Linkage, Inc Releases New Research on Leading the Global Workforce
By Louis Carter, David Giber, Phil Harkins, Mark Sobol, Madeline Tarquinio
Originally published in the October 2004 Issue of Link & Learn. 
Linkage, Inc.'s new research study, Best Practices in Leading the Global Workforce, profiles what the world's leading global organizations are doing by way of leading, learning, changing, and performing throughout multiple countries. It includes fourteen in-depth practical case studies of how leaders within these organizations are implementing their global leadership development, succession planning, career transition, supply chain management and human resources development initiatives using innovative tools, instruments, concepts, and competency models. This book can be used as a guide for organizations looking to achieve results in managing and sustaining a global workforce.
International policy in today's changing environment is defined in terms of global workforce management. The events of 9/11 created an economic slowdown that forced companies to compete in a global economy. The world's best organizations are now looking outward and recognizing that an inclusive and open global society is crucial to achieving political, economic and social progress. A flexible job market and global growth will boast the U.S. economy and even create more jobs at home, as companies now earn up to $1.14 for every dollar spent abroad. An open global society will bring results that extend beyond financial success, as these companies can now focus on improving performance through training, leadership development and a sense of "corporate social responsibility".
Global workforce management involves more than just outsourcing. It encompasses:
(1) Cross-cultural training
(2) Best practices for recruiting
(3) Hiring and training qualified employees
(4) Managing performance globally
(5) Building global leaders
(6) Working with the local culture
These social, educational and economic factors will bring organizations long-term success and economic growth. Today's most successful organizations thrive with open global systems.
Organizations used as Case Studies
Linkage selected a diverse group of organizations from a multitude of industries to contribute to this book, including Agilent Technologies, The Boppy Company, Colgate- Palmolive, The Dow Chemical Company, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald's, Motorola, Pfizer, Tower Automotives, UNICEF, Verizon Dominicana, Volvo, and Wyeth. These organizations have shown continuous change and development that can be found in the following features: developing global leaders, cultural communication, global and local perspectives, support from all levels of the organization and outsourcing.
Developing leadership, whether at the global or local level, was a key component of each organization's global workforce management initiative. Leaders have the challenge of implementing the workforce principles used at home to overseas markets. The following are examples from the contributing organizations:
(1) McDonald's introduced three initiatives for developing leadership talent: re-design of the performance development system (PDS) for all staff positions, introduction of the Talent Review Process for all officer level positions, and development and roll-out of the Leaders at the McDonald's Program (LAMP).
(2) Dow Chemicals designed a "reward and recognition" program to identify the best practices in leadership development.
(3) Agilent Technologies offered an innovative approach to global leadership development by "redefining the finish line from the last day of class to on the job application".
(4) Pfizer Inc.'s global leadership development program, Advance Transition, consisted of three stages including on-ramp preparation, a residential program and on-the-job application.
In order to achieve sustained global workforce management and continued results, global efforts must be balanced with local perspectives.
(5) The Colgate-Palmolive Company developed a program to develop the skills necessary to fulfill its companies' values and principles, both globally and locally. This business initiative consisted of two phases. Phase 1, "Valuing Colgate People", and Phase 2, "Managing with Respect", both aimed to create a global strategy with local implementation.
(6) The Volvo 3P Group faced the challenge of managing HR areas on a global level and at the same time abiding by local laws, regulations and procedures.
(7) The initiatives of Pfizer Inc. and Wyeth also emphasized the importance of global implementation while respecting the diversity at the local levels.
Outsourcing is also an important topic for companies facing competition in a global economy. Several of the case studies included in this book recognize the growth opportunity associated with outsourcing.
(8) The Boppy Company implemented a program to effectively use outsourcing to increase the growth of the organization, reduce costs of goods and ensure social responsibility.
(9) Tower Automotive's initiative stressed the innovation needed to make outsourcing effective and to compete in today's environment. Tower Automotive chose India as a backdrop center for its program of a New Technical Service Model and faced challenges of reducing costs and bringing new products to a competitive market.
Survey Analysis & Results
To provide additional context for the case studies presented in this book, Linkage asked these contributors to complete a survey to gain a more comprehensive view of their global workforce leadership programs. The survey addressed 5 critical areas of these organizations' initiatives:
(1) business diagnosis
(2) resistance to change
(3) design and implementation
(4) evaluation
(5) summary
Although each organization differs with respect to number of employees, type of industry and amount of yearly revenues, they each share a commitment to an inclusive global society. In order to be successful in today's environment, organizations must compete on a global stage and be open to innovation.
Before designing a global workforce leadership initiative, each organization recognized the need to diagnose the business. Using a needs assessment to determine the best course of action, these organizations were able to consider the global environment and the cultural, leadership and organizational challenges organizations are facing internationally. Needs assessment allowed these organizations to identify the priorities and specific issues important to their leaders, employees, customers, and both the global and local communities.
