by an evolving corporate world that values agility, adaptability, and short-term specialized expertise, many organizations are discovering the power of interim leaders.

However, as with many relatively new paradigms, several misconceptions paint a skewed picture of interim executives. Unfortunately, many of these myths have kept businesses from seeking the help they need during transition and growth. The fact is that many companies can benefit from the expertise and experience of interim executives in their organizations. Dispelling these myths is critical to ensure leaders understand the value of interim executives and why more organizations are taking advantage of their services.

Myth #1: Interim Executives Are All Retirees

Many assume interim executives are all retirees, suggesting they are older individuals seeking part-time or less demanding work after retiring from a full-time career. This myth likely arises because some choose such roles to continue contributing their skills and experience in defined, short-term engagements.

However, interim executives represent a diverse age group, including mid-career professionals and young executives. The average age of an interim executive is 52 years old, which means there are plenty of executives, both older and younger, working as independent talent. Some executives opt for temporary roles for more flexibility, allowing them to gain experience in different industries or balance other commitments. Interim roles can be highly demanding and require a diverse skill set, making them attractive to executives at all career stages who seek challenging opportunities.

Myth #2: Interim Executives Can’t Secure Permanent Jobs

The second myth posits that interim executives can’t secure permanent roles and settle for temporary assignments. Again, this idea stems from the perception that independent engagements are less desirable or prestigious than permanent roles.

In reality, many interim executives willingly choose such roles due to the unique advantages they provide. Research on interim management found that less than 9% planned on finding a permanent position, and almost 60% wanted to continue their career as interim talent for the foreseeable future. Interim executives choose their roles because of the variety of work, opportunities to drive significant change, and exposure to diverse industries and business models. Plus, they often require specialized skill sets that are highly valued in the job market, making these roles not merely fallback options but targeted career choices with possibly greater earning potential than permanent roles.

Myth #3: Interim Executives Don’t Want to Work Hard

This myth suggests that interim executives choose temporary roles to evade the demands and pressures associated with permanent executive positions. This misconception often arises from the temporary nature of interim roles, which causes some to believe it signals an executive’s lack of dedication.

Contrary to this myth, interim executives often work in highly demanding circumstances. They are typically brought in to navigate change or transition, which requires a strong work ethic, exceptional leadership abilities, and the capacity to make difficult decisions. Plus, the success of an interim executive depends on their ability to deliver results quickly in a limited timeframe, often necessitating a high degree of dedication and hard work.

Myth #4: Interim Executives Lack Commitment to the Company

Given the temporary nature of their tenure, it can be easy to assume interim executives lack a commitment to the company. This stems from a presumption that long-term commitment and a sense of ownership can only come from permanent roles.

However, interim executives can—and often do—demonstrate a high level of commitment and dedication to the companies they serve. Their success relies on rapidly integrating into a company and delivering measurable outcomes—especially when that success hinges on regularly sourcing new engagements through on-demand talent providers like Business Talent Group. This necessitates a deep understanding of the company’s culture, goals, and challenges, which can only be achieved through commitment and engagement.

Myth #5: They Only Manage Crisis Situations

Some companies assume interim executives are only beneficial for managing crises. This myth arises from some high-profile cases where interim executives were indeed hired to navigate companies through challenging situations, such as averting an impending bankruptcy.

Although interim executives may often be brought in during a crisis due to their specialized skills and experience, their roles are not limited to this scenario. They handle a variety of situations beyond crisis management. Some of these situations include:

• Strategic initiatives. These professionals frequently lead the charge on key initiatives, such as digital transformation projects, business expansion into new markets, or the launch of a new product line. These tasks require specialized skills and extensive experience.
• Leadership transition. Interim executives help during leadership transitions beyond crisis situations. When an executive departs suddenly, an interim executive can step in to ensure continuity and stability until a permanent replacement is found.
• Skills gap. An interim executive with the required expertise can fill the void if an organization identifies a temporary skills gap. For example, a business wanting to improve its supply chain efficiency might engage an interim executive with deep knowledge in this area.
• Business transformation. Organizations often tap interim executives to lead business transformation efforts. This could include organizational restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, or significant cultural shifts. These situations are not necessarily crises but strategic efforts to improve or change the business.
• Growth or expansion. Companies in the process of rapid growth or expansion often benefit from the expertise of interim executives. They provide the necessary leadership and experience to manage such a challenging and exciting phase, setting the groundwork for sustainable success.
• New role trial. Adding a new permanent executive position is a significant commitment. Organizations often choose to start with an interim executive to test out the position and its compatibility with their culture and goals first. Beyond roles, they also help companies test out organizational structures, skill sets, and leadership styles to see if they are a good fit.

While interim executives are well-suited for crisis management, they are not limited to it. They offer versatility and a wealth of experience instrumental in various business scenarios.

Myth #6: Interim Executives are Less Qualified Than Permanent Ones

This myth suggests that these independent consultants are less qualified than their permanent counterparts, perhaps arising from the perception that they’re a “stop-gap” solution.

Most interim executives have honed many of the critical skill sets needed at specific moments in time for organizations, such as functional build-outs, post-merger integrations, crisis management, situations requiring specific functional skills, and more. They are usually highly experienced professionals with various skills and expertise. They often possess a breadth of industry knowledge and leadership experience, allowing them to adapt quickly to new environments and effectively lead through change.

In short, they are not any less qualified than traditional permanent executives—on the contrary, they are likely even more qualified to hold the role due to their wealth of experience, ability to hit the ground running, and skills that are aligned with the company’s needs at that exact moment in time.

Myth #7: Interim Executives Are Only For C-Suite Roles

Understandably, some assume interim executives are only hired for C-suite interim executive positions because this gains the most publicity. From REI to Twitter, some CEOs and other executives secured their positions by starting out interim. It gives the impression that interim executives are limited to this echelon of the corporate hierarchy.

Contrary to this belief, interim executives are not confined to C-Suite roles. While it’s true that many serve in top-level positions, interim roles can exist at various levels of management, depending on the company’s pressing needs. For example, these professionals can fill roles like:

• Operations Director. This role manages the entire operations of a business unit, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in delivering goods and services.
• PMO Leader. Companies undergoing significant projects, such as product launches or IT system overhauls, may benefit from an interim PMO leader.
• Finance Heads. If an organization is undergoing financial restructuring or in a period of economic instability, an interim finance executive—such as a Head of FP&A or Controller—brings valuable experience and stability.
• Human Resources Director. Interim HR executives are crucial in times of significant organizational change. They can help manage restructurings, mergers, large-scale recruitment initiatives, or key HR responsibilities like compensation and benefits.
• Marketing Director. Companies engage interims to lead brand refreshes and product launches or strategize and implement new marketing campaigns.
• IT Director. Interim IT executives can oversee digital transformation efforts, implement new technology systems, or manage cybersecurity incidents.

The versatility of interim executive models means professionals can fill virtually any leadership role temporarily. Their presence is especially valuable in times of transformation or when the organization needs specific expertise not currently available.

Dispelling Interim Executive Myths

Interim executives have become an increasingly important resource for organizations in today’s dynamic business landscape. As we explored, the interim space has evolved rapidly in recent history, and many of the myths surrounding interim executives stem from misconceptions, misunderstandings, and outdated notions. Interim executives aren’t just retirees or individuals who can’t secure permanent jobs. They aren’t less committed or qualified than their permanent counterparts. Nor are they confined to handling crises or exclusively to C-suite roles.

Interim executives offer specialized skills, broad experience, and adaptability that companies leverage across all levels of an organization. They serve various functions and industries, from leading strategic initiatives and driving business growth to managing transitions and filling sudden vacancies. Most importantly, they are driven by a passion for bridging crucial gaps and leveraging skills where they are most needed. This makes them a vital asset for businesses seeking short-term leadership or specialized expertise.

As the business world evolves and organizations grapple with unforeseen challenges and opportunities, the demand for these flexible, highly skilled professionals only increases. Debunking common myths and recognizing interim executives’ true value and potential allows organizations in various sectors to utilize the benefits they offer for sustained and increased success while in transition.

If your organization is facing a transitional period, needs to drive a strategic project, or requires specialized leadership temporarily, consider the benefits an interim executive provides.

Don’t let misconceptions deter you from leveraging this powerful resource. Instead, explore the potential of engaging an interim executive for your organization. Post your project to Business Talent Group today. The right talent could be the key to not just survive but thrive through your business’s next challenge or opportunity.

If you’re looking to build your agile workforce, access hard-to-find skills, reduce consulting spend, or simply get more done, you’ve come to the right place. Business Talent Group (BTG)’s marketplace of experts and problem solvers—backed by top-notch client service and proprietary technology—positions us to best support top companies on their projects and priorities. Whether you’re looking for strategic industry or functional knowledge, project execution, or interim C-suite leadership, BTG’s on-demand talent can fill your need seamlessly and on budget.

Carefully curated and expertly vetted, our consultants, subject matter experts, operators, and executives hail from top consulting firm and leading companies. In short, they possess cutting-edge skills and expertise to tackle your most demanding strategic, operational, and technological challenges, which is why Business Talent Group’s typical projects tend to involve filling critical skill and leadership gaps.

Today we’ll take a moment to explore a number of BTG’s typical projects to showcase our network of experts and capabilities.

Typical Project Overview

There are a few recurring themes for most BTG typical projects: strategy, operations, transformation, organization, and interim executive engagements.

Strategy

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business landscape, having a well-defined and adaptable strategy is a must for organizations looking to stay competitive. Strategy projects require specialized knowledge, keen problem-solving skills, and fresh perspectives. As such, strategy requests top the list of Business Talent Group’s typical projects.

One strategy project we see frequently are opportunity assessments. In a clinical trial technology opportunity assessment, BTG helped an F100 pharma company conduct a landscape analysis of technology trends in Phase 3 clinical trials in immunology. The consultant identified key players, areas of opportunity, and ways to achieve competitive advantage.

Large-scale strategy development is also a common use case for on-demand talent. For example, a strategic advisory firm was looking to develop a global communication strategy in the mining sector. Part of a global expansion program, the initiative consisted of creating communication and ESG strategies whilst building capacity and overseeing day-to-day communications—all relying on much-needed expert market insights. The firm needed transformation and operational support to conduct a landscape assessment, global stakeholder mapping, competitor benchmarking, and an internal review of current strategy.

BTG placed a senior strategy consultant and former mining executive, who conducted the assessment and devised a strategic plan to improve global positioning and better communicate to international audiences.

Similar projects might include: corporate and business unit growth strategy, digital strategy, innovation strategy, product and launch strategy, ESG strategy, staffing strategy, advanced analytics, project management, advanced analytics, and more.

Operations

Today’s challenges and opportunities have renewed business leaders’ focus on efficiency, sustainability, and resilience, making operations requests popular Business Talent Group’s typical projects.

Supply chain optimization and resilience has been mission-critical in recent years. For instance, a large footwear brand sought to harmonize and integrate its supply chain operations and practices. BTG provided a supply chain expert with 15+ years of experience to help the company develop a hypothesis, analysis, recommendations, and a roadmap for implementing the project.

Oftentimes operations projects are related to transformations or growth, but sometimes it’s simply a matter of filling a short-term leadership gap. One such need arose when a UK based financial services firm needed an interim operations director to fill the gap between the incumbent director’s departure and the start date for the full-time replacement. BTG placed an interim operations director with extensive experience in contact center operations to provide critical coverage during the leadership gap.

Similar projects might include: process and structural overhauls, resource upgrades, process optimization, performance improvements, integrated business planning initiatives, cost cutting, resilience, project management, and operational excellence.

Transformation

Another set of Business Talent Group’s typical projects revolve around transformation as leaders look to drive efficiencies in business processes, add new layers of security, deliver new offerings, and capitalize on innovation and change—all while catering to demands for worker flexibility and autonomy.

Process optimization and transformation came in at the #4 most in-demand skill in this year’s High-End Independent Talent Report, so it’s no surprise that leaders of one industrial holding company turned to BTG when they found themselves in need of a cybersecurity transformation leader for an IT infrastructure overhaul. BTG provided a cybersecurity transformation leader with 20+ years of experience to assess vulnerabilities, develop plans, and implement a secure IT infrastructure.

Large-scale transformations are no easy feat, but with the right people in seat, it’ll be smooth sailing ahead, like when a company-wide transformation project required specific data and analytics expertise. BTG supported the client, a multinational life science data and analytics company, by providing a data strategy and management executive who carried out a capability assessment, identified risks, and developed a roadmap for change.

Similar projects might include: IT and tech transformation, digital transformation, change management, ERP transformation, HR and culture transformation, organizational transformation, process optimization and transformation, tech and systems implementation, marketing and sales, innovation and R&D, and more.

Organization

In order to stay adaptable and resilient today, all industries are seeing an increasing need for valuable expertise, support, and guidance to enhance the effectiveness and success of organizational initiatives as they navigate challenges like change and uncertainty, cost-cutting mandates, risk mitigation, and restructuring.

Since M&A needs are among Business Talent Group’s typical projects, this post-merger integration HR project is of note. When an acquisition swelled an F500 hospitality giant’s headcount by 50%, the organization was committed to its unique culture, but the HR team was struggling to efficiently integrate the new employees. BTG placed an HR growth specialist, who developed a new talent acquisition and search process and supported a total organizational redesign without impacting morale or productivity of the two different company cultures.

Or, when an F500 consumer company was launching an initiative to improve organizational agility, BTG provided a senior organizational and operational strategist to help the VP of Transformation redesign everything from processes and systems to talent strategies and culture.

Similar projects might include: organizational design and workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, business processes, HR and culture transformation, compensation and benefits, organizational transformation, global HR, program management office (PMO), human capital, brand strategy, restructuring, post-merger integration, and more.

Interim

Increasingly, interim placements are among the top reasons companies reach out to Business Talent Group, as revealed in the 2023 High-End Independent Talent Report. Amid recent economic uncertainty, changing markets, and fierce competition, a leadership deficit is taking a toll on organizations large and small, contributing to a +116% YOY increase in demand for interim leadership at all levels.

Within interim leadership, the most significant demand is in the office of the CFO, with interim CFO requests increasing by 103% YOY. Other key finance roles are critical as well, with Controller taking the spot as the fastest-growing interim C-suite role with 223% growth.

Demand is also rising outside the finance department, with requests for interim CEOs up 220%, CHROs up 100%, and Chief Transformation Officers also up 100%.

Consider this first example of an interim CFO for a PE-backed consumer apparel company. BTG provided a seasoned interim CFO with 20+ years of experience as a management consultant to help a client with administrative priorities, including audit and tax filings, monthly close activities, a rolling CF model, and setup of ABL.

Interim leadership goes beyond the C-suite and is a frequent need for roles at the SVP, VP, and director levels as well. Take this case of an interim claims operations executive to support a benefits provider post-acquisition. BTG helped the dental benefits provider by providing a leader with 30+ years of experience in claims transformations to fill this short-term role. The executive seamlessly assimilated and worked entirely dedicated to post-merger data integration workstreams.

A Typical Project at Business Talent Group Swiftly Supports Your Unique To-Dos.

It’s easy to see how Business Talent Group fits the bill for these common project types, but the beauty of on-demand talent is that it enables quick access to the talent you need for your own priorities and pain points—whatever they may be. Whether you’re facing a situation like one above or in need of a unicorn talent, look no further than BTG’s network of highly skilled independent consultants, project managers, subject matter experts, and interim executives. Reach out today to discuss your talent needs.

In today’s fast-paced, always-on work environment, getting and staying organized is crucial to setting up and maintaining your success as an independent contractor. Unlike a traditional employee, operating as an independent contractor means being responsible for all facets of your business management, from billing and accounting to IT and online client collaboration. Thankfully, many free and paid organizational software solutions are available and designed to help you manage your business. From simplifying scheduling meetings and streamlining client communications and projects to note-taking and more, there are a seemingly endless number of new and established digital tools that can help stay productive and work more seamlessly.

As new organizational websites and apps for organizations emerge frequently, keeping up with the latest options, examining your workflows, and finding the most effective tools can take time. The upfront investment in your attention can pay off in the long run by improving your productivity, freeing up your time to tackle more billable tasks. In this post, we’ll share suggestions on organizational apps, outlining their pros and cons to help you get started in determining the best solutions to better your business.

What Are Organizational Tools and Why Do I Need Them?

An organizational tool is an app or software developed to help you enhance your daily tasks and performance. While there are many different types of solutions available to help meet different personal and professional needs, they all have one thing in common — the ability to help you find efficiencies in how you manage your day-to-day responsibilities.

Which Tools Should I Start With?

While every individual business need is different, improving the financial management of your business, automating how you track your time, securing cloud-based storage solutions, evaluating task management options, exploring note-taking apps, and establishing communications tools are just some of the more common organizational solutions that can help you stay organized.

Accounting Software Options

As an independent contractor, overseeing your accounting needs, including invoicing, expense tracking, and tax payments can be a time suck. Look for software solutions for self-employed employees and small businesses that offer customer invoicing, organize billable expenses, track time and mileage, and help you maintain the separation of your personal and business finances. Some popular options include:

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is a small-business accounting software product that is best suited for freelancers and independent contractors looking for a user-friendly platform to manage billing and accounting.

Pros: 

• User-friendly interface with intuitive navigation
• Efficient time-tracking and invoicing features
• Easy integration with popular payment gateways
• Offers financial reporting and expense tracking capabilities

Cons:

• Limited customization options for invoices and templates
• Higher pricing plans may be expensive for small-scale freelancers
• Lacks advanced accounting features compared to some other tools

QuickBooks Self-Employed

QuickBooks Self-Employed is an online accounting tool designed for freelancers, independent contractors, and sole proprietors who do not have oversight of other employees or inventory.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface with intuitive navigation
• Efficient time-tracking and invoicing features
• Easy integration with popular payment gateways
• Offers financial reporting and expense tracking capabilities

Cons:

• Limited customization options for invoices and templates
• Higher pricing plans may be expensive for small-scale freelancers
• Lacks advanced accounting features compared to some other tools

Wave

Wave is a financial management platform best suited for freelancers seeking free accounting and billing software with essential features as well as very small businesses with 10 or fewer employees.

Pros: 

• Unlimited income and expense tracking
• Unlimited invoicing with customizable templates and payment terms and automated payment reminders
• Provides basic financial reports for business insights

Cons:

• Lacks advanced features such as time tracking and project management
• Less scalable features and functionality as you grow your business
• Limited customer support options for free users

Time-Tracking Applications

Automating how you track your time can make it easier to gain valuable insights and make more informed decisions on how you estimate your time, pricing, and resource needs for projects.

Toggl

Toggl is a popular time-tracking tool that allows users to track and manage their time spent on various tasks and projects. It is best suited for those seeking an easy-to-use and flexible time-tracking solution.

Pros:

• Simple and intuitive interface for effortless time tracking
• Flexible tracking options, including manual entry, timer, and browser extensions
• Detailed reports and analytics for tracking productivity and billing clients
• Integration with other tools and apps for seamless workflow management

Cons:

• Limited features in the free version, with restrictions on team collaboration and project management
• Steeper learning curve for advanced reporting features and customization
• Lack of automatic idle time detection and reminders for tracking accuracy

Harvest

Harvest is a time tracking and invoicing tool designed to help independent consultants manage their time and billing efficiently. This tool is best suited for independent consultants who require more robust time tracking and invoicing capabilities.

Pros: 

• Easy time tracking with manual entry, timer, or integration with other tools
• Flexible project and task management for tracking time spent on different activities
• Advanced reporting and analytics for better insights into productivity and profitability
• Seamless integration with popular project management and accounting tools.

Cons:

• Higher priced option when compared to other time-tracking tools
• Invoicing features may not be as comprehensive as dedicated invoicing platforms
• Steeper learning curve for advanced features and customization

Clockify

Clockify is a free time tracking tool that offers basic time tracking features and project management capabilities for independent consultants. This tool is best suited for those seeking a free and simple time-tracking solution.

Pros:

• Free plan with basic time tracking features and unlimited users
• Easy-to-use interface for effortless time tracking and project management
• Basic reporting and export options for tracking and analyzing time data
• Integration with other popular productivity tools for seamless workflow

Cons:

• Limited features compared to more advanced time-tracking tools
• Lack of advanced reporting and analytics features
• Invoicing and billing capabilities are not included

Cloud Storage Solutions

Cloud storage solutions offer remote workers the ability to securely store important client files including business data, videos, and images. This type of storage also makes it easier to work from anywhere and collaborate more seamlessly with teams online. Options include:

Google Drive

Google Drive is a cloud-based storage solution that allows users to save files online and access them anywhere from an internet-connected device. This solution is best suited for independent consultants and freelancers who heavily rely on collaboration and real-time document editing with clients or team members.

Pros:

• Large free storage space offering (15GB)
• Affordable paid plans
• Seamless third-party integration
• Real-time collaboration in documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
• Strong search capabilities and advanced file organization options

Cons: 

• Limited offline access to files
• Sharing large files can be challenging due to storage limitations
• Security concerns have been raised regarding data privacy; lack of password-protection offering for shared files

Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud-based service that connects to, stores, and protects your files while allowing you to share them with others as well as access them anywhere on all of your devices. This solution is best suited for independent consultants and freelancers who heavily use Microsoft Office applications and require seamless integration with their cloud storage.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use interface and intuitive file organization
• Seamless file syncing across multiple devices and fast upload speeds
• Advanced sharing features, including password-protected links and expiration dates
• Integrations with thousands of applications and popular productivity tools like Microsoft Office and Google Docs
  

Cons: 

• Limited storage space for free users compared to competitors (2GB)
• Higher pricing plans compared to some alternatives
• Collaboration features are more basic compared to some other tools
• Limited search functionality may make it harder to find specific folders and files

Task Management Tools

Organizational tools can help you stay ahead of deadlines and keep track of everyday business and at-home needs by making it easier to assign and organize tasks as part of a larger project. Most software solutions offer the ability to break larger tasks into subtasks as well as reporting tools so you can analyze the life cycles of tasks and improve your productivity. Check out these tools to find the right solution for your business needs:

ClickUp

ClickUp is a category leader in project management that combines task management, collaboration, and communication tools and offers a wide range of features. It is best suited for independent contractors seeking a scalable, all-in-one project management platform with strong collaboration offerings.

Pros: 

• Comprehensive, customizable, and feature-rich
• Provides customizable project views and templates
• Great for remote collaboration and offers internal chat messaging
• Offers a Forever Free plan for small teams who need basic project management capabilities and don’t require all the features of a premium plan

Cons:

• Can feel overwhelming due to the number of available features
• Most security features are limited to high-priced plan options
• Automations are limited per month on all plans

Trello

Trello is a popular visual project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help you organize tasks and projects effectively. Trello is best suited for independent consultants seeking a highly visual and flexible task management system.

Pros: 

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface
• Supports collaboration with team members and clients, allowing for real-time updates and comments.
• Offers customizable boards, lists, and cards, providing flexibility to tailor the workflow to individual needs
• Integrates with various third-party apps and services for enhanced productivity

Cons: 

• Advanced features, including Gantt charts and time tracking, as well as security features, require paid subscriptions
• Lack of built-in time management features may require the use of additional tools
• More limited reporting and analytics capabilities compared to dedicated project management tools
• Managing multiple projects on low-tier plans may be difficult

Asana

Asana is a powerful work management tool designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their projects effectively. It is best suited for independent consultants and freelancers working on complex projects with multiple stakeholders.

Pros: 

• Easy to use and navigate
• Robust project management capabilities, including task dependencies, subtasks, and milestones
• Supports team collaboration with features like file sharing, commenting, and task assignment
• Integrates well with other tools, platforms, apps, and services, enabling seamless workflow management

Cons: 

• Some advanced features are only available with higher-tier plans
• Lacks a built-in time-tracking feature
• Steeper learning curve compared to simpler task management tools
• Limited customization options for task views and layouts
  24/7 customer support is limited to enterprise plan users

Todoist

Todoist is a task manager and to-do list organizational app that makes it easier to keep track of professional and personal tasks as well as collaborate. It is best suited for individuals who are seeking a simple and streamlined task management solution.

Pros: 

• Clean and minimalist interface, making it easy to create and organize tasks
• Offers features like due dates, labels, and priority levels for efficient task management
• Supports collaboration with up to five people per project, allowing task sharing and comments
• Integrates with popular tools like Google Calendar, Slack, and Dropbox for enhanced productivity

Cons:

• Lack of robust project management capabilities compared to other tools
• Limited reporting and analytics features for tracking project progress and productivity
• The free plan version does not offer automatic backups and reminders

Digital Notebook Applications

Utilizing a note-taking app can help improve your organization, better capture your creative ideas, facilitate stronger collaboration, ensure accurate documentation, and provide convenient access to information. These options can help get the job done:

Evernote

Evernote is a versatile note-taking and organization tool that allows independent consultants and freelancers to capture and manage notes, ideas, and creative content. This tool is best suited for independent consultants and freelancers who need a digital workspace to store and organize their notes and creative ideas.

Pros: 

• Easy note-taking and organization across multiple devices
• Flexible formatting options for rich text, images, and attachments
• Tagging and search capabilities for quick retrieval of information
• Integration with other apps and services for seamless workflow

Cons:

• Limited storage capacity for free users
• Some advanced features require a premium subscription
• Collaboration and real-time editing features are not as robust as dedicated project management tools

OneNote

OneNote is a digital note-taking and organization tool that allows independent consultants and freelancers to capture and organize notes, ideas, and other information. This solution is best suited for self-employed professionals who prefer a comprehensive note-taking solution with strong organizational capabilities.

Pros: 

• Multi-platform support for seamless note-taking across devices
• Rich formatting options for text, images, and multimedia content
• Integration with Microsoft Office suite for enhanced productivity

Cons:

• Some advanced features may be available only to Microsoft 365 subscribers
• Syncing issues and occasional performance problems
• Collaboration features are not as robust as dedicated collaboration tools

Google Keep

Google Keep is a simple and intuitive note-taking app that allows independent consultants and freelancers to capture and organize notes, reminders, and creative ideas. This app is best suited for those who prefer a lightweight and straightforward note-taking solution.

Pros: 

• Easy note-taking with a quick and intuitive interface
• Color-coding and labeling options for organization.
• Integration with other Google services for seamless workflow
• Cross-platform compatibility for accessibility on various devices

Cons: 

• Limited features compared to more advanced note-taking apps
• Lack of robust formatting options for complex content
• Collaboration features are limited and mainly focused on sharing notes

Online Communication Solutions

As a remote worker and independent contractor, you are less apt to see your clients, teams, and other key collaborators in person, making online communications technology an essential tool for your business. Here are some tools that can strengthen your communications:

Slack

Slack is a communication platform that enables real-time messaging, file sharing, and collaboration for teams and individuals. It is best suited for independent consultants and freelancers who require frequent, efficient, and instant communication with clients and team members.

Pros: 

• Real-time messaging and file sharing for quick and seamless collaboration
• Easy organization of channels, offers direct messaging
• Integration with various tools and apps for streamlined workflow management
• Customizable notifications and powerful search functionality enhance productivity

Cons: 

• Free plan limitations, including restricted message history and file storage
• Learning curve may be steeper compared to simpler messaging apps
• Occasional performance issues and outages can disrupt workflow

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a comprehensive communication and collaboration platform that combines chat, video conferencing, and file sharing features. It is best suited for independent consultants and freelancers who prefer an all-in-one solution for communication and collaboration.

Pros: 

• Seamless integration with Microsoft Office suite for document collaboration and editing
• Robust video conferencing and screen-sharing capabilities
• Extensive third-party app integrations for enhanced productivity
• Customizable channels and workflows for effective team collaboration

Cons: 

• Learning curve for users unfamiliar with Microsoft products
• Limited functionality and features in the free version
• Can be resource-intensive and require a powerful device for optimal performance

Google Chat

Google Chat is a secure communications tool designed to provide easy business communications within the Google Workspace ecosystem. It is best suited for independent consultants who prefer a simple and widely accessible communication tool.

Pros: 

• Seamless integration with other Google services like Gmail and Google Calendar
• Easy-to-use interface for quick messaging, voice calls, and video meetings
• Supports group chats and screen sharing for collaboration
• Cross-platform compatibility for accessibility on various devices

Cons: 

• Limited features compared to more robust communication platforms
• Quality of video and audio may vary depending on the internet connection
• Lack of advanced collaboration and project management features

Other Helpful Organizational Tools

If there is a function of your business that you are looking to streamline, there is likely an organizational tool available to help solve it. Here are a few additional tools and how they can help:

Simplify scheduling meetings.

Calendly is a user-friendly scheduling tool that simplifies the process of setting up meetings and appointments by integrating with your calendar and allowing others to book time slots based on your availability. Basic features are available for free, with advanced features offered in paid plans. 

Clean up your copy.

Writing app Grammarly offers a free version that covers all of the basic spell-checking errors and a paid version to help you improve your sentence structure, tone, and more to check everything from emails to documents, social copy, and more.

Visually upgrade your presentations.

Canva is an online graphic design tool that simplifies the digital design process by offering royalty-free images and templates that help create more professional-looking presentations, social media assets, and other materials.

The Bottom Line

In the age of remote work, effective organization is essential for independent consultants, subject matter experts, and executives. Organizational software tools offer a range of features and options to suit different needs and preferences. Whether you’re looking for task management, scheduling, collaboration, or overall project organization, these tools can significantly enhance your productivity and streamline your workflow. By implementing best practices and utilizing the right tools, you can stay organized, and focused, and ultimately excel in your professional endeavors.

With Business Talent Group, talented independent consultants and businesses seeking talent can rest easy with best-in-class information security, confidentiality, labor compliance, and contracting processes that adhere to the strict requirements of leading organizations. Find more productivity and organization tips and learn more about the BTG talent network here.

Business Talent Group does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services listed above. These tools and services are provided only as potential solutions, with the recognition that what is best for your business will depend on the unique needs of your business. Business Talent Group encourages readers to research and compare multiple organizational software and product options against unique business needs before choosing a solution.

This is where interim executives are crucial in leadership and organizational management. Interim executives are highly skilled professionals with a wealth of industry knowledge and leadership expertise. They step into temporary roles to provide immediate impact and guidance.

Here are the basics about interim executives: what they are, how they benefit organizations, and situations to consider using their services.

What is an Interim Executive?

Interim executives are highly experienced and skilled professionals who assume temporary leadership roles within an organization. These individuals are appointed to bridge critical leadership gaps, address specific challenges, or provide strategic guidance during transition, crisis, or opportunity periods.

Benefits of an Interim Executive

Companies that leverage interim executives during key times of transition or crisis experience several benefits, including:

Stability

Interim executives bring stability to organizations during times of crisis or transition. For example, when an organization experiences sudden leadership departures due to resignations or unexpected circumstances, it often creates a sense of instability and disrupts normal business operations. Interim executives step in quickly to fill gaps, providing a sense of continuity and reassurance and ensuring operations continue smoothly. In addition, their presence helps maintain momentum and offers guidance to employees and stakeholders.

Support

Interim executives help overextended teams by offering expertise, experience, and an objective perspective. They mentor and guide existing leadership teams, helping them overcome challenges and develop new strategies. Their independent position allows them to offer unbiased advice, act as a sounding board, and provide the necessary support to drive organizational success.

Growth and Transformation

Interim executives are adept at driving growth and leading transformation initiatives. With their extensive knowledge and deep operating experience in similar roles, they can assess the organization’s current state, identify opportunities for improvement, and execute strategic plans to achieve growth objectives. These independent leadership-level professionals bring a fresh perspective and a results-oriented mindset, accelerating change and fostering a culture of innovation.

Specialization

If your organization has a temporary, unique project, an interim executive is perfect for driving one-off projects. They often possess specialized expertise in niche areas or industries that are relevant during crucial moments but not necessarily skills needed for a full-time executive.

This specialized knowledge enables interim executives to tackle complex challenges, implement industry-specific best practices, and provide targeted solutions for a specific moment in time. For example, they provide valuable assistance for a business pivot, spin-off, or functional buildout. Their deep understanding of specific sectors or functions allows organizations to benefit from their focused insights and leverage their specialized skill sets for optimal results.

Unbiased perspective

One notable benefit of interim executives is their ability to provide an unbiased perspective on organizational challenges and decision-making processes. They are uninfluenced by pre-existing alliances, internal politics, or personal biases that may exist within the organization. Because they are external to the company, they approach situations with fresh eyes and an objective mindset.

An interim executive’s impartiality allows them to analyze complex situations objectively, identify underlying issues, and propose unbiased solutions. It’s a perspective that makes them particularly valuable during critical decision-making processes. Additionally, they act as neutral parties when resolving conflicts or addressing sensitive issues within organizations. Their independent position allows them to mediate and facilitate discussions in an unbiased manner, helping stakeholders reach mutually beneficial resolutions. Their outside perspective enhances problem-solving capabilities and fosters a culture of openness where diverse viewpoints are considered, leading to more effective outcomes.

Immediate Expertise

One significant advantage of interim executives is their ability to provide immediate expertise. They are seasoned professionals who have successfully navigated similar roles and situations in the past. This wealth of experience allows them to assess organizational needs quickly, understand the nuances of the organization, and start making an impact from day one. Their ability to hit the ground running ensures organizations can address critical issues promptly and capitalize on opportunities without delay.

Smooth Transitions

Leadership transitions can be challenging to navigate. Interim executives excel at managing transitions seamlessly. Whether it’s filling a temporary gap or facilitating a succession plan, they possess the skills to ensure a smooth transition of power. They quickly understand the organization’s dynamics, build relationships with key stakeholders, and guide the incoming executive to ensure a successful handover.

Once permanent executives are in their role, the interim executive is in the perfect position to take on special project work to tackle any immediate priorities. With their established knowledge of the organization’s needs and culture, interim executives can provide valuable immediate assistance while the permanent one is learning their role and about the company. Interim executives’ focus on knowledge transfer and maintaining continuity ensures minimal disruption during the leadership transition.

Reasons Why You Might Need an Interim Executive

There are many situations where an interim executive might benefit an organization. Some of the most common reasons companies seek interim executives include:

Sudden departure

When a key executive unexpectedly leaves the organization, hiring an interim executive provides immediate stability and leadership. They can step in quickly, maintain operations, and ensure continuity until a permanent replacement is found.

During a search for a permanent executive

Recruiting a permanent executive is time-consuming and complex, leaving critical gaps. Interim executives fill the leadership gap during the search, keeping organizations on track and allowing for a thorough and thoughtful selection process.

In addition to temporarily filling the spot, interim executives provide valuable help during selection. They use their expertise and knowledge to advise organizations on what to look for to fill a permanent role. They can even assist by evaluating candidates based on their understanding of the company’s needs.

New role trial

Before committing to a permanent executive position, organizations may bring in an interim executive to test the waters. It allows them to assess the compatibility of the role with the organizational culture, challenges, and objectives, providing valuable insights for making informed long-term hiring decisions.

An interim executive also tests out more than just roles. Their unbiased leadership allows companies to objectively evaluate and draw insights before investing in a new way of doing business. They even help organizations test different leadership styles, skill sets, organizational structures, and whether the capability will be needed long-term or simply for immediate priorities.

Underperforming business

Interim executives are instrumental in turning around underperforming businesses. With their expertise and a fresh, unbiased perspective, they assess the situation, identify areas of improvement, implement necessary changes, and guide the organization toward recovery and growth. Disconnected from internal politics and unencumbered by prior assumptions, they take the burden of emotion off decision-making and provide logical, practical steps.

Market uncertainty

Hiring an interim executive provides valuable strategic guidance during market uncertainty or rapid industry shifts. These seasoned professionals navigate turbulent environments, adapt business strategies, and position the organization to seize opportunities or mitigate risks effectively.

Acquisition

Mergers and acquisitions often require significant integration efforts and leadership alignment. Interim executives are crucial to managing the transition, aligning teams, streamlining operations, and facilitating integration, ensuring a smooth and successful merger or acquisition.

New products and services

Introducing new products or services may require specialized expertise or dedicated leadership. Interim executives with relevant industry knowledge and experience can lead the development and launch phases, providing guidance and strategic direction to ensure successful market entry.

Developing internal talent

You can retain top talent by offering opportunities for advancement. However, training new executives can be labor-intensive as they learn their new roles. An interim executive is in a perfect position to provide valuable mentorship and feedback. They ensure the internal candidate is ready to step into their position and can spend three to six months helping them improve and sharpen their skills. An interim executive is also equipped to objectively assess whether the individual is qualified to take on a challenging role.

Divestitures and company split

During divestitures or company splits, interim executives can be instrumental in helping the newly independent company establish crucial roles such as HR, finance, and more. They design functional structures, develop policies and procedures, and recruit key personnel to build effective teams. Within the finance function—an area of especially high demand—interim executives can establish financial frameworks and ensure accurate reporting, financial controls, and compliance.

Interim leaders provide valuable change management expertise, facilitating a smooth transition for employees and integrating processes and systems. Additionally, interim executives support knowledge transfer and training, enabling the newly formed company to use existing knowledge while creating its own identity. Their specialized expertise and experience ensure the new company has the foundations and capabilities to operate successfully as an independent entity.

Preparing for an IPO

Preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) requires careful planning and strategic decision-making. Hiring an interim executive during this crucial phase provides valuable expertise and support. Organizations often find an interim CFO essential while preparing for an IPO. The CFO that successfully guides a company through the process is often neither the startup CFO that got the organization there nor the post-IPO public company CFO needed long term.

Interim executives assess the organization’s IPO readiness, ensure financial planning and reporting compliance, establish governance structures, and assist with investor relations. Interim executives also bring project management skills, help recruit top independent talent, and ensure timelines are met, minimizing risks and streamlining the IPO process. Their specialized knowledge and experience in navigating the complexities of going public can significantly enhance the organization’s chances of successfully transitioning to a publicly traded company.

Best Practices for Working with Interim Executives

While each company, executive, and situation differs, working effectively with interim executives requires implementing some basic best practices. Here are some keys to collaborating with interim executives:

Establish clear goals and expectations. Clearly define the interim executive’s role’s plans, objectives, and expectations. Ensure alignment between their responsibilities and the organization’s strategic priorities. Clear communication regarding deliverables, timelines, and performance indicators sets the foundation for a successful engagement.

Build effective communication channels. Foster open and transparent communication with interim executives. Encourage them to ask questions, seek clarification, and share insights. Regularly provide updates on organizational developments and relevant information to support their decision-making process.

Provide the necessary resources and support. Equip interim executives with the tools, resources, and support they need to operate effectively. This may include access to data, systems, technology, and the necessary personnel. Ensure they have the authority and autonomy to make informed decisions and drive desired outcomes.

Monitor progress and evaluate performance. Regularly monitor the progress of the interim executive’s work and assess their performance against defined goals and expectations. Offer constructive feedback and recognize their achievements. It will enable them to course correct if needed and ensure accountability for results.

Ensure a smooth transition or exit strategy. Plan for when the interim executive’s engagement comes to an end. Ensure knowledge transfer and documentation of processes, decisions, and key insights. Prepare the organization for a seamless transition by identifying a successor or outlining the next steps.

Recognizing and appreciating the interim executive’s experience, skills, and contributions is critical. Their insights and guidance are valuable assets, so create a healthy culture that fosters their perspective and contributions.

Meeting Organizational Transformation with Interim Executives

Organizations often face many challenges and opportunities that require specialized expertise and flexible leadership. Interim executives have emerged as invaluable, providing stability, strategic guidance, and immediate impact during transition, crisis, or growth. By leveraging interim executives’ unique skill sets and experience, organizations can navigate complex situations, drive results, and position themselves for long-term success.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations need agile and skilled leaders who can adapt quickly and deliver results. Don’t miss the opportunity to access top-tier interim executive talent through Business Talent Group. Reach out today and set your organization up for success with the right interim executive.

However, just as a traditional full-time employee can run into tech problems in the workplace, you can and should expect to encounter common technical issues that may hamper your workflow. The question is, how do you overcome these challenges and get the support you need when there’s no IT department to call?

In this blog post, we’ll explore how independent consultants can overcome tech challenges. We’ll also identify how to get home technical support when you’re working as an independent consultant and where to find reliable answers to your tech-related inquiries.

Identifying common technical challenges

As an independent consultant, there are several common tech challenges that you may face while working at home and some practical strategies to help overcome them:

The problem: Hardware issues

Computers crash, printers fail, and when they do, it can create unexpected downtime, taking a significant toll on your productivity.

The solution: Equip yourself with reliable hardware

Having the right gear can make or break your in-home business set-up by reducing the likelihood that you’ll run into common hardware-related issues and providing a faster, smoother work experience. If your budget permits it, consider making an upfront investment to source the best reliable, high-quality tech hardware you can afford for your business needs. Key investments might include:

• A powerful computer with a large display monitor.
• Fast and stable internet connection. You may also consider securing a Wi-Fi hotspot for travel or Wi-Fi extenders throughout your home to strengthen connection points across your home depending on where and how you work.
• A printer and/or scanners.

The problem: Software glitches

While software plays a critical role in the operations of your business, occasional glitches and bugs can cause applications to freeze, software compatibility issues to arise, or updates to install.

The solution: Keep your software up-to-date

It might feel easier at the moment to continue ignoring the software update pop-up notifications on your computer or phone and avoid having to learn any new features, but staying on top of updating your software and operating system can play a critical role in helping you proactively avoid bigger tech challenges. Hackers are always looking for vulnerabilities to exploit, and staying on top of updates can help improve the security of your system. If you’ve been regularly ignoring these updates for a while, here are some immediate next steps you can start with:

• If a trusted software program shares a prompt to opt-in for automatic updates, approve it to help make your future software updates easier.
• Back up your data with a cloud-based service like Google or iCloud or via an external hard drive.
• Run a manual check for any missed updates on your phone or computer by checking for software updates. Turn on automated options as you go.
• If your software bugs out, opt to send crash reports to the software companies to help them find bugs in their system and help keep your applications less vulnerable to hackers.

The problem: Permissions and access

As a remote worker, you might encounter difficulties when accessing certain files, databases, or systems due to permission constraints. Managing and resolving access-related challenges is crucial for fostering efficient collaboration and project execution.

The solution: Utilize cloud-based tools and services and secure remote access.

Cloud-based tools and solutions for file storage, project management, and collaboration offer a great way to seamlessly facilitate collaboration with clients and team members while working remotely and circumvent permission issues. These types of service providers also generally provide users with the most up-to-date technology via automated updates, making it easy to stay on top of updates. Consider using these tools to avoid permission and accessibility issues.

In the event that you need to access client systems or databases remotely with an added layer of security, you may want to opt into utilizing virtual private networks (VPNs) or remote desktop software to establish secure connections and maintain data privacy. Here are some suggestions on where to start.

Setting yourself up with these solutions is a great way to get ahead of some of the more common tech problems you’re likely to face as an independent consultant, but what about those times when the issue is beyond your skillset to solve? As an independent consultant, it’s crucial to know where to find help when facing technical challenges. Here’s where to start when looking for remote tech support for freelancers: 

Contact your client’s IT team.

As a consultant or freelance employee, your first stop for tech support regarding a client system or equipment should always be the client’s IT team or helpdesk for assistance. Businesses take great care to set up their systems against a variety of vulnerabilities to maintain security across all company-owned devices, so before seeking a solution independently, be sure to start here.

Tap company support centers for help with paid products or services.

A great place to find help is by reaching out to the official support channels of the hardware or software vendors you use. For example, if you’re faced with an issue with a paid service, such as poor or frequently interrupted internet connectivity, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is obligated to help you. If the issue is with a product and you’ve registered your equipment with the company you bought it from, check to see if there is a warranty, or visit the company website for a text-based chat window or call option to get the help you need. Many companies provide comprehensive online knowledge bases, tutorials, and user forums where you can find answers to your queries as well as technical support for more specific issues.

Connect with an online community or forum.

Connect with an online community or forum: Online internet forums and communities dedicated to technology-related discussions can be a great do-it-yourself resource when it comes to finding solutions for common technical issues. Platforms like Reddit, Quora, or Stack Exchange have technologically savvy communities where professionals often share their personal experiences and trade solutions, and they can be a great place to find the answer to your specific challenge. YouTube is another resource to mine for step-by-step tutorials from technical experts. For the best results, be as specific as you can when typing out your query, using keywords to help guide better results within the search engine or forum.

Call a friend.

If all online resources have failed you and you’re lucky enough to know someone within your inner friends or family circle who is tech savvy, consider reaching out to them for assistance. To make it easier for them to help, be sure to set aside enough time to try to troubleshoot the problem with their support, write down any instructions, and let them know what steps you’ve taken and any error responses you’ve received.

Seek professional tech support.

When you’re self-employed and working without an IT department to rely on, it’s essential to secure access to reliable tech support you can trust. Consider subscribing to a reputable tech support service provider specializing in remote assistance for independent professionals. These services provide reliable, on-demand assistance for various tech-related issues, ranging from software troubleshooting to network setup. With your permission, they can remotely access the computer in front of you using their preferred remote software.

Send out your equipment for servicing.

If you have time to go without your equipment or don’t have the patience for remote assistance online or by phone, you may consider dropping off your equipment at an electronics store or service center for expert repair. Be sure to get a quote on the estimated time and costs before committing to the service to know what to expect.

Consider in-person support.

Whether you’re phoning a friend, visiting a big box store, or working with a technical support team service, opting for in-person, on-site support is likely to create the least amount of friction and provide an opportunity for you to learn how to troubleshoot the problem in the future.

The Bottom Line:

As an independent consultant, subject matter expert, or executive working remotely, technology plays a vital role in your professional success. By taking the steps to identify and plan for common technical issues you can make sure you’re well equipped to handle any tech-related issue that comes your way so you can focus your time on what you do best.

Business Talent Group offers a wide array of resources for independent contractors. For tips on remote project collaboration tools, how to improve your remote work habits, how to avoid digital overload, and more, visit the BTG Business Resource Center here.

By centralizing and integrating business functions, ERP software aids transparency and communication, allowing organizations to switch gears quickly while remaining aligned. All data is stored and organized within a central database, allowing for rapid analysis and detailed reporting. As a result, companies can get a clearer look into the health of their organization and identify opportunities for improving efficiency, innovation, and cost savings.

