News

The Top Five Benefits of Strategic Workforce Planning

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:01:25 GMT

New i4cp study shows that despite gains, most companies still struggle with strategic workforce planning.

Seattle, WA (January 31, 2012) - High-performance organizations are integrating workforce planning initiatives into their business and strategic planning processes more than ever, and the number of companies working on workforce planning has increased to over three quarters since 2009, according to a new study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp).

Still, many companies are struggling to see results, as only 16% of human capital professionals surveyed by i4cp in late 2011 rated their organizations as effective at workforce planning. However, high-performance organizations are nearly twice as likely as lower performers to be effective at it.

Although success at workforce planning eludes many organizations, the prospect of the profound benefits it promises makes it a critical must-have competency for business. A new report that outlines the study's key findings and features insights from i4cp member organizations including Toyota Financial Services, Black Hills Corporation and Luminant, explains the key benefits of devoting proper time and resources to implementing a workforce planning program.

Through research and in-depth discussions with senior executives, i4cp has identified that strategic workforce planning:

1. Supports the budgeting process

As workforce planning outputs continue to grow more robust, other business leaders are likely to follow the example set by their counterparts at higher-performing companies and rely more on this evolving resource to help feed the budgeting process.

2. Supports the strategic/business planning process

A director of HR at a major North American energy and utility provider says it best: "Strategic workforce planning is an embedded part of the annual and multi-year business planning process".

3. Identifies shortage of qualified talent to fill critical roles

Strategic workforce planning helps highlight talent shortages, speeding up the process of identifying sources of new talent that could, upon hire, make significant business impact.

4. Serves as a mechanism for identifying critical talent

With proper integration, workforce planning improves communication between human resources and business units and subsequently the ability to identify and retain the most important talent.

5. (tie) Identifies skills gaps in the workforce

"We've needed to have discussions about the people and skills our businesses need to accomplish strategic initiatives, and those conversations make more feasible planning possible," says Toyota Financial Services workforce planning & analysis manager Michael LeBrun.

5. (tie) Acts as a mechanism for identifying critical roles

Mirroring item four, business units are more able and willing to work with human resources to identify specific roles that, if left unfilled, could damage the organization's bottom line and simultaneously deliver greater returns if properly filled.

Realizing the benefits of strategic workforce planning is easier said than done; it takes time, training and sponsorship from the most senior levels of leadership. i4cp's new strategic workforce planning report - Strategic Workforce Planning: Practitioner Insights - explains how some companies are seeing results, both at the business level and within human resources. "Workforce planning is giving our HR business partners within each business unit the tools they need to take part in the units' strategy planning," says Beth Peters, organization development specialist for Black Hills Corp. "It's moving the perception of them beyond the transactional focus."

The strategic workforce planning report is now available exclusively to i4cp members and participants in i4cp's strategic workforce planning research working group, who aided in the development of the study. For more information about i4cp's research or the strategic workforce planning working group, please visit http://www.i4cp.com/solutions

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest-growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Reflective of this growth, i4cp was named to the prestigious 2011 500|5000 list. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, i4cp enables high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

With more than 40 years of experience and the industry's largest team of human capital analysts, i4cp is the definitive destination for organizations seeking innovative ways to improve workforce productivity. For more information, visit http://www.i4cp.com/

i4cp Study: The Best Companies are Getting Better

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:59:00 GMT

High-performance organizations are up to 7x as effective as low performers at managing some human capital issues.

Seattle, WA (January 20 2012) - What separates the top companies in the world from those struggling to stay afloat? Findings from The Best Get Better: The Critical Human Capital Issues of 2012 study from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) show that high-performing organizations - those that are up to seven times as effective as low performers at managing some human capital issues - have been consistently increasing capabilities in the areas they consider critical and have been doing so throughout the course of the global recession. Conversely, low-performing organizations are stalled when it comes to increasing management effectiveness, and are continually shifting focus to what's biting them at the time.

Considering the ongoing instability of the global market, kudos to those doing well. And woe to those straggling behind.

The "best are getting better" trend was a dominant theme in the 2012 iteration of i4cp's annual Critical Issues Survey, which identifies issues considered to be of critical importance to organizations. Respondents representing some of the top companies worldwide were queried about what they consider to be of chief importance to their organizations and, second, how effective their organizations are at managing those issues. The gaps between the two measures were used to calculate the critical issues, or those issues that resources can be focused on that will lead to the greatest bottom-line advantages.

