Apr 13, 2023

Connecting Growth to the Frontlines

Most strategies are about growing a business. But about a quarter of companies are not growing at all, and even before the pandemic, only one in eight achieved annual revenue growth of more than 10%, according to data in S&P Global regulatory filings compiled and analyzed by McKinsey. . One reason is the failure to connect the C-Suite plan with the frontline people who handle the source of growth: customers. This connection is especially important in a slowing-growth, inflationary environment, and here are three areas where L&D can help build fundamentals:

Developing strategy – many companies confuse strategy with top-down vision or goals, produce vague aspirational statements, and somehow expect a coherent front line response to priorities.

Think silently

Merger with Schering-Plough. Senior management recognizes that a top-down approach to potential merger database synergies may lead to overestimation of revenues and reductions in expenses. They choose to have growth initiatives come from the front lines of every business unit globally, and L&D managers are part of that process. Merck then selected seven enterprise-level resourcing initiatives. Ownership of priorities and front-line focus were aligned, and Merck delivered double-digit growth post-merger compared to most M&A experiences.

Skills Development – Linking growth to the frontline means developing skills that are relevant to the company’s strategy, not those in a generic approach or service tagline. To do so, learn some basics of adult learning, especially for busy frontline workers. An effective method should not take net time from their activities, but utilize peer learning. People get better by watching how their best peers perform key tasks. New technologies can provide timely access to best practice peers and in the form of increased understanding.

Ernst & Young CEO

Carmine Di Sibio states: “When we developed NextWave’s global strategy, the central tenet was ‘customer centricity’, which meant investing in our front-line account teams. We transferred 200 head America email list of customer relations to our marketing department, “Unbundle” them from specific service lines so they can focus on client relationships and bring their clients the best that EY has to offer.