Alternatives certainly exist—e.g. some organizations cobble together software solutions to meet specific business needs, while others outsource certain processes to third-party providers. But differences in data models can make it difficult to get a reliable, holistic view of the organization, and managing and updating multiple systems can be a drain on IT resources. Moreover, while discrete software solutions may seem more cost-effective at the outset, their total cost of ownership is likely to exceed the upfront costs of an ERP, and implementing individual solutions makes it exceedingly difficult to realize the savings that a fully optimized ERP system offers:

• Less wasted time spent searching and integrating data from fragmented systems
• Quicker decision-making, because users at every level have access to and are working off of the same information at all times
• Simplified, and frequently automated, reporting, granting executives a clear view of the organization’s operations on an up-to-the-minute basis.
• Valuable, timely insights on customer trends from integrated CRM systems, enabling the company to pivot, build, or deprecate initiatives as necessary
• Compliance management to ensure adherence to industry-specific regulations
• Forecasting tools to help with everything from planning production schedules and optimizing inventory levels to predicting future cash flow and assessing future hiring needs

So if the benefits are this clear—and justify a business case for the upfront costs—why are some companies failing to successfully implement an ERP software transformation?

Why so many ERP transformations fail

When ERP software transformations fail, it’s usually because they weren’t set up for success from the start. Too often, those leading the transformation fail to see that an ERP implementation is not an IT project: It’s a business-led project that requires active engagement with stakeholders across the organization. IT can assist with system selection, data migration, and user training, but before any of those activities can even begin, a robust, strategic framework for the transformation must be put in place.

A 2019 report from McKinsey found that “three-fourths of ERP transformation projects fail to stay on schedule or within budget, and two-thirds have a negative return on investment.” The factors behind these staggering statistics boiled down to a lack of adequate program management.

A successful ERP implementation is guided by strong program managers who secure the support of the C-suite and ensure alignment with the organization’s strategic objectives. In doing so, they’ll not only guarantee the initiative has sufficient resources and funding; they’ll also smooth the path for effective change management.

As a centralized, comprehensive system, ERP software has an impact on virtually every role in an organization. Users must be fully prepared for transformation and given effective training, or they could struggle to adapt. Even more likely, they might resist changes outright: Deloitte found that resistance to change is the top barrier to a successful ERP transformation journey. By making sure everyone is involved in the transformation, program managers can bolster support across the enterprise and speed ERP software adoption.

Alignment is also the key to preventing the new system from becoming over-complicated with extraneous customization. Given how flexible and precisely tailored ERP software can be, it’s easy to imagine how companies could get carried away. But every additional feature brings with it down-the-road updates and additional maintenance, so it’s important for program managers to earmark only those that are truly essential for implementation.

A unique challenge for SAP clients

For companies currently running on SAP software, the clock is ticking on ERP transformation especially loudly. Though SAP agreed to extend support for Business Suite 7 through 2030 (at the latest), some businesses are finding that timeline still too short.

One of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies has already invested $2 billion into upgrading, but their program—like many—is taking four to five years to build out. They might make it in just under the wire, but many others won’t. There’s a distinct lack of qualified ERP implementation consultants in the market right now, leading some to contend that the extension doesn’t solve anything, it just delays the problem:

“There simply aren’t the skills or resources available to migrate everyone by that deadline,” Darren Roos, CEO of enterprise software specialist IFS says.

What’s more, when disruptive forces—from cyberattacks to natural disasters—loom large, those with outdated ERP systems risk potentially devastating downtime. “Downtime costs organizations around $300,000 per hour due to productivity losses and catch-up time,” Forbes Technology Council member Kevin Beasley reports. “While it can’t always be measured, the reputational damage following downtime can also be difficult to recover from.”

SAP is shy on specialists, and resources from the Big 4 consulting firms are already committed to ongoing transformations. Even Tier 2 suppliers are sold out. Between companies looking to move from point solutions to an ERP system, and SAP ERP-tied organizations that desperately need to migrate to next-gen software, there’s an overwhelming demand to get started immediately.

But how do you get started when there’s no one left to help?

ERP expertise, on demand

Traditional consultancies might be tight on ERP support, but fortunately for businesses looking to implement on-premise or cloud-based ERP, there’s plenty of high-quality independent talent out there. And much like the nimbleness and speed offered by cloud-based ERP software, BTG’s unique platform offers clients centralized access to these types of specialized resources.

When the talent market is tight, BTG’s experienced on-demand executives can “chalk the field” and/or “move the ball downfield” as EVP, Chief Innovation Officer at BTG Sandra Pinnavaia puts it. Here are just a few examples of how our expert ERP implementation consultants have helped major companies keep their ERP goals on track:

Getting back on Track with SAP Integration

As mentioned earlier, SAP integration is a particularly timely matter, so when a global healthcare company was running two weeks behind on its go-live, the client needed a plan for recovery—fast. BTG provided an executive with experience in ERP migrations, specifically SAP and Electronic Warehouse Management (EWM).

Drawing on their background in supply chain transformation, the talent was able to define the path to recovery, along with a system sustainability assessment to prevent workstream issues with future integrations.

Leading ERP Work from a Business Process Perspective

Sometimes, the plan is already in place, but the business lacks the resources to execute. This was the case when the VP of strategy at a food and beverage giant commissioned an ERP redesign to streamline the company’s heavily customized system and critical processes. With no one in-house to lead the work, the client turned to BTG for someone who could not just advise but execute.

BTG brought in a business process transformation expert who had led multiple ERP implementations at IBM’s SAP practice. He worked with the client’s technical lead to drive “as is” documentation and spearhead early “to be” design efforts. Throughout the process, he helped spot potential issues and developed plans to rectify them.

After he painstakingly standardized and integrated master data into his designs, he created a Center of Excellence for master data management. The results were so impressive, the company decided to roll his designs out to other business units across the enterprise.

Managing Multiple Global Transformations

When things become productively complicated—as they did for a Fortune 1000 retailer that had initiated a number of global transformations with multiple consulting firms—organization becomes a top priority.

The retailer’s CEO approached BTG for an Organizational Change expert who could quickly coordinate multiple vendors and complex workstreams while ensuring all of the transformations were completed smoothly. We connected him with a former Partner at Accenture who had decades of experience that gave him deep insight into the client’s issues.

Our talent helped harmonize external workflows while ensuring timely completion of deliverables. When it became clear that additional change management capabilities were needed in order to build on his success, he stayed on to help establish a permanent Project Management Office.

Whether you’re just getting started or you’re midway through a transformation and the ERP consultant shortage has stopped you in your tracks, BTG offers limitless access to the talent and skills you need. We carefully curate and vet our talent for the highest caliber qualifications, yielding tens of thousands of independent experts with resumes that include Big 4 consulting firms, boutique and specialty firms, and Fortune 50’s most admired companies.

Let us help you on your ERP journey—find the expertise you need today.

Professional services and consulting firms have long been known for their high workload and fast-paced environment. Current trends, however, may call for a significant shift in the way these firms operate.

From 2020 and into the first half of 2022, the professional services industry was booming. But while firms were flush with business, many found that their teams lacked resources to meet the demand. Finding themselves short-staffed, firms were forced to either turn away lucrative contracts or plow ahead at the risk of increasingly burning out their consultants. Today the industry finds itself in a much different place on the supply-and-demand curve. Amid economic uncertainty and belt-tightening across the business landscape, many firms are now struggling with finding work for their current teams and becoming seriously worried about very low utilization levels.

In the past, firms were forced to accept such cyclicality as a reality of the consulting business. Professional services staffing levels would balloon in good times, but in trickier conditions, firms were forced to diversify their offerings to drum up business or make difficult cuts to optimize costs—leading to a loss of valuable talent and institutional knowledge. These cycles are very disruptive for professional services firms and their employees. Moreover, the problem has gotten even harder over time as practice areas have grown more specialized—necessitating deeper industry or functional knowledge for top client work. Staffing and utilization have to be examined on a more granular basis, but moving people from one area to another can be difficult given the lack of expertise.

To avoid the hit to performance that these issues can result in, many top firms are now seeking a better way to manage their staffing levels through both boom and bust periods.

Thankfully, the rise of high-end, on-demand talent offers professional services leaders a better way to think about controlling their staffing levels of mid-pyramid talent (e.g post-MBA to engagement manager). Rather than endlessly tweaking staffing to meet current conditions, firms can set their “all full” level lower (around 90% per practice area) and then strategically supplement teams with on-demand talent—including management consultants, executives, project managers, and experts who have chosen to work independently on a project-by-project or interim basis—to fill in the roles, gaps, and expertise needed for specific client engagements. With training from traditional consulting firms, hands-on operating experience at top companies, and deep expertise in their respective fields, these independent, on-demand professionals can bring fresh perspectives and in-demand skills across a wide array of consulting engagements.

Using on-demand talent in this way has several benefits for professional services firms:

• The firm can reduce its fixed costs by supplementing teams with extra skills and capacity only when necessary, rather than keeping those resources on hand in a permanent position. This can help the firm maintain or even boost profitability at all stages of the cycle.
• Teams can tap into a broader pool of expertise by leveraging on-demand talent, enabling them to deliver better results to their clients and win new business.
• Industry and practice areas can have ready access to the right people with the right skills to execute specific client projects, rather than tapping somebody without deep experience “on loan” from another area.
• Staff can focus on their work and be more productive without having to worry about layoffs during downtimes. And when business is booming, consultants are no longer stretched thin trying to keep up with demand.

These decisions are strategic and have to be taken at the highest levels of a firm—i.e. the CEO, CFO, CHRO all have to be in alignment—and the executive team has to be open to new ways of working and be willing to experiment with new staffing models. They also have to be willing to invest in on-demand talent and develop the necessary processes to successfully deploy them. But most of all, they need an experienced, on-demand talent partner like Business Talent Group (BTG) who can ensure that the right talent are found for client projects, quickly brought up to speed, and seamlessly integrated into the firm’s teams.

With BTG, professional services firms can tap into a deep network of highly skilled professionals who can help firms with various projects. BTG carefully and compliantly curates, vets, and deploys these professionals to ensure they fit in with a firm’s culture and can work hand-in-hand with existing teams. BTG also provides ongoing oversight to ensure that projects are delivered on time and expectations are met for both the professional services firm and its clients.

Regardless of market conditions, rethinking professional services staffing strategies will be crucial to ensuring the sustainability and profitability of these firms over the long term. By embracing new ways of working with on-demand talent and partnering with providers like BTG, consulting firms can reduce fixed costs, tap into a broader pool of expertise, and deliver better results to their clients. As the consulting industry continues to evolve, firms that can adapt to the changing talent landscape will be the ones that thrive in the years to come.

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Integrated business planning (IBP) initiatives have accelerated in the wake of COVID-19 as senior executives cross-sector come to recognize that heightened economic and geopolitical volatility is here to stay. While not a new concept or trend, IBP is quickly becoming mission critical among savvy leaders who are coming to recognize IBP as the compass in the storm.

Why?

IBP at its core is a choreographing engine – tying together the right people, information, and insights at precisely the right time, in service of more adaptive, intelligent response to cross-functional risk and opportunity.

To get the latest insights on IBP—with a particular focus on the consumer and retail industries—we’ve turned to Steve Hochman, a former Bain & Company and Abt Associates consultant who also held senior leadership roles including CEO, COO, and VP at several highly successful startups and Nike Corporation, where he led global supply chain strategy and oversaw two major global planning transformations. Hochman advises clients cross-sector in supply chain strategy, end-to-end planning, and supply chain transformation.

MEET THE TALENT

Steve Hochman

Steve Hochman is the VP of Research & Advisory at Zero100, Inc. a boutique supply chain think tank that helps Fortune 500 C-level executives accelerate operations innovation and transformation at scale.

What is the main goal of an integrated business plan? How does a successful IBP strategy help align high-level goals with day-to-day operations?

Integrated business planning is a process that continuously aligns targets, assumptions, and plans across all key players in a company to assure more reliable achievement of business plans and brand objectives. In plain English, it’s a way to get everyone on the same page, fast, and execute.

IBP emerged in the early 2000s because of a very practical problem: The more they grow, the more companies become functionally specialized. Particularly when the competition for talent heats up, specialization is necessary to achieve high degrees of competence and pool scarce skills. The problem is that specialization leads to silos. Over time, processes, information systems, incentives, and even team subcultures grow apart, as do their operating plans. Supply chain may see a factory constraint or an inventory risk, but sales teams are told to just keep on selling. Or, operations and sales are aligned, but neither is aligned to the budgets created by finance. And so on.

Fast forward to 2020, and you now have the added challenge of what statisticians called “randomness:” The idea that all plans to some extent are wrong because unforeseeable game-changing world events are now part of the fabric of everyone’s global operating environment. Anyone experiencing the effects of a pandemic, a post-pandemic business rebound, 50% fuel price hikes due to a war in Ukraine, an escalating US-China cold war, intensifying consumer expectations around greenhouse gas transparency, inflation that outlived every economist’s forecast, persistent labor shortages, and now revolutions in artificial intelligence that may change the nature of work itself will know what I’m talking about.
So, having every executive on the same page is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s survival. Enter IBP.

How does IBP differ from traditional planning processes, such as Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) or Demand Planning? What does the timeline look like for a company who decides to move from S&OP to IBP?

IBP is a natural evolution from earlier versions of planning. Way back in the 1990s, “planning” often just meant getting the orders entered properly ahead of a factory production run. All you needed was a smart analyst to key in the forecast, plus or minus maybe 20% to allow for an order cancellation or two.

S&OP emerged because, as companies grew in scale and complexity, increasingly specialized Operations and Sales functions started to feed factories different demand signals, and chaos ensued. Conversely, S&OP pioneers like Honeywell, Procter & Gamble, and Intel realized that bringing teams together with a more choreographed plan alignment process could be a source of competitive advantage. And it was. Tens of billions of dollars in shareholder value accrued to companies who brought in the top-down, cross-functional plan choreography that we now call S&OP.

The gap that remained was Finance. Particularly amongst larger companies with high degrees of business complexity, it made no sense to align sales and operations plans (often stated in units) if those plans didn’t also connect back to budgets (i.e. dollars). CFOs and divisional GMs at companies like Samsung and Nike recognized that so-called “unit-dollar translation,” while hard, was mission critical. And in many cases, those same companies invested millions of dollars in multi-year integrated planning transformations to ensure it. And thus IBP was born. No longer a supply chain process, among leaders IBP had become part of the business and systems core.

Learn more: Supply Chain Planning Gets a Post-Pandemic Makeover  – Zero Percent Carbon, 100% Digital (zero100.com)

What are the key components of integrated business planning? What are the benefits of having a separate IBP division?

Integrated business planning takes existing supply, demand, commercial, product, and financial planning processes within a company and connects them. When done well, IBP is connective tissue rather than its own separate thing.

The only add-on is 1) the executive meeting that assures cross-functional alignment, and 2) the “pre-IBP” coordination that assure C-level executives are equipped to act on the hard tradeoffs of the hour.

When done right, IBP meetings are exception-based, meaning they are proactive escalations of the vital few risks and opportunities facing the business at that moment in time. And they are, crucially, decision-based. They are not about reporting the news. They are about confronting risk and opportunity, surfacing real bets and options, and making decisions that stick.

I was advising one global fashion brand recently who said culture change is actually what’s most challenging: In many companies, executive reviews are performative – focused on showcasing excellence. IBP is different. While certainly making room for celebration, the express goal is to put the ugly (or sometimes beautiful) truth on the table and confront it so that the company can move with more agility and confidence through the inevitable turbulence ahead.

The masters of IBP understand the value of this pre-IBP meta-capability and do a ton of legwork prior to the meeting itself to assure that one hour spent with all C-suite executives is set up for action.

What IBP practices are easiest for a supply chain leader to implement when beginning to take steps towards IBP excellence?

We often say the best thing to do when taking on an IBP transformation is to just get started. Bring C-level executives into the process and make them part of it. Put executive review meeting #1 on the calendar 60 days out and work towards it. Don’t overanalyze your plan alignment process. Identify the gaps by doing. Then improve.

For that first meeting: What are the big risks you face next quarter? What questions are crucial to answer to align plans against those risks? Is it a demand-side risk? A question on product assortment or pricing strategy? An emerging inventory bubble? Chances are, you know what the big issues are facing the business. The only thing missing is putting it on the table.

Behind the scenes, you can define the longer timeframe, more architectural work of systems, process, and cultural transformation. But get started. Add value now with the information and processes you have. Most IBP leaders get immense value from the associated momentum.

How can IBP help identify opportunities and risk amidst uncertainty? How can supply chain leaders properly assess their processes and determine pain points?

IBP is tailor-made to identify risk and opportunity. By establishing a cadence by which we proactively bring plans together and see where assumptions are misaligned, IBP leaders develop a magical capability to surface business gaps sooner. Sometimes those gaps represent upside—untapped revenue, margin, or brand goodwill. Other times gaps really do equal risk. Either way, the continuous nature of plan alignment itself allows companies to move months faster.

The IBP lead at a $50B global diversified technology brand told me her company saves at least 6-12 months on key plan tradeoffs vs. conventional serial planning processes. And that time savings in turn is worth billions of dollars in recaptured growth and margin each year.

Knowing that IBP is not simply a supply chain planning process upgrade, how can leaders get stakeholders across the org aligned and involved?

Great question. It’s a bit of cliché to say large scale transformations require active executive sponsorship. But they really do. The more cross-functional the nature of the initiative, the greater that maxim holds true.

The first step in many IBP transformation initiatives is a Board of Directors’ presentation to educate on the “what and why” of IBP, with specific asks for help. Those presentations are often followed with carefully scripted roadshows to assure all C-level executives and their teams are clear.

IBP leaders will even go so far as to script out role descriptions for C-level executives ahead of that first experimental IBP meeting, training “upwards” to help each executive understand what they need to do to be successful. Beyond explaining “what’s in it for the boss,” IBP leaders need to explain what behaviors are required to deliver IBP value.

Another maxim is to say, “we’re all in sales.” With IBP, that’s absolutely the case. Supply chain or finance leaders who take on the IBP mantle need to develop a core competency not just in operational excellence, but in storytelling. At Zero100, we spend a lot of our energy helping executives with the latter. And it is always time well spent.

And of course, it helps if the storyteller themselves already has trust with the C-level stakeholders involved. Pick leadership talent wisely in this regard. Whether through finance, operations, or other prior experience, having a track record of adding business value is essential to opening the door to any uncertain change.

How can leaders ensure successful and effective integrated business plans? What are the best ways to measure and track related metrics, and how can they best be integrated into existing business processes?

The best way to know an IBP process is successful is if it delivers better decisions faster. Per the IBP leader at the technology company mentioned earlier, “time to decision” is the ultimate metric. The meta-metric flows from that initial indicator. For example, if I decided to liquidate excess inventory 6 months faster, how did that benefit the firm? Chances are, it led to a cleaner marketplace, more cash, and higher margins.

Companies that implement IBP wisely will often instrument their process with a logging mechanism, asking simply: “What would have happened if I had waited 6 months on this decision? How would the financials or the health of the brand have been different? What was the opportunity cost that we avoided by bringing the gap and the debate to a head sooner?” Usually that rough cut analysis is enough to prove to ourselves the huge IBP-led value accrued to the bottom line.

How can leaders ensure these plans and processes are sustainable and able to be maintained?

There are different ways to sustain momentum and operate IBP at progressively greater scale. The most important is generally organizational: IBP leaders will often create a planning “Center of Excellence (CoE)” or equivalent hub to drive continuous improvement and scale-up. Applying dedicated resources ensures organizational focus and signals to the organization that you are putting your money where your mouth is. In short, you want the horsepower in place to drive focus and trust.

Per above, the other signaling device is picking your strongest leaders to drive the change. If IBP is genuinely important to you, you’ll put your A-team on the case. Not only will that A-team have the necessary street cred at the top of the org chart, they’ll also be talent magnets for any long term change you want to drive at scale.

The other scale-driver of course is information systems. While quick process experiments are a great way to generate quick early wins, it’s pivotal to embed a technology swim lane in your transformation roadmap. Much can be achieved with spreadsheets in the first 90 days. After six months, you’ll want to have a robust plan for how you’ll integrate data to automate your IBP plan alignment processes. And you’ll want to have a forward-looking view of the technology landscape to harness fast-evolving capabilities like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and simulation through digital twins. Having a strong digital visionary embedded in your IBP initiative will be paramount.

How can consumer goods companies create sustainable success and properly create a roadmap of actionable items?

Whether consumer goods or otherwise, the principles are the same.

The only additional item to consider is non-competitive peer conversations to learn from the wins and mistakes of others. A great way to accelerate learning is to plug into communities of practice that are cross-sector, e.g. a consumer goods company may learn more from a consumer electronics company than one of its direct competitors.

It’s partly why we complement our research with a lot of peer events for C-level supply chain practitioners. It’s about advancing the collective.

Where should IBP leaders be focusing for 2023? What advice do you have for them?

If I could give just one piece of advice, it would be to work back from 5 years out. Deliver rapid value because you need it for momentum. But technology is advancing too fast to leave your long-term technology and associated talent roadmap to chance. And it’s not just the fancy stuff like artificial intelligence you should track. It’s also newer cloud-based data architectures and master data management services that will fundamentally streamline and accelerate the way an IBP process will function. If you limit yourself to a 1- to 3-year vision, you may lock yourself into legacy architectures that block you from real step-function IBP advantage. You want to be the nimble one. That means careful tracking of digital trends. You may not implement all the cutting-edge tools all at once, but you want an architecture that allows you to pivot as new tools emerge. And equally important, you want to build internal skillsets to be able to digest and capitalize on the exceptional technical capabilities that are just around the corner. Deliver value now but be ready for what’s to come.

To learn more on emerging IBP trends such as advanced scenario analysis, see: Digital Twins Break Into the Boardroom – Zero Percent Carbon, 100% Digital (zero100.com)

Get the IBP expertise you need to succeed.

There are a lot of ways IBP experts can support your goals this year. Among them, identifying and building upon existing processes, identifying opportunities for improvement and growth, creating roadmaps for success, and providing insight on relevant current events and models. Independent talent are essential assets for companies looking to optimize and standardize supply chain and business processes in all industries thanks to their in-demand skills and niche expertise.

Reach out today to secure insights from Steve Hochman or start a project with another highly skilled independent consultant from Business Talent Group.

The rise of the gig economy has brought about a shift in the way people work, as many U.S. professionals are opting to pursue independent consulting opportunities versus following the more traditional career path.

According to the April 4, 2023 release of the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 million US workers quit their jobs during February of this year, a slight increase from January. The report also found 1.7 jobs open for every unemployed worker in February, representing only a slight decline from 1.9 in January as The Federal Reserve continues to look to slow job growth as part of its effort to contain inflation.

Amid these changes to the macroeconomic environment, highly skilled talent continue to seek greater control and flexibility in their schedules. The total number of independent workers has surged—rising 69% from 38.2 million in 2020 to 64.6 million in 2022. Among the rise, the number of full-time independent workers, defined as those regularly working more than 15 hours a week, also grew from 13.6 million in 2020 to 21.6 million in 2022.

According to our 2022 Talent Lens report, which surveyed more than 1,900 high-end independent talent, 88% of respondents reported already working independently for more than one year with the number of new independents doubling since our 2020 survey.

In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of independent consulting that are driving highly-skilled and successful subject matter experts, executives, and others to freelance consulting.

Ability to Pick Your Projects

One of the biggest benefits of consulting is the ability to choose the projects you work on and the types of clients you work with. This means that you can pursue projects that align with your interests and strengths, and avoid those that don’t.

This level of autonomy is particularly appealing to those who value a sense of control over their work. In fact. Among those surveyed in the Talent Lens report, control was the top reason for workers to become independent consultants, with 70% seeking the ability to pick their own projects, 60% looking to be their boss, and 57% interested in the ability to select their own clients.

By being able to choose the projects you work on, you can build a portfolio of work that reflects your skills and interests, and positions you as an expert in your field.

Work When and Where You Want

The ability to work from anywhere is another major benefit of being independent. According to the Talent Lens report, 63% of independent consultants report the freedom to work from anywhere as one of the top benefits of their job with 57% seeking the independence to work when they want to. When asked what they liked most about being an independent consultant, 45% of respondents cited working from anywhere as the top benefit.

By being able to work from home, or from anywhere in the world, you can save time and money on costs associated with commuting and have more control over your schedule. This can be especially valuable for those balancing family responsibilities or those seeking work that offers the flexibility to travel.

Variety of Project Work

Another benefit of being an independent consultant is the variety of project work available. According to the Talent Lens report, 62% of skilled workers were compelled to become independent consultants by the variety of projects made available to them, which keeps the work interesting and challenging. This translates to better value for clients, with workers more invested in the work they are doing.

Additionally, this variety of work can also help you develop new skills and expertise. By working on different projects with different clients, you can expand your knowledge and experience in your field. This can be particularly valuable for those who are looking to transition into a new career or explore working in industry.

Greater Earnings Potential

Another benefit of being independent is the potential for greater earnings. According to a report from MBO Partners on the State of Independence in America, the number of independents who reported high incomes grew from 16% last year, following a 27% increase in 2021, with nearly 20% of Full-Time independents reporting earnings of more than $100,000 annually.

This increased earning potential can be attributed to several factors, as independent consultants often have a higher hourly rate than their full-time counterparts, and can also bill for more hours since they are not limited to a 40-hour workweek. Additionally, independent consultants can take on multiple projects at once, which can increase their overall earnings.

Whether you’re driven by the idea of having more control of the projects you take on, inspired by the idea of working from anywhere, seeking more variety in your project work, or desiring higher rates of compensation, choosing to become an independent consultant offers many benefits and can be a rewarding and fulfilling career path.

For tips and resources to help you kickstart your career transition to consultancy, visit the Business Talent Group Business Resource Center here.

This post is for informational purposes only and is not legal or financial advice. You should always consult a qualified attorney, accountant, and/or tax advisor before making these kinds of business decisions.

Being an independent business consultant means being your own boss, selecting the projects you’re the most passionate about, and setting your own schedule. But being a smart independent business owner also requires understanding how to set up a consulting business for success.

As the sole owner and operator of your independent consulting business, it’s up to you to figure out how to grow a consulting business by finding your next new project and marketing your capabilities to the appropriate audiences. You’re also responsible for juggling the day-to-day operational needs of your existing clients and carving out the time to do the work you’ve been hired to do—and do it well.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how to set up a consultancy, covering key topics like how to navigate networking, insurance, and how independent consultant taxes are influenced by the structure of your business.

What is an Independent Consultant?

Before we dive into the details, it’s important to define what an independent consultant is. By definition, an independent consultant is an individual with extensive specialized expertise who works for themselves or executes work as part of a small team and is not directly employed by a company. Consultants may work in an advisory role or a more hands-on capacity with work in a wide range of industries, from marketing to technology to healthcare. They may offer services such as strategy development, project management, or technical expertise.

As such, when you are an independent consultant you are essentially operating your own consulting business. This can be both exciting and overwhelming, so it’s important to go into this career path with a clear understanding of what you’re getting into as you set up your business consulting services.

Now that we’ve defined our terms, let’s get into the logistics of starting a consulting business. Here’s your checklist:

1. Define your business structure

The first thing you’ll need to do when starting your own business is to decide on what the legal entity for your business structure will be. It’s important because the choice you make here will determine how you manage your taxes and how much personal liability you could assume in the event of the failure of your business. Each comes with its own pros and cons so it’s important to weigh out the advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, this decision will be guided by the nature of your business and your vision for how it will grow. Depending on your industry and location, you may need to obtain certain licenses or permits to operate your business legally and so it’s important to consult with an attorney or accountant to determine the best plan forward.

In general, there are four main types of business structures:

• Sole proprietorship – For those just learning how to form a consulting company, this set-up offers the lowest maintenance but with more personal risk. As a single-owner or member, you become responsible for withholding any necessary income taxes, including self-employment taxes, to pay for Social Security and Medicare. The assets and the liabilities of the business are synonymous with your own personal assets and liabilities, so taxes derived from your business pass through your personal tax return when you submit your business income and expenses with your individual Form 1040, Schedule C. An advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it requires very little work to set up as you generally don’t have to register it with the state, but the disadvantage is that your personal assets jeopardized in the event that your work as an independent business owner leads to a lawsuit.
• Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) – Similarly to a sole proprietorship, LLCs are unincorporated business entities with one or more owners. However, an LLC is more costly to establish and offers a more formal business structure, requiring more paperwork and a fee to register formation papers with your state. Profits and losses are managed again here through an owner’s individual tax returns and require withholding self-employment and personal income tax. The main reason someone may elect to set up as an LLC is to avoid personal liability for business debts. However, it’s worth noting that a single-member LLC can be recognized as a disregarded entity which may impact your personal liability and asset protection, so it’s worth taking steps to actualize a separation between the business and the owner(s).
• C Corporation – This type of business structure is typically reserved for big, for-profit business entities with shareholders. In this structure, corporations are treated as separate from the owners of the corporation and must pay corporate taxes on all profits and earned employee income (a practice also known as double taxation). Generally, C Corporation shareholders are exempt from personal liability with this structure as a C Corporation is a completely separate taxpayer from its owners.
• S Corporation – This structure is typically reserved for larger consultancies operating with several employees and shareholders. This setup avoids the double taxation seen with C Corporations, with profits or losses reported on personal tax only once, and shareholders taxed at an individual rate. This requires a separation of stock shares to be distributed among the appointed S Corporation owners who can pay shareholders dividends that aren’t subject to self-employment tax. This can translate to financial savings, but if a shareholder provides a service to the business, the S Corporation is required to pay a reasonable, taxable salary. This structure protects personal assets and avoids personal liability but requires more responsibility from the shareholders. To set up this structure, articles of incorporation forms must be submitted to your Secretary of State along with a fee.

2. Register your business

Now that you’ve committed to your business structure, you’ll need to register your business with your state or local government. This involves filing the necessary paperwork (where applicable), as well as obtaining any required licenses and permits, and paying any associated fees.

3. Set up your business finances

As an independent business owner, you’ll need to keep careful track of your finances, by setting up a separate business bank account, tracking all work-related expenses, and paying taxes in accordance with your business structure. It’s important to create a detailed budget before starting your business, so you can accurately forecast your expenses and determine your pricing strategy.

Determining how much to charge for your services can be challenging, so you’ll want to consider the scope of your expenses, your experience and expertise, and the value you provide to your clients. Researching what other consultants in your field are charging can be helpful in developing a pricing strategy.

There are also consulting business startup costs to consider, whether you’re investing in professional licenses or certifications, subscribing to accounting software or hiring a lawyer, or simply stocking up on office equipment. Making a plan will ensure that you’re staying on top of your financial obligations and avoiding any legal or financial issues down the line. You may also want to earmark funds for required software tools and a small budget for marketing or networking opportunities that could help grow your business. Regardless, it’s important to take steps to avoid confusion and delays come tax time. Here are some potential expenses to consider when setting up your consulting business:

4. Purchase insurance

When working independently there’s no safety net in the form of an employer-provided insurance plan, which means you’ll need to purchase your own insurance to protect yourself and your business. The nature of your work and industry will inform the specific insurance policies you’ll need to get, but some common policies include general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, and property insurance. Take time to research your options and purchase the policies that make the most sense for your business.

5. Make yourself discoverable

Today, having a professional website or social channel is essential for helping your target clients find you. Your website and/or social channels should include information about your services, your background and experience, and most importantly, offer your contact information so you can acquire new prospective clients.

You may also want to consider attending industry events, conferences, and trade shows, as well as joining professional organizations relevant to your field to help identify potential clients and expand your network.

Whether you’re just getting started in setting up your independent consultancy or well-established within your niche, Business Talent Group offers a wide array of resources to help you kickstart your career transition. To learn more, visit the Business Talent Group Business Resource Center here.

(Skip to 21:30)

Business Talent Group’s 2023 High-End Independent Talent Report explores how business leaders are leveraging on-demand talent to stay nimble amid uncertainty—as companies strive to attain more flexibility and bring in new skills to navigate rapidly changing markets. Among the findings: a 116% increase year over year in the need for interim leadership at all levels throughout organizations, with demand in the C-suite rising 78%.

BTG CEO Amelia Warren Tyagi joined Carol Massar and Madison Mills of Bloomberg Businessweek to take a closer look at the research, which is based on analysis of thousands of project inquiries across industries and functions. Tyagi noted that demand for flexible talent solutions is on the rise.

“We’re actually seeing that as the economy gets choppier and there’s more uncertainty out there, that folks are really turning to on-demand solutions because they want that flexibility,” Tyagi said. “They still need to get things done and they need it fast, but they don’t want to necessarily make long-term commitments.”

The report highlights an acute need for on-demand talent in the finance office: Interim CFO requests were up 103% year over year, while the demand for interim controllers skyrocketed 233%. For interim finance talent across the board, demand was up 71%, and requests for talent skilled in financial controls, accounting, and audit increased 76%.

“Some of what we’re seeing is some skill realignment,” Tyagi said. “The CFO is increasingly being asked to wear a number of additional hats, especially in this kind of environment. In some situations they’re being asked to raise money. In others, they’re asked to manage cash in a whole different way. They’re asked to help with restructuring; they may even be asked to assist with big IT projects.”

Listen in as they further explore how highly skilled independent talent have become a key source of skills and expertise for business leaders, whether they need to grow fast, seize opportunities, or pivot adeptly in today’s increasingly competitive business environment. Skip to 21:30 to jump right into the interview.

Or see the data for yourself in the 2023 High-End Independent Talent Report.

You’ve done your homework on how to start a career in independent consulting, outweighed the pros and cons for your career change, and feel ready to make the leap from full-time employment to striking out on your own—but does your family feel as prepared as you do?

The transition from a full-time employee to an independent consultant can be an exciting and daunting experience for everyone in your household. The same freedom and flexibility that comes with being your own boss and setting your own schedule will require you and your family to undergo a period of adjustment together as you work to establish your new schedule and routine, manage income fluctuations, and ultimately, grow your business.

As anyone who has ever navigated how to work from home with kids can tell you, it is essential to establish new routines and get the full support of your family as you enter this new chapter in your career. Whether you’re working fully remote or need to spend time on-site with your clients, figuring out how to balance work and family starts with setting the right expectations for everyone, and a little planning and communication can go a long way to avoid work-family conflict as you navigate managing family and consulting work.

Here are ten tips to help you establish work and family balance as you begin consulting:

1. Communicate openly and honestly

If you’ve already defined your business goals and objectives, make sure you take the time to communicate openly about what they are with your family. Share how you plan to balance your work from home consulting and on-site commitments. Schedule a designated time to sit down with your family and discuss why you’re interested in making this change, what the transition entails for you and for them, and the level of support you feel you’ll need to maintain a balance between your consulting and family life.

The age of your children will help set the tone for this discussion. For younger kids, focus on taking time to get them comfortable with how their time with you or away from you might shift. If you’re introducing a new caregiving situation, consider having them meet with your kids in advance of any major changes to your current schedule to help them feel secure. Elementary and middle-school kids may benefit from having a conversation to express why you’re electing to make these changes in your career and how it’s important to the whole family. If your children living at home are in high school or older, help them understand where they can step up to take more ownership by helping with younger siblings or taking on new responsibilities to pitch in at home. Be honest about the potential risks and rewards and encourage your family to ask questions. Listen attentively and be ready to address their concerns.

2. Establish personal and professional boundaries

If your family is used to reaching you more frequently, it’s especially important to help them understand when and how to reach you during your set working hours. Being upfront about what your availability will look like and the best methods for contacting you. Establishing visual cues—like posting a sign on your in-home office door while in meetings or wearing noise-canceling headphones—can help to further reinforce your boundaries when working at home.

3. Create a routine and set clear expectations

While freelancing brings independence to your schedule, it’s important to take a realistic view of your current schedule and establish what your daily routine for consulting work will be. Talk your partner through what your vision is for how your day-to-day routine could work. Share what you expect to earn and discuss what that means for the current dynamic of your household. Talk openly about what you might look to deprioritize or look to outsource in order to help ensure that this can work for everyone. Discuss how responsibilities at home may need to shift in order to manage work and family priorities. Making sure everyone is on the same page will go a long way in helping you feel supported and avoiding potential pitfalls down the road.

4. Establish a dedicated workspace

To maintain a healthy work-life balance consulting, it’s important to create a dedicated workspace to allow you to go into work mode with minimal distractions. Whether you are planning to dedicate a separate room in your home, investing in a membership to a co-working space, or plan to frequent your library or local coffee shop to work remotely, make sure your family understands what to expect and the importance of having uninterrupted time to complete your work.

5. Budget for income fluctuations

As an independent consultant, it’s common to have an income that will fluctuate from month to month. It’s also important to plan for these fluctuations by setting aside a portion of your income for savings and other unexpected expenses. Communicate early and often with your family about any shifts in income and how you’ll budget accordingly to avoid putting pressure on your partner.

6. Create a contingency plan

As with any career change, unexpected circumstances can arise when consulting. Take time to create an action plan for where you’ll work in case of a power issue or internet outage. Discuss your plans for how to navigate a significant downturn in your business to get ahead of any potential pitfalls.

7. Utilize a shared calendar or app

Establish a family calendar to track and manage your professional and personal commitments to keep everyone on the same page about your schedule as it shifts. This is especially important if you expect you may need to travel for work.

8. Manage your workload

Setting realistic goals and deadlines for yourself and your clients is key to maintaining work and family balance and avoiding burnout. Communicate honestly with your clients about your availability and how to reach you in case of emergency, be transparent about your workload with your family, and avoid taking on more work than you can handle. It’s also a great idea to establish a coverage plan to help prepare yourself for how you’ll manage the ebb and flow of your workload without putting additional strain on your family.

9. Set aside time for self-care

When first diving into consulting work, life balance can sometimes take a backseat, but setting aside time each day for exercise and establishing a self-care routine can help you recharge and stay ahead of the demands of your work and family life. Talk to your family about when you hope to prioritize self-care in your schedule and discuss how you can support each other.

10. Celebrate your wins

Your family will be there with you through the thick of it, so it’s important to take time to pause and celebrate your successes with them. Whether your latest win is securing a new client, achieving a major milestone in your business, or completing a training that will take your work to the next level, be sure to take time to acknowledge your accomplishments and share your successes with your loved ones.

Figuring out how to manage family and work life and find balance can take some trial and error but the more open, honest, and clear you are in setting expectations for yourself, your family, and your clients, the better off you and your business will be in the long run.

Business Talent Group also offers a wide array of resources to help you kickstart your career transition to consultancy. Learn more by visiting the BTG Business Resource Center here.

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

Apply Today

Are you currently considering making a career transition from full-time employee to independent consultant? If so, you’re not alone.

MBO Partners’ 2022 State of Independence report found that the total number of independent professionals in the U.S. grew to 64.6 million independent workers in 2022—a 69% increase from 2020 levels—and the number of full-time independents grew an equally impressive 59%, from 13.6 million in 2020 to 21.6 million in 2022. As the demand for independent talent rises, an increasing number of full-time workers have reported feeling more secure with the idea of working independently, citing flexibility, the pursuit of a better work/life balance, and the opportunity for increased earning potential as reasons to make the transition.

As an experienced professional with skills that are in demand for both traditional roles and independent projects, how do you decide which arrangement is better for you?

Traditional employment offers a steady source of reliable income, on-the-job networking and training, and employer-provided benefits. On the other hand, independent consultants are awarded the freedom to choose the types of projects they take on, flexibility to set their own schedules, and opportunities to increase their income.

Before we dive into the career questions to ask yourself when considering this transition, it’s important to get clarity on what an independent consultant is and how it differs from the role of an independent contractor.

What is consulting?

By definition, independent consulting work is work executed by an individual or team that holds extensive experience or subject matter expertise. Businesses contract with this individual or team to help identify what the business is doing well and identify any areas for improvement in order to help solve their biggest business problems. Independent consultants may work in advisory capacity or operate more hands-on to support shaping and executing a business’s strategies, processes, and decisions—whether they were the ones who originally developed them or are just acting in a post-strategy support role to add experience and capacity.

If the independent route sounds intriguing, here are a few career path questions to ask yourself before you make the transition from employee to consultant:

1. What is my goal or motivation for becoming an independent consultant?

Before you send in your resignation and make the switch to become a consultant, it’s important to identify your key motivation and consider how this transition can support your long-term career goals. Is there something specific you are hoping to achieve as an independent consultant that you cannot achieve within your current role? Are you looking to gain more control over your work schedule? Is earning more money a driving factor for considering this career pivot or are you more interested in looking for opportunities to vary your client projects and industry experience?

Taking time to identify your goals will help you make better informed decisions about your career path and help you later identify the types of projects you take on and clients you work with. Reading about the experiences of other professionals who have made the professional plunge to go independent can also be a great source of inspiration.

2. What types of skills and areas of expertise can I offer?

Consulting requires a high level of expertise in a specific area. For you and your clients to be successful, it’s critical to assess whether you have the necessary skills and experience you need right now to provide value to clients. Make a list of your current skills and qualifications and consider your professional experience. Determine your value proposition as a consultant to help specify the type of services you can offer. Consider what you’re passionate about and where you want to focus your energy.

It’s also important to be honest with yourself. If you find that you’re lacking knowledge or skills in certain areas that you feel would be important to being successful, you may need to focus on gaining additional experience or education before making a full career transition.

3. What is the demand for my skills in the consulting market?

Consulting is a highly competitive industry that spans a wide variety of industries and sectors. It’s important to research the demand for your skills in the consulting market. Take the time to do your research. Are there a lot of consultants with similar skills? Is there a high demand for your specific expertise?

It’s important to note that as you start off in consulting, it can be more difficult to choose one particular niche, but over time, honing in on your specialization will help you identify yourself more distinctly as a thought leader and allow you to consider the best potential target clients for your services. As you look to determine your specialty area, consider the geography, industry type, and nature of the services you can offer and how your expertise could stand out against the competition.

4. Do I have a strong personal and professional network?

Having a strong network of mentors, friends, former colleagues, and family members can help make a career transition smoother and offer a sounding board for future guidance and support when you need it most. Consider your current network and how you can strengthen or build upon your existing connections or create new ones.

5. How will I market myself as a consultant?

Growth is often the primary challenge for new consultants, with consulting often reliant upon word-of-mouth referrals. This makes having a strong professional network even more vital to helping you secure new projects and clients.

In order to market yourself, it is essential to have a clear value proposition and a marketing plan for your consultancy. This can include activities like developing a dedicated website, establishing a LinkedIn presence, attending networking events, participating in speaking engagement, and dedicating time to build relationships with potential clients. As you consider the channels to promote your services, consider what resources you have available to you now and where you are willing to invest your time to help your business grow.

If you’re not sure where to start, Business Talent Group offers resources, with suggestions on marketing tactics that can help you grow your business as an independent consultant by engaging your audience, increasing your online presence, building your network, becoming a thought leader, and building your brand.

6. Am I prepared to handle the uncertainty and financial implications that come with independent consultancy?

One of the benefits of becoming an independent consultant is the potential to earn a higher, but less predictable, compensation. As you’re weighing out the financial implications of making the switch from full time employment, you’ll need to factor in what the costs are to manage your healthcare, retirement savings, and taxes—as well as your marketing and other business expenses.

There is a level of uncertainty that comes with the territory of being an independent consultant and the reality is that you may not always have a steady stream of projects. Evaluate if you’re in a position to weather financial downturns. Are there steps you can take now to get your financial structure in a better place to manage the ebb and flows of being an independent consultant? Be strategic in your pricing to consider how hourly, results- or value-based pricing, retainer, or transactional pricing could work best for your business.

7. Does my current work style align with my personal values and what is required of me to be successful as an independent consultant?

Consulting can have a unique culture and way of working and transitioning can feel like a major adjustment for people who have spent their careers in a traditional working environment. As a consultant, you’ll need strong communications and problem-solving skills. The ability to manage your time and work independently and deliver results on deadline will be critical to your business. Unlike traditional employment, this may mean moving at a fast and unpredictable pace to meet your client’s needs. Before you make the leap, consider how the requirements for the working environment align with your current values and work style.

The Bottom Line:

Traditional employment may be the best fit for you if you are someone who requires a steady source of income, set hours, employer-provided benefits, or access to mentorship or training opportunities.

Becoming an independent consultant may be a better fit for you if you’re more interested in taking control of your professional destiny—from the types of projects and creative challenges you take on to establishing a more flexible work environment to suit your lifestyle needs.

If you’re interested in making a change, Business Talent Group offers a wide array of resources to help you kickstart your career transition to consultancy.

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

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The independent workforce in the U.K and EU is growing quickly and becoming stronger than ever with high-end talent flocking to fluid work with the desire for autonomy, flexibility, and control. We’ve seen those reasons and more reflected in the responses to our annual Talent Lens survey—the most comprehensive study of workers at the top end of the on-demand talent economy.

Demand trends demonstrate that executives are beginning to understand the benefits that on-demand talent can offer given the attractive economics for project-based work. According to recent Heidrick & Struggles market research, more than 60% of executives surveyed in Europe have used some form of on-demand talent in the past, and 85% believe they will start to use on-demand talent services more in the future.

To provide a lens into the growing population of independent talent, we’ve profiled three highly skilled, successful professionals in the BTG network to talk about their background and experience with independent consulting.

Meet the talent

Angel Arbizu

Process improvement and digital transformation consultant based in Madrid, Spain

Angel Arbizu gained a global perspective early on when he obtained a scholarship to study abroad in the United States during his undergrad in Spain, then again in Paris, France, for his MBA, and later China with a scholarship to study Business Chinese where he earned his PhD in international marketing. Amidst his educational pursuits, Arbizu was a senior consultant at PwC for six years with extensive project management, change management, systems implementation, and corporate launch experience in the healthcare industry.

Over the course of his career, he has worked with several clients in Western Europe and China to manage data flow requirements, master data management (MDM) initiatives, change management and governance, and system roll-outs. He specializes in global PMO establishment and operations, process design and implementation, and ongoing systems support, and excels at coordinating cross-functionally between end users, business leaders, vendors, and IT.