Diagnosis for these best organizations considered topics such as global business process outsourcing, recruiting and developing global leaders, cross-cultural, global organizational learning and training, and managing global careers. A central issue for almost every organization involved developing global leaders. Among the global workforce needs identified, 79% of the 14 organizations felt that recruiting and developing global leaders was one of the most crucial needs for organizations today.
While organizations relied on a critical mass of supporters for their global workforce initiative, challengers and resistance to change helped bring clarity to the program and helped to guide the design process. The support and commitment from senior leadership was instrumental in allowing these organizations to achieve success. Our survey revealed that the top champions of change in most of these best practice organizations came from senior executives, officers, board members, and the president or chief officer.
Senior executives took steps to fight opposition, to gain support for the program, and to overcome the challenges associated with implementing these initiatives. The senior executives in 71% of these organizations were active in allocating funds for the initiative, modeling behavior that was consistent with the vision and the strategy of the initiative, and facilitating education and training. In many of these organizations, these leaders also integrated the initiative into the overall strategic plan, frequently articulated the business case for change and tied compensation directly with the initiative.
The survey results emphasize the importance of senior management support in developing global leaders and balancing global and local perspectives. When asked to identify the top critical success factors, 100% of these best practice organizations identified "support and participation of senior management". These organizations faced the task of implementing a change initiative that would achieve results throughout the world. This enabled these best practice organizations to make a strong business case for their global workforce leadership programs.
During the design process, it became clear that other internal systems of the organization were supported or integrated in these initiatives. The affects of these global programs on other divisions of the organization proves that the change initiatives for leading a global workforce impact the entire organization and its overall mission and values. Coaching and mentoring was indicated by 93% of the survey respondents. Training and education and leadership development were also indicated by a large number of organizations, as these functions are now focusing on a global workforce and cultural transitions in today's global environment.
A trend developed as these organizations needed to design a program that supported the global values and still respected the uniqueness of local cultures. In the majority of these case studies, leadership needed to understand the expectations of different cultural groups. In developing these initiatives, our survey results revealed the various challenges organizations faced in achieving global growth.
Evaluation & Summary
Evaluation was essential in providing organizations with insight on how to revise or strengthen a program and to determine the level of success. The evaluation helped organizations understand how to connect the initiative back to its overall mission. Evaluation also helped these organizations understand how they balanced global and local perspectives. Although evaluation is done differently in every country, each organization used similar methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the global workforce leadership program. Several of the best practice organizations in this book used methods, such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups, both during and after the initiatives.
Global workforce management is essential for economic development and growth in an international environment. Today's most successful organizations thrive in an open and inclusive global society. The initiatives in this book have achieved results in managing and sustaining a global workforce. These case studies provide innovative initiatives on areas such as developing global leaders, outsourcing, cultural changes, and global performance management. These organizations have included practical tools, instruments and materials to provide results for customers, employees and the global community. The strategies these organizations have developed for their global workforce initiatives share a commitment to corporate social responsibility, developing global leaders and continuous change.
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Louis Carter is Vice President of Research at Linkage, Inc. Carter has written/edited and directed over six books, numerous leading research projects, and learning and development programs on leadership and change. His newest books include Change Champion's Fieldguide, Best Practices in Leadership Development and Organization Change (Jossey Bass: 2004), Best Practices in Leading the Global Workforce (Linkage Press: 2004), and America's Best Led Hospitals.
David Giber is a Senior Vice President at Linkage, Inc. focused on leadership development. David has more than 20 years of experience in organizational development, human resource management, leadership development, and executive coaching. Nationally known as a leader in his field, he has consulted with leaders from a wide variety of international corporations, universities, and other organizations on issues such as succession planning, management development, action learning, executive coaching, workforce assessment, and developing performance and selection systems.
Phil Harkins is President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Linkage, Inc., the company that he founded in 1988. Phil is also an internationally-known expert in the fields of organizational development, leadership, communications, and executive coaching. Phil has worked with leaders, leadership teams, and boards in more than 25 countries.
Mark R. Sobol, M.A., is the founding principal of Leadership Strategies International, Inc. and is part of A4SL Coaching & Consulting, founded by Marshall Goldsmith, a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, measurable change behavior: for themselves, their people and teams. Mark has gained international recognition from his work as a collaborator with executives of major corporations engaged in the design, engineering, and leadership of strategic change as they merge, acquire, launch new businesses, or transition to a new direction for their future.
Madeline Tarquinio is a Research Analyst for Linkage, Inc.'s Research Group. Before joining Linkage, she worked at Boston University while earning her M.A. degree in International Relations.
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