Agents2Change - Smart Business Thinking

Halloween - how rites of passage, help us prepare for change

Halloween has its roots in Celtic history reaching back hundreds of years, but is now widely celebrated as a children’s event or an opportunity to don ghoulish costumes for a neighbourhood party.

Like many of these ancient festivals, its origin is strongly linked to the agriculture calendar and the need to store up the fruits of the summer and prepare for the harsh winter ahead. 

Although hidden heavily in commercialism and frivolity in modern times, Halloween is a timely reminder of key transition points that we can reach in our lives, both as individuals and as organisations.  We are sometimes seduced into believing that changes in season or rites of passage have little to do with our modern, busy lives which can give the illusion of predictability. 

Modern companies are so focused on the ebb and flow of the balance sheet, that they can fail to look up and notice the ebb and flow of their business environment – be that the state of employee satisfaction inside their company, or the level of change in tastes and expectations of the wider public. 

These old festivals remind us that rites of passage and ceremonies are important to help us prepare for periods of transition.  Slavishly holding on to out-dated or out-moded ways of working helps no-one.  So as you enjoy the tricks and treats of the season, you have the opportunity to think about what other changes might also be ahead in your life and your work.  What opportunities exist to honour the past and welcome the future?  By entering into the spirit of celebration during key transitions, you can help everyone acknowledge and prepare for the change ahead.

Corporate & Functions # 6 – Summing up how functions can add value

In this mini-series we have reviewed the role and value that functions can play in supporting large or global corporations.  In this final instalment we take a look back at the issues covered and how they affect functions of today and functions of tomorrow in large and global organisations.

Corporate & Functions is a term to cover all of the centralized teams and services that support a range of business areas within a group.  Typically they include activities such as IT, HR, Finance, Communications & Branding, Legal & Operations (Including Safety).  Their purpose is to provide standardized structures and processes across the various business segments within a group.  

Whilst that sounds straightforward on paper, often Functions struggle to deliver timely, consistent or appropriate support to their various groups.  We believe that there are four key areas that Functions need to address to help them to add value to their organisation:

1. Leadership – providing the right balance between technical requirements of the function and the business needs.  Functional leadership has to be both forthright and humble; adapatble and responsive.  The balance needs to be struck based on the situation and the business needs, but it should always be flexible and attentive to the situational needs.       
2. Role Clarity – Functions need to articulate where the lines of responsibility are drawn in relation to tasks under their aegis.  They have a key role in communicating and clarifying boundaries in de-centralised organisations. 
3. Operational Excellence - In order to move the Function from transactional provider to strategic partner (the ultimate goal of world-class Functions) they need to be well-above fire-fighting mode and demonstrating flawless service delivery.  It is only then that business leaders will trust Functional leaders to address longer-term problems. 
4. Creativity - Building partnerships and alliances enables Functions and Business to enter into constructive dialogue to solve compliance, safety and technology needs.    

Corporate Functions have been created to drive efficiencies and achieve the synergies of specialist groups serving generic business groups.  This has been difficult to achieve in reality due to poorly designed scope of functional teams or through a lack of investment in developing world-class operations.  This mini-series revisited some of the key areas where Functions often fall down in their effectiveness.   

We would love to hear your experiences within a Function or as a recipient of their services.  Why not leave your comments here, or contact us on feedback@agents2change.com.  Agents2Change provides specialist change and implementation support to large and global businesses across Manufacturing, Finance, Service and Energy sectors. 

Corporate & Functions # 5 – Harnessing Creativity in an increasingly regulated environment

In this mini-series we are looking at the role and value that functions can play in supporting large or global corporations.  In this instalment we explore the importance of creativity in Functions. 

Globalisation has seen the rules of business change dramatically.  Increased regulation & compliance is a consequence of these changes, together with the ever growing concern about safety & environment; and as a result organisations are in danger of being overwhelmed by red tape.

Functions are often seen as the main proponent of this red tape rather than as a conduit trying to respond to these external pressures in an appropriate manner. This is a particular challenge as organisations’ operations frequently span many regional, national and functional cultures.  Even without this diversity, large companies often have many sub cultures that are at odds or competing with each other.

So how can functions avoid falling into the trap of meeting resistance almost as soon as they attempt to implement what might be a critical aspect of business governance?

As we have mentioned  in earlier installments of this mini-series, Functions have to win the respect of their internal customers- their business leaders, by providing exemplary service that is responsive to business requirements.  It is only then that they can look at how to creatively address compliance and business needs.   This is not about finding creative ‘work-arounds’ to do the minimum possible to comply with legislation; it is about finding a way to engage and raise the debate about how to address compliance from both a philosophical and behavioural standpoint.  To do this, Functions need to be confident about how to develop dialogue both within their Function and in the wider business.  From dialogue, debate and discussion comes creativity; and it is from this basis that true partnership and teamwork can emerge. 

Functions can find their place at the strategic table if they prove their worth consistently and provide a strong voice and a strong challenge when business leaders need to understand where the boundaries are and why they are needed.  We can see from the Financial Crisis of 2007 & 2008, that companies with maverick leaders such as Lehman Brothers or HBOS failed and those with a much more open management style such as HSBC and IngDirect weathered the storm much better.   All were operating within the same regulated environment, but those with a more open and creative culture were able to weather the storm. 

Functions need to be good at engaging the wider business environment in the debate and ensuring that the nature and structure of any policy is appropriate for their business environment.  Building partnerships and alliances is more appropriate in our increasingly networked organisations, rather than relying on traditional hierarchy. 

In our final instalment we will look at the key points from this mini-series and the priorities and challenges it illustrates for modern Functions supporting today's large organisations.  If you have experiences you wish to share, please comment here or contact us at feedback@agents2change.com