All these experiences and projects that took place all over the world quenched his thirst for variety, learning, and development, and each choice queued him up to be a perfect fit for independent consultancy. The true catalyst for the official shift to working independently came from a colleague from PwC who started a boutique and saw Arbizu as “the link or the bridge” for European clients. He did this for two years before going totally solo and finding BTG.

Arbizu notes that he chose to become an independent consultant so he could choose projects and clients himself rather than being locked into a traditional full-time role. He emphasizes the importance of adding value. Project-based work is wholly based on deliverables and priorities so independents like Arbizu know their efforts are adding value to the client and company because they can see the results.

“At the end of the day, we’re definitely going to deliver… [which is why] they should just try us,” Arbizu said.

Frederick Bagnall

Strategy consultant with a focus on strategic transformations through organic and inorganic growth based in Madrid, Spain

Fred Bagnall is a former Ernst & Young consultant with over eight years of PMO, project, and program management experience with a focus on strategic transformations through organic and inorganic growth in various industries including pharma, financial services, PE, and the public sector.

While he’s relatively new to independent consulting (having started in April 2022), Bagnall feels that this path allows for limitless growth. “Working as an independent consultant your circle, or the people that you choose to interactive with, can be as small or as large as you like,” he said. “As an independent consultant you directly benefit from expanding your network and can influence the type of clients and people you work with.”

Additional to that, Bagnall cites flexibility as a key reason he chose to become an independent consultant, both in scheduling flexibility and how and where he works. He said that the ability to meet with different people, build their trust and gain their confidence while working on valuable projects is a win-win, coupled with the limitless networking and professional growth opportunities.

He also theorized that his experience working in niche areas like post-merger integrations, separations, and large-scale transformations gives him a unique insight into the challenges his clients are likely to face, since a typical client will only go through a few transformations in their lifespan, if any. That background gives him the ability to anticipate challenges and act accordingly when they arise—having likely experienced them on projects prior.

On-demand talent like Bagnall are well equipped to work in positions that require impartiality and confidentiality, such as on transactions and transformation projects. “[It’s] the perfect use case for independent consultants as they are exactly that, independent,” he said. Independents provide unique perspectives untainted by internal politics or individual career ambitions. According to Bagnall, if a client actively pursues those perspectives, it can also bring interesting and challenging work to the consultant.

And compared to traditional hires, consultants can gain unique insights into the minds of clients, their business, their problems. “I often find myself acting as a sounding board for my clients on topics they may not feel comfortable discussing with internal employees,” Bagnall said.

Incorporating independent consultant support with talent like Fred Bagnall can enable organizations to benefit from an outside point of view.

Romano Kroemer

Accomplished leader in Pharma R&D with experience in research and development projects, strategy and operations, as well as data and digitalization programs based in Paris, France

Romano Kroemer is motivated by fast-paced, challenging environments, as well as the flexibility and diversity in projects. For Kroemer, going independent wasn’t so much a “start” of a new endeavor as it was a continuation of what he was doing before – pursuing projects, transforming the sector he has been working in, and innovating to drive results and growth.

As the former Head of Structure, Design & Informatics at a global healthcare company as well as an accomplished leader in the pharmaceutical space, Kroemer has extensive experience in digitalization, data science, scientific computing, data management, operations and business performance, and strategy implementation. Earning his PhD in chemistry led him to the pharmaceutical industry with focus on research, strategic operations, and data science. After touching so many areas of interest and enjoying the inherent variety of work, the natural progression was for Kroemer to transition to independent consulting full-time.

Project-based professionals are goal oriented and driven – “You have a very concrete, a very well-defined mission, and you are really dedicated to that mission,” Kroemer said, vouching for the “hit the ground running through thorough preparation” mentality of independent consultants as a salve for any client hesitancy. “On that mission, then you have this opportunity to make key contributions when it really counts. In many cases these consultancy projects are time bound; there are very stringent objectives associated with them … you are focused on that. You are not sidetracked by administrative tasks or supervising people on your team.”

Highly learned professionals like Romano Kroemer–who possess the ability to go deep across a variety of fields and make the connections between them–have the insights necessary to be a driving force for change amidst uncertainty.

Advice from the inside

For clients looking to get ahead in the competitive landscape or those contemplating joining the indie ranks, sometimes the best advice comes from people in the field. Here are some best practices from these experts in addition to a few tried and true tips from BTG.

For clients:

• Try ODT and see – you’ll likely find that they’re exactly what you’re looking for in terms of skills, expertise, and cost.
• Evaluate how willing the team or the manager is to accept outside input as you determine how to best tackle your initiatives.
• Ask yourself how realistic the scale or the timeframe is of the change you’re trying to facilitate.
• Define the mission. Identify opportunities and explore where a consultant’s skills can support your initiatives as you better understand when to engage on-demand talent.
• Maintain a collaborative environment where new perspectives are valued rather than excluded, dismissed, or feared.
• Recognize that a majority of independent workers are independent by choice, especially when talking about high-end talent.
• Don’t write off candidates as “too senior” for your consideration. These professionals are motivated and emboldened by the nitty-gritty, hands-on nature of independent work and are more than able to hit the ground running to get the work done.

For talent:

• Really think about the differences between the corporate world and independent consulting. Not only can you choose projects, but you can choose clients and managers that you click with as you’re prospecting.
• Remember that it’s up to you to decide where you want to go and what your professional progression looks like.
• Be open and honest about what you look for in your work. Being an independent consultant requires skills, expertise, and experience, but it also requires self-motivation to drive projects to successful completion.
• If you’re deliberating whether independent consulting is the right path for you, do some market research to find out if there’s a good market for your experience and expertise and whether clients in that space have a culture of engaging with external support or not.
• Be mindful and prepared for fluctuations in workload and income.
• Be prepared to ask informed questions to show that you’ve done your research, you’re paying attention, and you’re a good listener.
• Be humble.

The European labor market is evolving and expanding

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One of the most effective ways to make yourself stand out is by adorning your social and talent platform profiles with certifications and skills badges. If you’re looking to round out your resume and showcase your latest skills, upskilling with microcredentials—certifications that recognize the completion of a short-term course or training session—could be an interesting avenue to pursue this year.

Courses that feature microcredentials offer flexible, targeted ways to develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies you need for your personal and professional development. While the concept is relatively adolescent and still developing, it’s growing quickly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re designed for professionals to show that they’re up to date amidst an ever-changing and evolving landscape, especially in areas of high growth, such as IT, data analytics, project management, UI/UX, digital marketing, communications, and cybersecurity, to name a few.

Companies are finding microcredentials to be one key source of the skills they need most at this critical moment. That’s why Barrons identifies them as “an area of tangible promise for the nation’s workforce-development and economic problems.” And while the affordability varies based on what you’re looking for and what industry you’re in, they all bridge the gap between jobs and skills. These certifications can be sourced in several ways, through colleges and universities, platforms like LinkedIn, and other local or online institutions. There are even free tutorials out there via LinkedIn Learning and similar platforms that you can take for broader and expanded technical knowledge.

Let’s explore some professional development opportunities related to upskilling and microcredentials to help give you an edge up on the competition in 2023.  

An argument for upskilling and reskilling

Upskilling means teaching or learning additional skills generally whereas reskilling refers to learning new skills so you can do a new job, or to teach someone new skills so they can do a new job. Which of the two you’re looking to do depends on your interests and desires related to independent consulting.

You might choose to upskill if you discover an interest in a new area or niche that you want to dive deeper into, or perhaps you’re looking to learn more about an area you already have experience in. Reskilling might be more top of mind for those looking to pivot to a new industry or specialty. Either way, these courses can be well worth your while as they enable and emphasize your professional growth while giving you a new perspective to bring to your clients’ projects.

After the near-constant uncertainty we’ve faced since 2020, businesses are looking to future-proof themselves against disturbances, and they’re increasingly turning to the independent talent market for critical skills they may lack today. Upskilling enables professionals to become more effective workers and stay competitive in their industry by developing today’s most in-demand skills—bettering their position for opportunities down the road.

In fact, according to a 2023 Wiley survey, 69% of U.S. human resource professionals said their organization has a skills gap, up from 55% in a similar 2021 survey. And Mckinsey found that the need to address skill gaps is more urgent than ever with 58% of leaders saying that closing skill gaps in their companies’ workforces has become a higher priority since the pandemic began. No wonder then that 69% respondents say that their organizations do more skill building now than they did before the COVID-19 crisis.

Doubling-down on the trends, Mercer reported in 2022 that “66% of executives say they face a labor shortage crisis.” As such, right-fit, highly skilled talent are clearly hard to come by in some industries, which is reason enough to pursue knowledge wherever it makes sense.

How to get started

If you’re truly starting from scratch, map out areas that interest you or areas that you know you could develop further. These could be technical certifications or something more theoretical, industry depending. For those in HR, it might look like a focused course on employee relations, DE&I, or KPIs. For marketing leaders, it could look like SEO skills trainings, digital marketing certifications, or a deep dive into specific platforms like Google or LinkedIn. Tech and digital talent might look to focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning, or education on the metaverse. All it takes is a quick search to send you down the rabbit hole of opportunity.

Traditional certifications are valuable if they’re viable

Don’t neglect traditional certifications if they make sense for your independent career path! Among BTG clients, some of the most commonly sought-after certifications—which you can note on your BTG talent profile—include:

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Six Sigma – Black Belt
• Six Sigma – Yellow Belt
• Six Sigma – Green Belt
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
• Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM)
• Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM)
• Master Project Manager (MPM)
• Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3)
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)
• Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)
• Project Management Essentials (PME)
• Project Management Institute Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)
• Project Management Institute Project Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)
• Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
• Chartered Accountant (CA)
• International Project Management Association (IPMA)

Interested? Learn more about the highly skilled professionals in BTG’s talent community, or find out what makes them tick in our annual survey of talent, Talent Lens.

Now’s the perfect time to work on yourself

If a specialized certification isn’t on your roadmap, perhaps some broad self-improvement priorities are in order. How’s your relationship with productivity? Are you ticking items off your to-do list, or are there areas that you could work on? How about organization—how’s your calendar looking? Your desk? Get a head start on spring cleaning with our tips and tricks. Finally, do you feel like you have a hold on your focus and motivation? Remote work has its pros and cons, so be sure to find balance between your personal life and your projects.

Put your skills and experience to work on interesting, high-priority projects with BTG.

Upskilling and reskilling can just as easily be done on the job, on projects with top clients, and alongside insightful teams. If you’re planning a professional pivot, the independent workforce has infinite opportunities for learning and development. And, if you’re already a part of our network, be sure to update your profile with your latest skills and certifications so you can be paired with projects that are in your wheelhouse.

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Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

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Entering 2023, many companies are holding back. We see clients slowing hiring, tightening budgets, and reprioritizing strategic initiatives. At the same time, they’re continuing to strive for growth and watching carefully for moments to spring into action as the economy turns. Trying to do all of this, in a somewhat unfamiliar and unsettled economic context, and with tighter resources, sounds like a really tough act. It is. And, it turns out, it’s a perfect moment to use high-end on-demand talent to help.

BTG has seen a version of this movie before. In 2008, when we were a brand-new company, we prepared for the worst as our clients began to freeze headcount, undertake RIFs, and slow down or hold back on planned investments. We expected that we, too, would be forced to retract and retrench. Surprisingly, our business grew extremely quickly during the Great Recession and the period immediately following.

We are seeing a similar set of phenomena now—although certainly less dramatically than in 2008—as our clients gird themselves for what may become a recession. Over the past 3-6 months, we’ve seen many clients, large and small, slow down hiring processes, trim operating costs, scale back their use of traditional consultancies, and take a rigorous fresh look at how to pivot or rebalance workflows. Increasingly, clients value optionality and nimbleness as they play out economic and competitive scenarios.

And, they’re using on-demand talent to help them do so. Here are three common—and we think smart—scenarios in which clients have recently put on-demand talent to work:

1. Quickly improve bottom-line performance

Of course, in-house management is consistently looking for these opportunities. Yet the day-to-day demands of running the business—coupled with the ever-present challenge for internal leaders of true objectivity—can make it difficult to quickly identify, confirm, and act upon smart, short-term performance improvement measures in any given function or business line. That’s where the infusion of experienced on-demand talent can make the difference. Two quick examples:

Modest but real and quick cost reduction

The US CEO of a midcap industrial client recently needed to find 5% savings quickly. To help, he brought in an experienced former COO for a special project. This “freelance executive” had, as an independent consultant, helped several previous clients tighten up operations. He was brought into a specially designed short-term “Chief Transformation Officer” role and, over an intensely focused four-month period, helped the leadership team find ways not only to cut costs but also to streamline and improve operations.

Pricing improvement during inflation

The CEO of a B2B services company saw the necessity to abruptly tweak annual contracts as she headed into their fiscal year beginning in June given the sudden emergence of inflation. The company brought in a top-flight independent pricing consultant, formerly of Bain & Co, to quickly assess and propose modifications that enabled the company to deliver against profitability objectives despite rising costs and without losing customers.

2. Protect and grow pockets of innovation

Perhaps counter-intuitively, we’re seeing clients not letting a good crisis go to waste, if I may borrow a phrase from Churchill. Instead they’re using this economic moment to stoke innovation by pulling up to take a fresh look at how customer needs and pain points are changing in substantial and sudden ways. Others are recognizing and working to capitalize on discontinuities in their markets and readying themselves for fairly dramatic strategic pivots. And some have even made opportunistic acquisitions, taking advantage of depressed prices.

The judicious and highly targeted use of on-demand talent helps leaders make the most of these moments even when resources are limited. How? By injecting skilled people and deep expertise exactly where and only when needed, rather than building out all-purpose teams for innovation or business model transformation teams. For example, we have a client in the food and beverage industry that is exploring entry into wildly new business categories by using skilled executives from these “new” areas to get smart quickly and to pilot concepts. Another example: We have a client in the recreation and entertainment sector staffing a newly-in-seat Chief Innovation Officer with on-demand analysts and innovation consultants until he decides what type of team and processes are needed to drive the innovation muscle throughout the company.

We’ve been impressed with how many of our clients are explicitly attempting to simultaneously batten down the hatches in their core businesses while quietly and selectively upping investment in innovation. On-demand talent becomes a “strike force alpha”-type talent strategy for these critical innovations.

3. Align skills and leadership with the immediate future—and buy time for longer-term talent decisions

Here’s a very common client need we’re hearing these days: “We had planned to build out a [fill in the blank] leader/team…but we’ve decided to wait. Yet, we have a) work building up or b) a number of questions still to answer.”

Woah, tough, but here’s the good news.

There is an in-between solution, one that simultaneously honors the imperative of the moment to hold off on permanent commitments while not putting everything on ice. On-demand talent can be used in any number of ways in short bursts on projects.

If you’ll allow a sports analogy or two here, we are seeing clients use on-demand talent to:

1. “Chalk the field.” I.e., prepare the way and get things set up in advance of “the big game.” Recent clients have, for example, brought in skilled analytical leaders to complete phase-zero analysis. Others have used on-demand executives to set up underlying systems (e.g., HR information systems, ERPs) that will be necessary regardless of who is brought in as the permanent leader or when.
2. “Move the ball downfield.” Similarly, we’ve watched clients rapidly switch strategies, from one BIG permanent hire (aka, the long, high-stakes perfect pass on a football field) to a more incremental one involving a series of shorter plays. What do we mean? Clients will take a phased approach, bringing in a temporary leader for one phase of work, often the initial build. This way, they over-index on the skills needed for the immediate work and moment and just get that done. Then, they can either pause or reflect and deploy the best team for the next phase of work. We’ve seen this happen very successfully as one of our top clients in healthcare stood up and spun out a new business, taking this approach with several key leadership roles including the CIO and the CISO roles.

In short, as the purse strings tighten while both opportunity and challenge for the business abounds, we encourage clients to explore how high-end, on-demand talent can be put to use in creative and powerful ways. Preserve your options, stay nimble, prevent work from piling up or burying your permanent leadership team—and get exactly the skill and experience you need for the moments immediately ahead.

Business leaders have a lot on their minds right now. Facing unfilled positions, under-resourced priorities, over-burdened workers, and a backlog of projects, they are increasingly seeing a chasm between the skills they have and the skills they need to move forward in this tenuous environment. Because of the current climate, those that tap into the independent workforce solidify their competitive advantage by quickly and efficiently procuring the skills and expertise they need.

Rapid growth and rising satisfaction

The size of independent workforce grew significantly over the past year, according to MBO Partners’ “2022 State of Independence” report, as well as their satisfaction, earnings, and overall success. With more and more professionals choosing to pivot to project-based independent work and finding that it is viable as a full-time endeavor—no longer relegated to simply a “side hustle.” —it’s clear that the segment is booming.

MBO found that there have never been more people working independently, with 64.6 million independent workers in 2022, up 26% over 2021. While that number includes those who are part-time or “occasional” independents, the research shows that full-time independents in particular grew 59%, from 13.6 million in 2020 to 21.6 million in 2022 and what’s more, nearly 20% of independents are high earning—meaning they make more than $100,000 annually. It’s clear that top talent are flocking to the independent market, and business leaders would do well to consider how to make the best use of them to address their biggest pain points and opportunities. 

Leading corporations have received the message and are ready to hit the ground running with these independent workers. In fact, two-thirds of companies say they plan to substantially increase their utilization of independents within the next 18 months. say they plan to substantially increase their utilization of independents within the next 18 months.

According to the report, “The Great Realization is a dual-sided trend. Enterprises now recognize independents as an imperative part of their strategic growth agenda and a competitive workforce edge, and independents see greater benefits than ever before in having the control to do the work they love, the way they want.” That echoes findings from Business Talent Group’s 2022 Talent Lens survey of high-end independent talent, who reported that their top reasons to go and stay independent include control, flexibility, and variety.

A workforce-wide shift toward skills-based organizations

Organizations are trying to combat widespread burnout—but that goal is often at odds with the need to do more with less in a time of labor shortages and market-influenced hiring freezes. Those competing priorities aren’t likely to dissipate any time soon, with 73% of executives reporting that they expect talent shortages to continue over the next three years, according to Deloitte. In response, 70% of surveyed business leaders say they’re getting creative about sourcing for skills. Independent, on-demand talent—a fast, flexible, and cost-effective source of in-demand skills and experience—may just be the solution such leaders are seeking.

Deloitte argues that skills are overtaking traditional jobs as the fundamental building block of work. Many organizations are applying skills-based models to meet the demand for agility, agency, and equity. Now more than ever, organizations are moving toward a whole new operating model for work and the workforce that places skills, more than jobs, at the center. This new model can help organizations focus their attention on the outputs and skills needed to accomplish their top priorities.

Among other benefits, organizations that adopt a skills-based approach have shown significant gains in their ability to operate with efficiency, boost resilience, and innovate. For instance, skills-based organizations are:

• 49% more likely to improve processes to maximize efficiency
• 57% more likely to anticipate change and respond effectively and efficiently
• 52% more likely to innovate

This emphasis on skills may be exactly what’s needed in this era of accelerating, often unpredictable change. And business leaders agree—with 85% of executives saying that organizations should create more agile ways of organizing work to swiftly adapt to market changes.

Companies increase their competitive advantage by utilizing on-demand talent

In another recent report, 60% of buyers of consulting services described their organizations as being very short-staffed, with 68% citing capacity as the number one reason for using outside consulting help—as opposed to 27% indicating the need for increased capabilities. Source Global attributes capacity shortages as a major reason why demand for external help, stating that “workloads [on internal teams] and the pace of activity remain problematically high, with staff even more exhausted and stressed.” Furthermore, recruitment remains difficult despite the slowing pace of employee resignation, increasing the need for external support.

The data shows that the independent workforce is increasingly in demand

Other recent research confirms that highly skilled independent professionals are quickly becoming an essential and ubiquitous source of skills and capacity. MBO found that 67% of HR managers expect their use of contingent labor to increase substantially over the next 18 months to meet temporary workload needs, increase productivity, get tasks done more quickly, and access specialized skills and hard-to-hire talent. Furthermore, Upwork revealed that nearly 60% of hiring managers who engage independent talent say they plan to increasingly rely on freelancers over the next six months (58%) and over the next two years (66%). Finally, Mercer discovered that 60% of executives expect that gig workers will substantially replace full-time employees at their company in the next three years, showing yet again that the fluid workforce is here to stay.

Fill skill and leadership gaps with top talent from Business Talent Group

On-demand talent is proving to be a key pillar of a holistic talent strategy for forward-thinking businesses. On a recent investor call, Krishnan Rajagopalen, president and CEO of Heidrick & Struggles, noted “We believe on-demand talent will continue to grow in relevance and demand, particularly as the labor markets are so very tight, and companies are operating in an environment where variable versus fixed costs are a priority. … Clients in need of executive search also often have near-term capacity challenges that can be solved by interim or project-based on-demand talent.”

BTG’s clients have likewise discovered the possibilities for resourcing better, faster, and more flexibly. We can confidently report that we are trusted by more than 50% of the F100 with 91% of clients exploring a new project need within 12 months. Our clients not only recognize the value of skills, but they have personally experienced how fast, easy, and cost effective it can be to utilize high-end independent talent.

From broad industry knowledge to niche expertise, our talent network has what you need to keep moving and improving amidst uncertainty. There’s no reason to put off your priorities, stretch your capacity, or extend your workday any longer. Harness the skills and experience of on-demand talent to tackle your most pressing projects today.

The life sciences industry occupies a unique position, in that it must be both highly competitive and highly collaborative. As a result, its challenges are also unique. Though supply chain fragility, cost pressures, and talent shortages are global pain points at the moment, a historic deprioritization of technological infrastructure has put life science operations at a significant disadvantage when it comes to agility and resilience initiatives.

Nothing illustrated this better than the beginning of the pandemic, when technology became the fulcrum upon which slow adopters teetered precariously. Some life science orgs embraced the sudden need to go deeper with tech, yielding improved product traceability and thrusting previously marginalized services (such as telemedicine) into the mainstream. Others, however, continue to struggle with the abundance of available technologies and how best to tap the opportunities that automation and digitization offer.

Sustainability is a similarly outsized concern due to the industry’s inherent focus on the betterment of life. This makes life science supply chain challenges all the more acute, as sustainability initiatives must be considered from both angles: operational and environmental. Without one, manufacturing resilience suffers; without the other, ESG resilience does.

Ultimately, all of these challenges unique to life science operations are further exacerbated by the global talent shortage. The speed at which the industry has evolved has left broad skills gaps, and while some larger companies have accelerated upskilling, the fact remains that life, physical, and social science occupations have the second-lowest unemployment rate of all US occupations. Talent is hard to find everywhere, but especially so in this sector.

Upskilling vs. Right-Sizing Talent

Upskilling has its advantages, but it takes time—something that’s a bit of a luxury in a rapidly expanding industry. Another issue is that upskilling requires both infrastructure and an existing skills base from which to draw. Though a select few of the largest life science companies may have the resources to support the former, it would be a quantum leap for most organizations. The latter is the bigger concern, as the intersection between technology and life science operations is where most growth needs to happen right now in order to strengthen resilience.

Where upskilling doesn’t apply, life science leaders are augmenting internal teams by bringing in independent talent. Though the larger talent market is tight, the availability of highly skilled independent talent has grown. Unfettered by geographic restrictions and armed with CVs rich in operational and consulting experience, these on-demand experts are stepping in to support strategic growth across the life sciences.

How Highly Skilled Independents Are Helping to Close the Gap

With more than 4,600 highly skilled life science talent in its cohort—half of whom also possess operational experience—Business Talent Group (BTG) has gotten a first-hand look at the tactical ways in which independent experts are currently being deployed. Five areas, in particular, jump out when assessing the life science operational landscape:

1. Tech enablement and organizational effectiveness, such as strategic and operational change management for developing an integrated digital ecosystem

Once the industry’s Achilles’ heel, digital integration has become a foundational priority for life science companies. “By modernizing their core technology,” a recent report from McKinsey asserts, “life-science companies have a distinct opportunity to gain true competitive advantage over peers.”

This assertion is further bolstered by McKinsey’s findings that “digital maturity is associated with better business outcomes (for example, five times the revenue compound annual growth rate and better delivery of products).” Yet knowing the benefits and having the resources in place to reap them are two different things. Enter: on-demand expertise.

By nature, digital transformations are complex, and both planning and execution are equally critical. Independent life science consultants not only have applicable expertise; many also have project management and systems implementation expertise.

In one case, a global healthcare company needed support on a multinational master data management transformation. The former PwC consultant whom BTG engaged for the project provided the company with process maps and Fit Gap analyses for 21 markets across all functions, and also prepared, arranged, and coordinated change impact assessments as well as implementation and track mitigation plans. When he was finished, the company was able to move forward confidently, and the consultant was free to move on to the next project.

2. Tactical and strategic expertise to guide initiatives including supply chain market assessment, planning, and optimization; supply process transformation; and operations readiness

Life science supply chain challenges carry risks beyond the bottom line. Bottlenecks can be truly dangerous, as delays can prevent life-saving medicine and devices from reaching vulnerable individuals. BTG supply chain operations expert Marcos Buelvas says the supply-side constraints experienced early in the pandemic revealed additional underlying risks that warranted direct, and swift attention:

“Structurally, it is clear that risk is (and should have always been) a major driver of decision making. Decisions around dual supply, near-shoring, and localized capacity have become part of everyone’s language and should stay there so that we are better prepared to manage known and unknown risks, and appropriate plans should always be detailed and understood within and across organizations.”

Again, however, knowing and doing are two different things. Supply chain fragility was laid bare for all to see, but without next steps in place, those weaknesses—and risks—remain. That’s why this is another area where we are seeing on-demand consultants brought in to think through supply chain design and create a cost-effective, sustainable plan for implementation.

“Independent supply chain experts like myself bring a wealth of diverse experiences that can supplement those of our clients,” Buelvas says. “It starts with how the organization sources and who it partners with in that space to reduce risk. It then extends to our manufacturing strategy, both internally and with external partners. And it ends with distribution and how we ensure we can meet customer and patient expectations.”

3. Pre-commercial planning and development activities, including market research and competitive analysis, product and portfolio development, and ESG/sustainability and disaster planning

While supply chain transformation leans more heavily on cooperative relationships, pre-commercial planning and development in the life science sector veer hard into competitive territory. With the introduction of innovative new treatments increasing rapidly across the life sciences, it’s no wonder that companies are trying to ensure that promising products are ready to hit the ground running as soon as they are approved for patients’ use.

From the patient’s journey and the payer’s perspective to the therapeutic and regulatory landscapes, traditional consulting firms have the ability to help identify obstacles throughout the product development process. Yet independent consultants possess the ability to both advise and execute, and many are also former life science executives, giving them functional insight into what works and what doesn’t.

For example, when a clinical stage biotech company was developing an innovative product with wide-ranging medical applications, the Chief Medical Officer needed help moving the product from phase 2 to phase 3.

BTG paired the client with a manufacturing expert who was able to provide recommendations on process improvements and commercial manufacturing. They assessed the supply chain situation and existing limitations and created a method qualification/validation plan, reviewed current final release assays, and made recommendations on how to prepare for the next phase.

4. Product and process development / design, such as design controls, new product and lifecycle management planning, cost matrix analysis, QMS decisions, and digitization and automation of quality processes

In talking about the growing role of AI in life science operations, Marcos Buelvas says, “I am not overreaching when I say that it is everywhere. AI is about evaluating multiple data sources and providing options or recommendations on the decisions to be made.”

AI can be applied to great effect in supply chain strategy as well as product and lifecycle management planning—but only if it has sufficient, reliable data to work with. What’s more, executing on AI-generated recommendations and automating quality processes still requires implementation planning and process design consideration. Internal teams may lack the expertise to effectively identify—let alone clean—the necessary data, and they might also lack the tech-savviness to design an effective automation process.

Independent consultants at the intersection of data analysis and digitization bring the ideal blend of talent to these types of life science product and process development projects. For example, when an F500 medical device company needed to automate its scenario analysis and data visualization processes, BTG paired the client with a former McKinsey consultant. The consultant brought their experience from past analytics-focused engagements to create an Excel model that would feed a digital optimization tool and create data visualizations. The final deliverable also included a deck with next steps for the overall initiative workflow and project plan.

5. Launch, management, and support activities such as product and tech transfer planning and execution, manufacturing excellence, risk reduction, and manufacturing network resilience

The combination of a tight labor market and soaring costs has put additional strain on teams, leading many to be stretched whisper-thin. Given the myriad risks already involved in a life science product launch, falling behind schedule is a threat that looms large. Fortunately, on-demand experts can integrate quickly and easily into internal teams, whether providing support for ramp-ups or removing roadblocks along the way.

This was precisely the case when the Senior Value Stream Project Manager of a global healthcare company needed critical project management support while ramping up capability for worldwide production of a COVID-19 vaccine. Their primary concern was staying on schedule while simultaneously pushing development forward.

BTG was able to provide a former Accenture consultant with extensive project management, change management, supply chain, and logistics expertise across the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. By participating in team meetings, the consultant was able to keep things on track. He stepped in to support several technical transfers, facility ramp ups, and expansions, and also provided dashboard design automation, communications presentations, meeting oversight, and risk register maintenance.

Challenges abound in the global market landscape, but perhaps none appear more frequently than in the life science industry. At the same time, challenges often give way to unprecedented opportunities, and it’s the life science leaders that make the most of this critical moment that will come out ahead. The key lies in securing the necessary expertise without relying on a geographically constrained and talent-scarce labor market.

BTG’s marketplace features thousands of independent life science talent with broad operations expertise and specific in-demand skills that can help assist with the opportunities and challenges of both pre-commercial and commercial activities. If you could use support with product development, clinical supply, quality automation, regulatory compliance, supply chain resilience, and/or manufacturing excellence, reach out today.

Across the life sciences, one of the biggest pain points plaguing companies and business leaders today is cost pressures stemming from the turbulent economy and an uncertain outlook ahead. While costs are a hot topic for everyone, life science leaders are seeing circumstances unique to their industry and laser focusing on cost reduction strategies to help keep things moving amid disruptions. No surprise then that, in these conditions, Business Talent Group (BTG) has seen an influx of demand for operations leaders experienced with all things cost related as leaders navigate needs that can quite literally be life altering for the patients they serve.

In order to provide on-the-ground insights to help life science leaders think about how they can optimize costs and operations in this moment, we’ve turned to Patrick Groody, an experienced senior Abbot leader with broad expertise in the medical diagnostics industry who is skilled at accelerating business performance improvement organization-wide.

Meet the Expert

Patrick Groody

A goal-oriented senior executive with a proven track record of success delivering new products and driving cultural change, leadership development, and business performance improvement.

While cost pressures are a cross-industry pain point right now, what are some pressures that are specific to the life sciences?

General inflationary pressures are causing pain points across industries right know. In the life sciences, companies often need highly skilled workers for product development, manufacturing, and technical product support roles. Current labor shortages are making it increasingly difficult to fill these positions, and labor costs are therefore significantly higher.

Life science products also frequently have unique and challenging storage requirements or limited stability dating, and this often results in complex shipping and storage costs. As transportation, fuel, and energy costs have increased, this had a significant cost impact on these areas.

Finally, since many raw materials are sourced globally, the general lack of supply resulting from the lingering effects of the COVD pandemic continues to put pressure on key raw material costs for life science products.

How have concerns like those you mentioned changed in the past few years? What impact are they having on operations in life science organizations today?

Many of the challenges began during the COVID pandemic, and while there has been some relief, many of those challenges remain. Demand for healthcare products remains high even as demand for discretionary consumer products has started to decrease. Raw material shortages, especially for materials sourced from China and countries where COVID lockdowns remain, continue to cause supply disruptions.

Supplies that used to have reliable lead times are now often on back order for weeks or months. As a result, companies are having to readjust manufacturing schedules more frequently, thereby leading to an increase in plant inefficiencies. Additionally, many companies have had to reconsider and increase raw material inventories in order to sustain a reliable production plan. Finally, sustained high fuel prices and labor shortages in the transportation sector continue to drive significant increases in distribution costs.

What are the biggest opportunities for life science leaders to take cost out of the business right now? How can leaders go about prioritizing them?

Companies need to take a more comprehensive approach to cost reduction. Often, cost reduction efforts focus on finding less expensive alternatives for raw materials or packaging. While this can lead to substantial savings, raw material suppliers now have more leverage, and that “low-hanging fruit” is more difficult to harvest.

It’s now increasingly important to comprehensively examine all aspects of the value chain. This includes identifying areas of process inefficiency, reducing process variability, reducing costs associated with poor product quality, and reallocating resources to drive sustainable efficiencies in both the direct labor and indirect labor parts of the organization.

These are also times of significant market uncertainty. Companies need to nimble. They need to ensure they have processes and plans in place to deal with market changes and disruptions so they can adapt quickly and avoid both inventory excesses and inventory shortages that may otherwise occur.

What are some of the most important things for companies to keep in mind as they move from strategically planning cost reduction initiatives into implementation?

It’s important to stay focused on the long-term objectives and make sure the actions being taken will achieve sustainable reductions in cost. Too often companies look for quick fixes. Although this can produce short-term savings, the results are often not sustainable because the real drivers of cost inefficiency have not been adequately addressed. It’s critical to make sure progress is measured on an ongoing basis. Failure to do so can often result in cost savings creeping right back into the organization.

How can companies ensure that their cost reduction efforts don’t negatively impact product quality and organizational effectiveness?

Maintaining product quality is essential in today’s market. Customers simply won’t stay with a firm that doesn’t produce quality products, as there are often plenty of good alternatives available. Changes in raw materials, suppliers, and manufacturing processes need to be thoroughly tested and validated prior to market in order to ensure product quality and performance are not compromised. Once the changes are implemented, regular review of complaints and other customer feedback data needs to be carefully monitored to ensure changes have not yielded any adverse consequences.

Looking forward, how can organizations effectively forecast and prepare for operational cost variables in the uncertain economic environment?

Forecasting is always difficult since no one knows for sure what the future looks like. The best companies have good processes in place for assumption management. Their plans and strategies are built upon both controllable and uncontrollable assumptions, which are monitored frequently and on a regular basis. By monitoring changes in assumptions continuously, companies have better opportunities to proactively adjust plans when things they assumed don’t materialize.

What makes experts like you an effective solution for companies seeking to strategically approach cost reduction?

Sometimes an outside expert can provide a different perspective and can challenge the assumptions and plans which have been generated internally. Also, many external consultants have the advantage of having had experiences working with many different companies. As a result, they have often seen the differences between plans that work and lead to sustainable savings and those that do not.

How can organizations ensure that transformations related to cost reduction create meaningful, sustainable change?

The key is to be strategic in formulating plans that will have long-term impact. Too often companies are focused on short-term, tactical actions that don’t produce long-term results. Sustainable change requires solving for the key driver of the cost inefficiency and ongoing due diligence to ensure it has a lasting impact.

Find the answers to your cost pressures questions with experts like Patrick.

Business Talent Group’s network includes 4,600+ independent life science consultants, subject matter experts, boutique firms, project managers, and executives. Our talent have advanced degrees, specialized expertise, traditional consulting training, and hands-on experience. We serve:

• 13 of the top 15 largest pharmaceutical companies
• 6 of the top 10 biotech companies
• 8 of the top 10 medical device companies

See why more than 50% of the Fortune 100 and hundreds of other leading companies trust BTG to curate, vet, and compliantly deliver talent who fuel growth, innovation, and performance improvement.

Today’s post is brought to us by Steve Wunker, a member of the BTG talent network and Managing Director of New Markets Advisors, a boutique consulting firm that provides actionable recommendations to help companies drive growth and innovation.

With both inflation and recession fears high, many BTG clients are embarking on cost reduction initiatives. We are teaming with them to find those opportunities.

But this is also a time to look further. Many companies have already gone through rounds of cost-cutting, and they risk hollowing out core capabilities. Moreover, the dislocations of the pandemic have changed many customer needs and buying patterns, creating opportunity for firms to alter business models in ways that both reduce expenses and keep customers delighted.

It’s clear that new approaches are needed. In fact, we have observed that many executives are now recognizing—in this unique moment in time—that there is a real opportunity to pull up and take a fresh look at what, why, and how they do business. The pressure-cooker of the pandemic era yielding to one of economic turmoil has executives searching for ways to focus how they are spending resources and adjust where they are taking the company.

This is where Costovation comes in. Costovation, as detailed in the award-winning book by that name, is a proven approach that deploys the tools and methods of innovation to the cost side of a business. It deploys design thinking, radical reconfigurations of approaches, and rapid prototyping to find step-change opportunities in costs that continue to excel on customer needs.

Consider how Capitec upended assumptions about retail banking. The company removed all cash from branches, and so could do away with security. It configured branches so that tellers could sit alongside customers and look at screens together, in a collaborative manner that enabled cross-sell. It did away with promoting separate accounts, and instead offered a single account for savings, checking, and credit. In so doing, it could charge fees roughly half that of its rivals, and still earn an astonishing 20%+ Return on Equity. Low fees went hand-in-hand with delighted customers and high profits.

Signs That a Market is Ripe for Costovation

Costovation opportunities abound when companies see some of these seven signals:

1. Expensive features: If a significant amount of cost is driven by a handful of features, isolate the features that drive up costs. Cut back or find ways to improve their return on investment.
2. Expensive customers: If a significant amount of expense is driven by a handful of customers, adjust your approach to more efficiently serve the “expensive” customers or make the strategic decision to focus on other populations.
3. Expensive sales: If a significant amount of expense is in sales, not in the product itself, find daring new ways to circumvent traditional sales channels and costovate the way the offering is sold.
4. Over-standardized products: If output is standardized despite very specialized customer needs, zoom in on the customer subsets that are dissatisfied or under-satisfied with current solutions. They are your foothold to disruptive innovation.
5. Over-standardized sales: If the offering is sold the same way to all customers, identify customer segments whose needs are being underserved or overserved by the traditional sales mechanism. Design a new approach that is tailored to meet their core needs (and does not overshoot them).
6. Cost imbalance: If the revenue for certain activities is not proportional to their costs, stand out in the industry by adjusting pricing to accurately reflect the value being delivered.
7. Contingency creep: If the system is built to cover all conceivable use cases, even those that are rare, pick your battles and focus on what is the most impactful.

A Costovation initiative often runs in parallel with other, more typical ways of cost-cutting. They are not inconsistent. Oftentimes, the sponsor is a general manager who can look across the various functions of a business and find ways to blur traditional boundaries to significant effect, as Capitec did with branch operations, marketing, and product development.

Discover Promising Costovation Opportunities in Six Weeks

How do you get started? We’ve found that a rapid, six-week effort can determine what opportunities exist. This fast-moving program has four parts:

1. Understand both apparent and hidden cost drivers: If big cost-reduction opportunities are obvious on the income statement, they are often being targeted in other ways. While these line items matter, it pays to look beyond at some of the potential hidden cost drivers such as serving diverse customer segments in overly-standardized ways, downtime in the usage of personnel or assets, and distributor margins taken for activities that could be brought in-house.
2. Gain internal perspectives: The best experts on Costovation opportunities lie inside your own business. Targeted questioning based on patterns of Costovation elsewhere can elicit significant insights, as well as key hypotheses, uncertainties, and divergences to resolve. Critically, this questioning leverages cross-functional thinking in delving into function-specific activities, looking at the overall business system and the underlying cost drivers within it.
3. Leverage relevant external case studies: Appropriate examples from outside the company, and often even outside the company’s industry, can get people to look at old issues in radically new ways. The case studies get people to think about parallels, what is and isn’t unique to their situation, and a playbook of opportunities that can be applied to their situation.
4. Convene a cross-functional workshop to align on opportunities: The six-week effort concludes with a cross-functional workshop to talk through cost drivers, take-aways from external examples, and playbook opportunities. It also leverages innovation and design thinking techniques to generate new ideas, and it narrows down the set of opportunities to the most promising ones for building out.

Cost-cutting is on many strategic agendas for 2023. As you proceed down that road, we advocate reserving a bit of energy to find the big moves. Costovation can unlock transformative potential for a business to operate with significantly lower expenses while continuing to keep customer-focus right in the bullseye.

Explore a Costovation Sprint

Learn how a six-week Costovation effort can help you find cost-effective ways to meet, and even exceed, customers’ expectations.

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Regardless of where you work, be it in an office, in a coffee shop, or at home, maintaining focus and motivation can prove difficult at times.

Different than organization or productivity, focus, attentiveness, and motivation require self-discipline, mindfulness, and regularity in order to maximize effectiveness, or else you’ll be right back to square one.

Focus and motivation don’t come easy to everyone, but they can be cultivated, and once they flourish, yield increased performance and professional satisfaction. Check out the following best practices to level up your focus and motivation as the new year approaches.

Start by getting organized

If asked, we could all come up with an area for improvement—personally or professionally—and often it starts with organization. With remote work, an organized workspace and desktop are key. If you find yourself chasing around to look for documents, details, dates, and deadlines, you might be prone to getting frustrated or sidetracked (AKA losing motivation and/or focus), perhaps leaving loose ends here and there.

For example, let’s focus on your inbox for a second. It can seem onerous to get your rules, alerts, calendar, and filtering just the way you like it, but think of how overwhelming your inbox can get without any organization in place. Often when starting a new job, the constant bombardment of blasts, notifications, and network noise is a massive distraction. By taking some time to focus on making your inbox work for you rather than the other way around, you can save yourself from future digital headaches with just a few clicks.

Start by:

• Setting up rules and alerts to automatically sort, forward, and notify you of important emails
• Using labels and folders to categorize emails according to their subject matter or the project they relate to
• Applying flags and stars to mark emails for follow-up or to easily find them again later
• Using snooze to remind you of important emails when you have the time to dedicate to them
• Archiving and deleting within reason, and unsubscribe from senders when their blasts lose value

For more tips worth trying in 2023, check out our recent post on organization best practices.

Prioritize productivity

Productivity, focus, and motivation all go hand in hand (in hand). By incorporating a few tried and true productivity hacks into your routine, you can start to get more out of your workday.

How about starting with the daily highlight?

Instead of filling your to-do list with countless tasks every day, focus on a single must-do that you can consider your daily highlight. Start each day by asking yourself, “What do I want to get done today?” Adjusting your mindset from need to want can help facilitate a feeling of accomplishment where previously you may have felt defeated if you were unable to complete a lofty to-do list. Additionally, this practice will in turn help you better understand your priorities and consider the process it will take you to complete your daily must-do.

A daily highlight anchors where your focus needs to be for the day to ensure that you complete the essentials and also eliminates the endless task list that was probably detrimental to your motivation. The more daily highlights you complete with ease, the more motivated you’ll be to tackle loftier projects and problems.

For more, check out our recent post on productivity tips for 2023.

Utilize Focus mode (AKA Do Not Disturb)

Wondering how to stay focused? Manufacture focus with software programmed into your devices. The whole point of these different modes is to promote better focus, whether that be when you’re winding down for the day, or when you’re trying to get your remote work done. By using these features, you can minimize digital distractions. This isn’t a foolproof practice, but it’s a starting place if you find yourself easily distracted by things like email, push notifications, texts, calls, social media, or the news. Whatever your mindless vice, focus mode can help you start to break your habits.

Or, try other focus-oriented software

There’s an app for everything nowadays. From mindfulness apps like Calm and Headspace to organizational software like Notion and ClickUp to apps like Cold Turkey and Chrome extension Clockwork Tomato – there are infinite resources available for you to be able to take control of your workday in 2023 however you see fit.

The thing to remember when turning to software is that it’s only as effective as you allow for it to be.

Get to know your “flow”

Prior to the new normal, your hours were more rigidly enforced by the need to be present in an office. Now, in many remote/hybrid workplaces, there’s room for more flexibility. And, if you’ve decided to go independent, you have even more freedom to figure out when and where you work best. After all, one of the top reasons people are choosing to become independent consultants is to pick their hours. That way you can work when you feel focused and motivated and take breaks when you don’t.

Perhaps you work better in short sprints rather than marathons, or, maybe you like to power through and get things done all at once. Maybe you knock the most off your to-do list during quiet morning hours, or perhaps your creative juices start flowing at 6 p.m. You can optimize your workday by scheduling tasks around your peak times for focus and motivation. Try out a few different schedules and see what works best for you. Your schedule may vary day by day, but that’s the beauty of flexible work, especially when it comes to being independent talent.

Know when to call it

This tip goes hand-in-hand with figuring out your flow. There’s a clear turning point in either the workday or with a given set of tasks where productivity wanes and work becomes work. Tasks take longer to complete, you’re seeking any excuse to get away from your desk, and Focus Mode fails to stop you from starting to scroll. In these cases, it can be best to recognize that your productive time has ended and call it a day. In turn, you’ll waste less time trying to force productivity and your bursts of work will become more effective.

Refresh and recharge

When you’re offline, stay offline. Remote work and working independently can make it easy for the lines to become blurred between the workday and your off-hours. Emergencies come up, sure, but if possible, use your workspace, computer, and accounts just while you’re working, and allow yourself the time to unplug and unwind. You’ll be more likely to feel fulfilled in the work that you’re doing if it doesn’t drag you away from family or free time.

Hold onto your progress by building good habits

Like all the professional development tips we’ve shared recently, you have to make these into habits yourself for them to become effective. Otherwise, you’re adding to the already mind-numbing noise that exists everywhere, every day.

One study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology revealed that it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to change a habit, and on average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. That goes both ways—forming a habit and breaking one. So, when figuring out how to stay focused, or when trying to get motivated, keep that in mind as a frame of reference for success.

How to Facilitate More Motivation

Motivation inherently varies from person to person in the same way as it varies day to day. Here are some ideas to help you stay excited about your work:

• Regularly set goals and review progress
• Keep challenging yourself and stay interested in learning
• Listen to uplifting, motivating audio (music, podcasts, etc.)
• Use failure as motivation rather than as a detriment
• Build anticipation – try to find things to look forward to and get excited about
• Look for benefits rather than potential difficulties with your goals and your work
• Try to think differently about anything and everything
• Stay up to date on the latest news
• Explore what drives and motivates you on and off the clock and pursue it
• Find balance – whatever that looks like to you

Understanding your Locus of Control

The locus of control theory refers to an individual’s perception about the underlying main causes of events in their life. Simply put, do you believe that your destiny is controlled by yourself or by external forces?