"We consistently see that high-performance organizations are getting better and that one of the reasons for this is that they never stop striving to improve," said Eric Davis, i4cp's senior editor and author of the report.

"These organizations have already made themselves wildly more effective at managing the most important topics in human capital. But instead of high-fives all around when they add to their competencies, they are more likely to set their sights on the next level of development. They never let up on the core issues and they gauge peripheral issues - not just by what's hot at the time, but by what solid research has told them will be a concern in the future. That kind of agility and forethought has allowed the gap between high- and low-performing organizations to widen during the global recession and recovery."

One example of this can be seen in issues related to workforce measurement. High performers are adding rigor, accountability and stronger linkages between what happens in their organization and what they are measuring to determine success. These metrics are then used to guide decision making and align human capital to overall strategies throughout the organization. Lower performers, however, are drifting away from more effective workforce analytics, yet are reportedly struggling to master strategic planning, alignment and execution.

So in practice, high performers are bolstering organizational performance in the areas that low performers are striving to improve on by focusing on developing skills now that in the future will synergistically raises management ability in the more internally focuses, core areas.

Some other findings from this year's survey:

High-performance organizations claim effectiveness in some areas of leadership that are up to five times that of low performers. High performers are also continuing to make further strides in the struggle for effective leadership, while low performers continue spinning their wheels.
High performers are getting a handle on social media, human capital measurement and the changing nature of the role of HR ... issues that get completely overshadowed among low performers.
Top companies are looking to find greater competitive advantage in flexible work arrangements. Though they show only slightly greater effectiveness in managing flex work, high performers ascribe it nearly twice the importance of low performers.
High performers see a need to focus on external factors while low performers focus internally. This means issues like innovation, sustainability and global markets are on tap for high performers, while building (or rebuilding) the corporate brand is critical for low performers.
Knowledge retention is an area where basic skills are critical in a dynamic job market. Yet high and low performers both report decreased focus and ability in managing this issue, raising the fear that information vital for business continuity will be lost in a wave of post-recession job churn or retirement.

A deeper examination of the top critical issues, including those deemed most critical by high-performance organizations, are analyzed in the new i4cp report, now available for free.

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest-growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Reflective of this growth, i4cp was named to the prestigious 2011 500|5000 list. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, i4cp enables high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

Few Companies Track Internal Movement Despite Benefits

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:42:00 GMT

Internal movement tracks the quality of promotions and employee placement in new job roles, but only 30% of companies measure it.

Seattle, WA (November 17, 2011) - Two-thirds of high-performance organizations say they recognize the value of measuring internal movement rates among employees, but only 30% of companies actually do so. In a new report released this week, the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) offers several strategies to improve usage of this important metric and other workforce measurements.

Internal movement, a metric that looks at internal placement and promotion rates, provides a clearer picture of how valued employees are developing and progressing. Measuring the quality of internal movement provides several benefits that empowers organizations to:

Track development of employee segments, such as high potentials and diversity groups;
demonstrate to employees that they promote from within;
demonstrate to prospective employees that they deliver on promised advancement opportunities;
provide support for effective deployment of employees into critical roles.

Internal Movement Playbook: Leveraging the Power of Workforce Measurement is the culmination of research and analysis conducted by i4cp's talent management measurement working group, a consortium of organizations that collaborated to examine and understand how high-performance organizations are measuring their workforces.

i4cp's research, combined with in-depth discussions with talent management practitioners and thought leaders at several leading organizations, has determined that most companies have yet to grasp how to measure internal movement or to gauge its quality. The length of time needed to track employee transitions and the subsequent results complicates things - for example, it may take a year or more to determine whether or not a promotion was successful.

The playbook explores how specific companies are overcoming such hurdles to gain a clearer understanding of their workforce. i4cp member-company AIG has assembled an HR data council of business unit leaders to standardize human capital metrics throughout the company, while another i4cp member, Toyota Financial Services, is building a data mart to gather a wide range of metrics and reports that factor into strategic decision-making.

i4cp's Internal Movement Playbook is now available exclusively to i4cp member organizations, providing the fast-growing network of leading organizations with strategies and solutions to overcome workforce measurement deficiencies.

