CEOs Set Speed and Agility Strategies as Part of Business Plan, Hewitt Study Shows.

Business Editors/Human Resources Writers

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2002

CEOs Look to HR to Help Lead Organizational Efforts

Corporate leaders recognize that as today's market conditions continue to change rapidly, their companies need to be more agile and quick in order to succeed. What's more, many of these top executives believe HR will play an important role in helping to improve organizational speed and agility, according to Hewitt Associates, a global outsourcing and consulting firm.

Hewitt surveyed CEOs and HR leaders representing 188 large companies in its study titled "Improving Your Organization's Speed and Agility," and found that 72 percent of CEOs have developed explicit speed and agility strategies in their business plans, which are designed to more effectively meet customer, employee and business needs. In fact, 62 percent of the CEOs surveyed have established specific speed and agility performance measures to track the success of these programs.

Meanwhile, these top executives revealed that people issues, such as a risk-averse culture, low motivation or lack of teamwork (74 percent); outdated technology (16 percent); and regulatory compliance (10 percent) are the biggest obstacles to improving speed and agility.

"The convergence of competition and technology has led companies to understand the importance of reacting quickly and correctly to ever-changing marketplace conditions, but this is easier said than done," said Suzanne Kenney, business leader for Hewitt Associates. "Companies creating a quick and agile environment need to focus on several key success factors such as an ability to set clear aspirations, develop a climate to enable and engage the right talent, create small-unit accountability, and foster a collective will. All of these things don't need to happen simultaneously. Instead, companies should initially focus on what's easiest for them to accomplish, which will help to establish a strong base and positive momentum."

The Role of Human Resources in Improving Speed and Agility

When asked if their company's HR function currently has a role in improving organizational speed and agility, 38 percent of the CEO respondents said yes, while 43 percent of the HR professionals surveyed answered in the affirmative. However, 71 percent of CEOs and 91 percent of HR executives believe HR should help lead the way in the company's future efforts to improve its speed and agility.

Additionally, HR survey participants believe that if their respective organizations were quicker and more nimble, it would result in significantly improved talent management efforts (81 percent), better M&A/restructuring initiatives (62 percent) and enhanced HR service delivery (50 percent). Conversely, HR executives cite three main barriers to creating a fast and agile environment within their organizations, including lack of agreement on what to do, lack of necessary technology and lack of necessary funding.

"As more leaders realize the importance of creating a fast and agile culture to drive organizational success, the bigger the role HR will have the potential to play," said Kenney. "In short, the impact of HR will depend on how well they provide solutions to the main barriers that exist throughout the organization. For instance, a good place to begin may be with technology to speed processes and decision making, as both CEOs and HR executives identified this as a common barrier to creating a fast and agile organization."

The Hewitt Associates study on "Improving Your Organization's Speed and Agility" is available by calling the Hewitt InfoDesk at [phone].

Hewitt Associates (www.hewitt.com) is a global outsourcing and consulting firm delivering a complete range of human capital management services to companies including: HR and Benefits Outsourcing, HR Strategy and Technology, Health Care, Organizational Change, Retirement and Financial Management, and Talent and Reward Strategies. We provide services from 80 offices in 37 countries.