If you have five minutes, this video explains the correlation between the locus rule and motivation well. The takeaway is that when you believe that you’re in control, you are more likely to be motivated to take action to change your situation.

Whether you’re already an active independent consultant or you’re considering making the switch, you likely are driven by an internal locus of control, motivated by increased flexibility, independence, and control over your workday, your workplace, and what you’re working on. Professionals like you are changing the future of work.

Make 2023 your best year yet by working with BTG.

When you are a part of our network of high-end, on-demand talent, you’ll have the flexibility to focus on the work, motivated by projects that interest and excite you. Join our network of independent professionals that are paving the way for a reimagined workforce.

What will you do with increased control?

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

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While today’s supply chain challenges remain a pressing issue for companies of all types, perhaps no other industry feels them more acutely than the life sciences—where bottlenecks and disruption could literally mean life or death for patients. From disruptions dating back to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to ongoing quandaries regarding the sustainability and scalability of existing processes, Business Talent Group has seen growing demand from organizations to address issues at every step of the supply chain.

To help life science leaders address this particularly troublesome issue, we’ve turned to supply chain operations expert Marcos Buelvas. Read on for a closer look at what’s going on at the ground level—as well as Marcos’s recommendations on how organizations can create more agile and resilient operations that keep the production of life-improving treatments on track.

MEET THE EXPERT

Marcos Buelvas

Marcos is a hands-on leader with experience designing and implementing manufacturing and supply chain transformation efforts and leading cross-functional manufacturing and supply chain programs for well-known global brands.

How has supply and demand in the life sciences been impacted in the last few years?

Similar to every other industry, COVID and other disruptions have had a significant impact. On the demand side, demand for many pharmaceutical products—specifically vaccines, of course—went up a great deal. But the demand for other common over-the-counter products, such as cold medicines, also went up. New and repurposed therapies went into the market and found new therapeutic applications. The distribution of super low temperature products like the new vaccines meant an increase in that particular cold chain, and more importantly, its reach to end consumers and patients around the world.

On the supply side, we experienced constraints in all sorts of products, from saline solution to life saving drugs. It was quite widespread to find constraints not just in production capacity but also in distribution capacity. The benefit of this has been tighter coordination across the supply chain and finding new ways of working together across functions, geographies, and companies (e.g. suppliers).

Structurally, it is clear that risk is (and should have always been) a major driver of decision making. Decisions around dual supply, near-shoring, and localized capacity have become part of everyone’s language and should stay there so that we are better prepared to manage known and unknown risks, and appropriate plans should always be detailed and understood within and across organizations.

Which supply chain and manufacturing model makes the most sense for life science companies in today’s environment (e.g. minimum cost, maximum throughput, highest yield, zero environmental impact, or one based on a combination of multiple factors)?

Supply chain is always a combination of several factors. It is becoming increasingly clear that none of those variables will sustain us in the long term if we don’t account for de-risking the supply chain, so a lot of emphasis is going toward supply chain models that incorporate risk, business continuity, resilience, and flexibility.

There is no question that the market remains competitive and will remain so because we have to continue to reach increasing consumer and patient populations. Hence, it is imperative that the cost and asset focus also remain; but it is clearer than ever that multi-dimensional optimization is a must.

Where are the biggest challenges and bottlenecks in life science supply chains at present and how are the most effective organizations addressing them?

It is clear that resilient supply chains will win, and we are not there yet. So, the challenge is to fight fires (they have increased) and build your future supply chain simultaneously. The future supply chain is necessary because, for example, low cost is not good enough anymore. That has to be supplemented with de-risked, etc.

For a long time, we have been pushing organizations to build more connected or integrated supply chains (pick your term) and this is the only vehicle to achieve fighting fires and build the future at the same time. The reason is simple, connected supply chains achieve the essence of supply chain which is to really understand how the links across the chain are working together and not independently so that teams are not spending all of their time inefficiently collaborating.

How can companies monitor and anticipate changes in demand to adapt supply chains and manufacturing in advance?

There are two critical connections for supply chain organizations, and they are the connections to Commercial organizations and to R&D in the context of product launches and future platforms. Strong linkages with these two organizations empower Supply Chain leaders to attain a better picture of demand as well as the attributes and assumptions of that demand forecast and its likely change or volatility. These linkages cover the three dimensions of robust people, processes, and technology to yield solid connectivity to demand and changes in it.

Perhaps most important to highlight is that the linkages cannot be taken for granted. Often, we say, “oh yes, we have a demand review process,” or “we have an S&OP process.” Unfortunately, we are not challenging the process, assumptions, and how real-time the information is connected for action across the organization to really stay ahead of demand—and that is the only way to do so.

What effect will cost pressures have on how organizations approach their supply chain and manufacturing operations?

For this area, I would primarily highlight the impact on the Sourcing and Procurement groups within Supply Chain organizations. Inflation has driven costs up anywhere from 10 to 50% across many items, and spikes could be even worse. Managing this volatility has been really hard for supply chain teams. The emphasis on agile procurement practices will increase and teams will be forced to integrate these practices along with shorter cycles on supplier contracts and off-contract purchasing. We have seen many suppliers directly advising their customers that they can’t honor existing contracts. In these circumstances, buyers are constantly engaging the market to understand supply constraints, substitution, and any opportunity they can get to control cost.

Until things stabilize more, there is no substitute for agile, active management of the sourcing and procurement environment, and more broadly across the end-to-end supply chain

What are some of the most effective digital tools to help optimize supply chain processes? How should companies think about the implementation of these tools?

Every digital innovation is being applied or studied in some form across supply chains; e.g., block chain is getting a lot of attention in Smart Contracts (Sourcing), Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing Planning by offering more informed scenarios that incorporate learning and real time information, The Internet of Things (IoT) is enabling detailed tracking across manufacturing and supply chain nodes. The list goes on, but none of it can be belittled. It is all quite transformational, accretive, and can enhance some aspects of supply chain.

Beyond these technology applications, the idea of Control Towers is perhaps the most compelling. A supply chain requires a connected nerve-center with clear visibility across nodes, partners, manufacturing, etc. Creating this distributed, yet integrated visibility is no small task and requires robust processes and technology to connect diverse information. The value proposition is visible in top and bottom-line results given remarkable enhancements to supply chain responsiveness.

Implementation requires proven methodology and experienced teams. Above all, teams have to be dynamic and adaptable to engage and recognize that they will have to solve problems along the way to design and run the implementation program.

What role is AI playing in supply chain today and how do you see that evolving in years to come?

I am not overreaching when I say that it is everywhere. AI is about evaluating multiple data sources and providing options or recommendations on the decisions to be made. The role of AI is hence quite applicable to all aspects of the supply chain. For example, in Procurement, teams are using AI to evaluate supplier performance and recommend the best supplier based on location, performance, and/or cost adherence. These evaluations can take too long to be performed at scale without AI.

Another good example is Planning. Teams must plan production and inventory levels to support demand and are now incorporating new variables through AI to inform the decisions. There are great examples of incorporating weather, economic changes, inflation—among other variables—into models that provide options and recommendation on what we call Planning Targets.

We will continue to see increasing levels of investment year-on-year because the examples are more clearly demonstrating ROI.

What are the most important things for companies to keep in mind as they shift from strategic supply chain initiatives into implementation?

There is a lot to be said here, but in the interest of time and readability, I’ll just pick a few highlights:

• Keep it specific and practical and not general and conceptual. Think through the details. It’s not enough to say that you want to employ global sourcing strategy; for implementation, one must specify the components, the countries, and the suppliers, etc.
• Ensure top executive sponsorship for the strategy execution to ensure it yields good results. Multiple studies by top management consulting firms have shown an increase in results to the tune of 50% to 60% higher when the CEO is involved in implementing a supply chain strategy.
• Ensure that key stakeholders communicate and act like a team, despite the business function conflicts that may arise due to conflicting KPIs. Discussion among business units to support the strategy and to benefit the organization as a whole is the key.
• Understand the value of technology. Technology enabled tools could significantly enhance the performance of the supply chain by enabling decision making. But these technology-enabled tools can’t replace broken processes. So, while implementing the strategy for deployment of a technology, process improvement should be considered first to realize the expected benefits.

What makes independent supply chain experts like you an effective solution for companies seeking to strategically improve supply chain resilience and avert disruptions?

Independent supply chain experts like myself bring a wealth of diverse experiences that can supplement those of our clients. It is critical that experts not only bring knowledge, but a great deal of respect and appreciation for how to integrate and work as part of the client team. Beyond that, your expectation of any consultant is that they will value you, the client, and be committed to working hard to achieve the vision of success and enhance it however possible.

In the context of supply chain resilience this translates into carefully thought-through design principles that can be implemented and cost effectively sustained. It starts with how the organization sources and who it partners with in that space to reduce risk. For example, where are our sources of supply and are we monitoring this rigorously? It then extends to our manufacturing strategy, both internally and with external partners. And it ends with distribution and how we ensure we can meet customer and patient expectations. Inventory strategies are critical in this respect also and can make all the difference to ensure patients get their most needed medicines.

Explore your options to fine-tune your life science operations practices with Business Talent Group.

Whether you’re looking to recover from recent supply chain disruptions, prevent them from happening in the future, or improve your existing processes, you can find highly-skilled life science operations talent at Business Talent Group.

Business Talent Group’s network includes 4,600+ independent life science consultants, subject matter experts, boutique firms, project managers, and executives. Our talent have advanced degrees, specialized expertise, traditional consulting training, and hands-on experience. We serve:

• 13 of the top 15 largest pharmaceutical companies
• 6 of the top 10 biotech companies
• 8 of the top 10 medical device companies

See why more than 50% of the Fortune 100 and hundreds of other leading companies trust BTG to curate, vet, and compliantly deliver talent who fuel growth, innovation, and performance improvement.

Employee wellbeing is a growing focus for companies as they strive to create positive and supportive cultures for hybrid and remote workers. And for good reason—a recent Gallup survey found that teams that are most likely to feel the organization cares about their wellbeing achieve higher customer engagement, profitability, and productivity, as well as lower turnover and fewer safety incidents.

A robust culture of wellness has long been integral to our team at Business Talent Group. Every year throughout the month of September, BTG celebrates and explores employee wellness—centering conversation around important topics like mental and physical wellbeing, stress management, and creating healthy routines.

Our guiding principles for wellness month 2022:

In 2022, we’re taking a holistic approach to wellness that looks at elevating ourselves both inside and out. In planning our wellness month activities, we used three guiding principles:

Be intentional about how to prioritize taking care of our physical bodies, our emotional and spiritual health, and the way we nourish and fuel ourselves.

This meant setting up intentional times and activities geared around specific aspects of our total wellness. For the team, that came in the form of 30- to 45-minute Friday sessions together that ranged from guided meditation to a live cooking workshop. Doing it together as a team added team bonding time as well as a nice break in the daily routine.

Make it something to look forward to. Nobody likes chores, so orient around something that brings joy and is easy to adopt into a day-to-day schedule.

We brainstormed about the wellness activities our colleagues find energizing and inspiring, as well as those that calm and center the mind.

Stay the course. Wellness is not a task that can be accomplished in one fell swoop but rather a journey of prioritizing yourself time and time again. Because people are 65% more likely to reach their goals when they’ve shared them with someone else, we engaged the team throughout the month, making wellness part of our conversations and sharing each other’s favorite tips and tricks.

Wellness month 2022 activities at BTG

Our goal in planning BTG’s wellness month was to support all kinds of health and wellbeing for our team—social, emotional, physical, and mental. As such, we discovered a wide variety of resources and activities:

• We brought in a former Michelin chef turned farmer and cooking teacher to show us how to make a nutritious, restaurant-worthy lunch bowl that would fuel our bodies for the day and could be repurposed into countless meals across the week.
• Ergonomics expert Tammy Wise helped us reconsider how we breathe and sit while at our computers—learning to work in positions that foster energy and focus.
• Guided meditation specialists Giselle Littleton and Jameelah Carver taught the team how to practice Nadi Shodhana, or Alternate Nostril Breathing, to relieve stress and reenergize.
• A core power yoga instructor led the team in yoga sculpt, a mix of Vinyasa flow with weights and exercises for a full body workout.
• BTG’s Adrianna Egan hosts a podcast that focuses on inspiring and empowering others. Her episode on Burning Out and Filling Your Cup discusses preventing and recognizing signs of burnout, as well as coping and breathing life back into your soul.
• Our employees enjoy access to wellness apps and activities through our company portal. Apps like Calm can help with sleep, focus, meditation, relaxation, and breathing.

Try these tips for wellness month 2022

On an individual level, here are our team’s favorite go-to tips and tricks that might help you kickstart your own wellness initiative:

1. Start your day on the right foot:
   • A daily gratitude, first thing after waking up—consider writing it in a journal or your phone notes if you’re traveling
   • The Miracle Morning—a 6-step routine to take time for yourself before the work day: silence, daily affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and writing
2. Insert bite-sized activities throughout the day when you just need that reboot:
   • Quick two-minute box breathing exercises before any big meetings to calm your nerves
   • Walking meetings, walking dogs, walking by the water—we’re a team of walkers!
   • Keep an email folder of “positive work stuff”—funny emails, kudos from colleagues, etc. When you’re feeling stressed, scroll through them for a little boost.
   • EFT Tapping for stress relief
   • Take lunch away from your desk and save a favorite podcast to listen to during lunch for motivation
3. For a refresh after work, consider these activities:
   • Stroll around the block and catch up with a friend on a quick phone call. Or take one of your furry friends for a walk—the fresh air will do you both good!
   • Try a fitness session, such as hot yoga, spin rides (biking indoors or outdoors), pilates (online or in-person), or a game of tennis or pickleball with friends.
   • Play the piano, put a puzzle together, or cook a healthy meal.
   • Take yourself out on a date to a coffee shop or enjoy a meal alone for some people watching
4. Are you looking for more holistic approach to motivation and inspiration? Consider a career or life coach, or a therapist—for example, a coach who specializes in helping female executives build support systems and recharge effectively.

Whether you’re considering how to compile resources and ideas into an employee wellness program for your team like we have done at BTG, or you’re just looking to boost your own workplace wellness, we hope you’ll find this helpful.

There’s a general sense of a lack of control that accompanies inflationary pressures and looming threats of recession. As costs rise and consumers become increasingly price-sensitive, budgets shrink and financial strategies narrow, thus fostering the ideal conditions for reactive decision-making—all at a time when measured responses are most needed.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the pandemic, however, it’s that information can be a tremendous asset in identifying both risks and opportunities for a business. In fact, data-driven insights have become a key differentiator between flourishing and floundering in a post-pandemic economy, but it can be a significant challenge to find the right resources to harness those insights effectively.

Better data informs better decisions

By leveraging critical information in times of flux, organizations are able to make better decisions quickly. This enhanced agility helps them mitigate the effects of economic factors that lie beyond their control. As Source Global Research reports in its recent Market Update, “With rising fuel and other costs threatening individuals’ discretionary purchases, [businesses] are investing to ensure they have better, more up-to-date information on consumer behaviour and on being able to forecast demand more accurately, both at the overall level and for specific products and services.”

The fact that automating processes increases efficiency and reduces cost—the few areas an organization can attempt to control amidst economic uncertainty—isn’t news for most. Neither is leveraging technology to anticipate and respond to rising consumer needs. These realizations happened long before the pandemic, and many organizations were already shoring up in-house resources to support a tech-forward strategy when the first stay-at-home mandates rolled out.

During the pandemic, investment in technology surged in response to the sudden acceleration of consumer demand for digital everything. Early pivots were almost certainly reactionary, and in the absence of solid data analytics, many were a gamble. Now, as consumer behavior shifts in response to the downstream ripples of supply chain fragility, global conflict, and wage inflation, there’s even less margin for error.

That’s likely why Source found that, “54 percent of [respondents] say that their data & analytics functions will be one of the three areas within their organisations where they’ll be making the greatest investment over the course of the next 18 months.” Technology alone can’t steady the ship if there isn’t solid data anchoring the strategy behind it.

Higher and higher hiring challenges

Though data science is a critical function that organizations clearly need, in-house skills gaps and the broader talent shortage are making it tough to establish data and analytics teams within their own walls. Making matters worse: Organizations still struggle to articulate what they want or expect to achieve with their data.

This is largely because data science is a relatively new discipline for many organizations—with nearly three quarters (74%) of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence leaders saying that their role has existed in their company for fewer than five years, according to Heidrick & Struggles. This unfamiliarity, coupled with sizable data and analytics salaries, can create a speed bump that’s difficult to overcome.

Then, of course, there’s the dearth of full-time talent to contend with. These types of skills are already in short supply, and the competition to access them is expected to grow fiercer. Job postings in the data science domain are expected to grow by 71% over the next five years, according to IT Career Finder. No surprise then that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics now ranks data scientists and statisticians as two of the top 10 fastest growing occupations.

Fortunately, there’s more than one way to build a data science team. As Lu Wang—co-founder and CEO of boutique data science consultancy Komodo Tech—writes, there are three primary options for “investing in the path to data science”:

• “Hire an analytics lead, a data analyst, and a data engineer, in that order.
• Contract an independent data scientist with the experience to assume multiple roles, then hire employees to fill in the rest of the team.
• Outsource the work to a boutique data science firm that can supply all the roles at once.”

The first approach might not seem to address the aforementioned issues of labor shortages and payroll budgets, and the third might seem to be so hands-off that it gives CEOs pause. But not everything is what it seems. Any of these can be made viable under current circumstances by applying the central tenet of the second: securing support from freelance data scientists.

Working from the outside in

Indeed, demand for independent data and analytics consultants and AI consulting is growing daily. As Wang points out, “Though [data science’s] promise spans many industries, it’s not yet so core to most businesses that the early phases can’t be outsourced.”

BTG’s 2022 Skills Index found that, “requests for artificial intelligence and machine learning skills are up 500% as companies seek to tap big data for more informed decision-making, automate processes for efficiency and cost reduction, and leverage technology to anticipate and respond to rising consumer needs.”

BTG also noted a 120% increase in requests for Data Visualization experts who can implement dashboards in platforms such as Power BI and Tableau and offer real-time insights to executive leadership on everything from sales and performance indicators to workforce headcount, costs, capabilities, and energy usage across facilities.

Whether bringing in full teams of data science consultants or supplementing internal teams with a freelance data analyst (or three), there are both immediate and long-term benefits to be had. Headcount remains flat while the outsourced team provides support until ROI can justify building an internal team. Meanwhile, the business is gaining experience with how a properly structured and managed data science team functions.

The smart way to deploy freelance data scientists

Independent talent are especially well-suited to meet leading companies’ needs for data and analytics experts. Their ability to ramp up or down as needed also offers greater flexibility—in a far more cost-effective manner—than hiring permanent employees or a big firm for a temporary need.

“Independent consultants can often cut through politics and red tape more rapidly than people on the inside of an organization,” said Mohammad Ghassemi, an independent data science expert with over a decade of experience. “Another advantage of coming into an organization as a contractor is that it forces the organization to clearly articulate both their expectations and an associated timeline under which those expectations are to be met. ”

By providing on-demand access to high-end independent data scientists, analytics consultants, and AI consultants, BTG has helped industry leaders—ranging from a multi-billion dollar grocer to an F500 biotech company—build and maintain governance structures and analytical frameworks to ensure their data platforms serve the current and future needs of all users.

Examples include:

AI and Machine Learning: Leading Internal Teams on Proof of Concept

In addition to offering a wealth of expertise, BTG independent consultants are also skilled leaders who can jump in to support internal teams. When the CIO of a global insurance company needed a data science expert to conduct a proof-of-concept for several initiatives, BTG provided a seasoned data science and AI expert with both executive leadership and big firm consulting experience.

The consultant led the cross-functional internal team in building out a sustainable data science capability within the organization, leveraging data and AI and machine learning to identify risk, develop an Agile Scrum team model, and improve efficiency efforts for acquisition marketing programs.

See more AI and machine learning case studies

Data Science: Executing a More Realistic Roadmap

It’s not uncommon for organizations to bring in big consulting firms to create strategic roadmaps; once the firm exits, however, reality sets in. This was the case with a Bay Area tech company that had engaged a consulting firm to develop a big data strategy roadmap. Soon after, the SVP of Strategy realized his budget was not sufficient to cover all recommendations—but internal politics made it difficult to determine what to cut.

Business Talent Group delivered a single, senior independent consultant who knew the industry and could offer a swift, neutral translation and coordinate with the Program Management Office to manage, lead, organize, and monitor the implementation. The client avoided an additional seven-figure consulting spend—and kept the execution on track and on time.

See more data science case studies

Analytics: Refining data operations to serve new needs

Even organizations that specialize in data and analytics can find themselves in need of independent consultant expertise. When a multinational life science data and analytics company needed an experienced, hands-on data and analytics consultant to work with its UK-based team, BTG provided a data strategy and management executive and former Big 3 consultant who could provide high-level strategy insight as well as on-the-ground execution support.

Working directly with the COO and CEO, the consultant carried out a capability assessment of the current team’s strengths and weaknesses, identified risks, and developed a roadmap to support the new strategy. He then reviewed ongoing data governance for further improvement, conducted competitive benchmarking, and identified and recommended opportunities for automation and optimization—ultimately ensuring the company’s data operations were qualitative, robust, and scalable.

See more analytics case studies

Business Intelligence: Interim support for critical roles

One of the most valuable advantages of independent talent is that they can be brought in on an as-needed basis. In one case, the Global Portfolio Management team of an F100 consumer healthcare company was in the midst of developing a portfolio reporting framework when a key team member stepped away on parental leave. Needing continued analytical support for the project, the director reached out to BTG for an interim, six-month engagement.

BTG deployed a former director of IT Shared Services and Business Intelligence, who was able to build and maintain actionable and insightful analysis, reports, and dashboards to enable transparent prioritization and optimization of the end-to-end project portfolio—including innovation, life cycle management, cost improvement, and compliance projects.

Immediate support for immediate needs

As the global economy struggles to regain its balance, companies need to be prepared to weather continued headwinds. Data science and analytics have proven to be an organization’s most valuable tools in this regard. As Source puts it, “The data & analytics market is likely to remain strong while economic uncertainty remains high and consumer behaviour remains unpredictable—which probably means for quite a long time.”

Whether augmenting teams or providing support for from-scratch data strategies, BTG offers on-demand access to high-end independent data scientists, data translators, and data analysts with cutting-edge skills in a wide range of specialties—from data strategy, visualization, and monetization to AI and machine learning, advanced analytics, and business intelligence. There’s more than one way to build a data science team, and by bringing in independent, experienced talent, you can ensure you’re building it sustainably and cost-effectively, too.

Ready to do more with your data? Explore a project today.

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A classic resolution as a new year approaches is to get organized, to reset and refresh, and to mark a new beginning both personally and professionally. Clients also typically look at the new calendar year with fresh eyes and a fresh budget to take on initiatives they want to tackle. As such, it can be an especially in-demand time for independent talent, which makes now a perfect time to get organized and ready for the incoming workload.

To help you be more productive and start 2023 on the right foot, here are some of our favorite organizational tips worth trying in 2023—from digital organization to decluttering your physical space to structuring your day.

Digital Organization Tips

A cluttered screen can make for a more difficult workday regardless how strategically you lay it out or how methodical you are at naming your documents. So don’t sleep on digital organization when you’re looking toward the new year.

Take ownership of your inbox

Email is an easy thing to disregard until it becomes overwhelming. Here are a few steps to take control of your inbox instead of letting it take control of you.

• Set up rules and alerts to automatically sort, forward, and notify you of important emails
• Use labels and folders to categorize emails according to their subject matter or the project they relate to
• Apply flags and stars to mark emails for follow-up or to easily find them again later
• Use snooze to remind you of important emails when you have the time to dedicate to them
• Archive and delete within reason, and unsubscribe from senders when their blasts lose value

Prioritize notifications—what gets a push?

Everyone feels entitled to our immediate attention on our devices. Beyond texts, phone calls, and emails, now websites and apps nudge you to enable notifications, even for something as arbitrary as a recipe site you might visit once and never return to. Only you can determine what is an automatic action item, but by being ruthless in only allowing the most important notifications, you’ll experience fewer disruptions throughout the day.

Spatial Organization Tips

A disorganized workspace has been proven to have negative effects on your productivity, which is why organizing your physical space should be a top priority.

Cut the clutter

Start by getting rid of any trash, miscellaneous dishes, or anything else that has an obvious home elsewhere. Once you see what’s left, sort between what’s essential and what’s sentimental. Sentimental trinkets are a key contributor to clutter, so be selective on which photos, memorabilia, and other odds and ends you allow into your workspace. For essential supplies, ensure that you discard or find another home for any duplicates to save on space. Only keep what you need and use on an almost daily basis and get everything else out of your way.

One tip to help you start implementing spatial organization is to spend 15 minutes at the end of each day clearing your desk and 15 minutes the next morning getting everything you need for your day’s activities. That way you’ll ensure that you start each day with a workspace that’s set up and ready for you to get the work done.

Give yourself some room

Just like whitespace in a design or a simple email, less is more when it comes to your physical desktop. Empty space on your desk or in your office isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, having space to work is helpful, allowing you to write notes, outline to-dos, build makeshift models, or whatever it is that helps you visualize or move forward with your work. A low-stress, low-mess workspace will yield improved performance over time compared to those that let everything build up.

Remote Work Organization Tips

Remote and hybrid work arrangements have become increasingly commonplace, requiring a unique approach to organization, productivity, and the projects themselves. Some professionals have been slow to adapt some of these best practices, expecting a post-pandemic bounce back rather than a new normal. But with hybrid work looking like it’s here to stay, now is the perfect time to refresh your approach to work.

Set a schedule and structure your day

One of the best things about being an independent consultant is setting your own schedule. While every day can look different, having a weekly check-in to set expectations with yourself, the client, or other members of your household on when you’ll be working can help provide structure to your workweek.

Have you tried making a daily/weekly to-do list to anchor your priorities and enhance productivity? It can be a very beneficial practice for professionals to maintain, especially while working remotely.

Write it out

Writing things on paper is better than typing things out in more ways than one. According to Psychology Today’s review of a recent study that investigated the merits of physical vs. digital notetaking, handwritten notes top the digital alternative in four ways:

• Jotting things down on paper is faster.
• Handwritten notes tend to be more accurate and have personalized flairs.
• Handwriting in a notebook triggers more robust brain activity.
• Writing by hand is associated with stronger neural encoding and memory retrieval.

In the study, researchers found that participants who used a paper datebook filled in the calendar within about 11 minutes, compared to 14 minutes for tablet users and 16 minutes for smartphone users. The authors also noted that accuracy was higher in the handwritten group—so keep a pad of paper or a stack of sticky notes and your preferred writing utensil handy and see how writing things down works for you.

Consultancy Organization Best Practices

One final area to focus on for organization best practices is with regard to your independent consultancy. Whether you’re just getting started, thinking of making the switch, or are well established in the practice, here are some organizational tips worth considering.

Focus on quality over quantity.

By nature, project-based work relies on organization, or else details, dates, and deliverables can fall through the cracks. With the ebb and flow of independent consultancy, it’s important to stay aware of your bandwidth so that you can maintain high-quality deliverables. Utilize planners, calendars, reminders, and take diligent, detailed notes to ensure optimal organization.

Create a system.

This may look different for everybody, and again, blurs some lines with productivity best practices. Perhaps you get caught up in the constant stream of emails; switch to dedicating blocks of time to email, whether it be at the start and end of a day or other scheduled times. Maybe the system is for communicating with colleagues, clients, and those around you—communicating when you’re available, busy, in meetings, on calls. Take what stands out to you from all these organization ideas and create your system from that. The great thing about a system is that you created it, which usually means you’re more likely to uphold it.

Let BTG take on some of the load.

More and more, skilled professionals are going independent to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. But just because you’re independent doesn’t mean you have to go it alone! From project scoping to invoicing, BTG will support both you and the client for success. Plus, you’ll receive benefits like professional development opportunities and supporting resources for research, graphic design, and more.

Let us help you elevate your independent consultancy practice.

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

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Banking is getting phygital as industry leaders transform their offerings to deliver exceptional customer experiences that cross the online/offline divide. In case you haven’t encountered this particularly buzzy phrase yet, phygital, a portmanteau of “physical” and “digital”, was coined more than a decade ago by advertising executive Chris Weil to describe what he called the “immense possibilities for brands” to engage consumers in both worlds.

Top companies in consumer goods and retail—industries where the wall between the online and offline customer experience was already crumbling well before the pandemic—have been tinkering with phygital experiences for years. Today, banking leaders are taking up those learnings and adapting the phygital philosophy to meet both the unique needs of their customers and the rapidly increasing array of banking and investment services they offer.

To learn more about the phygital future of banking and other trends to watch, we turned to business and financial services savant Angela Paulk for her take on the trends she’s seeing today and where the industry is heading next.

Meet the Expert

Angela Paulk

Seasoned manager and business intelligence analyst skilled at developing strategic business insights and managing large-scale change initiatives across global financial services sectors.

What changes and trends are shaping the banking industry this year and beyond?

The common themes currently affecting the banking industry include an uncertain macro environment, pandemic re-positioning, and the increased focus on data capture, management, governance, and monetization—as well as ongoing automation and digitalization across the market. But, within the industry, the changes and trends affecting the competitors are a bit more nuanced given a company’s size, business mix, and regional footprint. We can think about the ‘banking industry’ in three buckets:

1. Diversified banks with a global footprint and large institutional client base

The largest and most established banks are thinking about the broader implications of de-coupled markets and protectionism, opportunities around climate regulation, end-to-end (E2E) efficiencies and opportunities to benefit from scale across their business lines. They’re also weighing continued investments into technology (and staff) and more strategically embedding a culture of principles, organizational frameworks, and management accountability. For banks which have grown from acquisitions, I expect heightened focus on how well the talent, tools (e.g., AI), and insights (e.g., ESG analytics) have been integrated—and how well they were valued.

2. Regional banks and Consumer banks with large retail and/or SME (Small/medium sized enterprises) corporates client base

This group is hyper focused on the macro, client sentiment, and consumer activity. Like what we saw post the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-09, there will continue to be more consolidation in the market to benefit from economies of scale and/or rightsizing—of operations, product mix and clients. Aside from a concentration on digital and customization capabilities, I think product and service differentiation at a target market level will continue to intensify.

3. Challenger ‘banks’

These banks—most of which are around a decade old and offer services via web/mobile—have embedded digital processes, were founded with a focus on client experience, and have benefitted from lower cost bases than more traditional banks, which have multiple legacy issues such as dated infrastructure. However, these challengers have not had the benefit of managing through multiple economic cycles nor of the regulatory enforced scenario planning and stress testing that other banks have now operationalized—both of which help inform client resiliency. So, there is hyper focus on client profitability and cost. Public or private, I also expect increased M&A activity for this group. Management teams should plan for enhanced levels of due diligence and regulatory scrutiny, particularly with regard to how they have operationalized governance and risk management.

How are banks transforming to accommodate changing consumer behavior and demand?

I think the past few years have been a consumer-driven market. Given the breadth of financial products, lower barriers to entry, and an evolving range of competitors (and pricing), banks have had to evolve and modernize to remain viable. Some banks have even broadened their consumer base to include the historically underserved/underbanked.

Bank strategies to address consumer demand and changing behaviors range from internal initiatives such as employee digital trainings to externally facing activities like enhanced marketing and increasing input from clients via Net Promotor Score (NPS) and sentiment surveys. Banks have also enhanced their product offerings (e.g., crypto), range of partnerships (e.g., Goldman and JUST Capital), valuation models (e.g., ESG data and insights), and expanded into new types of service (e.g., J.P. Morgan’s foray into travel) to accommodate—and in anticipation of—client-demand. Some of the most interesting strategies that we are likely to see evolve at banks—large and small—include more products and services that focus on transparency.

A couple examples that I think are indicative of what more is to come include:

1. Visa’s Sustainable Solutions and Eco Benefits, which enables clients to understand the environmental impact of their spending
2. Investment strategies focused on broader impact, such as former NFL player Derrick Morgan’s challenge for more transparency on what investments (e.g. mutual funds, REITs) he held that might have contributed to funding private prisons.

How can banks become more “phygital”? Are there steps that banking leaders can take?

My take on the meaning of ‘phygital’ is that it captures that sweet spot combination of the best of the physical client experience with digital—and that the combination is not static. Aside from routine client engagement and sentiment surveys which routinely capture client input on market direction and relative competitiveness, bank organizational models are shifting to be more client focused end-to-end so they can be more responsive to their clients and pivot accordingly. So, if a bank is not already routinely incorporating this type of client input, it should be considered. For banks with a more diversified service/product offering, if there hasn’t been a lot of focus on a broader client coverage model (i.e., ‘client’ at a broader macro level rather than solely at a short-term product/service level) there are multiple benefits to doing so as soon as possible.

Do you think digital channels and experiences can entirely replace physical banks?

The question is whether retail and consumer banking clients can go completely virtual, and while I agree that is the direction in which the industry is headed, I think there is a foreseeable need for physical branches—although the number, the services offered, and locations really depend on a bank’s target market clientele.

To elaborate, I offer a couple of vignettes: The first, I think of my dad down in rural Georgia, who still does not use an ATM card and genuinely enjoys the banter at his regional bank drive through when he cashes a check. And the second, I think of a meeting I had a few years ago with a tech savvy former colleague (and successful venture investor) who was in London for a couple of days. He was having issues accessing funds that were deposited at a challenger bank—one in which I think he had been an early investor—and needed fast action. He had no person to call or branch to visit and ending up having to contact the CEO on Twitter to get attention.

How can banks ensure the accessibility and availability of physical locations, even as a significant portion of their business transitions to the digital realm?

The gist of this question is about location strategy—which to my mind incorporates not only the historical background of a firm, its core/target customers, and the type of business services and products offered, but also components of broader legal entity and cross-border regulatory considerations. To better address this question, I think it’s worth sharing a perspective on location strategy from both an operational point of view and from a client strategy perspective:

From an operational location point of view, the pandemic sped up physical location right-sizing initiatives for all banks, and we should see execution of these strategies over the next few years. However, for banks with a global footprint and that are operating cross-border, regulation (and in particular MiFID II, Brexit, and the OECD/G20 agreement on a global corporate minimum tax rate) was a precursor to the pandemic, so these firms may be further along in executing location strategies and will be more focused on client service.

From a client service perspective, the logical focus is on what type of service a client warrants—and how much are they willing to pay. So, if we think of ‘high touch’ as meaning in-person, a high level of customization, and/or exclusive access to financial products, physical accessibility for clients will remain in exclusive areas where high net worth individuals frequent and/or in urban financial centers, which are already home to multiple corporate and institutional investors. For more retail- and consumer-focused banks, the challenges will be in addressing the cost part of physical locations without losing clients—and staying profitable in this ambiguous macro environment.

What are the security and risk management issues with digitizing in financial services?

Aside from cybersecurity issues, multi-jurisdictional issues around data protection and banking secrecy, and just general issues around servicing retail clients and/or manage collateral—all components of banking which are highly regulated and scrutinized—there are a few issues and risks worthy of management attention in executing digitization strategies:

• Weak internal stakeholder management and inconsistent communications
• The potential to over elevate the importance of tools (e.g., AI), project management disciplines (e.g., Agile) and data insights (without relevant context) at the expense of quality and purpose
• Competing initiatives and re-prioritization
• Implications of broader market harmonization and/or lack thereof – for clients and regulators

Level up your competitive advantage in the banking space.

Whether you’re looking to leverage your phygital know-how, reprioritize with the “new normal”, or introduce new digital banking products, you’ll find experienced, on-demand financial services consultants at Business Talent Group.

Coming into 2022, the U.S. economy was in the midst of a tightrope act that seemed eminently precarious yet, astonishingly, manageable. Despite inflationary pressure from unraveling supply chains, wages were trending upward. Production was also growing steadily, and the labor market appeared to be starting to stabilize. It seemed safe to assume that equilibrium was just a few well-balanced steps ahead.

Then global conflict shook the wire—hard.

Resulting headwinds from the war in Ukraine triggered new economic issues while exacerbating those we thought were nearly behind us. Inflation hit a 40-year high, and though the Labor Department’s report that 362,000 jobs were added in June seems reassuring, it’s an alarm bell for the Fed.

While companies look to capitalize on remaining growth opportunities, they are also cognizant of risk on the horizon and are seeking ways to minimize its impact on their businesses. All this, while simultaneously facing the manifold challenges of an ever-tightening job market. It’s a tough situation, to be sure; but for companies with forward-thinking talent strategies, it’s also a chance to move past mere survival and into an era of greater resilience and growth.

The rise and fall — and rise again — of business growth initiatives

Economic downturns and global events have historically spurred extraordinary bursts of innovation, and the COVID pandemic has been no exception. Perhaps uniquely, though, subsequent supply chain turmoil both disrupted and further extended this period of innovation. What started as a scramble for workarounds evolved into a fervent investment in digital capability upgrades as companies sought improved demand planning and real-time visibility.

Innovation drives growth, so it’s not surprising that its fits-and-starts would mirror business growth prioritization. Growth strategy is frequently ranked among the most in-demand skill sets in our annual analysis, but in looking at the data on a half-year basis, it’s clear that companies have changed their priorities over the past few years:

• 2019: Pre-pandemic
  Growth strategy was a middle-of-the-road priority in 2019, falling from the fifth most in-demand skill sought in the first half of the year to #8 in the second. It was still on the C-suite’s mind, but not its primary focus.
• 1H 2020: Beginning of the pandemic
  Growth fell completely off the list in the first half of 2020 as companies rapidly pivoted their strategies toward right-sized staffing, process optimization, and general triage. Survival surpassed growth as a top concern.
• 2H 2020/1H 2021: Vaccines roll out
  Optimism followed on the heels of vaccine roll-outs, and unprecedented business opportunities stoked a renewed interest in potential growth, putting it back on the in-demand skills list at #4.
• 2H 2021: The Great Resignation
  Growth took a backseat to labor concerns in the latter half of 2021, falling to #9. Between competing for talent and automating processes to maintain (or increase) productivity, companies couldn’t spare much strategy for business growth.
• 1H 2022: Living with the pandemic
  Entering the current year, growth strategy found its way back to the middle of the pack, with companies still looking to capture available opportunities yet turning ample attention toward buttoning up their organizations, process, and finances. For the time being, the latter activities are keeping growth ambitions in check.

Currently, talent management and digital transformation are emerging as centerpieces of corporate growth strategies. PwC reports that 77% of executives say hiring and retaining talent will be a top growth driver in 2022, and 60% say the same for digital transformation.10

The thing is, these anticipated drivers threaten to become their own speed bumps. A recent report from McKinsey found the ongoing talent shortage to be a curtailing factor in digital acceleration efforts: “In our 2020 survey, only 10% of companies said they had sufficient in-house digital talent. And by this year, that figure had dropped dramatically, to only 1%.” Ringing the same alarm bell, almost half of the respondents to the PwC survey cited the talent shortage as the “biggest risk to their business achieving its growth targets.”

Weathering the forthcoming freeze

The risk is real, as broader labor market trends such as the Great Resignation, Boss Loss, and hybrid work vs. mandatory return-to-office moves further complicate the challenges of completing critical work. While unemployment is nearly back at pre-pandemic levels, the number of available jobs far outstrips the number of available workers at a rate of 2:1.

In order to close skills gaps without increasing headcount, companies are either reskilling and redeploying existing staff or turning toward the enormous pool of highly skilled independent talent—adopting a “liquid workforce” approach. The latter is often more efficient and effective, as there’s no time lost to training, and additional experts can be added as projects evolve and new skills gaps emerge.

A rise in the demand for risk management expertise

Additional risks lurk on the horizon, from cybersecurity threats and sustainability concerns to financial market turbulence and changing regulations. BTG has seen a 200% YOY increase in requests that are explicitly for risk management experts, making it one of the fastest growing skills for 2022.

Sustainability risk management, in particular, has become a top priority. Yet the “green skills gap” persists, making it even tougher to find talent in an already slim market. Across industries, BTG reports that more and more companies are seeking independent experts who can help them prepare for the impacts of climate change by assessing the environmental impacts and risk factors of their facilities and manufacturing sites. These experts possess deep experience in sustainability analysis and project management, allowing them to jump right in and accelerate foundational initiatives.

The demand for financial risk management experts is even higher. As organizations seek to get ahead of broader financial market risks, comply with increased regulations, and assess risk in consumer finance and credit, targeted expertise has become critical. Along with risk management requests, BTG has seen heightened demand for related skills in two additional financial expertise buckets: financial controls, accounting and audit; and financial planning, analysis, and modeling. Both are among the top five most in-demand skills sought from independent talent this year, largely due to a parallel demand for interim finance talent—including CFOs.

The increased risk exposure is perhaps most acutely felt by the life sciences industry. The risks involved in drug development have proliferated as quickly as perspectives on the development process have shifted. Here, independent experts are helping to develop frameworks for managing this risk as companies develop and roll out new therapies. They’re also able to help assess clinical trial data and determine the risks and likelihood of success for subsequent development phases.

Balancing Risk and Reward Without Adding Headcount

Though seeking the rewards of growth and innovation, companies remain vigilant of risk on the horizon. As such, they’re strategizing ways to remain resilient should a recession occur (which 75% of CEOs globally say is already underway or expected to happen before the end of 2023).

A big part of that strategy involves filling critical skills gaps by supplementing their core workforce with independent talent. A survey from Harvard Business School and the BCG Henderson Institute found that “90% of business leaders reported that on-demand talent would be somewhat or very important to their organizations’ future competitive advantage.”

Requests for talent skilled in cost reduction are up 400% as companies seek to right-size spending and maintain margins amid economic headwinds. Requests for AI and machine learning expertise are up 500%—at the top of the exec wish list—to help companies make more informed decisions about strategic growth areas and automate processes to reduce costs.

A liquid workforce approach has also become an effective interim solution for organizations experiencing—or anticipating— “Boss Loss.” Burnt out from years of unmanageable workloads compounded with the pandemic’s extraordinary pressures, many executives are leaving their jobs to improve their work-life balance. One recent survey found that 72% of executives expect to resign within the next two years.

BTG’s talent network includes seasoned C-suite executives as well as classically trained consultants, subject matter experts, and execution-oriented project managers. Their expertise covers a broad range of specialized skills, operational knowledge, and strategic capabilities, allowing them to provide relief for business leaders who are stretched thin.

In this type of support role, independent talent can help business leaders complete critical work and continue driving growth initiatives—all without increasing headcount. There’s no need to go through an extensive hiring and onboarding process, either. All BTG experts are carefully curated and vetted, and their extensive experience enables them to quickly and seamlessly support existing teams or work independently as needed.

On-demand talent can also be effective as a counter-cyclical measure, filling skill and capacity gaps and serving as a smaller gauge solution when consulting budgets get cut. A fluid talent strategy allows companies to test and experiment with new organizational capabilities and the type of talent they would like to hire for full-time roles before committing to a permanent headcount.

Ultimately, to find the balance that’s so critical for long-term growth, it’s important for business leaders to prioritize near-term measures while keeping an eye to the future. A quick and decisive shift in hiring strategy now can become a foundation for future resilience, allowing organizations to weather whatever comes next.

The traditional marketing playbook has been upended and rewritten by the pandemic. As a result, today’s marketing leaders are innovating fast to adopt new technologies and take advantage of new channels. As we enter a new phase of living with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, these leaders have continued to drive growth in existing businesses and explore ways to stand out in a crowded marketplace with innovative new products, programs, and offerings while refining their approach to reaching the right customers, right where they are. with innovative new products, programs, and offerings while refining their approach to reaching the right customers, right where they are.

But in a world driven by post-COVID workforce trends like The Great Resignation and Boss Loss, attracting and retaining the right marketing leader can be a challenge even for the world’s top companies. As leadership teams know, the search for a right-fit, permanent Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is no small feat. During this time of ongoing disruption and uncertainty, more and more companies are finding the skills and expertise they need to drive success and growth in the business via short-term interim CMO engagements—as shown by the 83% year-over-year increase in interim CMO requests found in BTG’s 2022 High-End Independent Talent Report.

Enhancing the marketing function with an Interim CMO

Interim CMOs can provide a wide array of skills and experience tailored to whatever scenario your company is facing. For example, if the current CMO is leaving, perhaps in part to the Great Resignation or the competitive hiring environment luring them away, an interim CMO can drive business growth and strategic direction, manage teams, and enhance marketing capabilities. Or, in acquisition or spinoff scenarios, interim CMOs can help build a whole new marketing function, define the permanent CMO role, and provide continuity and support during the transition.

But companies can do much more than merely maintain buoyancy during a marketing leadership gap. Interim marketing leaders can assess and improve business processes and capabilities by tackling unique campaigns and projects that require niche expertise. They can also help support internal teams that might lack people in seat or industry experience while the search for a long-term candidate continues behind the scenes.

What’s driving the demand for interim CMOs

CMOs are grappling with intense pressure to drive profitable growth, meet changing demands for business transformation, and keep up with increasing complexity in the broader marketing landscape—resulting in the lowest average CMO tenure in more than a decade. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated demand due to the increase in remote work and the desire from professionals for more day-to-day flexibility.

Demand for highly skilled interim marketing leadership has never been higher, with a number of factors at play:

• Both the marketing function and the CMO’s scope are growing in complexity, requiring fresh perspectives and in-demand skills to upgrade the function and add new specializations.
• In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies can’t afford to lose 3–6 months of leadership and fail to capitalize on opportunities while searching for a permanent hire.
• With an uncertain economic outlook ahead, many companies are not ready to add permanent headcount for product launches and new initiatives.
• After multiple years of operating through a global pandemic, business leaders are exhausted and need support to manage competing priorities, adjust strategies to current conditions, and drive execution of major initiatives.
• Top talent are increasingly turning to independent work for flexibility and unique project-based assignments.

On top of it all, highly skilled talent are increasingly turning to independent work for flexibility and unique project-based assignments.