In 2012, i4cp will examine global talent management issues through its Talent Management Exchange working group. Issues addressed will include how global companies are dealing with talent shortages, localized labor relations, and other concerns. Other i4cp working groups currently accepting new applicants include:

Executive Leadership Development Exchange
Performance Management Exchange
Strategic Workforce Planning Exchange
Evidence-based HR Exchange
Employee Engagement Exchange
HR Technology Exchange

For more information about i4cp's research or its 2012 working groups, please contact the company at http://www.i4cp.com/contact

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest-growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Reflective of this growth, i4cp was named to the prestigious 2011 500|5000 list. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, i4cp enables high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

i4cp Launches Expert Network

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:00:00 GMT

New service gives human capital professionals instant access to thousands of practitioner experts

Seattle, WA (October 27, 2011) - i4cp announced today the launch of an exciting new service for human capital practitioners: The i4cp Expert Network, which enables unparalleled access to thousands of experts on people strategies in many of the world's highest-performing companies. Unlike most other networks for human capital professionals, the i4cp Expert Network is focused solely on practitioners, and closed to vendors and consultants.

The i4cp Expert Network makes it easy to connect with practitioners who have been identified as experts in one or more of 40+ strategic areas of human resources-related functions such as talent management, organizational effectiveness, performance management, workforce analytics and succession planning.

"I love LinkedIn, but LinkedIn won't tell you who is an expert in strategic workforce planning or talent management," says Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp. "The i4cp Expert Network brings to life our robust network of peers in many top global companies by connecting practitioners and their issues with the best people to help solve their issues - domain experts in top companies around the world."

"What makes the service especially powerful is that when i4cp members ask a question, they won't be bombarded by vendors and consultants looking for new business," added Oakes. "The i4cp Expert Network is completely private and restricted to practitioners who want to hear from and exchange ideas with their peers and colleagues."

The i4cp Expert Network service is available to all i4cp member organizations as part of a standard membership package.

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest-growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Reflective of this growth, i4cp was named to the prestigious 2011 Inc. 500|5000 list. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, i4cp enables high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

i4cp Study: Companies Not Using Leadership Competencies Linked to Improving Performance

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:28:00 GMT

Only 23% of business leaders surveyed describe their companies as being strong at developing future leaders

Seattle, WA (October 24, 2011) - Companies are going to see an increasing shortage of leaders capable of thriving in a global, fast-paced economy, according to a new study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). Fewer than a quarter of organizations surveyed say they're highly effective at developing future leaders, and most companies are not emphasizing the leadership competencies that lead to improved market performance.

Research highlighted in a new i4cp report on leadership competencies - now available exclusively to i4cp member organizations - shows that popular leadership competencies most commonly featured in development programs, such as having knowledge of the business, industry and customer, ethics, and an understanding of the bottom line, are not the most impactful when it comes to improved business performance.

The report breaks down and analyzes high-performance leadership competencies in two categories: business-related competencies and relationship and communication competencies.

The top business competencies correlated with market performance are:

Strategy development
Having a global mindset
Decision-making from a synthesis of internal and external influences
Organizational development
Strategy execution

"Strategy execution" is the only highly popular leadership competency that also correlates with market performance.

"Developing leaders continues to be a perennial challenge for organizations. Demand is increasing for leaders with the ability to manage a global business and develop innovative and highly adaptive business strategies, but supply can't keep up," said Carol Morrison, i4cp senior analyst and author of the report. "With so many companies admitting they're not very good at developing future leaders, and their emphasis on competencies that aren't linked to market success, I see major leadership talent shortages in the near future."

More on the study and report is available for free in a recently published article Why Your Leadership Competencies May Be Failing to Deliver. Full analysis and interactive data from the study are available to i4cp members at http://www.i4cp.com/leadership/effective-leadership

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Reflective of this growth, in 2011 i4cp was named to the prestigious Inc. 500 / 5000 list. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, i4cp enables high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

i4cp Records Record Third Quarter

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:32:00 GMT

New member additions to the network and existing member renewals propel company to nearly 100% growth over the same period last year

Seattle, WA (October 12, 2010) - The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) - the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations - continued to expand its growing membership with a record third quarter in 2011. Several well-known organizations joined i4cp's members-only community, including Boeing, The New York Times, U.S. Steel, FirstEnergy, SunTrust Banks, W.W. Grainger, The Mosaic Company, Grange Mutual Casualty Group, Navistar, CVS/Caremark, Avnet, Southern California Edison, Choice Hotels, Scripps Networks Interactive, Merck and several others.

