FutureWork Forum - News and Events

FTSE 350 Board Review dispels accepted myths

A research study into the current state of the Boardroom in the FTSE 350 listed companies in the UK has dispelled some accepted myths.

The research study completed by Executive Search Consultancy Thorburn McAlister and the University of Southampton was undertaken to try to identify correlations between longevity of tenure and ultimate shareholder gain and to examine movement in the UK’s top executive talent.

From the results it would appear that:

• The longer the tenure of the Chief Executive the greater the gains in share price, an interesting conundrum as the Media would have us believe exactly the opposite. Does this inform us that companies are risk averse?
• The report also finds that of the FTSE 350 companies, 85% of them have a CEO of the *Baby-boomer generation. This is surprising as it is widely assumed that a significant number of **Generation X would be represented in this role. Does this leave UK plc with a serious talent gap? If so how can Chairmen and their Boards manage this potentially serious issue.
• The movement of Chief Executives from one company to another, a move which it has always been assumed was to further financial gain, is questioned by the study as only 51 Chief Executives of companies in the FTSE 350 index, have moved to perform a similar role in another company. Arguably this may prove to be one of the reasons why Generation X are under represented.

Commenting on the Board Review, Anthony McAlister, Partner and joint-founder of Thorburn McAlister comments,

“With 85% of FTSE 350 leaders coming from the Baby-boomer generation, we question where the talent pool for future Chief Executives lies. With CEO churn being an apparent myth and the capital markets valuing longevity, future talent may become frustrated and leave with a resulting succession gap. This not only confounds the talent management model but also leads us to question the motivation of those left behind. With only 33% of CEOs recruited externally – does this really indicate a ‘best of breed’ approach or merely a ‘better the devil you know’ risk averse mentality?’

In light of these findings Thorburn McAlister has developed a process named Talent Track. This provides external market mapping over a one or two year period delivering a constant shortlist of candidates with whom the client may wish to engage over the term. This enables organisations to identify and attract leaders of the future and also to risk manage the loss or underperformance of crucial members of executive management teams. Talent track will also negate the need for a distressed executive search purchase and will enhance talent and development management practices. As an added value clients will gain an overview of market salaries and ‘on boarding times’ will be significantly reduced.

Click here to download the full report.

For further information please contact:

Lindsay Thorburn, Thorburn McAlister, (tel no. 44 (0) 845 6046658)
http://www.thorburnmcalister.com

FutureWork Forum (FWF) debuts its “WorkSpace of the Future” Seminar at Lorange Institute of Business

Friday, March 23rd, the FWF launched the first of its unique one-day seminars dedicated to seeking new solutions to the workspaces and workplaces of the future. Five FWF Partners made up the guest faculty on the program, which was scored by the participants as a great success. The FWF is now in discussions with the Lorange Institute to further develop the seminar and set new dates for more seminars in 2012 and 2013.

On 24 and 25 March, the FWF also acted as the guest faculty for the Lorange School of Business MBA program module on Talent Management. The program also received excellent satisfaction ratings.

Both the “WorkSpace of the Future” and the “Talent Management program can be customized to any organization’s needs. Just email for details.

Two New Partners join the FutureWork Forum

Tom Harnish and Kate Lister of the San Diego based Telework Research Network have joined the FutureWork Forum as partners. Tom and Kate are two of the leading professionals in the Telework (working from home and remote working) area and they bring years of experience and research to the subject. Their work covers all areas, corporate, governmental and even individual needs. Please find out more by checking out their website at:-

www.teleworkresearchnetwork.com

Are Home Workers Slackers

One of our newest members, Kate Lister from the Telework Research Network, is helping to field an important survey of telecommuters / home workers. The 8-10 minute web-based instrument was developed by Solomon Nyaanga, a professor at Berkeley and PhD candidate from the Stevens Institute of Technology. Answers to the questions posed will offer new insights into who’s actually telecommuting, how often they’re doing it, their attitudes about their jobs, the often contentious subject of teleworker productivity, and much more. The survey is intended for employee home workers not including the self-employed.