As such, it’s no surprise that a recent BTG report found a 450% increase in demand for talent with B2B marketing expertise. With travel curtailed and in-person events called off during the height of the pandemic, agile marketing departments doubled down on online channels and content marketing and sought external experts to help build strategies, reorganize marketing teams and investments, and execute new playbooks.

On the B2C side, consumers are more aware of all aspects of the brands they are supporting, from their company values and employee experience to their environmental impacts and political activities. What worked to capture attention and call customers to action a few short years ago simply won’t work post-2020. But with a wide variety of unique experiences and extensive expertise, interim CMOs can offer fresh perspectives and in-demand skills to help businesses prevail and grow through times of uncertainty.

How companies are utilizing interim CMOs

Organizations are leveraging interim marketing leaders in three main ways:

Traditional interim CMO

Not only can a skilled interim fill the void of a leadership departure, they can also provide leadership and support for overextended teams by assisting with internal skills gaps, redistributing and prioritizing work, and projectizing critical near-term components of the traditional CMO role.

Such was the case when a UK-based global athletic league required an interim leader to manage the team day to day, develop a programmatic planning process, and drive a content-focused growth strategy, prior to the start of the season. BTG provided a marketing executive with 20+ years of experience across music, sports, TV, books, magazines, and mobile technology to help the team build and execute a marketing plan aimed at generating interest in a niche market among a general, global audience.

Standing up new capabilities or the function as a whole

In scenarios where the company is undergoing a major transformation—or in acquisition and spin-off situations in which the business unit is missing critical components of the marketing function—an interim leader can be brought in to develop capabilities, build out a team, and set up the organization for success.

Those capabilities were on display when BTG delivered two interim heads of marketing to an FTSE 250 derivatives trading company to lead a marketing transformation—including the creation of five new functions—to better support the company’s global strategies.

Add specific skills and capacity for unique campaigns and special projects

As marketing technology rapidly advances and consumer behaviors, buying patterns, and media consumption continue to evolve, marketing teams frequently struggle to keep up with both the pace of work and the rewriting of previous marketing playbooks. Companies are leveraging independent marketing leaders to bring targeted domain expertise, resource flexibility, and capacity to all types of projects—from digital marketing to pricing strategies to product launches and more.

In one such example, a global financial services company was seeking support with their new tax-reporting application during a key leader’s parental leave. BTG delivered a product marketing expert who defined the product’s target audience, developed its positioning, and had a comprehensive communications strategy and numerous pieces of supporting content in hand before the permanent exec returned.

Find the Interim CMO you need

With Business Talent Group, you can access an on-demand talent marketplace that includes 7000+ leadership-level talent with in-demand marketing skills. Whether you are experiencing a moment of rapid growth and transformation, undergoing unprecedented challenges, dealing with leadership gaps, or entering a new phase in your company’s progression, BTG can help you find right-fit marketing talent for any situation. Reach out today to discuss your interim CMO needs.

There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly shifted the way retailers and consumer goods companies connect with and serve their customers—from capturing their attention online to integrating service and delivery into the customer experience.

While the topmost concern of retailers in the past might have been securing optimal real estate and square footage, today a vast proportion of the customer’s experience takes place in the increasingly cluttered online arena—a shift that was already underway pre-pandemic but which has only been accelerated by seismic shifts in consumer behavior over the past few years. Now, the key factors that can make or break a brand are accessibility, ease of purchasing, and the speed of service.

Although retailers have proven incredibly resilient—by adjusting and optimizing supply chains, scaling ecommerce, rolling out contactless payments and digital/physical experiences, and doubling down on personalization—significant opportunities remain to build more engaging customer experiences, drive brand loyalty, and deliver seamless, satisfactory service. At the same time, retailers face increased challenges in the form of economic pressures and continuing supply chain struggles.

Fortunately, adept and experienced high-end independent talent are ready to dive in and help leading consumer companies kickstart recovery, facilitate stability, and strategize their next steps. BTG reached out to Rachael Ulman, an experienced retail executive, to discuss current trends playing out across the ecommerce and retail landscape—and what might be coming next as another wave of uncertainty looms on the horizon.

Meet The Expert

Rachael Ulman

Rachael Ulman is the Founder and CEO of 27 Edge, a strategy consulting firm helping retail and consumer brands grow through omnichannel and ecommerce expansion.

What are the big trends retailers should be focusing on for 2022 and beyond?

Retailers are focusing on two significant post-pandemic impacts: accelerated adoption of online shopping and record post-pandemic inflation.

First, ecommerce sales surged during the pandemic, with consumers having no other option than to adapt to online shopping. Even in categories like grocery, ecommerce adoption rates accelerated 10+ years in a matter of months. Now, as many customers return to stores and physical sales increase, ecommerce adoption is expected to persist above pre-pandemic levels. In 2022 and beyond, customers are expected to continue to shop online for a broader set of categories and use services that they adopted during the pandemic, like BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup in Store) and mobile checkout.

Second, coming out the pandemic, retailers are dealing with an environment of record inflation impacting both retail prices and costs. As inflation impacts consumer spending, retailers will need to adjust their inventory levels and reduce their operating expenses. For example, we are already seeing some retailers having to significantly markdown excess inventory in pandemic categories like TVs, small kitchen appliances and furniture as demand softens.

How do you see the online-to-offline experience, like BOPIS, continuing or evolving post-COVID?

Buy Online, Pickup In Store (BOPIS) is tablestakes now. According to the Omnichannel Retail Index 2022 report released by OSF, 84% of leading retailers across different categories offer BOPIS (up from 33% in 2016). The pandemic accelerated adoption and retailers have invested to offer a better service. Anticipated further improvement areas for BOPIS include:

• Geolocation-based pickup services to shorten customer wait times
• Reconfigured stores that have dedicated space for staging orders and customer pickup
• Faster click to pickup times in < 30 minutes
• Inventory accuracy improvements through real-time data integration and predictive models

How can brands capture consumer attention amongst countless digital distractions?

Anyone who has scrolled TikTok while watching Netflix knows the power of digital distractions. Marketers are adapting to this new hyper digital world. From influencers to NFTs, there are a myriad of marketing options available. Two trends worth watching:

• There was a seismic shift in digital marketing with the impact of Apple’s iOS privacy change in 2021. Advertising performance on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snap that rely on off-platform interaction data has been significantly impacted. As a result, we are seeing retailers invest more in 1st party data (e.g., transaction data, loyalty programs, referral programs) to reach customers. Leveraging 1st party data, retailers can create hyper-personalized and relevant experiences for their customers and offer digital advertising opportunities for their brands.
• Second, given the value of 1st party data, we can expect Amazon to be a big winner in digital advertising. Currently, Amazon is the 3rd largest digital ad platform (after Google and Meta) and the fastest growing of the three. Given its massive customer transaction database, Amazon has clear signals on customer preferences, intent, and purchase behavior. Over the next several years, we expect to see more brands advertise on Amazon, whether they sell on Amazon or not.

How can ecommerce companies and retailers best gather, utilize, and monetize their data?

Data is one of retail’s most important assets. Large retailers such as Walmart and Amazon have been able to create competitive advantages by leveraging data to improve everything from supply chain operations to the customer experience. As the saying goes, “retail is detail”, and information is the bedrock for good decision making.

Data gathering:

Before cloud computing, retail data was stored on owned, dedicated servers which were difficult to access or integrate. Cloud services, like Google, Microsoft, and AWS, have unlocked retail data allowing for reduced maintenance costs, more reliability, and easier data access. We have seen many retailers migrate to these cloud services to host their data and expect this trend with continue.

Data utilization:

A suite of data warehouse tools and services have been developed to allow for easier sharing, analysis, and interpretation of retail data. These span from “data warehouse as a service” companies like Snowflake, to data engineering and machine learning tools like Databricks. Retail organizations are staffing up their data science teams to automate and improve decision-making like never before.

Data monetization:

Smart retailers are recognizing the value of their data and monetizing it. Many retailers monetize their data with their vendor partners by selling them premium data access or through advertising opportunities on their retail media networks. An often untapped but new opportunity is to monetize anonymized transaction data. One company that is helping across all of these areas is Banyan, which leverages receipt-level data to help retailers securely monetize their transaction information, reduce fraud, and provide more personalized customer experiences.

Get the ecommerce and retail expertise you need.

As leading retailers and consumer goods companies seek to accelerate digital transformations and ecommerce initiatives to meet changing consumer behaviors, independent talent are a crucial source of in-demand skills and expertise to fill critical leadership gaps, transform processes and supply chains, and revolutionize digital marketing strategies. Reach out today to start a project with Rachael Ulman or another highly skilled independent talent from Business Talent Group.

Many people shy away from dealing with conflict in the workplace. But knowing how to confront and resolve disputes in the workplace is one of the most valuable skills you can have.

As an independent talent, conflict resolution skills are crucial. You’ll have to learn how to communicate effectively with your clients and may need to have difficult conversations over deliverables and other project details. You will also have to learn how to balance your workload with other team members and may need to address differing opinions about how to complete the project. And you’ll most likely have to set boundaries with your friends or family members around working from home.

If you struggle with managing conflict, the good news is that it’s a skill you can learn and get better at. It will take years of practice to implement fully, but you can start by working on some of the most effective conflict resolution strategies.

The 5 Conflict Management Styles

Before you dive right into trying to resolve conflict, it’s helpful to understand how you currently deal with conflict. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) is a valuable tool for understanding your conflict management style.

The TKI Conflict Model identifies five common strategies for dealing with conflict:

• Competing: Individuals who compete focus on their own advancement at the expense of others. They like to argue, take a stand, and assert power over other people. Sometimes it’s necessary to be competitive, like when you’re trying to win a new client or contract. But this style can be harmful when working with other people since it focuses on winning over building relationships.
• Accommodating: This conflict resolution strategy is the opposite of competing—accommodating people rarely assert themselves. This person neglects their own well-being for the good of others. Again, sometimes it’s necessary to be accommodating when you’re trying to preserve a relationship. But being overly accommodating can cause resentment.
• Avoiding: People who avoid conflict are unassertive and uncooperative. This person tends to sidestep issues or avoid them altogether to avoid the discomfort of dealing with conflict. This strategy can be appropriate if you really don’t care about the outcome, but the downside is that nothing gets resolved if you don’t deal with the situation.
• Collaborating: Collaborating means you assert yourself while still cooperating with the other person. This style aims to find a solution that works for everyone and to minimize any negative feelings. It’s an excellent strategy to use when the outcome matters, but you want to preserve the relationship as well.
• Compromising: Compromising falls somewhere between competing and accommodating. This strategy is typically used when you’re running out of time and need to reach a solution. In a compromise, no one gets exactly what they want—the outcome is fair for everyone, but no one is really happy about it either.

Navigating Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

The exact steps you take to resolve conflict will vary based on the situation and the people involved. But here are five general steps to help you get started.

1. Recognize Your Primary Conflict Resolution Strategy

Most people are capable of using all five conflict resolution methods, but odds are, you have one or two go-to strategies. Maybe you always give in to other people’s demands, or you may tend to avoid conflict altogether.

It’s important to understand that there is no “right” conflict resolution strategy. But some people overuse or underuse specific methods depending on their personality, and this can lead to problems. Understanding how you naturally respond to a conflict will give you more awareness going forward.

2. Clarify What the Problem Is

If you’re having a problem with a client or a team member, start by clarifying the issue at hand. If there are multiple people involved, make sure everyone gets an opportunity to speak their mind.

What do they think would be an appropriate resolution to the problem? Asking questions will help you figure out how the other person perceives the situation. Just make sure you meet in a neutral environment and use active listening, so other people feel heard.

3. Come Up With Some Possible Solutions

Once everyone understands what the problem is, take some time to brainstorm different solutions. Offer different ideas as they come to you and give everyone in the group the chance to offer their feedback and suggestions.

During the brainstorming process, focus on working towards a common goal. This will help eliminate the mindset of “winning” or “losing” and help everyone work toward a mutually beneficial solution.

Once the group has come up with a list of possible ways to fix the situation, everyone should agree on the next steps and how to implement them. Ideally, the solution the group comes up with should benefit everyone involved.

4. Act Immediately

Once you’ve put in the time and come up with a solution to the problem, it’s important to take decisive action. You don’t want to rush the conflict resolution process, but it’s time to take action once a decision has been reached.

Waiting or lingering over the solution could cause you to lose face with the others in the group. Once a decision is reached, take action on it, so everyone knows where they stand.

5. Recognize When There’s Nothing You Can Do

And finally, you need to recognize when the situation is out of your hands. Perhaps your relationship with your client or team member is beyond repair, and you’ll never see eye-to-eye.

Perhaps you’ve done all that you’re capable of doing, but for whatever reason, you just can’t resolve the situation on your own. At that point, it may be helpful to bring in a neutral third party or turn the problem over to a manager or someone from HR.

The Bottom Line

Even minor conflicts can cause huge rifts between you and your clients or team members. Deal with these conflicts as they arise before your productivity or work starts to break down. Using the conflict resolution strategies outlined in this article will help you develop stronger, more beneficial working relationships all around.

With 53% of US employees saying they are actively looking for new opportunities or at risk of leaving their current employer, and similar trends playing out around the world, the Great Resignation continues unabated. So too does the dramatic growth in the number of workers choosing to go independent—up 34% in 2021—and contributing their skills and expertise to companies on a project-by-project basis.

The growth is especially pronounced at the upper end, where the number of independent workers who reported annual earnings of $100,000 or more soared nearly 30% to 3.8 million. That’s the most high-earning independents recorded since researchers began studying them, and nearly twice the number found a decade ago.

But the independent route isn’t a one-way street. The growth in demand for independent talent and their rising earning potential is enabling a new, more fluid type of career path—where individuals move from traditional permanent roles to project-based work to startups to entrepreneurship and back again. Mixing and matching role types throughout to build a career that allows them to flexibly adapt their employment situation in line with changing priorities and life circumstances.

The sentiments underlying this trend match findings from an annual survey of high-end independent talent from Business Talent Group (BTG), where we found that the primary motivations for talent who chose to go independent included not only flexibility, but also control over their professional destinies:

• 70% of respondents said they went independent because they wanted to pick their own projects
• 57% wanted to select their own clients
• 63% were seeking the freedom to work from anywhere
• 57% chose independence to work when they wanted to

FLUIDITY IS A WIN-WIN FOR TALENT AND COMPANIES ALIKE

One leader who’s given this a lot of consideration is Marcus Sawyerr of EQ Community, an invite-only, social business members community focused on empowering capable and diverse talent, providing them access to professional opportunities, and accelerating diversity, equity, and inclusion across the workplace.

After 16 years in HR tech and recruiting—climbing from the front line to executive and CEO inside a Fortune 500 company focused on online recruitment and digital transformation—Marcus says he witnessed only a surface-level evolution of access to meaningful and life-changing jobs, especially for people of color. He founded EQ to enable connections between individuals who care about helping each other progress and provide access to exciting opportunities, particularly board and senior-level roles, that often go under the radar for POC.

Marcus argues that the new fluidity of work is advantageous for both professionals and the companies who hire them. For professionals, a more fluid career path offers deeper learning opportunities and a wider range of experience beyond those they could acquire through traditional employment with a single organization for a majority of their working life. Fluidity between permanent roles, project-based work, and entrepreneurial endeavors creates a virtuous cycle—wherein the experience gained through one type of work enhances the professional’s capabilities for the next opportunity.

“The nature of projects encourages collaboration and develops experiences on the job, and ‘side hustles’ fuel your creativity. Demonstrating expertise and creativity are cornerstones for employers hiring in top positions irrespective of the mode of employment,” Marcus said.

“Over six years, I worked with someone who was a V.P. of Marketing at a Fortune 500 company, switched to consulting, then ran her own business, and again into full-time work while living in the US, UK, and Switzerland. Working in full-time employment for a company became rewarding as she refined the process to leverage her superpowers with her gained exposure.”

For organizations, candidates with a wider range of experience in both roles and employment types offer fresh perspectives, enhanced and up-to-date skill sets, and all the insights and best practices they have picked up along the way. At the same time, professionals who are empowered to make the leap into independent work increase the pool of skilled talent available to assist business leaders with project-based work—where a full-time traditional role may not be necessary to achieve the organization’s objectives.

“Being a ‘Fluid Friendly’ organization gives companies agility to drive rapid innovation and encourages diverse and capable talent to join your mission,” Marcus said. “Investing in conducive environments for builders to thrive gives you options, and becoming empathetic to circumstances and professional goals gives you a competitive edge to ultimately attract the right talent for the best outcome.”

FLUIDITY IN ACTION

THE INNOVATOR

Malcolm Tyson, PhD
Business transformation strategist and innovation consultant to leaders at small and mid-size knowledge-intensive service firms

For Malcolm Tyson, a fluid career path delivers greater control over his professional destiny.

“I’m in control of how much money I make and all that sort of stuff. And that’s really what is driving me. I’m not ashamed of it… I’m a control freak. I like to control everything… As you get older, you are even more self aware and you want to align with things that help you be your best self and be authentic. You don’t want to be, well, having this tug-of-war with any situation that you’re having.”

That desire for control surfaced early in Malcolm’s career. Upon graduating from college as an accounting major, he says that he had big dreams of changing the world. At first, he thought a role at one of the Big Four accounting practices would put him on that path, but reality quickly sunk in.

“I wasn’t going to be a partner, and I didn’t want to be a partner. I just didn’t want that life,” Malcolm said. “So I pat myself on the back now because I had a certain level of self-awareness at that point.”

After being introduced to government contracting through a colleague, Malcolm worked in financial planning and analysis for NASA and other government organizations for the next 18 years. Over time, his contracts began to incorporate more strategic thinking, rather than just advising on the numbers. He found the work exciting, but the sink or swim nature of government contracting eventually caught up with him when the agency that employed him lost the contract he was working on—and Malcolm was told he’d have to train the person coming in to replace him.

“That helped me think about exit strategy. And I was like, ‘Okay, I can do this.’ Decided to go back to school, get my PhD. All during this time, I had been thinking about getting out. Government contracting was burning me out. I’ve always had sort of an entrepreneurial spirit. I had my CPA license, so I was doing taxes on the side… I had been doing that for years, but I’m like, ‘You know what? This is it. This is the sign that says get out, right?’…It’s perfect. I can ride off into the sunset. I can actually change the world now.”

Malcolm had been researching the possibility of purchasing a business coaching franchise, and although his wife was wary of the costs involved, Malcolm decided to move forward. He says it was one of the hardest things he’s ever done because although he had the energy and passion, the franchise provided little support. Malcolm struggled to make the franchise work on his own, but eventually it became too hard on his family, so he returned to a traditional full-time role in order to generate income. He still had the dream of helping small business owners in some way, but found that he would rather be the one proposing solutions, rather than simply coaching clients to find answers to their problems themselves.

Malcolm decided to rebrand his firm as an innovation consultancy practice to help small- and medium-sized business executives become better leaders, build innovative cultures, and create innovative companies. At that point, he began to juggle a full-time gig with project work, which he’s still doing today with great success. Malcolm said that the fluidity he’s engaged in throughout his career has made him more effective in each type of role he takes on.

“If you see the same instance multiple ways, it allows you to provide different perspectives… You’re able to see it from so many different angles. You are then able to speak authoritatively about it,” Malcolm said. “You become expert level, as opposed to just having a surface-level understanding.”

THE ADVISOR

Pablo Naicker
Digital transformation leader and advisor to large enterprises,
startups, and private equity firms

Pablo Naicker says that for him, fluidity means freedom.

“I’m working almost full time now at a particular client, but I’ve retained my independence. I have the freedom to conduct other business as I wish. No one has the right to question or challenge my independence provided there’s no conflict of interest. As long as I get the job done, I’m okay.”

That’s a marked change from the traditional, permanent roles he held previously. Pablo began his career as a consultant at a traditional firm, before moving into a CIO role in the maritime industry and then project managing an SAP implementation for a very large family-owned retail business. After a mid-career break to complete his MBA and fill gaps in his skill set around corporate finance, marketing, and economics, he found that the consulting roles he was looking to get back into were limited following the dot-com crash of the early 2000s.

Instead, Pablo found his next job in the pharmaceutical industry, where he worked his way from project manager to program director to the Global Head of Enterprise Architecture. In 2010, he joined another pharma company as its CIO and ultimately gained exposure to large-scale M&A transactions when the company was sold. He continued building upon his M&A knowledge upon returning to his previous employer as the head of its CIO Office and Governance.

In 2016, he pivoted again and became the head of digital for one of the world’s largest human resources providers and staffing firms. In that role, he began working closely with startups and new technology—experience which would serve him well when he made the leap to full-time independence in 2019 and began serving a portfolio of companies and private equity firms as a consultant and technology advisor. The independent arc of Pablo’s career has accelerated rapidly and kept him on the cutting edge.

“For me when I looked back there [over the past few years, I thought], oh wow. Okay. I didn’t realize that there were so many different clients, so many different industries and it’s helped me stay fresh and stay relevant,” Pablo said. “I’ll be honest. It was not my choice. I didn’t expect it, but I think probably after the first six months, I realized this was the right thing to happen to me. It forced me out of a certain comfort zone that I’d gotten used to in my career. And then it’s allowed me to be much more adaptive now.”

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Karl Jackson
Technical strategist, program manager, and founder of Black Beard Brigade Grooming Co.

Karl Jackson views fluidity as a means to advance his career, investment objectives, and entrepreneurial endeavors all at once.

“For me, it is being able to see where the ceiling is in a company and not always making a horizontal move… I’ve been doing this and I have these diverse skill sets. This company has this job description here that seems to speak more to what I’ve picked up in the last few years…so now let me use that to make a more vertical move to a higher position there,” Karl said. “So for me, it’s just being able to just build on the skills that I’ve had to also use that as a stepladder, move into another position or progress as I see fit.”

Karl discovered his passion for technology and computers not in the classroom, but through a friend who introduced him to hacking while in high school. Despite originally being more interested in hardware, Karl began taking programming classes in college because that route would carry him further in his career without the continual recertification required of hardware engineers. He also minored in business management, and that combination of business and technical education set him on the path for the next step in his career.

Post-college, Karl began contracting on projects such as upgrading voting machines and installing new computer systems for a hospital network. He then returned to a traditional full-time role as a system analyst helping companies configure files for data file conversions. He moved up quickly, and soon was tasked with translating requirements from the company’s business partners and sales team to its website developers and project management team. He also went back to school to acquire a master’s degree in intelligence studies, focusing on cybersecurity among other disciplines.

Karl says he really started to find his niche in his next role as a software release manager, where he developed go-to-market strategies for new software releases and updates, coordinating everything from release notes for end users to training programs for customer service and sales teams. He continued building those skills within a similar role in another company, where he also had a conversation that completely changed his perspective on what a fluid career path could really mean for him.

“One of the VPs, he was like, ‘What’s your endgame?’ And I didn’t know what he was talking about. I’m like, ‘Endgame? I don’t know,’ and it made me think,” Karl said. “He was like, ‘Yeah, your salary is probably more than mine, but I’ve got equity in this company…and when it gets bought out, I get paid millions.’… I was like, ‘Yo, that’s something new. I didn’t think about that.’ So my whole question there was, ‘How can I get equity in the company?’”

Inspired, Karl began reading and watching everything he could find on the subject of equity investing, venture capital, and the virtues of being a producer, rather than simply a consumer. His knowledge-seeking eventually led to conversations with a friend who was on a similar entrepreneurial and investment journey. Together they formed a business built around their mutual struggle with finding beard grooming products formulated for black men, which they named Black Beard Brigade. The process of bringing their new brand to market tied together all of the threads Karl has been developing in both contract and permanent roles throughout his fluid career path.

“Having a background in tech, if I want to build out a shop on Shopify…I’m forward thinking, right? There’s integrations that they have there. If I want different apps to kind of work together, now I have to think in the space of, ‘All right, if I put this app on here to do X, if I eventually want to do some other stuff, what other apps actually can integrate with the platform that I’m working on, and what makes that easier?’” Karl said. “Doing the launch piece, now you’re thinking about, ‘All right, how do I market this? What types of things have I seen people do in the past at companies I was in…to market things?’… So things like that have helped me in having that knowledge of putting this together.”

THE CREATOR

Dani Craig
Senior project manager, certified SCRUM Master, and writer/producer of black female-led dramas and comedies for TV and film

For Dani Craig, fluidity allows her to focus on her own needs and pursue the right opportunities for each stage of her life.

“I have a breadth of knowledge and experience so I could really do a lot of things right now,” Dani said. “Project management, I have a SCRUM Master certificate…and then I have a sales background. I could plug myself into a recruiting role. I could plug myself into sales development, customer success manager. I have a lot of different avenues I could pursue.”

Dani began her career working in advertising sales for radio and television, and later translated those skills into consultative sales roles in commercial banking where she worked to develop relationships with clients and propose solutions to meet their needs. Before long, she decided to make a career switch and went back to school to attain a master’s degree in entertainment industry management.

The second year of the program took her to Los Angeles, where she got a job as a project manager for a well-known cable network upon graduating. In that role, she worked to shepherd shows from pre-production to post-production—liaising between network executives, internal teams, and production companies to coordinate project deliverables, manage budgets, and efficiently deliver creative assets to the network’s various platforms.

After several years, Dani left the network and began working independently both as a project management consultant within the corporate world and as a writer and producer for reality TV. The freedom of independent work allowed her the flexibility she needed to take care of her health and pursue her own creative endeavors.

“It was really the best decision I could have made because now I feel rejuvenated… The thing that I know about working [to help] someone else build their dream is that when you’re done, usually at the end of the day, you don’t have any mental capacity to do much of anything else. You’re just home and you’re just like a vegetable. You’re just like, ‘Oh, I need to make dinner and then go to sleep and then start it all over again.’ I know when I was independent, I had a lot of time to be more creative,” Dani said.

Today, Dani has expanded her writing and production into scripted film and TV and is currently developing an Afrofuturist sci-fi program that she’s excited to pitch to networks and streaming platforms. As for whether she’ll ever return to a traditional, permanent role, Dani says there’s no question—so long as it’s on her terms.

“I will definitely go back to work for a company if the price is right and the role is right. I’m open to that… I am also, in the meantime, learning about cybersecurity because project management is sometimes you have a role, you actually have things to do, but sometimes…you’re on the outside managing other people’s workflows and processes and their job. And it’s not as fun,” Dani said. “I’m doing those classes on the side and…just exploring some other options, but more importantly, I’m willing to work for someone. It just has to be the right thing.”

FINDING FLUIDITY

Tips from those who’ve been there

Each of the talent we interviewed shared a few words of advice for others seeking to seize the advantages of fluidity to advance their own career and personal objectives.

Malcolm Tyson emphasized the importance of enjoying the journey wherever it may take you:

“Understand that it’s not going to be linear. You may have to take a couple steps backward in order to go forward… I was just having this conversation with somebody else, it’s all on the perspective. If you see those two steps backward as a failure, then it’s going to be a failure. But if those two steps backwards are an opportunity for you to learn and accelerate your growth—hey, that’s the way I want to look at it.”

Pablo Naicker highlighted the need to be your own biggest advocate, while building connections with others who can help you along the way:

“You’ve got to be fairly self aware and self-confident—you’ve got to back yourself. You need to know what you’re good at that you can package as a product and sell… Before you go from whatever you are in to, let’s say, a portfolio career, understand your network, understand how that can be tapped, understand who is willing to help you. And reach out, get guidance— because the network for me has been really, really valuable for all of that.”

Karl Jackson focused on really listening to the needs of others and making yourself a resource for those who can help you get where you want to go:

“It’s being able to understand where the gaps are and provide solutions, right? So if you’re always able to say, ‘Hey, here’s the problem, but I have this solution,’ you can start that conversation. And then people will come to you and say, ‘Well, they helped me sell X, or they brought this up. Maybe they have a solution for this.’ Now they see you as more of a thought leader or somebody in that space that can help with whatever problem that they’re having, whether that’s within a company or outside of it.”

Dani Craig stressed how important it is to remain open to possibilities and seize opportunities to better yourself.

“Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid to take chances… Sometimes you really have to dig deep inside yourself to make something happen. And really, I think the more that I see the world today, there are literally no limits to what you can do… You literally could change your life and it just takes a little bit of hard work.”

HOW TO PICK YOUR PATH

As a professional with skills that are in demand for both traditional roles and independent projects, how do you decide which arrangement is better for you at any given moment?

Traditional employment may be the right fit if:

• You are seeking a steady income and/or employer-provided benefits
• You are looking to develop close professional relationships or receive mentorship and training opportunities
• You want to work consistent, set hours year-round
• You would rather leave tax withholding and management to the company
• Your dream job or an exciting opportunity within your chosen field is available

On the other hand, you might consider independent, project-based work when:

• You want to control your own professional destiny, choose who you work for, and pick your own projects
• Your life circumstances either require more flexibility in when and where you work or, conversely, they afford you to option to seek that flexibility
• You want to work for a variety of organizations on a range of interesting challenges
• You care more about pursuing exciting opportunities than receiving a consistent income
• You are seeking potentially greater compensation without regard for employer-provided benefits

Whichever route is right for you, EQ Community and BTG are here to help.

COLLABORATING TO ACCELERATE DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

EQ Community and Business Talent Group are excited to announce a new collaboration to offer exciting project opportunities to EQ Community members and more diverse independent talent slates to leading companies. Together, EQ Community and Business Talent Group will champion a diverse and inclusive workforce resulting in greater innovation, creativity, profitability, competitive advantage, and career path fluidity.

Join the EQ Community and explore exciting project-based opportunities today.

On the subject of workforce trends, the newest, hot-off-the-presses phrase going around is “boss loss,” or the notion that high level executives are becoming increasingly inclined to resign as The Great Resignation continues to develop. In fact, one recent survey found that 72% of executives say they plan to leave their current employer within the next two years. As workers continue to favor flexibility and autonomy in their careers, this suddenly rising trend proves that even highly skilled, seasoned executives are being lured away as much as the junior professionals they lead.

So, what is boss loss and why is it happening?

The pandemic—and the changes to both our professional and personal lives that came with it—have inexorably altered the meaning and value of “work” for many of us. Last year, experts began noting that a Great Resignation was underway as the rate of voluntary departures began climbing within the global workforce. It’s becoming increasingly clear that trend is now moving up the ladder to the leadership level.

“Our research signals there is significant talent demand for a life-work shift. Even senior leaders are experiencing it and acknowledge that employers could be doing more,” said Tammy Browning, president of KellyOCG. “A shift in workplace culture is needed and organizations must evolve to remain competitive, profitable, and attractive to top talent.”

• Browning theorizes that boss loss is rising because many executives have been saddled with an unmanageable workload due to years of consolidation in executive roles. Meanwhile, many leaders feel that they aren’t being properly compensated for the skewed work-life balance they’re experiencing. Feeling overworked, they’re hunting for greener pastures at companies they feel can offer the flexibility they desire.

Organizationally, businesses are transforming to meet ever-shifting circumstances, and as they adapt, it’s opening up a much broader array of options for workers. As Axios puts it, “The companies eager to hire you aren’t just the ones within commuting distance anymore. Remote work means there are many more places to land if you quit.” Accordingly, it takes significantly more effort for companies to build employee loyalty in the era of flexible work.

And despite the logistical difficulties of remote work on the company side, “taking away work-from-anywhere isn’t an option for most.” Gartner’s Chief of HR Research, Brian Kropp, found that 7 in 10 workers now think of work flexibility as table stakes. Furthermore, he suspects that the elevated level of turnover is going to stick around as long as remote and hybrid work is at the forefront of the professional world.

Axios continues, “Companies will have to bring in more recruiters to handle the long-term load of open roles. And they’ll have to build some redundancy into teams so products and clients don’t suffer from concentrated turnover spikes.” On the bright side, by following some proven best practices—as well as utilizing on-demand talent–it is possible to decrease turnover or lessen its impact in the era of the Great Resignation. This has been shown by plenty of companies that were already operating remotely or in hybrid on-site/remote work arrangements prior to the pandemic which have managed to stabilize their resignation rates.

“Human resources leaders at those places tell us that clarity around company purpose and mission to drive a strong culture is as vital as competitive pay and perks,” the article continues, confirming that it’s less about job necessity for talent in today’s market as is their connection to the organization. Companies must put in active effort to show their talent that they are valued and heard and to give them reasons to believe in their employer.

Overcoming and adapting to boss loss

According to KellyOCG’s survey, companies should focus on four areas to stem the flow of attrition and attract the best new talent:

Strengthening Workforce Agility

The emphasis on work-life balance and flexible work arrangements is paramount to successfully procuring top talent. One area of attention is the remote/hybrid/in person requirement of a given role. The report quotes Crystal Lannaman of BASF who said, “If you decide not to participate in hybrid, you are leaving talent on the table in this market.” Focusing on your employees’ mental well-being and listening to the new reality of their expectations is what sets companies apart in the eyes of talent.

Reinventing the Employee Experience

Companies have begun to face difficulties attracting and retaining talent in terms of pay and benefits in addition to work arrangement fluidity mentioned above. For starters, the report found that career progression is more important than compensation in improving retention in 2022. Nowadays, employees are looking for growth and development opportunities, they want benefits and policies that serve them, to be paid fairly, and for companies to put an emphasis on the human aspects of work that drive connection and purpose.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

According to the report, despite the high profile of DEI issues in the past two years in the US and around the world, only about a third of firms have implemented innovative initiatives to improve DEI. By actively creating and facilitating an inclusive culture, not only in terms of DEI, but in terms of mental health and well-being, talent will take notice and interest in available opportunities.

Adoption of Tools and Technologies

The report establishes that nowadays, businesses have better options than ever for finding the right tools and technologies to power their talent management strategies. Not only that, but the abundance of these tools and technologies allow for the improvement of workforce agility, productivity, knowledge sharing, training, data analytics, and more. Companies that spearhead adopting these digital innovations are beginning to set the standard for the best places to work, thereby attracting, retaining, and training the best leadership talent.

Averting Boss Loss with On-Demand Talent

Tapping on-demand talent is another key tactic to combat boss loss, skill gaps, and outstanding empty seats across your organization. Business Talent Group’s marketplace of highly skilled on-demand talent is comprised of high-end independents at all levels, from interim executives to established consultants across all industries and functions. Tap on-demand talent to:

• Provide relief for exhausted leaders by taking projects off their plate, leading workstreams, executing critical initiatives, and serving as trusted advisors to offer strategic thinking and insight to help tackle challenges and seize opportunities
• Fill leadership gaps across the organization (on-demand talent can step in to provide steady leadership and keep workstreams moving during a temporary leave or gap in the organization chart)
• Provide critical support within HR to help right-size compensation and benefits, improve the employee experience, and add critical but short-term capacity for recruiting new talent

Get the high-end independent talent you need from Business Talent Group

With Business Talent Group, you can access an on-demand talent marketplace that includes countless executives across all industries and functions. Whether you’re experiencing boss loss, looking to bolster your existing executives, or find yourself approaching an opportunity for rapid growth and transformation, BTG can help you find perfect-fit talent to combat temporary leadership and skill gaps. Reach out today to learn more.

Every step of an independent talent engagement is critical to the success of the project, from hitting the ground running and ready to make an impact to your interactions with teammates and stakeholders to the actual work you do. Though it can be easy to overlook, one of the steps that can leave the longest-lasting impression is how you wrap up the project and leave the client with deliverables and insights that set them up for long-term success.

To help you complete projects in a satisfactory manner for both your clients and yourself, we sought out some best practices from experts in the BTG talent community who have honed their processes through numerous independent engagements. We offer these tips and tricks to help you avoid common project missteps and succeed in your independent consultant endeavors with Business Talent Group.

Read on for some key takeaways on how to wrap up your independent projects on the right foot.

Meet the Experts

Vivek Garg

Former Apple Data Science Manager and Bain Strategy Consultant with 15+ years of product, strategy, and program leadership across the healthcare and retail sectors.

Rebecca Drinkwater

Former Kearney Consultant with 20+ years of experience across strategy, business transformation, and change management across the pharmaceutical, food & beverage and non-profit sectors.

Marc Prine

Seasoned management consultant and industrial / organizational psychologist with 10+ years of experience in human capital management.

Clearly Outline Next Steps and Who Owns Them

Arguably the most important part of a project is ensuring that you’ve accomplished the tasks at hand, whether they mirror the original ask or have expanded and adapted over time. Reviewing original contracts, keeping checklists, and having regular conversations with the client are key steps to make sure everything stays on track. Here are some more tips from our experts:

• Produce a handover document detailing the status of all key open activities, where documents are stored, and next steps as a reference guide for the client. Ensure that each outstanding action has an owner going forward and that the owner agrees to the actions you’ve outlined.
• Have a one-on-one conversation with the project owner to make sure that they know how to access all of the key deliverables, what the next steps are, and who will take ownership going forward.
• You may also consider holding a one-on-one with each team member to go over the location of important documents—and perhaps their contents—as well as who the relevant stakeholders are, the remaining actions they need to take, and anything they should focus on or be aware of.
• Consulting is a process of constant feedback, and the most successful projects have frequent touch points between the client and talent where insights are shared and feedback received well in advance of the project wrap-up, so that there are no surprises from the client perspective. The last week, or even the last few weeks, of a project should be spent tweaking decks and making the final presentation or recommendations based on previously provided client feedback and alignment.

Make it Sustainable

Interims and independent consultants are asked to join a team for a short amount of time in order to add a lot of value—and ensuring the sustainability of that value is essential. Refer back to the original statement of work to make sure all of the commitments were met, and ensure the team has all of the tools needed in order to capture and sustain the value you have added.

• Solicit client feedback on what amongst your work they expect to continue to leverage, who needs to be trained, what the key risk and mitigation plans are, and what kind of help they anticipate needing in the future.
• Hold an after-action review with key stakeholders to understand what went well and what could have been even better. Focus on nailing down actionable learnings for the client on areas to address next time.
• In your exit interviews, brainstorm with the client on anything else they wished they could have accomplished while you were there. Be diligent about suggesting ideas for the client to explore in the future.

Utilize Digital Resources to Level Up Your Practice

Software plays a pivotal role in neatly wrapping up an independent engagement, from securing your data security to ensuring it remains accessible for the long-term.

• Make sure your work is available for the client within a secure online system, and that it is searchable and easily digestible. Ensure that all project documents are stored properly in the client’s document management system (e.g., SharePoint) in a logical fashion with old versions archived.
• Where possible, show your KPIs in interactive dashboards so that the client can truly appreciate your impact. The interactivity can help empower them to take the ideas forward.

Build Relationships and Focus on Self-improvement

Independent engagements are opportunities for professional experience, but can also provide insights for self-improvement and help you build relationships with like-minded individuals. Remember to keep an eye out for additional project opportunities where either you or BTG could help out!

• Throughout the project, think of what needs the client has or could have in the next six months to one year, both in the immediate as well as adjacent organizations.
• Think of your other competencies that were not leveraged in the project and where they could help in the client organization.
• Ask for feedback on your performance and advice on what you could improve going forward. On BTG projects, our teams stay in regular touch with our client and consultant to ensure expectations are met.
• Don’t forget to ask the client to be a future reference in the form of LinkedIn endorsements, a recommendation letter, or perhaps for discussions with future prospects.
• Share specific suggestions with the client and your BTG Talent solutions team on how you could help on next steps if needed.

Getting Paid

Now comes the fun part: getting paid for all the great work you’ve done! Be sure to submit final invoices as soon as possible to make things easy on your client’s accounting team and receive your payment in a timely manner. When you work on a BTG project, our team will handle all client invoicing, so you simply need to submit your final invoices promptly upon project completion, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Find Your Next Project with BTG

The independent talent market is hot and only getting hotter with talent finding great success in both interim and independent consultant roles. Demand is higher than ever among BTG’s clientele of Fortune 100 companies and other leading organizations, with projects popping up in every industry and function.

The best place to start looking for new and exciting projects is the BTG Talent Portal. Sign up or log in to see all available project opportunities, and keep in mind that new opportunities are posted regularly.

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

Apply Today

Digital health has grown and evolved rapidly in the past decade—spurred by exciting developments in AI, machine learning, and the internet of things (IoT), alongside nearly ubiquitous adoption of smartphones and other digital tools. Like so many tech advancements, this was greatly accelerated by the COVID pandemic, when shifting to a remote model became immediate and imperative.

As digital health capabilities evolve, they have the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes, increase accessibility, and slow rising healthcare costs for both patients and providers. Additionally, by putting outcomes front and center, digital tools support the ongoing shift to value-based care.

Innovation is happening on all fronts, and healthcare and life science leaders are finding new ways to communicate with patients; digitize fundamental operations; develop, test, and launch digital and pharmaceutical products; and utilize and improve data.

We can conceptualize the digital health space in five interconnected components:

• Digital Health Strategy
• Digital in Clinical and R&D
• Connected Health
• Digital Commercialization
• Data Management and Improvement

The digital health space is broad—spanning the healthcare system and the pharmaceutical drug development cycle. It includes patient- and provider-facing and internal initiatives, as well as the strategy, technology, and data supporting them. Digital health touches nearly every area of the organization, which creates a challenge for leaders when it comes to devising a holistic strategy, executing across teams, thinking through implications for the entire organization, and creating and owning partnerships.

On-demand talent is not only proving to be a flexible source of skills and insight in this fast-paced digital environment, but experienced independent life science consultants are a valuable resource for leaders who must bridge the many parts of the organization that fall under the umbrella of digital health.

How independent executives and experts are supporting teams across the digital health space

Digital health innovations are critical to market access, clinical, and commercial teams, as well as healthcare and strategy leaders more broadly. Let’s look at five key ways skilled independent talent are stepping in to support these teams:

1. Strategizing and executing digital health initiatives

In digital health, as anywhere else, new technology alone does not ensure success. Unlocking the true value of these powerful solutions comes down to informed strategy and tactical execution. On-demand life science experts have experience executing digital health initiatives and working cross-functionally—and they are equipped and ready to hit the ground running at an organization.

They are a tremendous source of knowledge and insight when it comes to:

• Overcoming organizational siloes in order to realize the potential of digital innovations
• Identifying and understanding underlying problems and matching them to the right solutions
• Bridging the gap between technical teams and senior stakeholders
• Devising portfolio strategies with a lens specific to therapeutic areas
• Project management of technology implementations including internal and external alignment and communication
• Assessing feasibility and conducting market landscapes

Case Study: Commercial Strategy for a Cardiovascular Digital Health Product

The innovation and business acceleration group of an F200 pharmaceutical company was preparing to launch a new cardiovascular device with an accompanying digital therapeutic product and needed a commercial strategy leader to own the commercial plan development, project timeline, and marketing plan for the digital product. BTG provided a seasoned life science executive who had previously led the financing, development, approval, and launch of multiple innovative life science products, including cardiovascular digital therapies. The consultant conducted a competitive assessment, determined the appropriate commercial (payment and reimbursement) model for the product, developed both upstream and downstream marketing plans, and created a go-to-market launch plan.

Case Study: Digital Health Strategy Refresh

An F200 pharma company wanted to implement next generation digital health technologies, which required a thorough review of the existing strategy across three therapeutic areas and a roadmap for moving forward. BTG provided a healthcare expert (who was both a physician and former McKinsey consultant) with expertise in life sciences commercial strategy, business development, and digital health, as well as deep insights on digital health success factors, barriers, and commercialization models. He assembled an overview of digital capacity and capabilities, conducted market and opportunity assessments, delivered feedback on how to align internal and external communications to key stakeholder personas, and suggested prioritization of areas for further development.

2. Identifying and implementing virtual tools and platforms for patients and HCPs

Patient-facing products and initiatives like smartphone apps and virtual care are gaining widespread adoption, and they are part of the most visible aspect of the digital health space: Connected Health. Patients are using apps for everything from broad wellness and fitness activities to management of specific diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and mental health conditions.

Connected Health also includes wearable devices, such as fitness trackers, blood pressure monitors, and ECG monitors, as well as a newer category of devices, biosensors—which come in the form of gloves, clothing, bandages, and implants. Also in this arena are electronic health and medical records (EHR/EMR), digital care platforms, and digital diagnostics and therapeutics.

Telehealth use rates tripled from January to July of 2020, and 71% of US adults say they’d be willing to use telehealth post-pandemic. This presents a tremendous opportunity for healthcare and pharmaceutical leaders alike to identify and harness new tools and platforms for virtual care.

As teams sprint to develop and advance these products, independent experts offer fast and flexible insight—from market and opportunity assessment through product strategy and launch.

Case Study: Developing a Healthcare Provider Locator Solution

A multinational pharma company was seeking to launch a healthcare provider (HCP) locator solution that would help patients identify a doctor for treatment. The team needed support in mapping and analyzing external physician locators and potential partners for development, as well as specific recommendations on how to set up such a tool across different markets. BTG provided a former Capgemini consultant with extensive experience driving customer engagement and digital transformations in life science. The consultant investigated competitors’ solutions and did a technical deep dive on required IT infrastructure, resource and technical capability requirements, and potential partners.

3. Unlocking opportunities within early-stage development and adapting to virtual clinical trials

One extremely powerful application of digital health is the potential to accelerate R&D—ushering in shorter, faster clinical trials, better quality data, and faster go-to-market times.

As companies work to shorten drug development cycles and improve onboarding and adherence, they are harnessing digital health solutions to achieve ambitious goals. Innovations here include process improvements and automation, expanded use of AI and machine learning in drug discovery, and the use of algorithms and advanced analytics in drug development. Digital tools to strengthen adherence and home monitoring include wearables, apps, and digital diagnostics.

Furthermore, decentralized clinical trials are proving to increase patient engagement, better assess drug efficacy, and enable clinical teams to boost recruitment, communication, data capturing, and patient monitoring.

Clinical solutions leaders are calling on independent experts to inform these initiatives and provide execution support, as well as to enhance data governance and the ability to unlock more insights and value from clinical data.

Case Study: Clinical Trial Technology Opportunity Assessment

A senior director in R&D at an F100 pharma company needed a landscape analysis of technology trends and innovation impacting Phase 3 clinical trials in immunology to improve speed, effectiveness, and the patient/provider experience. BTG delivered a digital health strategy consultant with 20+ years of diverse strategic advisory, market access, and competitive intelligence experience. The consultant identified key players and areas of opportunity, anticipated disruptive competitor developments, and pinpointed ways to achieve competitive advantage—informing the digital health strategy of the Immunology R&D team.