As members, these organizations are part of an exclusive network that contributes to i4cp's highly acclaimed research and peer community. In addition to these new members, over 90% of i4cp's existing members who were up for renewal in the quarter re-upped their access to the network, including companies such as Walt Disney, 3M, Qualcomm, PNC Financial, Wells Fargo, ING, ABC Media, Schneider Electric, Ameriprise Financial, Northrop Grumman, MetLife, Shell Oil, Exxon, Federal Express, Darden Restaurants, Bank of Montreal and over a dozen others.

New members, renewals and other programs propelled i4cp to a record third quarter, which represented nearly 100% growth over the same time period a year ago.

"We're thrilled with the growth we showed in the third quarter, which is now our second biggest quarter to date," said Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp. "But we get more excited about the innovative people practices our members have put into place based on the best and next practices we are pulling from the network. No matter what human capital area we research, we consistently uncover unique practices of high-performing organizations that companies of all sizes can learn from and emulate."

During the third quarter of 2011, i4cp conducted several groundbreaking studies on the practices that define high-performance organizations. i4cp's research is provided to members in an interactive format that allows organizations to benchmark against companies of a similar size, industry and other variables. Recent studies include:

Tying Pay to Performance
Learning to Innovate (published in partnership with ASTD)
The State of Employee Healthcare Benefits
Metrics of High-Performance Talent Management: Time-to-full-productivity
Metrics of High-Performance Talent Management: Quality of Movement
Innovate or Perish: Building a Culture of Innovation

Additionally, i4cp successfully launched its new Employee Engagement Exchange, a working group of member companies exploring research and next practices specific to engaging the workforce to drive business results. This is one of several groups that i4cp currently sponsors and facilitates.

For more information on the benefits of membership and how to join i4cp, please go to http://www.i4cp.com/solutions/.

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Reflective of this growth, in 2011 i4cp was named to the prestigious Inc. 500 / 5000 list. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, i4cp enables high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

Companies Tying Employee Pay to Performance Increases 17% in Last Two Years

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:34:00 GMT

New i4cp report reveals how high-performance organizations are more effective at using pay for performance approaches

Seattle, WA (September 8, 2011) - Over 90% of organizations now say they are tying salary increases and annual bonuses to specific performance measures, up from 78% in 2009, according to a new study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). Despite these high numbers, the study also shows that many companies aren't successfully executing their pay for performance strategy.

i4cp's new report Tying Pay to Performance outlines several key findings, including that more than three-quarters of high-performance organizations tie pay to performance to at least a moderate extent, while less than two-thirds of lower-performers do the same. There is little doubt that as signs of steady progress become more evident in the recovery of economies worldwide, organizations will need to move toward a pay for performance culture in order to remain competitive.

"The existence of a pay for performance strategy alone is not a differentiator between high- and low-performing organizations - most organizations, regardless of market performance, reported that they are using some sort of pay for performance strategy," said David Wentworth, a i4cp Senior Analyst and author of the report. "Rather, it is the approach taken in executing this strategy that separates the high-performance organizations from the rest of the pack."

One clear differentiator is what drives the strategy internally. Despite the weak economy and curtailed compensation budgets, just 6% of survey respondents identified the compensation budget as the primary driver of the pay for performance strategy. Budget constraints are third on the list for low-performers, but not in the top five for high-performers. So high-performers are driven by something else, and the survey found that the something else is driven by a clear focus on pay for performance results.

Nearly half of high-performing organizations indicate that recognizing and rewarding high-performers is the main driver of their pay for performance strategy, making it number one on the list of primary drivers. A distant second is increasing the likelihood of achieving corporate goals.

