^The APQC Blog

Should the leader of your business transformation be an industry expert, an employee who knows the company inside out, or someone who is an expert in business transformation (but might not know the company's industry)? Here are the key skills you need to drive business change.*

When it comes to HR metrics there is no shortage at APQC. But did you know that APQC members have access to a wide range of HR metrics at any time? APQC’s Benchmarks on Demand tool (available via our Web site) allows members to browse, select, and download HR metrics in real time.

Need to know:

Visibility into spending is a topic that is on almost everyone’s mind these days. That’s why more and more organizations are devoting efforts to spend management, in which spending patterns are identified and an organization can pinpoint opportunities for long-term savings. For the supply chain world, what matters from this process is spend analysis, or the process in which organizations ask three questions.

As demand for consulting improves, consulting leaders are becoming increasingly worried they won’t have as many consultants as they’ll need to meet future demand. And they have every reason to be concerned.

Partners are sharing with me that they’re already finding it harder to recruit consultants and are asking “Is it just me, or are other firms facing the same challenge?”

There is indeed a real staff problem emerging. And, for the foreseeable future, the profession’s talent shortage is likely to get worse.

Is your organization performing as well as you think it could? Are you using your fullest potential at work? Why or why not?

If you, like many working folks, feel that your potential is untapped or that you could be contributing much more, maybe the problem isn't just you. Maybe occasional laziness and/or distraction aren't the only reasons you can't get as much accomplished as you'd like. Although lack of employee motivation might be one reason why businesses don't reach their objectives, two other causes usually explain the situation much more accurately.

Need a quick and handy way to learn what top-notch finance executives are up to? Take a look at this webinar that I hosted recently for APQC’s financial management community. I presented a tidy package of what I determined to be the most informative case studies and metrics analyses that our research team had developed over the previous six months.

In only 30 minutes, we showcased APQC's most up-to-date and reliable examinations of:

More than three-quarters of organizations in APQC’s Open Standard’s Benchmarking database source talent from colleges and universities. Over half recruit from technical schools or colleges. Although the pace of on-campus hiring has yet to reach pre-recession levels, organizations should not neglect their on-campus recruiting relationships.

First of all, I want all of my process management folks to check out this video by the Process Excellence (PEX) Network: Welcome to the Process Excellence Revolution.

Today I hosted a 30-minute Webinar to spotlight some of APQC’s best knowledge management content from 2011. (If you want to find out what’s new in the Knowledge Base, I recommend listening to this recording of the presentation or downloading the slides.) As part of the Webinar, I polled the audience to find out which knowledge management topics they were most interested in. I have to admit, the results surprised me.

A few weeks ago I had a thought-provoking conversation with a managing partner at a middle-market consulting firm. He shared the following dilemma: “I’m supposed to be signing off on bonuses soon, and I don’t know if I should be generous to reward those that stuck with us through the downturn in hopes of deterring turnover or opt to be more conservative and reserve cash in case 2012 isn’t as rosy. Our firm leadership is split. Our backlog and sales reports are sending us mixed signals. What would you suggest?”