4. Supporting commercial teams with launch and promotional efforts

Digital health is becoming ever more vital to commercial leaders as they create personalized solutions for patients and accelerate go-to-market strategies. These initiatives include:

• Digital brand strategy and execution (how a brand reaches patients and physicians)
• Telemedicine/telehealth and virtual care
• Digital product launches
• Digital promotion strategies for patients and HCPs
• Digital presence and search engine optimized websites

Commercial leaders, like clinical, rely on tools such as apps and wearables, as well as physician-facing tools and digital platforms to track patient adherence. On-demand talent can bring knowledge and experience not only to assist in developing innovative patient- and provider-facing tools, but also to help navigate the space and provide execution support for commercial teams.

Case Study: Digital Education Strategy for a COVID-19 Marketing Pivot

When the COVID pandemic hit, the marketing team at an F150 biopharma company needed to develop a digital-first education program strategy to remotely engage both HCPs and patients. BTG provided a strategic life science marketing executive who had previously worked at BMS, Merck, and Pfizer and had extensive experience in HCP and patient digital education and engagement. The consultant developed a two-year virtual education program strategy and roadmap.

Case Study: HCP Engagement Strategy

A multinational Fortune Global 500 pharma and life science company sought to develop a strategic approach to HCP engagement across its consumer health portfolio. Following a shift in focus that deprioritized its HCP engagement programs, the company’s efforts in this area had become fragmented and lacking in coordination across product categories. BTG delivered a seasoned pharmaceutical executive to provide strategic insights on how the company could better understand and address HCP needs, increase recommendations of their brands, and leverage digital platforms to improve HCP engagement. In addition to these insights, the talent developed a pilot plan and process blueprints for key markets and products.

5. Leveraging data, analytics, and AI

Effective data management is critical to support trial design, development of new and innovative therapies, commercial insights, and the gathering of real-world evidence (RWE). Real-world data (RWD) comes from a variety of sources, including EHRs, claims and billing activities, product and disease registries, and other sources, such as mobile and home medical devices.

The data collected from digital health tools provides valuable insights into things like patient monitoring, consumer preferences, treatment/product effectiveness, and demographics. And consumers are increasingly willing to share and utilize that data. According to a PEW study, 4 in 10 people said the pandemic made them more likely to support efforts that enable data-sharing among a patient’s providers and allow downloading of personal data from EHRs to apps on smartphones and other devices.

Well-maintained data means more personalization for patients, more insights for providers, better-informed clinical trials, and a faster pace of drug discovery and development. And new developments in analytical capabilities offer the potential to unlock even more value.

On-demand talent on the data side of digital health include data scientists, analysts, and translators with life science experience; interim IT and analytics leaders; project managers; data and IT strategists; and hands-on commercial analytics experts.

Case Study: Portfolio Reporting Lead and Data Translator

When a key member of the Global Portfolio Management team of an F100 consumer healthcare company embarked on parental leave in the midst of developing a portfolio framework, the team needed leadership and data translation expertise to keep the project moving forward. BTG deployed a former director of IT shared services and business intelligence, who was able to build and maintain actionable and insightful analysis, reports, and dashboards to enable transparent prioritization and optimization of the end-to-end project portfolio.

Independent Digital Health Expertise to Support Your Team or Project

As the digital health space continues to evolve, new considerations and opportunities for innovation continuously present themselves. 

A faster, more flexible alternative to big consulting firms, independent life science experts are at the cutting edge of the marketplace, providing niche skills quickly, as needed. They bring lived experience executing digital health initiatives at leading organizations, and they are ready to jump in and become part of the team.  

Learn more about how on-demand talent can help in digital health, or reach out to start a project today!

In recent years, the role and responsibilities of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) have grown greatly beyond their historical boundaries. No longer seen simply as stewards of the company’s financial management, compliance, and reporting, CFOs today are taking an increasingly prominent role as key strategic partners to the CEO, tapping vast troves of data generated by the organization to provide actionable insight on company priorities and offer early warning of risk on the horizon.

As businesses upgrade and expand their finance capabilities, they’re adding complexity and operational scope to the CFO role—requiring ever-greater expertise to succeed within it. One survey by Heidrick & Struggles found that two thirds of CFOs said new responsibilities have been added to their team’s plate since the pandemic began, from new reporting requirements to real estate evaluation and employee health and safety.

According to Alyse Bodine of Heidrick & Struggles, “The broadening spectrum of factors shareholders expect companies to pay attention to, along with their rising complexity, has elevated the importance and scope of the CFO role. Today’s CFOs are expected to have broad business and commercial acumen to develop and execute enduring strategies for creating shareholder value, measure their impact on stakeholders, and address various forms of risk—particularly global risks—as companies move into new markets. Add in issues such as social responsibility, and it is clear that CFOs are expected to function at a higher level than ever before.”

At the same time, incumbent CFOs often lack the skills or experience necessary to meet the evolving needs of the business. The search for a new permanent, full-time CFO can be lengthy, especially in this dynamic market where the The Great Resignation has impacted the supply of CFOs—particularly those with the in-demand data and digital skills that are now essential for senior leaders. To ensure that organizations have access to the specific financial skills they need and are able keep moving on key initiatives and daily operations, leading companies are increasingly engaging interim CFOs.

Anchoring the finance function with interim CFOs

The case for interim CFOs is stronger than ever. During periods of transition, an interim CFO can help maintain continuity, provide guidance, and contribute specialized expertise when assessing new opportunities. Their timeline is limited, which makes the urgency of their goals that much greater. They are highly motivated to accomplish essential tasks and put specific processes in place quickly. Interim CFOs can guide innovation, and their experience may pad out the potential lack of experience within internal teams that could be uncovered during the search for a long-term candidate.

By tapping a skilled interim CFO, companies can do more than just keep the seat warm until a permanent hire is made. They can take the opportunity to advance the finance team’s capabilities, allow more time to find the perfect permanent CFO—while refining their criteria for what exactly that means—and complete short-term initiatives that set the long-term leader up for success.

What’s driving the demand for interim CFOs?

According to Deloitte, early in the pandemic, many CFOs were resolved to staying put because many felt a renewed sense of loyalty and weren’t about to abandon the business just when it needed them most. Plus, internal candidates suddenly gained extra appeal, and some companies even enticed retiring CFOs to stay in place. In fact, from March – May 2020, some search firms reported seeing new searches drop by as much as 25%.

The current surge in demand for CFOs is a complete reversal from those early days of the pandemic. Within a short timeframe, several market trends turned the field in CFO’s favor with “breathtaking volume and velocity.”

A Need for Support in Rapid Growth or “Challenging” Financial Situations

The pandemic presented opportunities for many companies to acquire weakened competitors or grow organically—requiring finance leaders with experience in turnarounds and M&A integration. Other companies in less resilient industries found themselves facing never-before-seen economic challenges.

While incumbent CFOs are experienced at “running” the finance function under normal conditions, they often struggle to “build” the function to support rapid growth, debt restructuring, or operating under tight cash flows. The right interim CFO can bring much needed outside perspective and experience acquired in other engagements to assist companies with whatever their current financial situation may be.

Widespread Transformation and Critical Transitions

The pandemic accelerated workplace trends such as virtualization, the changing pace of work, and the integration of new automation tools. Moreover, transformation took hold in almost every corner of the business. And CFOs are now a more critical component of these transformations than ever before, with 42% of CFOs saying their primary role in their companies’ transformations is to serve as co-leader.

In situations where a company needs strong leadership from the CFO, but they aren’t yet ready to make a full-time hire or can’t hire fast enough, interim CFOs can step in to help companies keep these critical transformations on track.

A Boom in Public Exits

Planning for and going through an IPO demands experience with SOX, IR, etc., and many private company CFOs lack this expertise. Furthermore, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) market took off in 2020-2021, offering a whole new route to a public offering while creating new companies all requiring seasoned CFO leadership.

With experience operating across the public-private divide, interim CFOs can help companies button-up their financials and lay the groundwork for the more rigorous finance function that public companies require.

Sudden CFO Departures, Unexpected Gaps, and Executive Exhaustion

Fatigue, burnout, and the changing role of CFOs are fueling a Great Resignation within the finance function. While some CFOs who steered their companies through the pandemic found they lacked the energy to gear back up for a growth sprint in 2021, others seized upon a sustained rally in the equity markets to cash out and pursue retirement or pivot into full-time board careers. In fact, the number of retiring CFOs in S&P 500 companies rose almost 30% between 2019 and 2020, while the average CFO tenure dropped sharply—decreasing to 4.58 years compared to 5.3 years in 2015.

As the supply and demand curve for skilled finance leadership grows ever more steep, interim talent can provide steady hands to help companies bridge the gap until an ideal long-term CFO can be found.

How companies are utilizing interim CFOs

The expertise that a skilled interim CFO can offer is increasingly critical as companies upgrade their financial capabilities and the CFO role grows in scale and scope. No surprise then that demand for interim CFOs leaped by 74% last year, according to BTG’s 2022 High-End Independent Talent Report.

In our experience delivering highly skilled interim CFOs to leading companies, there are four ways that organizations are leveraging interim resources for the role:

1. Traditional interim CFO
   In what is considered the most traditional scenario, interim CFO talent can step in to provide steady leadership and keep workstreams moving during a temporary leave or gap in the org chart.
2. Support for acting finance leaders
   In scenarios where internal resources have already been redeployed to fill the CFO role, it’s common for companies to tap experienced interim CFOs to consult, guide, and back-stop acting CFOs along the way.
3. Backfill for internal talent currently acting as CFO
   During leadership gaps, companies may also seek on-demand CFO-level talent to provide targeted support in roles such as interim treasurer or VP of FP&A.
4. Projectizing critical near-term components of the CFO role
   By carving out certain workstreams and objectives, the interim role can be hyper-focused on special projects and niche needs.

So what are organizations looking for in their next CFO, whether interim or for the long-term?

“About 90% of our clients place a strong understanding of operations at the top of their list, along with organizational leadership skills. The focus on operationally capable CFOs, who have worked at the business unit level, transcends industry sectors… Business partnering, leadership, and experience interacting with the board are also among our clients’ frequent ‛must haves.’” Bodine said in a Wall Street Journal article on current market demands.

Jeremy Hanson of Heidrick & Struggles adds, “There is a need for CFOs who are adept at taking customer data and analytics and using that information to improve business and the way they market products and services. There simply aren’t enough of those executives on the planet right now.”

Find the interim CFO you need

With Business Talent Group, you can access an on-demand talent marketplace that includes more than 10,000 top finance executives. Whether you’re experiencing a moment of rapid growth and transformation, undergoing financial challenges, dealing with unexpected gaps, or entering a new phase in your company’s progression, BTG can help you find right-fit finance talent for any situation. Reach out today to discuss your interim CFO needs.

The labor market is continuing to navigate uncharted waters with millions of workers joining the Great Resignation, resulting in labor shortages and a seemingly never-ending list of open roles for businesses everywhere. To fill these gaps and continue facilitating growth, change, and impact, top companies are leveraging high-end independent talent within interim roles as they seek long-term solutions—as shown by a 137% year-over-year increase in requests for interim leaders, according to the 2022 High-End Independent Talent Report from Business Talent Group (BTG).

So as an independent talent, how do you position yourself for success in the highly competitive interim space while the demand is so high? To discuss that critical question, BTG’s Elaine Leff and Heidrick & Struggles Tim Dietlin recently joined a webinar on “How to Land an Interim Role: Becoming On-Demand Talent” from BlueSteps—a career services division of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC).

Here are 5 takeaway tips from the webinar to help you succeed as an independent, interim leader.

1. Know why you are pursuing an interim role

Becoming an interim leader should be a part of your professional plan, rather than an impulse pivot. It can be enticing to jump on the Great Resignation bandwagon, but first you should sit down and determine why you’re interested in leaving the permanent workforce and whether interim roles are the particular path that you’re interested in.

In our annual Talent Lens, BTG surveys our community of independent talent (including interim leaders) to figure out their “why.” This year, we found that the key drivers are control, flexibility, and variety. As independent talent, interims are able to pick the companies they work for, are excited by a variety of work, and enjoy driving impact at a number of organizations over the course of their career. It’s important to note that talent are quite satisfied with independent work—with 83% reporting as such and 88% being likely to recommend the independent path to others.

“[Being an interim leader] provides quite a bit of diversity and exposure to different industries, business situations, cultures, and organizations that can really help somebody in their career trajectory,” Leff explained. “It also allows for a lot of flexibility, as the talent has actual choices in terms of which interim roles that they select.”

Much of the guidance behind interim leadership and traditional leadership is similar but differs in positioning and approach. In terms of starting the interim leadership journey, “Do the work upfront… make sure that you clearly understand and know why you want to pursue an interim career and the value that you add to potential clients. Then go down the path,” Dietlin said, “and if you are looking to land a permanent traditional leadership role, present yourself to the talent market that way.”

2. Clearly define and market your unique selling position

“Be very clear, be very structured, be very targeted with who you’re reaching out to and why. Make sure that the value proposition is well communicated,” Dietlin advised.

Think of it like an elevator pitch on paper. Eliminate any fluff from your resume or CV, and be sure to highlight specific metrics you’ve helped your clients achieve. Avoid require hiring managers to fish for information anywhere else (i.e., portfolio sites). If necessary, source outside assistance to handle updating your paperwork if it’s been a while.

Think of being an interim as being a business. Your business, and therefore you, must be easy to work with and the value you deliver must be apparent or else the client will move on to another option. Keep your CV clear, concise, and direct—and make sure to showcase experience that’s relevant to the specific role you’re seeking. Make it easy on the decisionmakers, so that they can seamlessly envision you in the role.

3. Understanding the scope of pricing is key

Be fluid with initial pricing while you’re learning the interim ropes because it’s easy to unintentionally close the conversation if your rate is outside the range of the client’s budget.

“There’s a number of things to consider. We price on a per diem basis, so a daily basis that allows our clients flexibility to ramp up and ramp down as needed… our rates are set by our talent, so they’re market based, based on their skillset, background experience and so forth.” Leff said.

“Maybe set your rate a little bit lower for the first one or two assignments, just to get a couple of projects under your belt,” she suggested. “Then you can increase your rate accordingly.”

4. Be prepared to make a big impact right away

One of the greatest selling points that interims have is their ability to jump in, get started, and facilitate growth quickly. According to Leff, “You can have a…great impact in a short period of time with a lot of these interim roles. I’ve seen interim executives really be able to change the strategic direction of a firm in a very short period of time.” That’s important to recognize as a quick impact is often what companies are seeking when they turn to interims.

For instance, an interim leader can ask pointed, possibly obvious questions that internal teams often overlook. Their outside perspective allows them to notice missed details and their varied experience allows them to make unique suggestions to drive projects forward.

5. Network, network, network

One of the most unique professional benefits of interim work is the ability to make quality, high-level connections across top companies. However, it can be difficult to network as an interim, especially if you are predominantly remote.

“I think we all recognize that the search industry isn’t the easiest industry to navigate, but there are resources—AESC being a fantastic one,” Dietlin said, emphasizing the importance of spending the time to understand the landscape and make connections with both traditional executive search consultants who can be indirect conduits to interim roles, as well as networks like Business Talent Group where project-based assignments can be found.

Expand your network by joining the talent revolution today.

There’s no better time to start your interim endeavors than now. The demand for interim talent is higher than ever, and the labor market is shifting permanently. By joining the Business Talent Group community, you’ll gain access to our network of Fortune 500 clientele and exclusive, exciting interim projects that are added daily.

In the meantime, listen to the full webinar for more insights from these interim industry experts.

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

Apply Today

You may have started your consulting business for a variety of reasons—personal fulfillment, extra money, or something to do on the side. But as your business starts to grow, you may start to think about taking it full-time.

But how do you know when you’re ready to quit your job and go from side hustle to full-time consulting? And what are the steps you can take to maximize your odds of success?

3 Signs You’re Ready to Take a Side Hustle Full-Time

Side hustles have become increasingly popular over the years, and 34% of Americans currently have some sort of side hustle. Of those who have a side hustle, 67% started it in the last three years.

A side hustle is a great way to explore new opportunities and bring in a little extra income. But how do you know when it’s time to take your side hustle full-time? Here are three signs you may be ready.

You’re having trouble managing both

As your consulting business continues to grow, you may find yourself stretched for time. You’re waking up early and working late hours to manage your side hustle alongside your full-time job.

At some point, it may start to feel like you’re working two full-time jobs! You may be able to sustain this for a little while, but eventually, your business or your job performance will start to suffer. So if your business continues to ramp up, it may be time to take it full-time.

You’re consistently out-earning your full-time job

With a full-time job, you receive a consistent paycheck every month and have additional benefits like health insurance or retirement savings. In comparison, income from a side hustle can be very inconsistent from month to month.

If you reach a point where the income from your side hustle is consistently exceeding what you earn at your full-time job, this could be the tipping point. However, the critical word is consistent—if you only do it one time, it could be a fluke.

Your true passion lies with your side hustle

The final factor you should consider is where your true passion lies. Are you more passionate about your consulting business than your full-time job? If you’re passionate about your consulting business, you’ll be more motivated to put in the work to make it financially successful.

6 Steps to Take Your Consulting Business Full-Time

1. Come up with a plan

The first place to start is to develop a strategic plan for how you’ll take your side hustle full-time. How many hours will you need to work each week in your consulting business? How many clients do you need to have, and how much do you need to charge per project?

When you’re creating your plan, it’s important to think long-term. Come up with a three- to five-year plan for your business based on your goals and desired lifestyle.

2. Figure out how much you need to live on

Next, you need to figure out what is the absolute minimum you need to live on. In addition to your regular monthly expenses, you’ll need to consider items your employer usually covers, such as health insurance, taxes, and retirement contributions.

Plus, you’ll probably want to take the occasional vacation. Since there’s no paid time off when you’re self-employed, you’ll need to have the funds to cover this yourself.

Of course, the goal is to earn much more than this eventually, but it could take you time to get to that point. Knowing the minimum amount you need to live on will give you a baseline to strive for.

3. Create processes and streamline your work

Many people assume that if they work twice as much on their business, they’ll see double the returns. But that isn’t necessarily the case. You need to put systems and processes in place that allow your business to scale.

As the demand for your services increases, it may become harder to manage it all. So start by outlining your process for how you work with clients. Look for ways to automate things like accounting, social media, and marketing. You can also consider bringing on a virtual assistant to help out.

4. Build up a six-month emergency fund

Cash flow is the number one problem most business owners encounter. It’s normal to experience some financial uncertainty in your business, but when you’re counting on that business to pay your bills, this can feel incredibly stressful.

The best way to navigate this is by having a six-month emergency fund on hand. Knowing you have the savings to cover six months of expenses will give you peace of mind. This can help you avoid overreacting to problems that come up in your business.

5. Build your network

As an independent consultant, you’re going to need a solid base of customers and leads to ensure you have money coming in every month. The best way to do this is by focusing on networking.

By networking, you’ll start to build relationships with other business owners, which can be a good source of referrals. You’ll also begin to build your reputation as the go-to person in your industry.

6. Don’t wait for the perfect time

Giving up the security of a full-time job can be scary, and you want to go into it with a plan. But don’t make the mistake of waiting for the “perfect time” to go all-in on your consulting business because it may never come.

The best way to avoid dragging your feet or waiting too long is to give yourself a deadline. A deadline will hold you accountable while still giving yourself time to get all the pieces in place.

The Bottom Line

Taking a side hustle and turning it into a full-time consulting business isn’t easy, but it’s worth the effort. Just make sure you have a solid plan, savings, and processes in place to sustain your business going forward. And if you’re looking for additional ways to build your client base, consider joining BTG’s network of on-demand talent to start getting matched with exciting project opportunities at leading companies.

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

Apply Today

The very nature of private equity’s value proposition demands continuous evolution, innovation, and quick, nimble strategy. Historically speaking, however, private equity value creation levers have remained relatively static over time, generally shifting only in response to significant external pressures.

The timeworn, “if it ain’t broke…” adage certainly applies, as these traditional initiatives are still highly effective when employed properly; but with COVID receding and the job market continuing to tighten, leading PE firms are looking for new ways to resource initiatives to take advantage of market opportunity, accelerate transformation, and drive value creation within their portfolios. The interesting thing is: the “Great Resignation” just might be creating its own solution.

For all the doors that COVID closed for many businesses, it opened just as many windows of opportunity for others. In the PE realm, “buy and build” is still a popular approach, identifying and leveraging synergies to revive and strengthen organizations. Yet the growing talent shortage threatens to widen knowledge gaps, slow critical work and initiatives, and cripple ROI for private equity portfolios. It’s a less-than-ideal outlook for a sector that thrives on speed.

As such, talent innovation is becoming one of the most powerful private equity value creation levers. For firms that can provide private equity portfolio companies with access to talent and infrastructure to support their use at scale, it’s also a huge competitive advantage.

Talent prioritization and reallocation

For many professionals leaving their jobs during the Great Resignation, it’s the traditional workforce they’re leaving. They still plan to work—particularly those with specialized expertise and decades of high-level experience. According to Upwork, “64 percent of professionals at the top of their industries are increasingly choosing to work independently.”

This, along with a COVID-spurred shift toward remote work, has actually opened up the labor market globally, creating a broader, richer talent pool from which to draw. For PE firms—whose portfolio companies comprise a wide range of investment strategies, growth opportunities, and market positions and, as such, require a wide range of talent needs—this growth of the on-demand talent pool offers a distinct advantage.

“Even before COVID-19, PE firms were beginning to consider the workforce through a fresh lens, and the pandemic has accelerated thinking about a comprehensive talent agenda at their portfolio companies—one that focuses on the employee, the business, and the value derived from an optimized workforce,” reports EY. Yet despite identifying independent talent as a tremendous resource, many firms have failed to make the most of it, ultimately sticking to traditional hiring strategies and missing out on potential innovation. Now that the labor market has tightened, however, PE firms find themselves with few other options. Fortunately, in this case, the on-demand option is also the best one.

Talent optimization might be the value driver, but—as always, in the world of PE—speed is the key. Alpha returns and successful exits are intrinsically tied to prioritizing talent decisions as part of the value creation plan. Bain & Company and Hunt Scanlon found that “92 percent of PE professionals said that waiting too long to take action on talent issues had resulted in portfolio company underperformance.” On the flip side, “80 percent of portfolio companies that match the right talent to critical roles from the start return 2.5x the initial investment,” according to McKinsey Quarterly.

In a separate report, McKinsey further asserts that talent and resources for private equity portfolio companies need to be dynamically reallocated on a granular and ongoing basis. Active reallocation yields significant returns: “Within 20 years, the dynamic reallocator will be worth twice as much as its less agile counterpart—a divide likely to increase as accelerating digital disruptions and growing geopolitical uncertainty boost the importance of nimble reallocation.”

Retaining speed and agility with on-demand support

Private equity has long been at the forefront of innovation, and talent optimization should be no different. As BTG Co-CEO Jody Greenstone Miller said in a recent podcast with Tim Sanders, VP of Customer Insights at Upwork, “If you think about PE as an engine of economic innovation… I think they really do have the potential to be the leader in innovating on talent…they just need to be able to implement it as well and as fast as possible. And it’s hard not to see the most innovative firms figuring out quickly that this is an important piece of how to get that done.”

For decades, private equity firms have employed multiple strategies to create value within their portfolios. Among others, they include initiatives such as:

• M&A and Inorganic Growth – “Buy and Build”
• Operational Excellence and Margin Improvement
• Technology Implementation and Transformation
• Digitization and Automation
• Market, Channel, and Customer Expansion

Traditional initiatives continue to effectively create value, but ultimately their success depends on phasing the work properly and having access to the right talent to strategize and execute on them. A 2020 report from Deloitte found the primary drivers of value for private equity portfolios to be cost transformation and digital transformation, both of which carry significant talent implications. How the talent strategy for each is addressed can yield very different outcomes.

“For most portfolio companies, payroll represents 40 to 60 percent of their fixed costs. In a world where technology and facilities are becoming on-demand, traditional talent models are the cement in the budget,” says Tim Sanders. “Because on-demand talent can be scaled up or down, they serve to variabilize a portfolio company’s cost structure. Given the never-ending uncertainties of today’s landscape, this should be a priority for any PE firm as they protect their downside,”

High-end independent talent can enable and accelerate value creation for PE firms in a number of ways:

Smoothing leadership transitions & filling critical gaps

“C-suite evaluation and change is the first step in a PE firm’s playbook,” says Greenstone Miller. No wonder, seeing how a portfolio company’s leadership has a 10-15 percent impact on financial performance and a 25-30 percent impact on market valuation, according to Harvard Business Review.

At the same time, replacing a member of a portfolio company’s leadership team is often a confidential process that’s slow and lacking critical insight. By bringing in an experienced interim c-suite officer, the executive search can be a much quicker and more open process, and the transition smoother all around.

This is equally effective if the departure is voluntary. When the CEO of a recently integrated $600M travel and hospitality company abruptly left right after acquiring a global insurance company, the PE firm reached out to BTG for an interim C-level executive. BTG connected the firm with a former EVP at a worldwide hotel conglomerate and one of the top three global distribution systems (GDS), who stepped in to stabilize performance and employee morale, revitalize marketing focus, and execute on the remainder of the integration plan. The company was successfully exited three years later.

This interim talent strategy needn’t be limited to an organization’s highest levels, either. BTG found a 189 percent year-over-year increase in requests for interim leadership below the C-suite, reflecting an increasingly prominent role for on-demand talent up and down the org chart.

Improving performance

Accelerating growth is among the most common objectives in a private equity value creation plan. Whether through business model innovation, new products, or adapted go-to-market initiatives, growth initiatives are well suited to the quick action and deep expertise offered by experienced on-demand talent.

In one case, BTG delivered a former GM exec and Deloitte consultant with 10+ years leading supply chain transformations to help a PE-backed, fast-growing CPG company resolve numerous supply chain glitches and lead a round of supply chain consolidation. The consultant was able to work with the in-house team to address current issues, immediately begin to create enterprise-level synergies, and develop a go-to-market strategy with a major competitive advantage.

In another, the SVP of Sales/Marketing at a multi-billion-dollar software company was concerned about inefficiencies in the global sales process. Legacy systems and old workflows were clearly part of the issue, but they couldn’t determine what specifically needed improvement. BTG provided a hybrid team—a former McKinsey EM focused on tech companies paired with a lean transformation expert—who delivered a prioritized list of initiatives that increased the productivity of the client’s sales teams and realized a savings of 30%.

Advancing transformations and digital initiatives

Private equity leaders know that speed and innovation are what drives effective—and profitable—technology implementation. By tapping high-level independent talent to provide essential technological expertise, PE firms can quickly and seamlessly advance transformations and execute digital initiatives.

In one such case, cross-functional IT matrices were contributing to inefficiencies at a PE-backed global financial services firm. Consistency on issues like data center strategy and cloud technology was elusive, and the leadership team was concerned that the company’s IT model would not support its long-term needs.

BTG brought in a senior IT transformation expert who had trained at McKinsey to provide objective insight. After analyzing the team’s topline business imperatives and long-term aspirations, he refined their IT operating models based on the company’s internal drivers and delivered a high-level framework and plan that management adopted.

Access to talent paired with best practices

The opportunity for independent talent as private equity value creation levers is evident, and although these experts can nimbly step into high-level roles and initiatives as needed, most PE leaders don’t yet know how to effectively deploy them. By developing and implementing a best-in-class strategy up front and incorporating the use of on-demand, independent talent into their overall value creation plan (VCP), PE firms can fully take advantage of the nearly limitless potential afforded by this nearly limitless talent pool. Solutions such as BTG Enterprise for PE can help firms think through their talent optimization strategy and strategically deploy on-demand talent to execute and accelerate work within their VCP.

BTG Enterprise for PE is a programmatic on-demand talent solution for PE firms that addresses this need by pairing on-demand access to high-end independent talent with:

• Best practices and guidance for deploying independent talent across the firm’s portfolio
• Awareness and education efforts to help firm and portfolio leaders understand where, when, and how to use independent talentfuture
• Analytics and visibility into independent talent usage across the portfolio

Ready to learn more? Schedule a Meeting

You may be surprised to learn that your professional development doesn’t end once you leave your full-time job. As an independent consultant, continuing to develop skills is crucial if you want to grow your business and work with top companies.

Many people refer to this process as upskilling—or building upon your existing skill sets with focused and intentional self-directed learning. It involves taking on a mindset of lifelong learning and being willing to embrace new ways of doing things.

Types of Skill Sets

Everyone has different skill sets depending on their natural abilities and professional background. Expanding your current skill sets can lead to increased income, better clients, and more professional opportunities.

When people talk about upskilling, they are usually referring to two types of skills—hard skills and soft skills. It’s important to understand the difference between each and how to highlight both types of skills.

Hard Skills

Hard skills are abilities that are easy to quantify and are typically skills you learned in college or at work. You can improve these skills through practice or by receiving technical training. Here are some examples of hard skills:

• Being able to speak a foreign language
• Knowing how to use certain types of software
• Earning a certain license or certification
• Computer programming experience

Soft Skills

Soft skills are more subjective and usually refer to interpersonal skills. One of the advantages of soft skills is that they are easily transferable, so they’re useful no matter what industry you’re in. Here are some examples of soft skills:

• Problem solving abilities
• Time management skills
• Effectively communicating with others
• A willingness to learn

How to Expand Your Current Skill Sets

As an independent consultant, you need to have a combination of hard and soft skills. Your knowledge and professional experience makes you valuable to clients, but open-mindedness and communication skills is what allows you to work with them effectively.

Let’s look at seven ways you can expand your current skill sets in the coming year.

Identify the Areas You Want to Improve

To figure out the skills you want to improve, take some time to consider where you are now and where you want to go. From there, you can identify the gaps in your skills and where you need to improve.

Once you know the areas you want to improve, you can set goals for yourself. Make sure these goals are measurable and time-bound—this will increase your odds of achieving them.

Utilize Online Classes

If you’re looking to develop a technical skill, you can take advantage of online classes. There are tens of thousands of courses available online about nearly every subject you can imagine, and many of them are inexpensive or completely free.

Here are a few learning platforms you can consider:

• Alison 
• Udemy
• Coursera
• LinkedIn Learning

Each of these platforms offers a wide range of courses, and you’ll receive a certificate once you’re finished.

Seek Out a Mentor

Another way to expand your skill sets is by working with a mentor. A mentor is someone who’s accomplished many of the things you want to do professionally and is willing to offer you guidance and support.

However, asking someone to mentor you is a big commitment and some people may be reluctant to take that on. Another option you can consider is simply networking with peers that are slightly ahead of where you are and seek every opportunity you can to learn from their experience.

Stay on Top of the Latest Skills

What’s considered an in-demand skill right now may no longer be relevant in a couple of years. That’s why it’s important to stay up-to-date on changing trends in your industry.

One of the easiest ways to do this is by taking a little time every day to read the news about your industry. Reading the news will help you understand the current challenges as well as changes that are coming.

This can feel overwhelming at first, but staying on top of relevant trends can benefit you in a number of ways. It can help you identify and take advantage of upcoming opportunities and give you the ability to pivot quickly and offer new services.

Join a Professional Organization

Another way to expand on your current skills is by joining and becoming active in a professional organization. Look for national and state organizations in your industry.

Joining this type of organization will allow you to find and network with other people. The connections you build could lead to further business opportunities.

Get Certified

Another option is to go the extra mile and receive a professional consulting certification. Doing this can give you added credibility with potential clients and increase your competitive advantage. If you want to go this route, here are a few options you can consider:

• Project Management Professional (PMP): A PMP certification shows clients that you have extensive knowledge when it comes to managing projects. This certification teaches you how to deal with conflict, build an effective team, and maximize team performance. 
• Certified Management Consultant (CMC): A CMC certification will help you expand your knowledge of organizational management, ethics, and client communications.
• Certified Sales Professional (CSP): To receive this certification, you must show that you have four years of professional client management experience. In this skill set training, you’ll learn how to find prospects, close deals, and maintain client relationships.

Attend Seminars and Workshops

Finally, you can also look for opportunities to attend relevant seminars and workshops. Traditionally, these had to be attended in person, but now there are tons of opportunities online. And most online workshops and seminars offer break-out rooms and an opportunity to connect with other professionals as well.

The Bottom Line

Part of being a successful consultant is staying curious and continuing to look for opportunities to improve your personal development skills. No matter what your goals are for the coming year, you can benefit from leveling up your current skill sets. Just make sure you spend time thinking about your goals and using them to identify the skills you’re looking to develop.

It goes without saying that the pandemic has had an indelible effect on how we live our lives, do our jobs, and run our businesses. The sheer number of ways in which we, as a society, have had to suddenly shift priorities and adjust our goals has primed us for transformation and growth. This is just as true for the global business economy as it is for us as individuals, and it’s the industry that connects us all—the banking sector—that is positioned for the biggest changes.

That said, “transformation” and “growth” are relative—and for businesses, they can be double-edged. The doors of opportunity opened by the pandemic were also exit signs for much of the workforce, leaving functional leadership gaps and a banking talent shortage. So while the future of banking is bursting with potential, executives are simultaneously scrambling to address the “Great Resignation” and its growing effect on that very potential.

New demands reveal new paths—and new problems

After proving their resiliency in the face of unprecedented uncertainty, today’s banking leaders continue to press on into uncharted territory, from navigating continuous technological developments to overhauling their strategies to address the burgeoning digital assets market.

Driven by these myriad new demands, many have already begun tackling a wide array of large-scale change and transformation initiatives, particularly in the areas of product innovation, customer acquisition, and service. Similarly, rapid growth, process improvement, and automation have become top priorities, further accelerating a parallel need to better address risk management and regulatory compliance.

Hesitation is a liability right now, but full steam ahead is only well and good if you have enough of the right people in place to support initiatives like these. The problem is: the banking talent pool is shrinking, and the competition for quality talent has become cutthroat.

Upheavals in the workforce

How and where work gets done has changed significantly over the past two years, and as a result, so has the entire hiring landscape. Whether you call it the “Great Resignation,” the “Great Realization,” or the “Great Reshuffle,” one thing is clear: it’s not great news for employers.

Despite its decidedly bullish outlook as the pandemic started to recede, Wall Street is now finding its cushion steadily deflated by the pressure of rising wages. Early this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that compensation expenses for Goldman Sachs Group Inc rose by 33% in 2021, with the additional $4.4 billion in payroll leading to a 4th quarter profit decline. JPMorgan Chase spent an additional $3.6 billion and Citigroup $2.9 billion, similarly leading to an erosion of Q4 profits.

Wage inflation is just part of growing workforce concerns for the future of banking, however. Experienced professionals are also being wooed away from traditional finance by the allure of blockchain and crypto companies.

A recent survey by Heidrick & Struggles found that nearly 75 percent of new blockchain and crypto executives came from investment banking and other financial services backgrounds. Nearly a third left their previous jobs to found their own companies, while 20 percent more were actively recruited. This reveals that many are willing to trade the security of customary roles for the experimentation and learning opportunities offered by an emerging market.

Flexibility is high on executives’ priority lists, too. They want to work where and when they want, which meshes well with the nontraditional work arrangements offered by many crypto startups. They also express a desire to shed layers from institutional decision-making processes so they can move more quickly and have a stronger impact. Overall, the theme is one of seeking roles that fit better with personal objectives. Preferences have become priorities.

Traditional banking is attempting to remain attractive to top executives through increased compensation, but providing intangible benefits related to personal and professional growth remains a challenge. As a result, the banking talent gap is growing. That is why more and more banking leaders are turning to on-demand talent—who find flexibility and professional control by working independently—for support with changing and running their businesses.

Changing the Business with Strategic Growth

Historically, on-demand talent has comprised a fraction of the banking workforce. PwC says this is changing, however: “In the next five years…this pool is forecast to take on as much as 20 percent of the workload at most financial institutions. More than half of financial services (52 percent) surveyed by PwC said they plan to expand their on-demand talent in the next three to five years.”

With deep expertise, hands-on operating experience, and the ability to hit the ground running, high-end independent talent enables banks of all types—from diversified, multinational firms to regional/midcap banks—to access the in-demand skills and expertise they need for critical initiatives. By bringing in highly experienced on-demand talent to fill banking talent gaps, executives can augment their existing teams with targeted support for strategic planning, regulatory impact assessments, business rationalization, and organic/inorganic growth initiatives.

Case in point: Expansion of Services

For example, when a top 30 US bank was looking to expand its retail banking arm, company leaders knew it would be essential to create a common vision and alignment across the retail business. Their own team lacked a strategy and transformation leader to achieve this, however, so they reached out to Business Talent Group (BTG) for support.

BTG provided a transformational enterprise technology leader with deep B2B SaaS experience and proven record delivering sales leadership, product enhancements, and client services for large financial institutions. He was able to not only drive effective transformation alignment around a cohesive strategic vision; he also created infrastructure for improved talent assessment and hiring to eliminate current and future talent gaps.

Case in Point: New Markets

In another instance, the corporate strategy team at a top 20 US bank was charged with implementing a mortgage origination strategy work plan to support the organization’s goal of quintupling its annual mortgage business. This task uncovered a critical knowledge gap, as the team had limited mortgage experience. They would need a hands-on growth strategy consultant with relevant industry expertise, so they turned to BTG.

Within three days, BTG delivered a former banking executive and PwC and Accenture financial services consultant with 15+ years’ experience working with residential mortgages and expertise in strategy analysis, go-to-market strategy, and market assessment. Eight weeks later, the team had a go-to-market strategy as well as an execution roadmap and P&L model for implementation.

In both cases, urgently needed talent was able to be sourced and embedded within days, rather than the months it can take to hire a full-time candidate. Critical objectives were efficiently accomplished within a matter of weeks, speeding each organization’s growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Changing the Business by Transforming It

In recent years, the most globally relatable catalyst for business transformation has been the pandemic. But like many industries, banking institutions have also begun to pursue transformation initiatives to keep up with (and, ideally, get ahead of) continuous technological advancements and establish competitive advantages in new markets.

Digitization and software rollouts also require careful project management, each requiring market-specific strategic roadmaps and implementation planning. Meanwhile, company events such as post-merger or acquisition integrations and corporate spin-offs carry their own administrative burdens and requirements for niche subject matter expertise. In all cases, time is of the essence, as speed to market can be the difference between innovating and emulating—and, in instances of M&A, it can directly affect company culture, further exacerbating talent retainment concerns.

Fortunately, transformation and program management are other areas where high-end talent can be brought in on an on-demand basis, helping to smooth transitions and facilitating efficient program rollouts. Experienced consultants can even be brought in in the middle of projects to right the ship and regain ground.

Case in Point: Interim Transformation Leadership

When a project to make a major regional US bank’s technology more scalable and efficient fell behind schedule, the bank’s head of innovation realized the team lacked the technical expertise to lead the initiative.

BTG brought in a technology transformation leader whose 20 years of experience with CRM programs, agile methodologies, implementation, and leadership allowed him to immediately jump in and get to work. Within six months, BTG’s consultant was able to execute a successful CRM roll-out and deliver a high-level training roadmap to strengthen the team moving forward.

Running the Business with Targeted Banking Talent

A recent report by PwC found that industry leaders are currently evaluating “which roles need to be performed by permanent employees and which can be performed by gig-economy workers, contractors, or even crowd-sourced on a case-by-case basis.”

Once limited by geographic location, the massive shift to remote working during the pandemic has “opened the door to accessing talent outside of a firm’s physical location,” says John Garvey, global financial services leader at PwC US. This door opens onto a global stage, granting banks greater access to highly talented interim executives outside their respective countries.

This, in turn, has created a more robust pool of specialized on-demand talent in financial services. Once-finite strategic initiatives are no longer hampered by an inability to fill functional leadership gaps locally. What’s more, organizations are able to experiment with new roles and projects by taking a “try-before-you-buy” approach.

Case in Point: Piloting Process Improvements

Acquisitions bring with them an immediate need for uniformity across formerly disparate processes. Most of the time, there’s no preexisting in-house leadership for such an initiative. This was the case when, after a series of acquisitions, a commercial bank needed to standardize its back-office loan processes.

Rather than hiring a full-time financial strategist to define and execute these time-sensitive process improvements, the SVP of Process turned to BTG. After a short diagnostic, the BTG strategist outlined key principles for servicing small business customers, designed a detailed end-to-end process that followed them, and created an implementation plan.

She then continued to work with the company on a part-time basis as the client began to execute. The organization was able to pilot both the project and the consultant while filling a critical knowledge gap, effectively saving time while mitigating risk.

The Future of Banking Remains Bright

It’s true that “The Great Resignation” has created a potential speed bump for the future of banking. As the 2022 Banking and Capital Markets Outlook from Deloitte asserts, “Employees, for the first time in decades, appear to have the upper hand, especially in sought-after positions.” At the same time, the global workforce’s increased desire for flexibility precipitated a permanent shift toward remote work that has increased the depth of talent available in an on-demand capacity.

Banking leaders now have unprecedented access to high-end, specialized banking expertise via on-demand talent networks such as BTG. Whether you need immediate support on an in-progress transformation project or need to fill critical knowledge gaps for on-deck initiatives, we help you drive growth, innovation, and performance improvement with in-demand skills, expertise, and interim executives. Find the talent you need today.

If you’ve recently taken on a new project at work or in your business, you may be excited about the new opportunity. But then you experience a significant setback, and it leaves you feeling disoriented and disappointed.

Nobody likes experiencing a setback at work, but these moments can be valuable lessons. Working through the challenge can ultimately help strengthen your team and make you better prepared to deal with these situations in the future.

If you’re wondering how to bounce back from a project setback, this article will outline six steps you can take.

Common Setbacks You Might Encounter

Setbacks can occur without any warning and come in all shapes and sizes. While this list certainly isn’t all-inclusive, here are some common setbacks you might encounter.

Problems With Your Team

A problematic team dynamic is one of the most common work-related challenges. In the book The Founder’s Dilemma, Noam Wasserman claims that 65% of startups fail due to conflicts among the founders.

The workplace can be a high-stress environment, and conflicting personalities can lead to tension or fighting. However, if you acknowledge and deal with these issues, it can leave your team stronger than it was before.

Miscommunication

Anytime you’re working on a big project, there are a lot of moving parts. That means clear communication among team members is critical.

If the project manager doesn’t provide feedback or clear deliverables, this can cause all sorts of problems. Scheduling conflicts, timeline errors, and finger-pointing are just a few of the issues that can arise.

Personal Challenges

Sometimes personal issues will arise in your own life, making it challenging to show up the way you want to at work. A medical emergency, problems with your family, or any kind of disturbance at home can bleed into your ability to show up effectively for a work project.

Unforeseen Setbacks

And finally, unforeseen setbacks can arise that leave everyone reeling. Maybe you recently lost a major client, and it damaged team morale. Or maybe minor problems keep occurring with the project—you repeatedly encounter software issues, or perhaps the project scope is more extensive than anyone anticipated.

Or maybe the problem is that everyone is two years into a pandemic, and your team is attempting to collaborate remotely. Internet instability, virtual meetings, and time zone differences have left everyone a bit frazzled.

6 Steps to Bounce Back From a Project Setback

There’s no way to minimize the disappointment that comes with a significant setback, but specific actions will make it easier to bounce back and continue moving forward. Here are six steps to overcoming setbacks at work.

Acknowledge Your Feelings

The first step to recovering from any big setback is to acknowledge your feelings about it. It’s normal to feel discouraged, and it’s important to feel any negative emotions that come as a result. Pretending you aren’t angry or disappointed won’t make those feelings disappear.

However, resist the urge to blame other people for the setback. Process your own feelings, but if you want a successful project recovery, don’t react or lash out at other people on the team.

Show Up For Your Team

Once you’ve taken a time out for yourself, you need to be there for your team. Research shows that a leader’s feelings are contagious and can impact the mood of everyone in the group. So do what you need to do to move on from your own negative feelings so you can help the team process theirs.

But don’t try to sugarcoat the situation or make other people feel better. Avoid telling your team to “look on the bright side” or that you’re lucky everything worked out the way it did. Listen and validate their feelings and give your team members space if they need it.

Assess What Went Wrong

Once you’re in a more neutral place, take some time to assess what went wrong. What is the problem that caused the setback in the first place? For instance, if you lost a major client, take some time to think about why that happened.

Was that client simply the wrong fit for your business, or did the team fall short in some area? Evaluating what went wrong will help you figure out how to move forward and take steps to avoid making the same mistake in the future.

If you’re not sure what went wrong, it can help to ask other people for their assessment. You may be too close to the situation to analyze it objectively.

Keep an Open Mind

As you evaluate how to move forward, it’s essential to keep an open mind. If you’re only focused on one solution, then disappointment is inevitable, and you probably won’t learn much from that situation.

Maybe this setback is an opportunity to change your strategy and find an even more effective way to complete the project. Maybe you need to revisit your goals entirely. But you have to be open to learning those lessons.

Start Slowly Moving Forward

Once your team is ready, it’s time to reassess the situation and start moving forward. Take the time you need, but don’t dwell in disappointment for too long, as this will just keep you stuck.

Ask your team for feedback on what they think went wrong, and discuss what everyone can learn from the situation. Review your goals for the project, and work together to find a creative solution moving forward.

Focus on What You Can Control

Whenever you’re working toward a major goal, there are many factors that are outside of your control. That’s why it’s important to focus on the things you can control. Break your tasks down into small, manageable pieces and focus on taking action every day. As long as you continue to make progress, you’ll eventually come out on the other side.

The Bottom Line

Setbacks are inevitable, and the way you recover from disappointment will determine your success going forward. You can let a major setback derail you, or you can use it as an opportunity to pivot and develop resilience. Many of the most significant breakthroughs occur when someone encounters a major challenge and figures out a way to overcome it.

At some point, we’ve all been asked the question, “So, what do you do?” And for too many people, this question is a wasted opportunity because they aren’t confident talking about themselves and what they do for a living.

That’s why it’s essential to go into these situations prepared with an impactful elevator pitch. A well-crafted elevator pitch can help you stand out to other people and find more professional opportunities in the future.