Kate would like our help circulating the news about the survey and ultimately, getting home workers to complete it. Composite results will available to all who participate but as a special thanks to individuals, organizations or news outlets that refer more than 25 respondents, Solomon is also willing to provide subgroup results. All individual responses will, of course, be treated confidentially.
You can read more about the survey on the Telework Research Network's blog. Solomon approached Kate shortly after Career Builder released research indicating that teleworkers were slackers. Like many, they questioned the Career Builder results because they were so counter to other research on the topic.

Here’s how you can participate:

If you would like summary results from completed surveys fielded by your organization, do not use the survey link below. Instead, email Kate and she will provide you with a unique link for your respondents.

If you would like to take the survey yourself and receive summary results for the whole group, use this link:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22E4XM3YMDV/

The survey is scheduled to close on January 31. If you need more time, contact Kate and she may be able to arrange it.

FutureWork Forum invited to stage an afternoon symposium at UBIS (University of Business and International Studies) in Geneva on September 15/16, 2011

UBIS is a recently established Swiss international university specialising in business administration, international relations and media & communications. They are associated with the Potomac College Business School of Washington DC. They currently draw a student population from 31 different countries (www.ubis-geneva.ch)

As of 2012, UBIS will put in place a series of programmes and activities on the “Future of People Management”: this should encompass all HR and leadership current UBIS BBA and MBA education programmes as well as the creation of a Linked In discussion community, a regular blog on the subject and 2/3 short symposia per year. FWF Partner Alain Haut, Professor at UBIS, has been invited to become the 'Programme Chair'.

To launch this new programme, UBIS organises a symposium in Geneva International Press Club (linked to the United Nations) on September 15, 2011, starting at 16.00. The symposium (programme is almost finalised) will be organised by and will feature the Future Work Forum partners and activities on the subject of Future of People Management, including the results and analysis of the survey on “Employing the Next Generation”.

All FWF partners are invited to attend this symposium, happening the day before the FWF partners meeting (September 16, morning).

FutureWork Forum partner with People In Aid to develop their November 2011 annual conference

People In Aid, a not-for-profit global agency that improves organisational effectiveness within the humanitarian and development sector worldwide have teamed up with the FutureWork Forum to provide the “guest” faculty at their upcoming annual conference in London (November 22).

With a mission to bring their global membership up-to-date on future-of-work developments, People In Aid asked the FutureWork Forum to design a one-day conference that would include all the key elements around the worker and the workplace of the future. The conference will include sessions on:  the employee of tomorrow; future trends in talent management; workplaces of the future and a session on making work fun. There will also be sessions on global labour trends and next steps in coaching and mentoring. www.peopleinaid.org

Pilot Version of Starting Up On Your Own Online

Based on the best-selling Financial Time’s book of the same name, STARTING UP ON YOUR OWN is a powerful new way to get instant insider knowledge to help YOU develop a successful independent business.

Hosted by the book’s author MIKE JOHNSON, STARTING UP ON YOUR OWN provides a step-by-step, action-oriented guide to creating, growing and sustaining a business. Most importantly, STARTING UP ON YOUR OWN is a great deal more than just checklists of things to do and lessons to learn. It offers real, day-to-day practical insights and the learning modules provide not only a starter kit for the would-be independent, but also offer common-sense advice to anyone looking to grow their business, raise their fees, create a home office improve their marketing, take on a partner and much, much more.

www.startinguponyourown.com

Middle East Management Centre Launches New Web Site

The Middle East Management Centre was founded in 1979 with a vision of bringing the latest management thinking and best practices to the region. Their goal is the improvement of our client’s performance through the development of people.

MEMC has been offering consulting services, management workshops and HR conferences for over three decades. Their difference comes from our international outlook, strong client relationships, successful client track record, diversified local delivery capability and a strong team of international consulting and training talents.

Their brand new web site has been under development during the last 2 months and is due to be launched officially March the 1st.

www.memrc.com