Lower-performing organizations are not as sure about the drivers behind their strategy. The number one driver among this group is achieving corporate goals, chosen by nearly one-third, while recognizing and rewarding high-performers was cited second with 30%.

i4cp's Tying Pay to Performance report also explores:

The effectiveness of pay-for-performance for a variety of business and individual outcomes
Trends in forced ranking and forced distribution models
The importance of managers and training in the execution of the strategy
Pay trends and benchmarks

The report also continues executive insights from i4cp member companies Amway and Hertz. The report is now available to i4cp corporate members at http://www.i4cp.com

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

High-Performance Organizations Use Health Care to Compete for Talent

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:37:00 GMT

New i4cp study on health care benefits reveals many organizations are not fully leveraging incentives to drive optimal health care decisions

Seattle, WA (August 25, 2011) - Health care benefits are considered an important part of employee compensation, but 65% of the benefits professionals surveyed by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) say that they are not integrated into the total rewards strategy. A new i4cp study explains that further incorporating health care into the total rewards strategy is one of several ways organizations can use this important benefit to attract and retain top talent and to get the most out of health care spend.

A new i4cp report, titled The State of Employee Health Care Benefits, reveals several key findings and offers several recommendations to organizations looking to gain the greatest advantage from consistently rising health care costs. The report is based on a study conducted with 138 health care benefits specialists. Findings include:

Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) are the most commonly offered plan type in 2011, followed by consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs).
Less than half of respondents stated that CDHPs are prevalent in their organizations, surprising given the pressure to manage health care costs more effectively.
Health care benefit plan offerings are not likely to change dramatically in 2012.
Despite major changes in health care law, respondents reported virtually no anticipated changes from 2011 plan year offerings.
Employee health and health finance literacy are only moderately emphasized. However, high-performance organizations are much more likely to emphasize health and finance literacy (75%) than lower-performing organizations (45%).
Individual employees are not held accountable for lifestyle choices that increase health care costs.
Only 32% of respondents agree that individual employees are held accountable for lifestyle choices that increase health care costs.
Incentives connected to healthy lifestyle choices are not common.
There is little use of incentives to drive employee behavior toward the most appropriate health plan or healthy lifestyle choices.
Communication channels matter.
The study shows that high-performance organizations utilize specific communication channels to educate employees on their health care plans.

"Many companies are still taking a wait-and-see approach with health care, but our findings show that making some bold moves now - in how health care is presented and communicated to employees - will lead to a competitive edge in the labor market," said Amit Mohindra, i4cp's director of research and author of the report. "We're seeing high-performance organizations beginning to inject some vitality into their health care benefits approach. This report helps bring their practices to light so other companies in our membership can understand what they're doing differently."

The full implications of recent health care legislation are just beginning to emerge, but there already exists several opportunities for organizations to make their health care investment more productive - and truly competitive. The State of Employee Health Care Benefits report explores these opportunities. The study:

Presents key findings from i4cp's 2011 health care benefits study and outlines their implications,
Discusses medical plan design strategies,
Provides nine recommendations to take greater advantage of health care benefits.

The report is now available to i4cp corporate members at http://www.i4cp.com

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) Named to Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:45:18 GMT

i4cp Ranks No. 916 on the 2011 Inc. 500|5000 with Three-Year Sales Growth of 332%

Seattle, WA (August 23, 2011) - Inc. magazine today ranked the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) number 916 on its fifth annual Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy - America's independent entrepreneurs.

"We are extremely proud to be represented in the top 1000 of fastest growing companies," said Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp. "Our growth over the last few years has made us the largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. With over 9 out of 10 of member organizations renewing year over year, we expect to continue the trend for years to come."

The company's growth far exceeds the average growth rate among Inc. 500|5000 companies, which was an impressive 95%. The companies on the list report having created 350,000 jobs in the past three years, and aggregate revenue among the honorees reached $366 billion, up 14% from last year.

i4cp, which helps business leaders make more informed decisions about their human capital initiatives, continues to add many of the world's most prominent brands to its network. Members who recently joined include Abbott Laboratories, Noble Energy, Huntington Ingalls Industries, The World Bank, Grange Mutual, Expedia and Morgan Stanley, among others.