What is an Elevator Pitch?

An elevator pitch is a brief explanation of your talents and what you have to offer potential employers or clients. It can be used at career fairs, networking events, or even in your LinkedIn bio.

You can use an elevator pitch to sell yourself as a potential job candidate, to pitch a project, or to create interest in your company’s product or service. A good elevator pitch should highlight a problem you solve and demonstrate what makes you, your service, or your company stand out.

The ideal elevator pitch length is between 30 seconds to a minute—just long enough to get your message across and leave the other person wanting to learn more. In other words, you should be able to deliver your pitch within a short elevator ride.

How to Write an Elevator Pitch

So now that you understand what an elevator pitch is and why it matters, how can you come up with your own? Let’s look at five elevator pitch ideas to help you get started.

1. Outline the Goal of Your Elevator Pitch

You want to start by identifying the goal you’re trying to achieve with your elevator pitch. For instance, are you trying to get the word out about your product or service?

Or is your primary goal to find a new job within your industry or land a project within your area of expertise? Understanding what you’re trying to accomplish will help you create a more compelling and targeted pitch.

2. Introduce Yourself

You want to start your elevator pitch with a one-sentence introduction of yourself. This sentence should be brief, but it should also capture the other person’s interest. For instance, here are a few elevator pitch examples for job seekers:

• “I’m Sarah, and I help kids discover a love of reading.”
• “Hi, my name is Jeanine, and I help companies sell more products and stand out online.”
• “My name is Scott, and I help companies meet their deadlines and create a better workflow.”

3. Explain What You Do

Once you’ve captured the other person’s attention, it’s time to get into the specifics of what you do and how you help. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you do this:

• Outline a problem you solve: Who is your target audience, and what is the problem you help them solve?
• Explain your unique selling proposition (USP): Your unique selling proposition is what sets you apart from others in your industry—why should someone hire you or choose your company?
• Talk about your “why”: Your elevator pitch isn’t just about what you say—it’s also about how you say it. Talking about why you love what you do will help you stay excited and will make your pitch more attractive to other people.

4. Practice, Practice, Practice

Once you’ve written your elevator pitch, read it aloud several times to see how it sounds. Record yourself reading it and when you listen, go through and cut out anything that’s unnecessary or feels off-topic.

It can also be helpful to practice with other people and ask for their feedback. Are you talking too fast, or is your elevator pitch too long? Does it sound conversational, or is it too stiff?

Be mindful of the body language you use when you deliver your pitch as well. Practice making eye contact and shaking hands with the other person. The best elevator pitch will sound confident and won’t seem overly rehearsed.

5. Don’t Forget to Follow Up

Whenever you meet someone new and give your elevator pitch, you should always end the conversation by looking for a way to follow up with that person. For instance, you could connect with them on LinkedIn, ask for their business card, or set up a time to meet for coffee.

Remember, your elevator pitch is just an introduction to get the other person curious about you. The results will come when you follow up and focus on building relationships with people.

Elevator Pitch Mistakes to Avoid

By now, you understand how to write your elevator pitch and hopefully have a few elevator pitch ideas. But as you’re getting started, watch out for these common mistakes:

• Sounding too salesy: When you give your elevator pitch, you never want to come across as pushy. If you sound like you’re trying to sell yourself to the other person, it will likely turn them off. The best way to avoid doing this is by focusing on the other person instead of yourself—what problems do they have that you can help them solve?
• Using too much jargon: Don’t fall into the trap of using too much jargon. You may think it makes you sound knowledgeable, but it will likely just cause your audience to lose interest.
• Not engaging with the other person: Another common mistake is barreling through your elevator pitch and not giving the other person time to respond. The whole point is to engage with the other person and to build a new connection. After you’re done speaking, give the other person a chance to respond to what you said.
• Using the same pitch for everyone: And finally, you want to use your elevator pitch as a guide, not a script. At times, it may be necessary to modify it depending on whom you’re speaking to and the environment you’re in.

The Bottom Line

An elevator pitch is a valuable tool you can use to build relationships and find more business opportunities, whether you’re looking for a new job or for your next client. Always look for opportunities to practice your pitch and update it to make it better.

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

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Business Talent Group Co-Founder and Co-CEO Jody Greenstone Miller recently joined Tim Sanders, Upwork’s Vice President of Client Strategy, on the In Visible Capital podcast as part of the “Innovations in Private Equity: A Fresh Perspective” series co-produced by Pitchbook and Upwork.

Jody and Tim discussed why PE firms are gravitating to high-end freelance consultants and contractors to unlock value across portfolios. She also reveals the opportunity that interim executives deliver for PE firms who are looking to upgrade or fix PortCo C-Suites.

Jump to “Segment 3: Innovations in Talent Advancement with Jody Greenstone Miller of Business Talent Group” for insights on:

How private equity and venture capital were top-of-mind when BTG was founded

Before founding Business Talent Group, Jody worked as an investor at a venture capital firm. She says she quickly began to notice how often the firm needed talent, and how they needed it in all different shapes and sizes and timeframes.

“I started to think, there are a lot of people who like to work differently—come in, quickly do a project, move on—but there was just no efficient way to access them… I decided there was a new piece of human capital infrastructure that might benefit both talent and investors, who were the group of people I was most focused on at the time.”

How BTG helps private equity firms improve and innovate

Sanders suggested that PE firms currently are driving a lot of talent innovation within their portfolio companies, from the workforce itself to the workplace and work arrangements. Miller explains that the question BTG leaders are solving is how they take this new way of thinking about talent and make it available easily to firms and their portfolio companies alike.

“Private equity firms are organizations themselves, but most importantly, they oversee the development and value creation in all of their portfolio companies. So a company like BTG, which has this incredible resource of immediately available talent that’s independent and available very quickly, is able to come in and work as a partner with private equity firms across their portfolios, to provide the kind of actual implementation of the strategy that the private equity firm has decided is the right way to create value…”

“…We believe as a firm that it will help them move faster, be more flexible, more nimble. The most innovative PE firms are starting to think about this in an institutional way and making it a part of how they think about developing their investments. And to me, that’s the key.”

How the Great Resignation has put talent in the driver’s seat

The adoption of on-demand talent is becoming increasingly widespread, bolstered by a COVID-era shift in mindset where the notion of having remote talent became normalized, and people began to understand that a lot of great work could be done in a different manner than before.

“What I think you’re seeing is this massive shift from a talent perspective, which I believe will force private equity firms who are on the cutting edge of needing talent fast and creating value from talent fast, to make it incumbent upon them to understand how to access and utilize and over time be desirable to the independent talent community.”

How interim executives can help firms experiment and reduce risk in C-level hiring

“If a search has to be confidential, it’s much harder. It takes longer, it’s harder, more risk. So one of the things that has emerged as a real opportunity is if there’s an ability to put in an interim executive…[it] allows a company to more normalize the search, to make it not confidential, because they can get somebody in who can keep the ball rolling. And also, interestingly enough, it also allows a portfolio company to figure out what is the right next C-level person.”

“You can try one flavor, maybe it’s a marketing bend, but you may decide you need more of a financial bend. So it gives you information that I think actually improves the long-term decision. So it really frees up the search process, and I think ultimately improves the result because you get information about what’s working and what’s not…[that’s] one of the real interesting ways that particularly portfolio companies have been using BTG.”

To hear more from Jody Greenstone Miller and Tim Sanders, listen to the full segment of the podcast and learn more about how BTG and on-demand talent can help drive workforce innovation for leading private equity firms.

For most companies, the era of pandemic-induced uncertainty and hesitation has been replaced by a frenzy of hiring to keep pace with growth and transformation goals. With millions of workers participating in the Great Resignation, business leaders face a growing list of open roles. But in an era of quick changes in consumer behavior, new product offerings, data and digital advancements, and a spike in M&A activity—to name a few of today’s challenges and opportunities—this is no time to delay major initiatives and wait for the hiring process.

When recruiting teams are stretched thin and leadership vacancies slow momentum, it’s easy to get bogged down. But you can keep advancing the ball down the field—hiring and accomplishing important work in tandem—by harnessing the speed and flexibility of on-demand talent. Innovative companies are not only placing traditional interim leadership roles, but also boosting capacity up and down the org chart with interim and temporary engagements at the leadership level.

Here are some of the ways that leading companies are using on-demand talent to keep moving forward on critical priorities while hiring:

1. Start Building Capabilities Ahead of a Full-Time Hire

You might have a critical role open, but that doesn’t mean you need to wait until that position is filled to move on key priorities. In fact, getting a jump start on critical work ahead of time is a great way to set your future permanent hire up for success.

[Case Study] A multi-billion-dollar grocery chain was in the midst of optimizing its ecommerce fulfillment network, but an open Chief Data Officer role was slowing progress on the project. By engaging an interim data science leader, the team secured much-needed expertise and leadership right away, which not only enabled the company to stay competitive during a boom in online purchasing, but also helped ensure the eventual new CDO could hit the ground running.

2. Take Two Smaller Steps Instead of One Big One

When companies are looking to set up or to step up new business lines, new functions, or new capabilities, they often approach leadership needs with a strong vision of the future state they are building toward. Not surprisingly, key roles for these new areas are critical to ultimately fill with strong permanent hires—but the desire to move quickly from today to the future can lead to overly ambitious and nearly impossible-to-fill job descriptions. For example, the need for a permanent CFO and finance team with public company experience is paramount for organizations looking forward to an IPO. But does having experience as a public company CFO in the steady state equip a leader with the same skills required to build the finance systems, policies, and team necessary for the IPO preparation and execution?

Further, sometimes the sequence is just out of order, or the big picture and key reporting relationships are not settled enough to recruit confidently and successfully for the long-term. Distinguishing near-term versus long-term key activities and skill requirements—and then using on-demand talent solutions to fill those near-term needs—can unlock some of the logjams that can arise around major hires in significantly new moments.

[Case Study] A large healthcare organization was standing up a subsidiary. While the CHRO knew that a permanent CIO hire would make sense down the road, she recognized that she had an opportunity to hire an interim CIO with a different skillset—namely, experience building the function from the ground up. She turned to BTG for both an interim CIO and a skilled IT architect, who could work together to build necessary infrastructure, products, and tech teams to set the stage for an eventual permanent CIO hire.

3. Provide Relief for Leadership Teams with Temporary Project-Based Support

On-demand talent can support permanent leaders in powerful ways, extending their reach and impact during crunch periods—even as recruiting for permanent team build-out continues. Sometimes this takes the form of on-demand talent in interim VP- or senior director-level roles, but more often it looks like temporary-by-design roles that can lend special focus and extra muscle to critical projects and free up leadership capacity to focus on other priorities. This trend is particularly acute in HR, finance, and technology functions within companies that are growing quickly.

[Case Study] A fast-growing public biotech company’s HR leadership team had an important set of work to do around compensation and benefits but was repeatedly distracted by more pressing work in the people functions. The CHRO said, “If only someone could concentrate on this workstream for a few months and take it off my plate for a little while…” BTG provided a seasoned HR professional who was adept at both hands-on execution and bigger picture strategy work in Total Rewards, placing her in a “special project role” designed to last for only three months. Having someone who could stretch up and down—completing critical tasks, providing meaningful bandwidth to the HR org, and thinking strategically—freed up desperately needed capacity for the CHRO.

4. Add Leadership-Level Capacity Only When Needed

Clients are designing “flex” into their organizations and learning how to add capacity in a variety of intentional ways by replicating key roles for defined periods of time. Going through a hiring burst for a new business launch? Running “hot” against a variety of corporate development opportunities? These are two examples of times when leaders may wish they could clone themselves or high-performing team members to get through the crunch. On-demand resourcing can extend the team for those surge moments and resolve the conundrum around whether to add headcount for the long-term.

[Case Study] One F200 appliance manufacturer did just that when facing a major hiring challenge related to its digital transformation. The company’s Talent Acquisition team was simply overloaded, behind schedule, and looking to fill dozens of critical new and open roles at the senior manager and manager levels. The company had engaged recruiters as well, but also simply needed to extend its own TA team for a six-month period. With the help of an independent talent acquisition executive serving as a twin to the permanent TA leader, the HR team got the bandwidth it had desperately lacked and was able to push through the crunch.

While unicorn talent do exist, the reality is that these days, high-level talent are busy and have plenty of options, and engaging them requires moving fast. Instead of looking for a single perfect-fit person who can accomplish your list of goals, break out your objectives into multiple engagements and make progress immediately with on-demand resources.

Need help moving forward while hiring? Reach out to learn more about how on-demand talent can support your goals.

ESG has become one of the hottest topics at companies across all industries—with many high-end independent talent citing it as one of their clients’ top priorities in BTG’s 2022 Talent Lens survey. So, what is ESG and why is it suddenly so important? ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance, and companies across the globe are increasingly using ESG criteria to ensure they are operating responsibly while also keeping an eye out for risks and opportunities related to sustainability.

Driven by a combination of factors—including employees who are increasingly seeking more purposeful and socially responsible work, customers making brand choices based on sustainability and social issues, investor attitudes, and new government regulations—corporations and business leaders have become acutely focused on their responsibilities and role in society.

As companies increasingly grapple with these issues, highly skilled independent talent are standing by to help. We recently sat down with one such expert from the BTG talent community for timely insights on how business leaders can make progress on critical ESG-related initiatives regarding biodiversity, carbon neutrality, sustainable manufacturing practices, and more. Read on for his insights below.

Meet The Expert

Ted Grozier is the Principal & Chief Sustainability Officer at Good.Lab, and helps businesses win by strategically by addressing ESG and sustainability data.

Which sustainability practices are easiest for a company to implement when beginning to monitor and manage social and environmental impact?

A successful approach to ESG management starts with an assessment of “Materiality,” a strategic process that systematically identifies and prioritizes Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance issues as they relate to your business and its stakeholders. Companies will make the best progress when they tackle the most important issues first. In addition, because energy and climate is an important topic for almost every business, and because energy conservation can have very attractive financial returns, efforts in that impact area can often find a smooth path to implementation.

How should companies properly assess their impact on biodiversity? What are the potential business challenges and opportunities in this area?

As part of a Materiality process, businesses can consider what impact they have on biodiversity throughout their full value chain. An early-stage pharmaceutical company, for example, may find that palm oil is necessary to produce its medication. Yet palm oil production is a major contributor to biodiversity loss. The biodiversity impact of a company may occur many steps into the supply chain and may not be obvious at first glance.

While there are methods to monetize so-called “ecosystem services,” the value that businesses get from the environment, they are conceptually complex and difficult to quantify. Business leaders will get more traction within their organization and be more successful if they frame biodiversity in more familiar business terms. If, for example, a company’s main product contains palm oil, what is the associated reputational risk, and how could that negatively impact sales? Against that backdrop, what are the cost implications of ensuring that the palm oil is harvested sustainably? Better yet, can the ingredient be eliminated or substituted?

As pledging carbon neutrality becomes a trend among businesses, how can a company carve out the proper timeline and resources to become carbon neutral?

Carbon neutrality is only one component of an effective, value-creating ESG strategy. Before taking the net-zero leap, companies need to understand their material ESG issues and develop a prioritized approach to mitigating their largest impacts.

How can a business properly monetize the future cost associated with emissions and compare that to the monetary value that relates to emission reduction in the future?

For some emissions such as CO2, where no existing market mechanism exists, companies can perform scenario analyses based on projected carbon prices. Doing so requires the calculation of a baseline and estimation of the CO2 impact of business decisions, however. Even if done at a high, imprecise level, this can help future-proof capital investment and other major decisions.

One industry that’s been a particular focus of yours is consumer goods. How can a consumer goods company choose between different shipping methods (land, air, sea) to increase monetary and ecological benefit?

In general, the emissions associated with shipping increases in the following order: Rail → Sea → Truck → Air. Avoiding unnecessary air freight is an obvious strategy to reduce the impacts of transportation. But beware that shipping is often a very small fraction of a product’s environmental footprint! Consider raw materials, manufacturing, and packaging impacts alongside shipping.

How can a consumer goods company redesign their products in such a way that the products are easier to repair or recycle at end of life?

Design for recycling is a science that begins with an understanding of all the processes associated with the product design, production, use, and disposal. Choosing lower-impact materials, labeling them, and avoiding the use of composite materials are just some of the ways to improve recyclability.

Is longevity or recyclability more important to prioritize during the manufacturing process?

In general, product longevity is much more important than recyclability in product design. A notable exception is products that have high use-phase impacts compared to their manufacturing impacts. LED bulbs are more difficult to recycle than incandescent bulbs, but they use a fraction of the energy—and also happen to last much longer!

What is the benefit of using recycled materials vs virgin materials?

Using recycled content has three primary benefits:

1. It diverts waste from landfill, incineration, and “leakage” to the environment;
2. It reduces primary material demand, particularly for plastics, keeping fossil carbon in the ground; and
3. It has the potential to dramatically reduce the energy demands for materials production.

For example, it takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminum than to create it from bauxite; depending on the energy source, this can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 95% as well.

When contracting and manufacturing abroad, what resources help companies find reliable subcontractors who provide living wages and follow environmental standards?

The Responsible Business Alliance, Fair Labor Association, and International Labor Organization are non-governmental organizations dedicated to improving the performance of manufacturing abroad. The U.S. Department of State and the State of California publish several resource guides on transparency and labor standards. (Ed. Note: see here and here for examples).

For-profit companies like QIMA are skilled in factory audits, but the Japanese quality mantra Genchi genbutsu—“go and see for yourself”—is a best practice as well.

At Business Talent Group, our top priority is bringing the best on-demand talent to the most important projects to enhance business performance and improve people’s lives. To further that mission, we’re thrilled to launch updated functionality in the BTG Talent Portal that will make it even easier to connect skilled talent to perfect-fit projects.

On February 1, 2022, Business Talent Group (BTG) rolled out robust updates to the BTG Talent Portal. The upgraded Talent Portal allows for enhanced profiles to better showcase the skills, experience, and preferences of those in our talent community.

Some of the updates include:

• A new, streamlined user interface
• Availability for more detailed entries to reflect users’ skills, experience and more
• A responsive, mobile-friendly experience

These upgrades will enhance the experience of BTG Talent Portal users, make our talent curation and vetting processes more seamless, and enable us to better pair the world’s best independent talent with the right project opportunities. Together, we can help top companies overcome resource limitations, complete critical projects, and enhance business performance.

For existing talent

Log in and check out what’s new! To start, we’ve populated your existing information in our profile builder to help you quickly make sure everything is up to date. A current and thorough BTG talent profile is your key to connecting with perfect-fit projects and exciting opportunities. Please take a moment to make sure all your information is up to date, add any new skills, credentials, or experience, and update your availability as needed.

For new talent

There’s never been a better time to join the talent revolution as business leaders increasingly turn to on-demand talent for fast, flexible expertise and capacity amid widespread labor shortages and skill gaps. Apply to join the BTG network today so you can build your profile and start getting connected to exciting opportunities at top companies. And be on the lookout for more exciting updates and robust tools on the way!

Jamie Johnson is an experienced freelance writer who teaches others how to start their own careers as independent professionals. In this post she shares some of her best tips for increasing your productivity and finding work-life balance as a remote worker.

Whether you’ve been working remotely for years or were forced into it due to the pandemic, there are a number of challenges that come with remote working. Depending on your work style, you may struggle with managing your time or feeling engaged with your work.

Fortunately, just making a few small shifts can help you get out of a work rut and improve your work-life balance. Let’s look at six steps you can take to get started.

1. Find a daily routine you can stick with

The best way to improve your working habits is by finding a daily routine you can stick with. Spontaneity sounds fun, but if overused, it can actually cause you to feel insecure and out of control.

Routine gives you a sense of stability, especially during times of uncertainty. And once you get in the habit of a regular work routine, it helps you overcome mental barriers to doing certain tasks.

For instance, if you set a goal to follow up with three people every day, you probably won’t feel like doing it in the beginning. But over time, it will become routine, and you’ll start to act without thinking about it.

To create a positive work routine, take some time to think about the activities you would like to do in a typical week. Then identify any obstacles that could get in the way and how you can manage them.

From there, you can come up with a daily routine. However, it’s essential to give yourself some time to settle into the new routine — don’t try to change it up too soon.

2. Manage your energy through the day

Have you ever noticed how different people function best at different times throughout the day? Personally, I like to wake up early and finish any pressing tasks by the early afternoon.

In particular, I’ve noticed that my most challenging articles need to be finished by noon at the latest. But I know other people who work best in the afternoons or evenings.

We can’t function at 100% capacity all the time, so it’s important to pay attention to when your energy levels are at their highest point. If you’re not sure when your optimal working hours are, it can help to note how you feel throughout the day.

Pay attention to how long specific tasks take in the morning versus the afternoon. You may notice that a task that you took an hour to complete in the morning takes three hours to finish in the afternoon.

3. Get ready for the day

I know, I know. Part of the reason why people want to work from home is so they can hang out in their sweats all day. But one of the best things I’ve ever done for my overall productivity is to start getting ready for my workday.

Make a habit of showering, wearing a nice outfit, and making yourself look presentable. When you get ready, it signals to your brain that you’re in work mode. It also changes your mental attitude and how you feel about your work.

4. Deal with distractions

I can’t write an article about improving your remote work habits without discussing distractions. Distractions come in all forms, and you need different strategies to deal with various distractions.

Email, social media, and YouTube videos are the most obvious examples of distractions and are probably the easiest to overcome. They’re apparent time wasters, so for the most part, you can just decide not to engage in them until you’re done working.

But the more insidious distractions are the ones that feel productive even though they really aren’t. Here are some examples of this:

• Doing households chores
• Scheduling appointments
• Going to midday appointments
• Going grocery shopping or running errands

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to eliminate all distractions, but you do need to set boundaries around your workday. You can do this by scheduling specific times to check your email throughout the day and setting all chat tools (Skype, Slack, etc.) to Do Not Disturb while you’re working.

I also like to keep a notepad and pen on my desk while working. That way, if I suddenly remember that I need to complete some “urgent” task, I can make a note of it for later.

5. Get out of the house when you can

Confession: I don’t really like working in coffee shops. There’s always music playing as well as a chatty group of people talking nearby.

I’ve found that I get my best work done when I’m in my home office with the door closed. But it’s all too easy to let a week go by and realize I haven’t left the house once.

Spending too much time at home can lead to boredom and feelings of isolation. This is especially true if you don’t have a team of co-workers you regularly interact with.

So if you enjoy varying your working location, then go for it. If not, keep working from home full-time, but prioritize getting out of the house periodically.

Go grab a coffee before you start your workday, or take your dog for a walk on your lunch break. You’ll feel better by hanging onto your connection with the outside world.

6. Schedule a time to sign off every day

Many people mistakenly believe that remote work will solve their work-life balance problems. In my experience, it’s actually the opposite — when you work from home, it’s harder to unplug at the end of the day.

It’s easy to find yourself answering emails from clients at 9:00 at night or letting work creep into every conversation you have with family members. Before you know it, you’re overworked and burnt out.

That’s why it’s a good idea to choose a certain time when you’ll sign off every day. Take some time to go through your inbox one last time and reach “inbox zero,” if possible.

Take some time to reflect on how your day went and what you would like to improve the next day. Then set your laptop aside, and let yourself be done working for the day.

The Bottom Line

For many people, remote work will be the norm for the foreseeable future. Mastering the art of working remotely can improve the quality of your work and set you up for a successful career. By starting small and focusing on your daily habits, you’ll continue to improve over time.

The competition to secure top talent is at a fever pitch as companies seek much-needed skills, expertise, and capacity to fuel business transformations and capture growth opportunities. With certain skills more in-demand than ever before, many of the best candidates are opting out of the full-time workforce in favor of flexible, autonomous work—producing a 34% surge in the number of independent workers in 2021.

Instead of fighting these labor trends, savvy leaders are turning to independent talent to build competitive advantage, access in-demand skills, and tackle initiatives their full-time team lacks the bandwidth to complete. With Business Talent Group (BTG), finding the right independent talent quickly and deploying them compliantly can be as simple as posting a project—so long as you’re ready to act when the right candidate comes along.

Based on our years of experience helping top companies source highly skilled talent for thousands of mission-critical projects, BTG has deep insight into how business leaders can streamline their talent search, avoid roadblocks, and rapidly select the ideal candidate for the project at hand. Secure talent now with these proven best practices.

Pre-scope the project and process

The key to making quick decisions is to know ahead of time what—or whom—you’re looking for. It’s also essential to determine who needs to provide input during the decision-making process. Try these tips to start your project on the right foot and avoid costly delays:

• Clarify the individuals who will be involved in the decision-making process, including business leaders who can help define the project details and skill requirements, those who will be directly involved in interviews, and other stakeholders who simply need to be kept informed.
• Determine what skills most closely align with essential and immediate deliverables. What needs to happen over the next 12 weeks vs. what might be needed long-term?
• Outline as many specific tasks and deliverables as possible—as well as a general timeline and anticipated budget—even if the project isn’t fully fleshed out.
• Ask yourself if your budget is realistic. Or are you doing a direct translation from a prorated FTE annual salary? Keep in mind the scope of the need. Is it temporary, or is it long-term?
• Focus on the “Use It or Lose It” mindset and take advantage of budget and internal approvals while you have them.

Determine what you really need to get the job done

Focus on finding a great candidate who fits your most essential criteria. Be sure to consider these factors:

• Prior project experience: If a talent has “been there, done that” they will be able to help you exactly as you need.
• Working style: Are you looking for someone who can operate solo, or someone who works well with and on a team?
• Location: Do you NEED them to be on-site (or local), or is a remote candidate acceptable? If you open the position or project up, the pool of viable candidates grows exponentially.
• Time of day availability: Do they need to be in the same time zone or region, or are you willing to expand that if they can work and meet during similar hours to you?
• Must-have requirements: Now that you’ve identified the scope of the project, list out the top three to five things you want from this person (e.g., specific industry or project experience, motivation, ingenuity), and pad those out with some “nice-to-have” qualities.

And remember! These are not long-term hires. Think about the present—the now—when sourcing your talent, rather than the more extended considerations associated with full-time hires.

With your project and talent requirements in mind, BTG’s dedicated Talent Solutions team will curate a list of candidates matching those criteria. As we send talent profiles for your review, be sure to read and focus on the summary—our team will put the important details about a candidate up front to simplify the process of choosing which candidates you would like to interview.

Make interviews more valuable

Whether you opt for a group setting or 1:1s, if your talent interviews are just a Q&A, you won’t get the best sense of your candidate. Instead, utilize the time to discuss the project details, scope, goals, deadlines, and other details you established in the project scoping phase.

Treat the interview as a working session and spend time considering the talent’s approach to the problem so that you are evaluating their proposal. This will give both you and the candidate a sense of what they’re signing on to do before you dive in too far, so that each of you can decide quickly whether the project is a good fit and cut down on wasted time.

Here are some best practices to help you get more out of each interview:

• Have consistent interview questions. You might ask about relevant examples of previous work, what motivates the candidate, and other opportunities they are considering. You can also discuss the project requirements and gauge their reactions/attitude. As you interview multiple candidates, keep your line of questioning the same so that you can get a clear overview of your applicant pool and make comparisons.
• For a more efficient process, limit interviews to 2-3 stakeholders who will work directly with the candidate. This ensures that the people who know the project best are the ones making the decision.
• Ensure that everybody’s expectations are established and vocalized. This will minimize the potential for miscommunication.
• Discuss the project schedule, your time-of-day requirements, and any limitations on their availability, such as potential preexisting obligations that may affect the project start.
• Ask yourself “Are their answers convoluted or straight to the point? Can they define success?” This can shed light on the way the candidate approaches work and how they will complete deliverables for the project at hand.
• Don’t hesitate to ask for feedback from references.
• Build in or allow for negotiation time during the interviewing process.

To save yourself additional time, as soon as you find a candidate that’s a good fit, it’s best to move forward and get the ball rolling vs. interviewing a dozen+ what-ifs and introducing unnecessary delays.

Find the right talent with Business Talent Group.

Executives who act quickly and decisively tend to get the best talent in the end. The best candidates are likely considering many opportunities, and if you wait too long, they may not be available when you’re finally ready to go. To rapidly capture results from using on-demand talent, the process from intro to interview to offer should be much faster than the one you employ for full-time hires.

BTG makes it easy for business leaders like you to connect with the world’s top talent—including independent consultants, subject matter experts, project managers, and interim executives—to help you fuel growth and innovation, improve performance, and gain competitive advantage. Explore a project to take advantage of the talent revolution today.

Depending on where you are in the world, you might not feel 100% once the clocks fall back at the end of Daylight Saving Time and into the winter. Holiday festivities provide a welcome break to be sure, but those only jazz up the scenery for so long before the earlier evenings, cloudy skies, and frigid temperatures drag on well into the new year.

Most often occurring in climates where there is less sunlight at certain times of the year, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)— characterized by symptoms such as fatigue, depression, hopelessness, and social withdrawal—is a very common diagnosis to describe the winter doldrums many of us experience. In our working lives, SAD could manifest as lethargy, difficulty waking up in the mornings, lower concentration, and apathy, or a loss of passion. These symptoms can make it difficult to show up or complete work in a timely fashion, which can and will impact your brand or business.

The most common methods of treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder include light therapy (phototherapy), talk therapy, and various medications. It’s critically important to consult with your primary care physician if you feel you suffer from SAD, but here are a few coping mechanisms and tips for powering through the season of slumps in the meantime.

TIPS TO ALLIEVIATE SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (SAD) SYMPTOMS

FORM ANTI-SAD HABITS

Despite the transition from fall to winter happening annually, it happens seemingly out of nowhere, overnight. One day, it could be a crisp 55-degree autumn afternoon, and the next sleet could be sliding down your window. The transition is difficult to plan for, which is partly why Seasonal Affective Disorder hits so hard every year.

As we discussed in our recent post on boosting your productivity, some environmental elements that can help you shake off lethargy and grogginess are:

• Sunshine
• Fresh air
• Water
• Movement
• Downtime

Whether you’re an independent talent or working as a full-time employee, being able to unwind and unplug can positively influence your mental health. While the weather is mild, try to budget time for enjoying the nice weather however you see fit. If you get in the habit of going out to lunch, going out on walks, taking classes, spending time at a park, playing yard games, organizing game nights, or attending happy hours after work, it’ll be easier to follow through when the weather is underwhelming at best.

SEE THE LIGHT

Seasonal Affective Disorder is tightly linked with a lack of exposure to sunlight. But what can you do if the weather or your schedule make it difficult to get out into the sunshine for a few hours each day?

Many people find phototherapy—using light boxes that simulate sunlight—to be an acceptable alternative. Light boxes are much brighter than “daylight” bulbs, and they distribute the light through different wavelengths than a standard lamp. And unlike therapeutic lamps used for skin disorders, which emit ultraviolet (UV) light and could damage your eyes if used incorrectly, light boxes used to treat SAD should filter out most or all UV light.

Although the practice isn’t regulated by the FDA, research indicates that spending 20-30 minutes in front of a light box within the first hour that you’re awake could help equip your brain chemistry to alleviate symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, according to the Mayo Clinic. For best results, look for products that are 10,000 LUX that you can position in your bedroom, at your desk, or wherever works best for you.

GET SOME ZZZ’S

Sleep is another area of our lives that is greatly affected by the transition of the seasons. Suddenly it gets bright out earlier than you’re used to waking up, and dark an hour before you’re leaving the office. And if you keep atypical hours, you may be dealing with only a few hours of daylight before it’s pitch-black outside. Keeping to a normal schedule, winding down properly, cutting out caffeine before rush-hour, and using Do Not Disturb mode on your devices at night can all help you sleep more soundly and wake up refreshed and ready to go.

For a technological solution that can help you rest easier, try a dawn simulator. Also known as sunrise clocks or lamps, these products simulate the natural cycle of the sun on your schedule. You can adjust your wake up and wind down light fluctuations to fit your sleep/wake times and even customize the sounds that certain models play. In practice, this could mean utilizing a lower light level and relaxing sounds to help you wind down and get to sleep, or it could mean pairing steadily increasing light levels with a certain sound, station, or song to wake you up gently rather than a default alarm that aggressively jolts you awake.

HOW COMPANIES CAN HELP

Mental health has become more of a priority for business leaders in recent years, but there’s still discomfort about the subject in many corners of the corporate world. The first thing leaders can do is destigmatize SAD. Studies suggest that SAD occurs in 1% to 2.4% of the general population, and more than 3 million cases are discovered each year.

Employers can offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), and working professionals should feel comfortable taking advantage of those offerings—not just to remedy Seasonal Affective Disorder, but to improve mental health across the board. Most importantly, if you are trusted enough to have a colleague or employee come to you with their SAD struggles ensure that you treat them with care, sensitivity, and respect. Slowly, these steps can help us all improve our mental health as working professionals.

There are a lot of tried-and-true tactics for increasing your productivity, but just like our working lives are constantly evolving, so too are the ways in which we get the most out of our day. Productivity may look different depending on the circumstances of your role, but incorporating a few productivity hacks into your routine can be a great way to get more out of each workday and your career overall. Read on for some of the latest and best productivity tips to try.

SYSTEMS VS RESULTS

Stating your goals is only the first step in accomplishing them. In the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, the author focuses on how habits make or break productivity and shares how to make small changes to improve existing habits. Habits are what build a methodical system that helps you achieve progress and accomplish goals, and they form based on how frequently you engage in them, not just over time. Instead of changing habits by listing “what” you want, consider “who” you want to become or “how” you want to get there. This will enable you to work on a system to foster more positive, permanent results rather than continue to focus on short-term, singular, temporary goals.

TO-DO LISTS WITH A TWIST

If some of the traditional means of increasing productivity haven’t worked for you, try thinking about them in a different way. For instance, to-do lists. Some people find checking the boxes of daily to-dos to be motivating and satisfying. Others find it completely overwhelming and daunting. Here are a few ways to update this classic productivity tip.

The Daily Highlight

Instead of filling your to-do list with countless tasks every day, focus on a single must-do that you can consider your daily highlight. Start each day by asking yourself, “What do I want to get done today?” Adjusting your mindset from need to want can help facilitate a feeling of accomplishment where previously you may have felt defeated if you were unable to complete a lofty to-do list. Additionally, this practice will in turn help you better understand your priorities and consider the process it will take you to complete your daily must-do.

Don’t limit yourself to thinking of your daily highlight as strictly professional. There may be days where you need to prioritize your mental health with a personal or social must-do, even if it’s as simple as calling a family member or taking yourself out to lunch.

Might-Do vs Must-Do Mindset

It may be too much to expect professionals to simplify their lives down to a single must-do, which is where you supplement your musts with mights. They may be just as important or necessary as your daily highlight, but they just didn’t make the #1 cut, and it will be okay if you don’t get to them today. There’s always tomorrow, after all. By reducing the demand you inflict on yourself, you may begin to feel better about your daily accomplishments and deliverables. In turn, productivity can improve and the feeling of being overworked could dissipate.

MULTITASKING OFTEN ISN’T PRODUCTIVE—TRY TIME BLOCKING OR DELEGATING INSTEAD

It may feel like we’re getting more done when we’re juggling different tasks, but studies show that it can make us less efficient and prone to errors. According to neuropsychologist Cynthia Kubu, PhD, “When we think we’re multitasking, most often we aren’t really doing two things at once, but instead, we’re doing individual actions in rapid succession, or task-switching,” That’s why things often fall through the cracks when we attempt to multitask, and we accomplish less than we think we should. Instead, consider trying time blocking or delegating instead.

Time Blocking

Exactly as it sounds, time blocking is when you dedicate chunks of time to singular tasks. Week by week, consider the things that are must-dos or goals and block out everything you’d need to do to prepare for them. Include everything from work projects to family commitments to appointments and personal goals—and carve out time for whatever you might need to prepare for them, such as research or reading time, phone calls, meals, and everything in between. Instead of jumping from task to task within the same hour, you now have each task blocked out in a more step-by-step format allowing for your full, undivided attention. This will not only ensure that you’re prepared for your must-dos, but it will protect your time so that you’re the one deciding where to spend it and distributing your efforts accordingly.

Delegating

It can be difficult to ask for help when you become overworked, but it’s completely acceptable and normal. Plus, delegating work ensures that the right tasks and projects are being completed by the right people, and it’s one way leaders can maximize their time at work. With effective delegation, leaders can focus on the bigger picture and outsource tasks to teammates who may be better suited to complete them. Collaborating to get the most work done with the amount of time you collectively have—that’s productivity.

SPEED UP YOUR CONTENT CONSUMPTION, LITERALLY

Listening to audiobooks, news articles, podcasts, or watching videos at increased speeds—which many players allow—can naturally increase the quantity of content you consume. Avoid multitasking whilst listening or watching sped-up content, however, as it’s easier to miss key details at increased speeds, and you may have to rewatch or relisten to get the point. But if you dedicate your attention to the content, you could walk away having listened or watched 2-3x as much as you would have at normal speed.

ANOTHER TYPE OF SPEED—PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BOOSTS PRODUCTIVITY

The benefits associated with exercise are vast and well-known—for instance, better sleep, more energy, decreased stress, and improved immune health—but it’s not often considered how activity can improve productivity.

Grogginess is the enemy of productivity. A round of exercise in the morning can kickstart your day and help you shake off the sleepiness. Productivity influencer Thomas Frank maintains that there are really only three things you need in the morning to get your brain geared up and in the right place:

• Movement
• Sunlight
• Water

To assess whether exercising helps you feel more mentally capable to take on the world, try implementing a new routine for at least a week. Get outside and go on a jog first thing in the morning. Or, slow it down and go on a stroll, even if it’s just to your mailbox, to take your dog on a walk, or to take out the trash while still in your pjs. Then, when you return indoors, drink a glass of water and get the productivity ball rolling.

The takeaway here is the mindset shift. You can wake up earlier, but you may just sit in bed on your phone until it’s time to get to work or to your appointment. You can go outside to exercise but end up just turning back inside if the weather is less than ideal. All of these productivity tips are all useful, but only if you pencil them in, plan for them, and actually try them.

OTHER PRODUCTIVITY TIPS YOU MAY HAVE HEARD BEFORE

• Do the hardest or most time-consuming task first
  “When we are overwhelmed and busy, we just go with easier tasks, and the difficult tasks tend to pile up.”
  —Maryam Kouchaki, management and organizations professor at Kellogg
• Isolate from distractions
  “Turn off everything—email, phone, stock tickers, news, etc.—as often as possible and focus on a single task without interruption.”
  —Dianne McKeever, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Ides Capital
• Review your week every Friday 
  “Review your diary at the end of each week. Literally, print it out and review it. It will transform how you spend your time.”
  —Scott Farquhar, Co-CEO at Atlassian
• Identify the time of day YOU are most productive and work around that 
  “Understand how your brain works and when you are most productive. For me, I’ve gotten rid of lunch meetings to keep my productive time going as long as I can.”
  —Ryan Smith, CEO and co-founder of Qualtrics
• Start with just five minutes 
  “If you don’t want to do something, make a deal with yourself to do at least five minutes of it. After five minutes, you’ll end up doing the whole thing.”
  —Kevin Systrom, Co-Founder of Instagram

100% OF THE TIME, ENJOYING YOUR WORK HELPS YOU GET THE JOB DONE

If you like the work you do and the company you’re working for, you’ll have an easier time getting the job done. All of the advice above can help you increase your productivity, but the most important things are focusing on what really needs to get done, enjoying the work you do, and knowing when to ask for help or delegate work to others who may have more bandwidth or expertise to deal with the project at hand.

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Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

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Every facet of a business was impacted by the global pandemic—especially the realm of human resources. HR teams were the ones tasked with keeping businesses afloat, staffing properly (but not too much), competing with unemployment benefits and hiring freezes, and navigating the new digital-first, remote workspace that many have proclaimed to be the “New Normal.”

At BTG, we’re exploring how companies can increase resilience across the enterprise in 2022. In part one, we covered how operations leaders can optimize for supply chain resilience. Today we’re taking a look at human resources—one of the most important functions to cover in light of current trends such as The Great Resignation, increasing demand to return to the office, and an ever-widening skills gap in many organizations. No surprise then that BTG’s internal data shows an 80% spike in demand for independent talent in HR in 2021.

For insights on how HR leaders can tackle the problems of today and prepare for the workforce of the future, we turned to a highly skilled independent HR expert from the BTG talent community.

Meet the Expert

Gail Thakarar

A former Chief People Officer, board member, and experienced transformation and change management expert working with CEOs to realize the untapped potential of their greatest asset—their people. She is passionate about bringing paradigms into play and treading boldly into new waters.

How have HR professionals had to adapt to the evolving post-pandemic workforce?

Human resources leaders need to be resilient in the face of enormous disruption to operating environments; the increased urgency of diversity, equity, and inclusion; the changing role of HR; remote work; and the digital transformation.

Recruiting remains the top priority challenge with the complexities of managing remote work and hybrid work, a generation of millennials who look at work differently, and with the priorities of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Great Resignation and the projected 40% of women leaving the workforce adds to the pressure to recruit and retain the best.

Over the last decade, organizational priorities and business models have shifted. People have increasingly been acknowledged as the driving force behind value creation, thrusting HR into the spotlight. This has only been accelerated by changes brought on by the pandemic. Employees are expecting more from their organizations, and HR’s role is consequentially more far-reaching, more meaningful, and more stressful than ever.

After years of plateaued involvement in strategy, the upheaval of 2020 has thrust HR into its most strategic role ever. More organizations are acting on their people-first promise and involving HR in strategy. Where that happens, organizations have higher effectiveness in quickly changing to capitalize on new opportunities and are therefore more likely to be resilient in uncertain times.

Organizations are using business continuity planning (BCP) to enable operations to resume after a disruption. BCP can no longer be solely about operations when HR’s strategic involvement is vital.

The pandemic and resulting emergency work-from-home measures highlighted how many roles can be performed just as well, if not better, remotely. However, the traditional approach to work is so entrenched, many organizations are still resistant to making the shift permanent due to fears of impacts on culture, communication, and innovation. Employees also share mixed feelings. While the increased flexibility has been very beneficial for some, others are struggling with the loss of social connections, suboptimal work environments, and the blurred line between work and personal life. It is not realistic to expect a full return to how and where work was done pre-pandemic.

HR needs to ensure their approach in response to all these changes is supported by keeping an eye on employee engagement and adjusting related programs such as onboarding to suit the new virtual environment. Finally, revisit how the organization positions itself in its employee value proposition and employer brand to ensure it accurately reflects the new way work is being done.

Digital transformation, the investment or adoption of new technology or business models, has been trending for the past few decades. Experts have been predicting widespread digital transformation each year. Digital transformation is here, and if not faced head on, organizations will be left behind.

What do you think business leaders have learned to survive, or even thrive, during the last few years?

Business leaders that have survived and, in some instances, thrived from the pandemic have been the resilient leaders, and they have capitalized on the lessons learned from previous crises, although the pandemic has lasted a much longer time. They have been quick to:

Transform the Organization

Leaders during the pandemic have been forced to work in different ways—remote work, hybrid work, changes in physical layout of offices, shortages in supply chain, changes in delivery of product and in some cases new product development and/or elimination of products. Successful leaders responded quickly with clear goals, focused teams, and fast decision making and have recognized that they need to commit to this way of operating during the coming years. Leadership itself changed and is changing fundamentally in how they responded to their employee needs for safety. Leaders that have adapted well have a strong sense of identity and have a common sense of purpose with their employees, and they lead with empathy. Leaders have realized the value of teamwork and the need for small teams to address issues quickly and are continuing to streamline their organizational structures.

Make decisions faster

Whether it is looking at their revenue streams or improving operations, leaders have learned that they need to maintain their agility and responsiveness to the changes in supply chain and service networks.

Accelerate digitization

During the last year, the way we interact in our personal lives as well as our business lives has transformed, accelerating the migration to digital technologies. Digitization will play a pivot role in pandemic recovery as customer expectations are changing, and it varies from region to region. For example, while it will be critical for airlines to focus on ensuring the health and safety of their passengers and crews, for retailers it is all about creating a seamless online experience.

What are the latest and greatest HR tools and tips that organizations should consider implementing?

For human resources professionals to lead the people efforts during this stage of the pandemic and beyond, it is more critical to have a user-friendly information system that meets the needs of line management and human resources.

Some key components are:

• Time & Attendance that can manage tracking hours, time off accruals, and schedules for hourly employees
• HR Analytics and Reporting to provide timely reports to all constituents with an ability to make real-time custom reports
• Talent Management, including managing paperless onboarding, performance reviews, goals, and rewards and recognition, etc.
• Mobile Apps to allow employees to view pay stubs and, submit time off, and enable managers to view employee vacation, salary data, and performance reviews

How can HR professionals retain great talent considering trends like the Great Resignation?

First, HR needs to identify and prioritize the competencies that will best support digital transformation and drive performance, such as change management, emotional intelligence, and inclusion. Identify the competencies that fit best for your organization by analyzing the skills gap. Next, improve continuous learning to enhance the effectiveness of leadership development initiatives and increase workforce proficiencies in the prioritized competencies. Finally, support the technologies that drive digital collaboration and productivity as these are the HR actions that will best enable digital transformation.

To help retain employees as the economy improves, HR professionals can take steps now to reduce the predicted voluntary departures.

HR needs to identify top performers that the company cannot afford to lose and ensure that managers sit down with employees every other week to conduct “stay interviews” designed to make sure workers are satisfied.

Other recommendations for strengthening your employee retention efforts:

• Address employee concerns. Listen to employees’ challenges and look for solutions.
• Present realistic job descriptions. Turnover tends to be highest among new hires—often because the job doesn’t match their initial expectations. Once they experience what they perceive to be the downsides of a job, they quit. The solution is to expose potential candidates to the worst parts of the job so they know what they will be doing before they accept. Hire for culture, and have a successful onboarding process that eases new hires into their new work environment.
• Establish strong onboarding, mentoring, and advancement opportunities. New hires have weak ties to the organization, so it’s easier for them to leave. To retain them, help them make connections as quickly as possible.
• Use stay interviews, not exit interviews. Exit interviews provide insights on why employees are leaving. The idea is that once an employer knows what factors are contributing to employee departures, it can prevent an exodus. However, these insights can only be gleaned after the fact. Wouldn’t it be better to know ahead of time what factors might inspire an employee to leave, as well as those that keep them around? For that reason, stay interviews are equally as important—if not more important—to conduct as exit interviews.
• Offer accommodations. Employees are facing personal issues, so focus on those with young children at home or who have aging parents that need more care.
• Communicate frequently. The best way to reduce turnover is to understand why employees stay and why they leave.
• Be accessible. Make it easy for employees to communicate with HR and have an open door.
• Train and develop managers to communicate clearly, follow through on commitments, and be honest about issues that impact employees.