Many of i4cp's member organizations also participate in peer-driven research working groups called Exchanges. This year alone i4cp launched five working groups, each dedicated to a pressing human capital topic:

Performance Management
Strategic Workforce Planning
Evidence-based HR
Employee Engagement, and
Human Capital Technology

i4cp is still accepting new participants in its Employee Engagement and Human Capital Technology groups. To learn more about i4cp, to become a member or to learn about other solutions the company provides, please visit http://www.i4cp.com/solutions

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

Want More Innovation? Hire For It

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:12:00 GMT

New report from i4cp and 3M reveals that most companies aren't attracting innovative people

Seattle, WA (July 12, 2011) - In today's 24/7 global business environment, in which competition can spring up anywhere overnight and product life cycles are increasingly abbreviated, innovation is a prerequisite for continuing success and long-term survival. New research from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and 3M Corporation shows that 70% of companies believe innovation is more important today than it was just two years ago.

But research highlighted in the new report, Innovate or Perish: Building a Culture of Innovation, shows that most companies are missing opportunities to drive innovation, most notably during the hiring process.

While selecting the right people to spark innovation is widely acknowledged to be critical, the top methods for recruiting and selecting creative people are not being utilized by most companies. People who are innovative and creative tend to know other people of like mind - referral programs that emphasize innovation have the highest correlation to market performance (.19), meaning companies who do this typically have higher revenue, profitability, market share and customer satisfaction than their competitors. However, less than 7% of respondents from all organizations use referrals to attract innovative people.

Also, searching for and tracking innovative people in graduate school and in other organizations has a high correlation with market performance, but less than 15% of high-performance organizations employ this strategy.

Beyond talent acquisition practices, most organizations admit that they are not doing a good job of managing innovation internally - and only 31% of companies say a culture of innovation permeates their culture to a high extent.

High-performance organizations are more than twice as likely (44%) as lower-performers (20%) to embrace innovation. More telling, these companies have cultures that lead to greater innovation through reward and leadership practices, as well as approaches to processes and metric tracking.

Innovate or Perish: Building a Culture of Innovation explores what high-performance organizations are doing differently in each of these areas, providing a framework for other organizations to build off the successes of the most innovative companies in the world.

"This i4cp/3M study is important because it looks at innovation broadly, not as a feature of product development but as a very human endeavor. Innovation must permeate through every facet of a company, from customer service to human resources," said Karen B. Paul, Ph.D., Manager, Talent Assessment, 3M. "Human capital functions such as HR play a significant role in making innovation systemic, but how often do you hear about their involvement? This study helps to tell the story of both critical aspects of an innovative culture and the role Human Resources plays in facilitating culture development."

Innovate or Perish: Building a Culture of Innovation is now available to corporate members.

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

New Study: High-Performance Organizations Place Greater Emphasis on Agility and Innovation

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:54:00 GMT

New findings available from the i4cp and Human Resource Executive® 2011 High-Performance Organizations Report

Seattle, WA (June 14, 2011) - The best companies in the world are increasingly embracing agility and willingness to change in response to economic conditions and continuous innovation, according to new research conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and Human Resource Executive®.

i4cp and Human Resource Executive® partnered to continue the annual study that examines human capital practices that lead to high-market performance. The 2011 report is now available for free on i4cp's website at www.i4cp.com and is featured in the June 16, 2011 edition of Human Resource Executive®.

Research participants - which consisted of human resources professionals representing companies with more than 1,000 employees and from a wide spectrum of industries, including the public sector - were asked to rank their own organizations in each of the five human capital domains i4cp research has shown to be highly correlated with market performance.

While the five domains - strategy, leadership, talent, culture and market - remained consistent, the issues making up each index provided some revealing trends:

High-performers are placing an increasing emphasis on agility and commitment to innovation. Three of the five culture-focused questions most correlated with high-market performance had to do with these attributes, showing that the best companies can respond faster to economic changes and new opportunities.
High-performing organizations look ahead more than lower-performers do, and they use predictive data to drive long-term orientations in multiple areas. They inform product and service design with predictive insights with the aim of meeting customer needs over long time periods, and to identify and address future customer needs.
The top firms present the same face internally that they present externally. The brand identity the world sees is consistent with the employee value proposition and the strategies that define and achieve business objectives.
High-performing companies outstrip lower-performers in their approaches to performance management. Because workers in such organizations understand the connection between their jobs and business strategies, the behaviors needed to accomplish company objectives are more readily apparent, too.

"High-performance organizations are the role models of the corporate world," said Jay Jamrog, SVP of Research, i4cp. "Our research has shown that these companies consistently place an emphasis on the five key domains of human capital. As this year's results show, their dedication to innovation and agility is intensifying. They're preparing for rapid change and it's going to be harder and harder for other, slower responding companies to keep up."

To gain more insights on high-performance that can be applied in your own organization, download the full report for free at www.i4cp.com

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

i4cp Continues Rapid Growth with Record First Quarter

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 11:39:00 GMT

Sales Grow by More Than 100% Compared to Same Period Last Year

Seattle, WA (April 18, 2011) - The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) - the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high performance organizations - continued its rapid growth with the largest first quarter in company history.

Sales more than doubled from the same period in 2010 as organizations such as Morgan Stanley, Randstad, Rubbermaid Newell, Expedia, Waste Management, Levi Strauss, Genzyme, J Crew and many others joined the i4cp network.

"Member companies see i4cp as a primary conduit to understanding the practices of high performance organizations," said Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp. "Our amazing growth is a response to demand for a vendor-free network of peer experts and human capital research that reveals best and next practices. We're honored to expand our network to include these world-recognized companies."

Beyond membership growth, i4cp also found success in the launch of several new research Exchanges. These exclusive working groups bring together peers from multiple companies to collaborate on research and share best practices to overcome critical organizational challenges.

In the first quarter, i4cp launched the Performance Management Exchange and Strategic Workforce Planning Exchange. Current groups that are accepting corporate participants are focused on evidence-based HR approaches, employee engagement and HR technology vendor management.

i4cp also successfully launched the Chief Learning and Talent Officer Board, a collaboration of prominent CLOs and Chief Talent Officers from major organizations. This is the first of several executive-level boards the company is launching in 2011.

In concert with its unprecedented corporate growth, the company continues to add talent to the organization with strategic hires internally, as well as prominent additions to its board of directors that include top thought leaders in the industry. i4cp recently announced the addition of Dr. John Boudreau to its board, and is also very proud to announce the addition of Amit Mohindra to its research team. Amit, who recently accepted a position as director of primary research for i4cp, has an impressive background in economics research and has developed considerable corporate human resources experience at firms such as IBM and Goldman Sachs.

For more information on the benefits of membership, please go to http://www.i4cp.com/solutions/

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

3M Awarded i4cp's 2011 Member of the Year

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT

3M Receives Prestigious Award for Its Dedication to Innovation, Productivity and Employee Engagement

Seattle, WA (March 30, 2010) - 3M Corporation (http://www.i4cp.com/c8DOle was awarded the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) 2011 Member of the Year today during a presentation at the i4cp 2011 Annual Conference. This award is presented annually to an i4cp member company that has demonstrated unique and successful programs to increase workforce productivity within their organization.

Karen B. Paul, Ph.D., Manager, Talent Solutions, received the award.

"3M is incredibly honored to receive i4cp's Member of the Year Award," said Paul. "Given 3M's continued commitment to maintaining an engaged and innovative workforce, it's great to be recognized by the Institute for Corporate Productivity for our accomplishments and dedication to high performance."

3M, a longtime member of i4cp, was awarded for its focus on developing engagement and innovation over the last five years. During the last few years, 3M has rekindled its creativity and reinvigorated its innovation engine. Engaged 3M employees around the world are using the company's vast technology platforms to develop innovative solutions.

Supported by the executive team, 3M's HR team developed a strategy to tackle a variety of engagement and innovation issues they identified, which included:

Providing trust and engagement training and education to supervisors
Opening channels of communication to jumpstart innovation
Building awareness and participation in 3M programs focused on the environment, individual health and community involvement
More closely linking pay to performance

These and other workforce improvements are outlined in an article co-authored by Paul in the January 2011 edition of HR Magazine.

"Awarding just a few of the many great members we have in our network is never easy, but 3M stood out for its devotion to innovation and productivity through an efficient, engaged workforce," said Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp.

Two other member organizations also received awards at the conference:

The 2011 High Performance Award was presented to Flextronics International, for demonstrating commitment to high performance both in utilization of i4cp membership and market growth; and
The 2011 New Member of the Year Award was awarded to ConAgra Foods, for extensive utilization of i4cp membership, involvement in the i4cp network and dedication to achieving high performance.

"It's a great honor to receive i4cp's New Member Award. We value the breadth of knowledge and research i4cp provides ConAgra Foods and look forward to working closely with them in the future," said Jackie Drown, Director of Organizational Development for ConAgra Foods. "Frankly, if we were to cancel our i4cp membership, our team would have an uprising."