How should HR leaders think about company culture differently going forward?

Company culture has always been critical, and the right culture that attracts, develops, and retains its employees is a key requirement for success of an organization. However, there have been significant pandemic-related changes that can impact culture, such as an acceleration of digitization and the need to work remotely. HR needs to start with developing the leadership to be more resilient and empathetic and communicate more with employees. With a remote or hybrid workforce, HR needs to develop systemic programs that will allow for timely and improved communication through avenues such as town hall meetings, one-on-one meetings, inter-department webinars, and written messaging to keep employees engaged. HR will need to think of creative ways to provide learning and development; the tendency is to provide bite-size training. They should develop a list of high potentials and ensure that managers communicate with them every quarter, conduct stay interviews, and provide challenging work.

What are the keys to being resilient during difficult times?

Digitization and now the pandemic have tested our resilience, both professionally and personally, as to how we have responded and adjusted to the new way of work. What is resiliency? Amit Sood, Executive Director of the Global Center for Resiliency defines it as “… your ability to withstand adversity and bounce back and grow despite life’s downturns.” It is an ongoing process that requires time and effort and engages people in taking several steps.

Based on several studies, there appear to be four areas that are essential to being resilient during difficult times.

• Focus – Resilient individuals focus on the situations and issues at hand that they can manage, and they feel empowered rather than letting the situation control them.
• Challenge – Resilient individuals view a difficulty as a challenge, and they look at various options to resolve the challenge. They look at failures as a learning experience and an opportunity for growth.
• Commitment – Resilient individuals are committed to their work, their relationships, their friends, and their goals. Those who spend time thinking about uncontrollable events can feel lost and powerless.
• Empathy – Resilient individuals are good listeners. They understand the changes that affect employees, but they don’t lose their focus on what needs to be accomplished.

A great example of resiliency

The 1966 World Cup was a low point for the Brazilian Soccer team; they had been eliminated in the first round as they fouled frequently and their star player, Pele, had performed poorly. This was a team that had won the previous two tournaments.

Four years later Brazil won—the 1970 team is regarded widely as the best team ever, and Pele was named player of the tournament.
Making this transformation required innovation, a new unique style of attack, teambuilding, and focused leadership. Through focus, commitment, empathy, and a willingness to take on the challenge, Brazil came back strong.

What advice would you share with HR professionals as we’re entering a new year?

This is a great opportunity for the human resources profession to be strategic and impact the business. HR professionals now more than ever need to understand the levers that make their business grow and provide the necessary people management to lead the effort. What are the values of the company? Is the company living up to those values? Does the organizational structure need to be changed? Do you have the right people leading your teams? Do you have the right people for the right jobs of the future? Are you developing your leaders for the future? Do you understand the next generation of workers and their needs? Are you current on the impact of digitization? Are your employees engaged? What is the workforce for the future? Understand all of this and more, and take the lead to drive the business.

Ready to prioritize HR?

Find on-demand talent like Gail Thakarar with the HR experience you need to strategize, innovate and tackle your most pressing workforce challenges.

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2020 taught us to think differently about work: which meetings should be replaced with emails, how to collaborate remotely with our colleagues, how to hire and onboard virtually, and how to shift focus and digitize in an instant to meet people where they are—as well as the importance of empathy through it all as we adapted to a new reality together. Perhaps no function has felt the brunt of those challenges more acutely than HR.

A Perfect Storm of HR Challenges and Changes

Today, with the economy on the rebound and business demand returning, HR is facing another round of challenges as the pandemic remains alongside a Great Resignation and a tight labor market.

HR leaders face a convergence of tremendous changes, including:

• A return to workplaces
• The adoption of hybrid working models and the ensuing impacts on business culture
• A changing workforce and myriad “future of work” demands
• Enhanced commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity (DE&I)
• The ongoing digital and data revolution
• The necessity of building a cohesive, constructive, and inclusive culture

It’s no surprise then that Gartner’s top three priorities for HR leaders in 2022 are building critical skills and competencies for the organization, focusing on organizational design and change management, and developing their current and future leadership bench—followed closely by future-of-work needs and DE&I.

All of these priorities must be juggled while navigating a business recovery period and economic cycle that continues to feature surprises, rapid pivots, and an unprecedented need for speed. Agility and flexibility are of the essence. In fact, one recent survey found that 77% of employers say their current talent strategies are more focused on workforce agility than ever before.

Avoiding a Breaking Point by Tapping On-Demand Talent

As HR leaders tackle the list above, especially in the second year of the COVID era, many have realized that they and their teams are at a breaking point. BTG’s internal data shows nearly a doubling of demand YoY in 2021 (+ around 80%) for on-demand talent for special HR projects, to augment HR leadership teams, and to help HR address critical gaps across the business.

These highly skilled independent experts and executives are jumping in to help in several ways:

1. 1. To undertake or lead special projects to help adapt HR functions and their operations quickly to the immediate challenges. This might include projects like return-to-office policies and systems, adaptations to training and development, reinvention of HR playbooks, or refreshing of comp and benefits.
      

      Case Study

      A global financial services company was expanding its HR team and already in the process of hiring a head of total rewards when the company’s head of compensation and benefits resigned to pursue other opportunities.

      BTG provided an interim global compensation and benefits lead with extensive experience that included numerous HR leadership positions across the financial services industry.

   2. To add critical but short-term capacity, especially for recruiting surges and temporary-by-design roles.
      

      Case Study

      The CEO and CHRO of a plastics and packaging company recently found themselves needing just this kind of support in the face of pandemic-related rapid growth and rising product demand.

      An on-demand HR leader helped them tackle two workstreams: rapidly hiring into the flagship plant to keep pace with demand, and piloting and rolling out improved manufacturing recruitment processes across all plants.

   3. To undergo a critical transition or transformation at a time when the company isn’t yet ready for a full-time hire or can’t hire fast enough.
      

      Case Study

      An ultraviolet radiation startup was growing exponentially and preparing to go public, but the company’s finance and HR functions weren’t ready for the transition; nor were they able to hire full-time C-level leadership fast enough to manage the changes.

      BTG provided two key interim leaders:

      An interim CFO — A PwC alum and former CFO in the renewable energy space to facilitate the NASDAQ audit process, set up public company filling processes, and anticipate financial implications of the transition from a product to a service model.

      An interim CHRO — A seasoned HR executive with experience standing up HR functions to establish the required human capital infrastructure and operational procedures—including all talent management processes, playbooks, and personnel policies

   4. To help business leaders with new roles when they don’t have time to formally define and authorize the positions. With on-demand talent, HR leaders can help the rest of the business incubate and trial new roles before finalizing a true job spec and going out to hire in the full-time market; this is particularly prevalent with respect to new digital roles, for which speed is of the essence, and parameters are continually moving.
      

      Case Study

      A large financial services organization was looking to expand its retail banking arm and needed help creating a common vision and alignment across the retail business.

      BTG provided a seasoned transformational enterprise technology leader with deep B2B SaaS experience and a proven record delivering sales leadership, product enhancements, and client services for large financial institutions. In the role of interim strategy and transformation leader, he drove a customer-centric and segment-tailored approach to maximizing market opportunities. Furthermore, he created a customer experience improvement plan and coordinated onboarding of retail colleagues on the effective use of CX principles, ensuring consistent application across the business.

These independent experts allow for unparalleled flexibility and efficiency in HR. And when HR moves more efficiently, the entire company feels the lift—enabling the organization to fill gaps quickly and seize opportunities, increase employee satisfaction and retention, and expand a culture of innovation.

Driving Business Impacts Across the Organization

The opportunity to build agility, resilience, and flexibility into the organization has never been more promising or more pressing. Only 30% of hiring managers feel their teams have the skills needed to support the business needs in the next 3–5 years, and 91% of HR leaders are concerned about employee turnover in the coming months. And, more than ever before, experts at the top of their fields are choosing to work independently on projects that inspire them.

By harnessing on-demand talent in this moment of turbulence, HR leaders can first steady their own ships and then support other business leaders around them with urgent needs, such as:

• Defining critical new roles and deciding where in the organization to place them
• Pacing important decisions to take immediate action against priorities even if they are not able or ready to hire permanent leadership
• Tapping digital and data skills that are more urgently needed than ever, in greater volume—and for which traditional full-time talent is scarce

Creating a Future-Focused Gig Economy Strategy

COVID has turned many things upside down in business today. Jamie Kohn, research director in the Gartner HR practice, recently noted, “As the economy continues to recover from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are facing a very different—and extremely competitive—job market than years past. While many are experiencing a record number of open roles, companies are also trying to mitigate pent-up employee turnover.”

Innovative companies are tapping the gig economy at the enterprise level in order to gain speed and control, decrease costs, and improve access to top talent. And in many cases, HR is leading the way in helping their organizations understand how, when, and why to use on-demand talent. As John Winsor of Open Assembly noted, “Acknowledging and endorsing the gig economy as an acceptable tool and creating a formal method to tap it can help an organization lead, rather than chase, what’s happening.”

Get Help with Critical HR Priorities

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The global supply chain suffered greatly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Material scarcity, increasing freight prices, hit-or-miss demand forecasting, port backups, and digital transformation are just a few of the key issues causing shortages on things like cars, lumber, household products, chicken, imported goods, aluminum, and even coins.

It should be no surprise that supply chain ranks in ranks in BTG’s top 10 most in-demand skills for the first half of 2021 in light of recent trends, difficulties, and shortages. To help business leaders adapt to this unique environment, we sought insight from one of the highly skilled members of our independent talent community, Priya Kumar. Read on for her thoughts on how leading companies can optimize for supply chain resilience in 2022 and adapt to unforeseen challenges in a post-COVID world.

Meet the Expert

Priya Kumar

Supply chain expert with experience guiding clients to continuously extract value and efficiency by harmonizing operations

What are the main aspects of pre-pandemic supply chains that required urgent correction in 2020-2021?

Organizations with siloed supply chain operations and a lack of an integrated strategy suffered immensely, as they were unable to adapt quickly to supply shortages, delivery delays, and staffing deficiencies. Those companies with a lack of reliable, transparent data also experienced huge challenges. They were not able to identify operational gaps in enough time to be able to mitigate the substantial impact to the supply chain.

One of the biggest pitfalls was found in those organizations that were relying on one geographic area for most of their supply. Natural disasters, the pandemic, and political turmoil made every area problematic at one point or another. Additionally, those that relied on one mode of transportation were greatly impacted by logistical challenges.

What are the most important things that business leaders have learned to survive, or even thrive, in this era of COVID-related supply chain challenges?

The importance of strong supplier relationships has been key in supporting organizations through challenging supply chain situations in the past year. Relationships that have really thrived are ones which both the supplier and customer wanted the other to succeed. In such relationships, I found a distinct transparency of information and a collaborative partnership attitude, where both parties were advising each other on how to address various challenges.

The need for robust category strategies has been apparent given the volatility of the market. Those supply chain organizations with clear category strategies had documented plans for how to mitigate risk and execute on their disaster planning. With clear goals in sight related to supplier rationalization, spend goals and savings initiatives, these companies were able to modify actions as necessary and still achieve good results.

What are the vital components of a resilient supply chain going into 2022?

To create resilient supply chains in 2022, companies must focus on three areas: prioritizing and investing in digital transformation initiatives, capturing and monitoring robust market intelligence, and flexibly leveraging talent to solve both short- and long-term challenges.

Digitalization

• Implement the practice of data-driven decisions to align business goals, practices, and profit.
• Prioritize real time data, lucid processes, and accessible information to meet the demands of today’s customer.
• Continuously invest in powerful technology to reduce operational cost and improve efficiency.

Market Intelligence

• Keeping in touch with the market’s movement regularly will help you in staying ahead of trends that may disrupt supply, logistics and other aspects of the supply chain
• Industry insights will ensure your organization’s supply chain strategy stays relevant

Leveraging your talent

• Cross train employees so that resources can be flexible when the organizational needs pivot
• Empowerment through active decision-making will enable individuals to claim ownership of strategic projects and daily responsibilities
• Individuals will seek meaningful ways to add value to organizations. They will be motivated by solving internal challenges.

What are some emergency steps a business can take if they’re facing unforeseen supply chain issues?

First, understand your best- and worst-case scenario. Project the overall impact from a 3-year, 5-year and 10-year perspective. The challenge will start to look a lot smaller.

Then, brainstorm solutions with the entire team. The individuals closest to the issue often have the best ideas for solutions.

Finally, act with a measured approach in mind. Take small steps first and be ready to pivot or change direction completely if your initial steps don’t lead you to where you’d like to be.

What tips do you have for newer supply chain professionals as the field continues to adapt?

For newer supply chain professionals, it’s critical to take the time to invest in building partnerships with your suppliers, industry peers, and customers. You must understand the challenges that they face and their methodology for addressing them. And don’t just focus on your immediate suppliers—ensure that you understand your 3rd and 4th party suppliers (the subsequent layers) of your supply chain so that you can view the suppliers risks holistically

On a professional development level, be sure to find opportunities to work on projects in a variety of supply chain functions (procurement, materials management, quality, risk mitigation, category management, demand planning, etc.).

What are the keys to being resilient during difficult times (professionally & personally?)

Professional

• Creativity: Thinking outside the box to solve problems; pivoting your strategy to cater to a different supply chain/ business need
• Foresight: Assessing a variety of scenarios and predicting outcomes, having plans for how to tackle associated challenges

Personal

• Acceptance: Having the wisdom to accept what is and look forward. Staying stuck in the past and ‘the way things were’ may hold you back from what the future has to offer.
• ‘Silver Lining’ Mindset: Nothing stays the same, the world continuously changes. If we want to fulfill our desire of being happy, we have to learn to find positivity in every situation. This helps us to appreciate what we have and to make the most of opportunities presented to us.

Need Help Optimizing for Supply Chain Resilience?

Reach out to start a project with Priya Kumar or another highly skilled, independent supply chain and operations expert from BTG.

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Experts agree that we’re experiencing unprecedented times in the global labor market, but the one thing no one seems to agree on is what exactly to call this moment. If you follow the latest workforce trends and news, chances are you’ve read an article, listened to a podcast, or had a conversation in the past few months that revolve around the same word: “Great.”

While a few of the buzziest phrases include the Great Resignation, the Great Realization, and the Great Reshuffle, there are many more “Greats” where those came from. Each of these workforce trends center around the same notion, that the pandemic has caused major changes in the labor force at all levels across nearly every industry. Read on for a recap of today’s most superlative workforce trends and find out why there’s never been a better time to tap high-end independent talent for help with your greatest business opportunities and challenges.

Workforce Trend #1: The Great Resignation

The most widely discussed post-COVID workforce trend, The Great Resignation refers to the mass, voluntary exodus from the workforce—or at least the shift toward many considering leaving their current roles within the next several months. The COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to make changes for better or worse, such as the 180-degree flip from in-office to working remotely or reducing headcount to weather the uncertainty. In turn, those business decisions impacted the way of thinking for many in the workforce and gave people pause to reevaluate what they want out of work and out of life. “[Workers] want to work for companies they can be proud of, that are involved in their communities and that take a stand for things that they believe matter,” reads a recent article from Inc. “And they want a say—in decision making AND in their own scheduling.”

One factor fueling The Great Resignation is another “Great,” specifically The Great Talent Migration to remote work. As Tsedal Neeley, the Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and author of Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding From Anywhere, puts it, “We have changed. Work has changed. The way we think about time and space has changed.” According to Neely, workers now crave the—previously unattainable—flexibility that companies had no choice but to give them during the pandemic.

Another survey from August 2021 sheds more light on workers’ reasoning regarding The Great Resignation. “The key reason employees cite for jumping ship: money. Among employees who plan to quit, 50 percent say their primary reason is better pay and benefits. Others want to explore new career opportunities, with 44 percent of workers interested in starting their own business; this number jumps to 70 percent for employees in the tech industry,” said an Inc. summary of the survey findings. “Remote work continues to be draw for many. About 43 percent of workers say they’re quitting to find jobs that don’t require being in an office. As more workplaces shift back to in-person, flexible work schedules and the option to stay remote may help businesses retain talent.”

Autonomy is key with the newly enlightened workforce. According to Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trend Index, 73% of employees want flexible remote work options to stay, and 46% of remote workers are planning to move to a new location this year because their work arrangements grant them the freedom to do so. Employees have had ample time to review and restructure their working lives how they see fit, but at the same time many have become burnt out by digital overload and the realities of remote work. One in five employees say their employer doesn’t care about their work-life balance, 54% say they feel overworked, and 39% say they’re downright exhausted. It’s no wonder then that many of them are ready to see if there is something better out there for them specifically. If the pandemic taught the workforce anything, it’s that work can and should be different, so now they’re looking for roles that meet their new expectations of what that means.

Data to Digest

• 48% of America’s working population is actively job searching or watching for opportunities (Gallup)
• The current quit rate is staggeringly high: nearly 4 million Americans resigned in July alone, for a quit rate comprising 2.7% of total employment—second only to the record-high rate of 2.8% found in April 2021 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• Business leaders and their employees are experiencing the post-COVID environment very differently: 61% of business leaders say they are thriving right now, compared 64% of new employees and 61% of frontline workers who say they are struggling or merely surviving (Microsoft)

Workforce Trend #2: The Great Realization

Hand in hand with The Great Resignation, The Great Realization is a workforce trend in which “workers are re-examining the way they choose to pursue careers, find professional and personal fulfillment, and manage their income and lifestyles.”

This isn’t a completely new development. As tracked by MBO Partners’ State of Independence Report, the way workers think about and approach their work has been evolving over the past decade—with more and more choosing to become independent talent (for good reason). What makes this workforce trend pertinent right now is the surge in realizations turning into resignations across the workforce at large. More than ever before, great talent are opting to go independent because of the high levels of satisfaction associated with the change, the improved work-life balance that independent work offers, and new independents reporting that they feel happier, healthier, and more financially secure than they did as a part of the traditional workforce.

Independent work isn’t a lofty, out of reach concept anymore. After dipping slightly in 2020 in line with the broader labor market, the number of independent workers surged from 38.2 million to more than 51 million in 2021—an unprecedented 34% year-over-year increase. With 77% of independents saying they’re highly satisfied, and almost one-third of traditional jobholders now viewing independent work as less risky than having a traditional job, it’s no surprise that millions of workers are having an ah-ha moment.

Workforce Trend #3: The Great Attrition/Attraction

At this point, business leaders have no choice but to take what the workforce is saying and learn from it. Learn why employees are leaving. Learn what makes them consider leaving, no matter how big or small the inciting incident may seem. Once a company has taken the time to synthesize what they’re hearing and learning, it’s up to them to act, to instigate changes that will both attract and retain talent.

According to McKinsey, companies can transform The Great Attrition into The Great Attraction if they make a concerted effort to take meaningful action. “By seizing this unique moment, companies could gain an edge in the race to attract, develop, and retain the talent they need to create a thriving post pandemic organization.” But the authors caution, “By not understanding what their employees are running from, and what they might gravitate to, company leaders are putting their very businesses at risk.”

Companies must facilitate a workplace built on flexibility, connectivity, unity, recognition, and purpose at all levels of an organization, from executive leadership to interns and everyone in between. While McKinsey’s survey shows that 60% of employees are not likely to leave in the next 3-6 months, the firm cautions that employers shouldn’t view that stat as “safe” from attrition. “Options are increasing, and with more and more employers offering remote-work choices for hard-to-source talent, these employees could change their intentions.”

The only way to stem the attrition is to make the changes necessary to turn it into attraction. To do so, make sure key conversations around work arrangements, company values, and culture don’t occur in a vacuum. Include your employees in the restructuring and realization processes, because if you demonstrate that you’re listening to your people and making the changes they value, they’ll stick around.

Data to Digest

• 40% of employees stated that they are at least somewhat likely to leave their current job in the next 3-6 months—including 18% who said their intentions range from likely to almost certain (McKinsey Quarterly)
• 2/3 of those who said they’re likely to leave added that they would do so without having a new job lined up(McKinsey Quarterly)
• 53% of the employers said that they are experiencing greater voluntary turnover than they had in previous years, and 64% expect the problem to continue—or worsen—over the next six months(McKinsey Quarterly)

Workforce Trend #4: The Great Reshuffle

Partly in response to The Great Resignation, businesses are undergoing The Great Reshuffle to keep up with rapid changes in the workforce. Like their employees, employers are also coming to realize that how we work isn’t the only thing that matters, so too does the answer to why we work.

According to LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, companies are having to rethink what their company means, their entire set of values, and their working style as a company. All of this while maintaining a growth mindset, embracing flexibility, and defining the roles and skills they will need to rapidly act on unforeseen opportunities amid ongoing uncertainty.

Roslansky sees this as a positive development that will ultimately benefit organizations who engage their employees with empathy and trust—as well as the talent doing work they love at companies they feel passionate about.
< h3>Workforce Trend #5: The Great Wait

For both business leaders and the workforce at large, dealing with what to do next has proven tricky at best. At the same time Microsoft found that a large majority of employees want flexible remote work options to continue, its 2021 Work Trend Index also showed that 65% are craving more in-person time with their teams. With that in mind, 66% of business decision markers are considering redesigning their physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments.

And yet, return-to-office plans have been postponed repeatedly by the global health crisis that’s still very much in flux—a post-COVID workforce trend that organizational consultant Kate Bullinger calls The Great Wait. The stakes are high, and companies are facing significant financial strain and difficulties making and communicating a decision. If a company announces a return-to-office date and it gets pushed back, it can change the strategies or policies that may be required for safety and monitoring.

Tracking vaccination status and securely storing that data aren’t free. Nor are COVID tests, PPE, and systems to keep unvaccinated and untested employees away from the workplace—such as automatic badge deactivation if unvaccinated employees haven’t provided negative test results in the past 24 hours. Without careful planning and execution, a messy return could impose additional non-monetary costs such as lack of trust, loss of productivity, and—the worst possible outcome—the risk of an office outbreak. Each step in a return-to-office plan opens the door for a number of difficult decisions.

Candid communication is sorely needed by everyone involved, but the last thing business leaders want to do is make an announcement only to have to retract it soon after. On the other hand, being tight-lipped can have negative effects on some workers as well, such as parents who must plan childcare and might have more concern around office reopenings and a physical return to work. According to Bullinger, business leaders should be as transparent as possible, even when decisions haven’t been made official yet—communicating the plans they have made while acknowledging the fluidity of the situation in a clear and consistent way. Doing so allows employees and employers the time they need to plan accordingly for whatever decision comes to fruition.

Data to Digest

• As of late August, 66% of organizations are delaying their office reopening due to COVID variants (Gartner)
• 45% of workers want to be in-office full-time, compared with 31% who want to be remote full-time and 24% who want a hybrid arrangement (The New York Times / Morning Consult)
• Only a third of employees would give their employers an ‘A’ for the way they’ve managed resuming in-person work (Eden Workplace)

A Great Time for Independent Talent

The inundation of competing takes on exactly which “Great” workforce trend we’re currently experiencing is a reminder that 18+ months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of the workplace is as uncertain as ever. Meanwhile, employers are spending a lot of money to figure out what to do next. As companies think about how to retain and attract talent in one of the tightest labor markets to date, high-end independent talent can be a gamechanger—providing a nearly limitless source of in-demand skills and expertise to fill resourcing gaps, develop strategies to seize unforeseen opportunities, and lead critical projects such as return-to-office initiatives.

Savvy business leaders are taking note of the vast pool of talent available in independent marketplaces like BTG, with nearly 50% of business leaders saying that they expect their use of new digital platforms to increase significantly in the future, and almost 90% of business leaders reporting that talent platforms will be somewhat or very important to their organization’s future competitive advantage. In addition to that, 40% of users reported that accessing highly skilled workers through new digital talent platforms helped improve speed to market, boost productivity, and increase innovation.

Each of the workforce trends above will play a role in shaping the next new normal for the workforce at large. As more and more skilled talent discover that independent arrangements suit their preferences for flexibility and fulfillment in their work, leading companies are also realizing how valuable flexible projects and consultants can be. With so much uncertainty and potential for change still, there’s no time like the present to take advantage of the booming independent market by posting critical projects with BTG. Find the talent you need today.

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Starting new projects can be daunting, especially as an independent talent where it’s critical to demonstrate value as soon as you’re brought onboard. Whether it’s your first consulting engagement or your fiftieth, each new client and project require digging in and doing the work—making a good first impression, holding meaningful kick-off meetings, asking hard questions, and demonstrating your proposed solution.

There’s no definitive guide floating around to teach independent consultants the tips and tricks, so we sought advice from seasoned experts in the BTG marketplace. Note that each consulting engagement is different, and it’s important to fully understand the client need before applying a generic methodology or practices that don’t fit the project context. The experts below have honed their suggestions based on their specific experience and area of expertise. We offer their tips here as a starting point you should pick and choose from to find what works best for you.

Keep reading for their best on how to start a new consulting engagement on the right foot.

Meet the Experts

TED BISSELL

Consultant and executive who designs strategies and builds businesses that bring together digital financial services and payments, IoT smart devices and blockchain infrastructure, plus data analytics and machine learning

MOHAMMAD GHASSEMI

Technology and strategy expert with over 10 years of experience leading AI and data science innovation in a variety of industries

PRIYA KUMAR

Supply chain expert with experience guiding clients to continuously extract value and efficiency by harmonizing operations

TODD SAZENSKI

Experienced consultant in leading health care transformation engagements across strategy, post-merger integration, performance improvement, and financial turnaround efforts

STEVE WUNKER

Innovation expert and consultant helping clients chart breakout strategies and build ongoing innovation capabilities

First Impressions Are Everything

Across the board, these experts agreed that first impressions and the initial meetings you have can make or break a new independent engagement. Forbes would agree—taking notes, asking informed questions, doing your research, listening, and showing up on time can do a lot for this professional first impression. Additionally, it’s essential to not be bound solely by the project description. Seek to become an asset to the client for the length of your engagement and watch for opportunities to suggest project extensions and repeat engagements.

Priya Kumar explained her process in becoming a team player from the start. “I connect with the client stakeholders as I would if I were employed by their organization,” she said. “This feeling of oneness goes a long way in getting stakeholders to openly collaborate throughout the life of the project.”

Ted Bissell said one should “hold a formal kickoff meeting or call, with as many project stakeholders present as possible, to agree on project methodology. Handle as many housekeeping items as possible in advance, such as the process of getting badges, IT access, expense policies, etc. This practice also gives insight into the politics of the organization and the direct client’s level of autonomy.”

Steve Wunker suggested listening before providing opinions. “Many clients are wary of consultant arrogance, so make sure you demonstrate that you really want to understand their views,” he said. “Play what you’ve heard back to people to show that you heard and to ensure that you got it right.”

Cover your bases

When working independently, it’s best to get everything you might need to know up front so you don’t have to circle back time and time again. Have a checklist or set of preliminary questions or record your initial meetings to ensure you have something to refer to. Organization is key in this regard; come to a preliminary meeting prepared to soak in all pertinent information so you leave ready to get to work.

Todd Sazenski emphasizes the importance of an early meeting with the client and key stakeholders to clarify the project needs and better understand how the work affects them. “Taking the time to learn and understand the potential issues and roadblocks going into the project makes a substantial difference,” he said.

As for Kumar, she focuses on background information before even getting to the initial meetings. “I read about the history of the company, their latest news happenings, industry trends and information about competitors,” she said. “This helps me to cultivate an educated perspective and demonstrates my commitment to understanding the client.”.

Bissell concluded by saying that it’s vital to validate project scope. “By the time the contracting process is complete, inevitably a priority has changed—and it’s essential to draw it out as early as possible,” he said.

Blend Previous Experience with a Clean Slate Approach

Experience builds expertise, and expertise is what lands you new engagements. Naturally, you’ll take what you’ve learned on previous projects and apply it to future projects as you continue to learn what works best in your field. However, avoid constant comparisons to previous work to avoid coming off as unteachable or stalwart. The great thing about being independent is that you get to change things up regularly, learn with and from new people, and hone skills in a unique way that full-time employees don’t have access to. That’s why, according to Kumar, you should approach every engagement with a clean slate mindset.

“For the first couple of weeks, I ‘forget’ every other project I’ve ever worked on,” Kumar said. “Entering into an engagement with a clean slate helps me to consciously listen to the client stakeholders. Every organization has very unique challenges, and coming up with a customized solution ensures long-term, integrable, sustainable success.”

Doing so prevents you from falling back on “what’s worked in the past” and forces you to think about what will work for this project, now.

Find your ‘Five Step Process’

Maybe yours is three, maybe it’s seven, maybe it’s fifteen—the number of steps doesn’t matter as much as developing a process that works for you with some semblance of regularity. Mohammad Ghassemi outlined the five-step process he uses for projects in the realm of data science:

1. Specification
2. Identification
3. Development
4. Communication
5. Demonstration

Ghassemi explained, “It starts with a specification of exactly what the client wants. We move to an identification of what data we need in order to get to their end goal. Then we have a development phase where we sort of build out algorithms, the communication around how those algorithms work, and finally we demonstrate the value back to the client.”

He asks questions along the way to whoever will entertain them

• What’s working well?
• What are some current pain points for the organization?
• What data matters most? (Vice versa: What data do they not pay attention to?)
• Industry specific: What in their wildest dreams could technology do to help them, and what is it that technology has done that absolutely annoys them?

After having those conversations, he synthesizes the information into a single multi-page document. With this method, he is able to get people engaged and invested in the project’s success, even if they just answered a question or two.

We hope that these insights will help guide you toward finding your own way to hit the ground running on an independent engagement, no matter where you are in your career. The best place to start looking for new projects is the BTG Talent Portal. Sign up or log in to see all available project opportunities, and keep in mind that new opportunities are posted regularly.

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Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

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Technology is an integral part of our lives, especially if you’re self-employed. As a consultant, your smartphone and laptop make it possible for you to find new clients and work with them remotely. But along with the many positive benefits of technology, it also brings a growing problem—digital overload.

Digital overload is nothing new, but it’s worsened substantially since the start of the pandemic. Microsoft’s annual Work Trend Index found that workers now spend more time online than ever before.

Most of us are sending more emails, responding to more chats, and attending more meetings. That’s borne out in Microsoft’s research, which found that its users sent 40.6B more emails overall, sent 45% more chats per person, and spent 148% more time in meetings each week in February 2021 compared to one year prior. Even though this communication is virtual and can happen at any time, most people feel the need to respond immediately.

Digital overload can take a serious toll on your personal and work life. But with the right strategies, consultants can find ways to lessen the effects of digital overload.

What is digital overload?

Digital overload is the feeling of constantly being connected to your devices. It’s the endless treadmill of keeping up with emails, messages, and notifications.

Here are some examples of digital overload:

• Too much screen time: According to a report from eMarketer, the average U.S. adult spends seven hours and 50 minutes a day on digital media, which is more time than some people spend sleeping. This average screen time increased 15% from a year earlier, and is the biggest jump since 2012.
• Information overload: Part of the problem with digital overload is the sheer amount of information we’re exposed to every day. And this goes beyond just emails and work conversations and extends to things like 24-hour news and social media networks. It can be hard to process the constant amount of information thrown at us, leading to feelings of distraction, anxiety, and fatigue.
• Media multitasking: Media multitasking happens when you switch back and forth between separate devices. For instance, you might check your email on your phone while checking your Slack channels on your laptop. Studies have shown that media multitasking makes it harder to focus and filter out irrelevant information.

5 tips for managing digital overload

So why is digital overload a problem? The short answer is that it can leave many people feeling distracted and burnt out. And while it may seem like you’re constantly busy, you may not be producing anything of real value.

There’s no quick fix to dealing with digital overload, but you can lessen its effects by making small lifestyle changes. Let’s look at five solutions to information overload for consultants.

1. Set communication limits

One of the hardest parts about consulting is the feeling that you always need to be available to your clients. And when you’re in the middle of a big project for a client, it may seem like the emails, and Slack notifications will never end.

It’s easy to get in the habit of constantly checking your email to see if something has come up, but this can be draining and unproductive. Instead, block off specific times throughout the day to check your email and Slack notifications. Most emails can wait a few hours to be answered, and in a true emergency, people will find a way to contact you.

2. Only use one device at a time

One of the best ways to deal with digital overload is to stop media multitasking. If you’re on a team Zoom call, resist the urge to pick up your phone and check your email at the same time. Focus on the task—and the device—that’s in front of you.

Of course, this can be difficult to do if you’re in the habit of checking multiple devices throughout the day. So the best way to start may be to put your phone in airplane mode while you’re working on your laptop or computer. And when you’re done with your laptop for the day, put it away, so it’s out of sight, out of mind.

3. Turn off notifications

If you’re looking for ways to reduce your information overload, consider turning off the notifications on your phone and laptop. Do you really need to know every time there’s a new Slack notification or when someone has tagged you in Basecamp? Consider that every message that pops up is costing you precious time and mental focus.

4. Prioritize other activities throughout the day

One of the best ways to improve your mental clarity and recharge is prioritizing regular breaks throughout your day. Find other activities to do that don’t involve screens, like taking a walk or fixing a cup of coffee.

And resist the urge to eat lunch at your desk while working. Having regular times when you step away from your desk to do something else will help you combat digital overload.

5. Create screen-free times

And finally, managing digital overload in your work life means you need to manage it in your personal life as well. It’s ironic because most people choose consulting for the freedom and flexibility it provides but then spend nearly all of their time chained to their laptops.

You may not have the option or even the desire to set regular 9-5 hours in your consulting business. But you should regularly designate time to unplug. For instance, turn on the “Do not disturb” feature in the evenings so your sleep won’t be interrupted by needless notifications.

And aim to have one day a week where you completely unplug from your devices. This may be hard to do at first, but over time, you’ll most likely find that the break rejuvenates you.

The bottom line

There’s no denying the benefits of technology and instant access to information. It’s what makes it possible for you to pursue consulting as a career and do the work you love. Putting boundaries in place around your screen time will help you minimize digital overload and stay focused on your main priorities.

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Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

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This post originally appeared as a working paper titled “After Covid-19, How Does Innovation Change” from New Markets Advisors, a boutique consulting firm specializing in innovation opportunities and capabilities. Download a copy here.  

Executive Summary

For many organizations, the challenges faced in 2020 were unprecedented. To survive the pandemic and prepare for an uncertain future, businesses had to innovate in ways they never had before. In this paper, we lay out the five innovation practices that found widespread adoption over the last year, and that we recommend companies continue embracing well after COVID-19.

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Resourcing for High-Growth Recovery

See the most in-demand and fastest growing independent talent skills needed as companies seek recovery and growth amidst continuing uncertainty.

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In today’s world of remote work, pandemic-related stress, and economic fluctuation, mental and physical health all too often take a backseat to more seemingly urgent matters. Earlier this year, a CDC study showed that the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of anxiety and depression had increased from 36.4% to 41.5% over the course of the pandemic. It can be hard to unplug in an always-on work environment and to step away from our daily responsibilities to take care of ourselves.

Throughout the month of September, Business Talent Group (BTG) focuses on workplace wellness with activities, ideas, and events to encourage team members to take care of themselves and each other. For inspiration, the BTG Diversity and Inclusion and Culture Committees have compiled a list of books, talks, and podcasts to help us all decrease stress, hone work-life balance, practice mindfulness, improve self-image, and increase our overall wellbeing. We share them here in hopes they help you and your team along your own mental and physical health journeys.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this month:

Books:

• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
  Award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes a deep dive into a scientific basis for why habits exist and how they can be changed for the better—from daily work routines and productivity to exercising and losing weight.
• On Mental Toughness
  In this compilation of articles from Harvard Business Review, experts examine how to build emotional strength and resilience in order to improve performance.
• Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
  Prof. Matthew Walker, Director of UC Berkeley’s Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab, explores the purpose and benefits of sleep and dreaming on learning, mood, energy, longevity, productivity, and overall health.
• Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself 
  Licensed counselor and relationship expert Nedra Glover Tawwab presents a guide to setting healthy boundaries in order to achieve work-life balance, combat anxiety and depression, and foster rewarding relationships.

Ted Talks:

• All it Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes
  Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing absolutely nothing for 10 minutes a day—simply being mindful and watching as thoughts come and go.
• How to Make Stress Your Friend
  Psychologist Kelly McGonigal encourages us to think differently about stress and presents several studies that reveal the health benefits of doing so.
• How to Stay Calm when You Know You’ll be Stressed
  Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin shares the concept of “prospective hindsight”—thinking about all the things that could go wrong and minimizing the potential damage.
• Changing How We Think About Wellness
  Monica Mo, founder and CEO of WellSeek, sheds light on the emotional and cultural lens through which we view health and how that affects our own self-image and wellbeing.

Podcasts:

• 10% Happier
  Self-help author Dan Harris interviews guests on a variety of mental health-related topics including joy, relationships, kindness, self-reflection, and love.
• Happier
  Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, and her cohost Elizabeth Craft talk all things happiness, habits, and human nature.
• Untangle Podcast
  Patricia Karpas and Ariel Garten host guests including psychologists, nutritionists, storytellers, and sleep experts for discussions that cover mindfulness, brain health practices, leadership, and life.
• Food Psych
  Dietitian Christy Harrison’s weekly podcast focuses on helping people break free from diet culture and foster a healthy relationship with food and a positive body image.

BTG’s Remote Work Tips:

• Work from Home Best Practices
  BTG has had distributed teams for years prior to the pandemic, so many of our team members are seasoned remote workers. We look at best practices for creating your workspace, optimizing tech, staying focused, and setting boundaries.
• Maintaining Work-Life Balance
  When your home is your office, boundaries are everything. Here’s how to create weekday and weekend routines to foster balance and connection and enhance productivity.
• How to Make a Home Office in a Small Space
  We surveyed BTG’s apartment dwellers for their best tips on how to optimize a remote work set-up when options are limited.
• How to Work from Home with Kids
  Remote work + remote school = a full house.
  If you’re a working parent, you’ve likely done this math and discovered the challenge of working and taking care of children simultaneously over the past year. We outline some tips and tricks to balancing remote arrangements as a family.

Productivity and success at work are closely tied to our own wellbeing. Cultivating wellness takes effort and dedication, but it’s more important than ever in today’s remote, socially distanced world.

If you’ve spent any time online, you probably know that TikTok steamrolled into the social game with high levels of success. You may even be tired of hearing about TikTok if you haven’t given it a try yourself. What started as Musical.ly, a platform predominantly comprised of lip syncing, dancing, skits, and more, has blossomed into a rapidly growing visual platform with a wide focus on everything from trending topics to niche interests.

The wealth of industries and interests is what makes TikTok a unique platform for independent talent. Although using it for this purpose is relatively new and not fully tested, it may be a good addition to your marketing mix once you nail down the table stakes, such as LinkedIn, blogging, and networking. Investing the time to really learn what works and what doesn’t while establishing yourself on the platform could pay off as TikTok continues to develop and the audience grows.

TikTok put a spin on traditional social media

With its focus on bite-size content, memeable videos, and collaborative user interactions, TikTok was developed specifically to meet the appetites of today’s social media audience. It’s particularly intriguing as a marketing channel for several reasons.

Starting with the basics, every user on the platform has a personalized feed known as the For You Page (FYP) that, according to TikTok, “recommends content by ranking videos based on a combination of factors — starting from interests you express as a new user and adjusting for things you indicate you’re not interested in, too”.

The TikTok FYP algorithm relies on a number of factors, including:

1. User interactions, such as the videos you like or share, accounts you follow, comments you post, and content you create
2. Video information, including details like captions, sounds, and hashtags
3. Device and account settings, such as your language preference, country setting, and device type.

Once your FYP gets a sense of the content you’re most likely to interact with, the algorithm becomes tailored to you. The TikTok algorithm uses these indicators of interest to craft a personalized user experience, so no two FYPs are alike, and bypassing things that don’t interest you is as easy as a swipe (or tapping a button if you really dislike something and never want to see it again).

As of September 2021, many creators and social media gurus have been discussing recent changes to the TikTok algorithm that specifically favor a creator’s following first. If those viewers engage with a piece of content, it’s more likely to be pushed to a wider audience (the FYP at large). This change could be beneficial for small creators who are likely to have fewer, but more engaged, followers. With this change, it’s even more important to know your target audience and their interests, as you will need their early engagement to signal to TikTok that your content is worth a broader push.

However, content produced on and for TikTok is highly shareable across other social platforms. Video, especially short-form video, is a highly rewarded medium—and that’s exactly where TikTok excels. You will often see TikTok videos shared on other platforms, whereas content produced for other platforms tends not to travel as well. In that way, content originating on TikTok can end up being seen by a much broader audience beyond the app users.

Plus, TikTok isn’t trying to avoid cross-platform usage or growth. In fact, it facilitates it with easy linking to Instagram and YouTube as well as a general link you could use for your portfolio, LinkedIn page, or website—allowing you to drive traffic further into your marketing funnel.

TikTok facilitates leads through its broad, candid audience

The age demographics of TikTok users are split fairly evenly. At the end of 2020, the following were the published user stats:

TikTok Users by Age

So what keeps users coming back? Authenticity and vulnerability. The users, the content, the algorithm, the communities—everything that makes up TikTok comes from real people doing real things. While brands, businesses, celebrities, and influencers use the platform too, the nature of the platform is different by default. There are still some formulaic aspects to the platform (e.g. proper hashtag use, the best times to post, understanding trends, and ad transparency) but the consensus is that people feel like they’re connecting with people, not just feeding into the consumer supernova.

The breadth of the TikTok demographic and the nature of the algorithm are where professional use comes into play. The global app caters to every interest, industry, and specialty, including content that is informational, entertaining, or a bit of both. This applies to both creators and users.

4 Tips for Grabbing Attention on TikTok as an Independent Talent

TikTok is entirely dedicated to short, shareable clips. While many social platforms rely on regularity and audience engagement—e.g. likes, shares, and saves—to determine if content is worth being pushed, these factors are especially important on TikTok.

Be creative

Right now, having a TikTok portfolio can make you stand out in the crowded digital landscape. The platform provides a unique forum for showcasing skills. For instance:

• Posting tutorials or professional life hacks on new ways of completing tasks in your field
• Sharing your opinions on hot topics within your area of expertise
• Presenting interesting facts or trivia about a subject you’re passionate about
• Showcasing the culture or inside jokes of your field to encourage interest
• Detailing the reality of day-to-day life on the job (emotional targeting!)
• Facilitating conversations about a job, project, or career
• Answering viewer asks from your Q&A section, which highlights comments with questions for more direct engagement

As an independent talent, these are just a few of the ways can use TikTok to showcase your skills, expertise, and passion for your field. Overall, the key is to be creative, give credit to others who inspire you, and think outside the box.

Be concise

Online attention spans are short, as are most TikTok videos—though users now can create up to 3 minutes of content, which can seem long compared to the mere minute allowed before. Content posted on TikTok needs to grab viewers’ attention immediately or be doomed to the ‘not interested’ void. Even if you plan to utilize the 3-minute allowance, be deliberate in how you use it so people don’t scroll on by.

Be consistent

Since posts aren’t expressly chronological thanks to the algorithm, another user could see your content anywhere from seconds after you posted to weeks later. TikTok tends to reward regular publishing of posts, so consistency is key. By generating a consistent stream of new uploads, you’ll have more opportunities for your content to spread around over time, rather than relying on viewers to be online at the time you post.

Be calculated

Users are unwilling to waste time on TikTok content that doesn’t interest them. Everything should have a purpose, from the content to the editing, to the filters, to the hashtags, to the caption, to the text. Doing a little bit of research on applicable hashtags, current trends, and other best practices can help you find and reach your specific audience on TikTok.

TikTok has the potential to be a great tool for independent talent

While there isn’t much dedicated research yet on the concept of using TikTok as an independent talent, the data suggests that it’s worth the time to check out due to the worldwide and inclusive scope of the TikTok app. Define your brand, stand out as an influencer in your space, learn and hone new niche skills, and compete in a new way by offering advice, expertise, tricks, and more on the most downloaded and used social media platform to date.

And be sure to keep learning and growing with Business Talent Group. We’re dedicated to linking independent talent with the world’s best companies and consistently providing you with interesting and innovative project opportunities.

JOIN THE TALENT REVOLUTION

Skilled professionals are becoming independent consultants to capitalize on their strengths, gain ownership over how they work, and select projects that interest and excite them. You can too! Become an independent consultant today!

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As companies sprint to innovate and respond to public health challenges, engage and serve patients remotely, and adapt and accelerate clinical trials, independent talent are providing an agile source of skills, allowing life science leaders to keep pace in a fast-changing environment. This is especially the case for commercial strategy and operations leaders, who are being tasked with simultaneously increasing patient centricity, adapting to new technologies, and integrating more data than ever before—all while seizing new growth opportunities at breakneck speed.

COVID-era Trends and Challenges for Commercial Leaders

Succeeding in today’s fast-changing commercial environment requires agility and rapid response to new market conditions and quickly evolving consumer attitudes and behaviors. Commercial leaders today have several pressing issues to consider, including trends like:

A customer-centric focus in a time of rapidly changing consumer behavior

Patient-centricity is more central than ever before as companies try to figure out how to connect with consumers and healthcare providers (HCPs) in today’s digital world. In a market of empowered consumers, every touchpoint is important. It’s no surprise then that a Deloitte survey showed that 80% of pharma and medtech leaders cited changes in consumer attitudes and behavior as an issue that will have the greatest impact on their company.

What’s changing in consumer behavior? According to PwC, the most significant trends include:
• A 97% surge in the use of telehealth services
• A 40% increase in retail clinic use
• An 18% growth in urgent care visits
• Growth in at-home “DIY” care such as testing and remote monitoring
• Increasing interest in home health visits