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

i4cp Study Shows More Top Companies Are Examining the Business Case for Inclusion

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:17:06 GMT

High performance organizations are three times more likely to devote resources to analyze how an inclusive culture leads to business productivity.

Seattle, WA (March 23, 2011) - Striving for an inclusive culture is a part of most companies' people strategies, but pinning down inclusion success - and what that means to the business as a whole - continues to be a challenge. However, new research just published by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) shows that the best market performing companies are looking to make an analytical case for an inclusive business culture.

Tying inclusion success to business performance

While two-thirds of companies surveyed indicated that inclusion is a part of their people strategy, few companies are actually searching for a connection with business performance in an analytical or meaningful way.

However, i4cp research shows that higher market performers are three times more likely to devote the necessary resources to exploring the linkage between inclusion measures and the overall productivity of the enterprise. These companies are going beyond their intuition about this connection to establish an analytical case for inclusion.

Furthermore, high performance organizations are 88% more likely to attempt to quantify the effects of inclusion strategies and initiatives.

As a result, it's not surprising that 33% of higher performing companies said their employee inclusion initiatives were highly effective, compared to only 18% of low performers.

Building corporate and employer brands around an inclusive culture

High performers also understand far better than low-performing companies that inclusion is a vital part of building both their brand as an employer and, more importantly, their corporate branding overall. High-performers are far more likely than low-performers (25% compared to only 11%) to compete for employer-of-choice awards, and are also far more likely (62% compared to 54%) to include inclusion specific messaging in their overall corporate branding via their website and other public-facing materials.

More research findings, case studies and actionable strategies are available in the new i4cp report Inclusion Measurement: Policies and Practices of High Performance Organizations, available now exclusively to i4cp member companies.

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact

Dr. John Boudreau Joins i4cp’s Board of Directors

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Renowned human capital expert will provide guidance and research insight as the company continues its rapid growth

The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) - the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations - announced today that Dr. John Boudreau has joined the company's board of directors.

Dr. Boudreau is currently Professor and Research Director at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and Center for Effective Organizations. He is recognized worldwide for his breakthrough research on the bridge between superior human capital, talent and creating sustainable competitive advantages. Dr. Boudreau consults and conducts executive development training with companies worldwide that seek to maximize their employees' effectiveness by discovering the specific, strategic, bottom-line impact of superior people and human capital strategies.

"I'm thrilled to have John join our board of directors. He's been a great friend and collaborator for i4cp over the years and is one of the most universally respected researchers and thought leaders in the field of human capital," said Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp. "We doubled in size last year, are doubling again this year and continue to expand our offerings. John's advice and guidance are exactly what i4cp needs as we continue with this exponential pace of growth."

Said Dr. Boudreau, "i4cp has a long history of excellence in the field of human capital. I've always admired the research that i4cp conducts and can see the value of the network of high-performance organizations that they've built. I'm honored to join the company's board of directors during a period of tremendous growth and opportunity, and to work with Kevin Oakes, Jay Jamrog, John Gibbons and the rest of the excellent team members at the company."

Dr. Boudreau is an accomplished author, and has published numerous books and articles. His most recent book publications include Beyond HR: The New Science of Human Capital, with Peter M. Ramstad, Investing in People, with Wayne F. Cascio and Transformative HR, to be published in late 2011. Another book, Achieving Strategic Excellence in HR, will be published in 2012.

His consulting and research clients include some of the best known corporations and government agencies in the world. His large-scale research studies and focused field research addresses the future of the global HR profession, HR measurement and analytics, decision-based HR, executive mobility, HR information systems and organizational staffing and development.

Dr. Boudreau was recently elected Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), and is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources. He has served on the board of advisors for the Human Resource Planning Society, and for WorldatWork. He is a Trustee for the Foundation of the National Academy of Human Resources.

For more information on i4cp, please go to http://www.i4cp.com.

About i4cp, inc.

i4cp is the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Through a combination of peer networking, human capital research, tools and technology, we enable high performance by:

Revealing what high-performance organizations are doing differently
Identifying best and next practices for all levels of management
Providing the resources to show how workforce improvements have bottom-line impact