Category Archives: Finance & Strategy

How to Scare Over 500,000 Employees in One Day

By Mark Stelzner | Published: September 15, 2008
The numbers keep adding up and the impact on the global workforce could be staggering.  A litany of venerable and long-standing institutions have fallen victim to the current state of our nation’s increasingly fragile economic reality.  Let’s look at today’s potential body count: Lehman Brothers – 26,000 global employees; files for bankruptcy. AIG – 116,000 global [...]
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Firm Survival and Employee Turnover

By Mark Stelzner | Published: July 30, 2008
I’ve received a lot of questions as of late regarding current economic conditions and employee risk.  Both business leaders and employees are struggling with the realities of a down market crashing against a personal need for sustainability and financial security.  Employees are inclined to hide, stay out of sight, not rock the boat and somehow [...]
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The (Uncomfortable) Seat at the (Rotating) Table

By Mark Stelzner | Published: July 21, 2008
Believe me, I know…you’re sick and tired of yet another “seat at the table” discussion focused on HR’s need to be more strategic in their organization.  I predicted that 2008 would end with HR still not gaining that elusive chair, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume they did.  Yes readers, the Chief Human [...]
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How to Negotiate with an Irrational Leader

By Mark Stelzner | Published: July 16, 2008
We’ve all been there at one time or another – the logical conversation that suddenly turns emotional.  The irrational leader’s flame consumes everything in its path, the spoken word oxygen that feeds the fire into a frenzied tempest of damage and destruction.  Dramatic enough for you?  You get the point.  And whether it involves negotiating [...]
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The Business of Creativity

By Mark Stelzner | Published: May 21, 2008
Greetings readers!  As Mark has us dusting off alternative work schedule policies and considering what to do next, some recent findings on creativity and productivity from the Harvard Business School might be of interest.  (Actually, I was wondering why these AWS policies might need to be dusted off, as it was not THAT long ago when [...]
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The Merits of Alternative Work Schedules

By Mark Stelzner | Published: May 19, 2008
It started with the oil crisis of 1973, this simple idea that work week compression could make a positive impact on both our planet and pocketbook.  It never really captured the nation’s attention in a systemic and sustainable way, but like oversized sunglasses, bell-bottom jeans and dance competitions, some things from the 70s are bound [...]
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Provider Math: Does HP + EDS = HRO Domination?

By Mark Stelzner | Published: May 14, 2008
The questions keep pouring in.  What does this merger mean to the HR outsourcing (HRO) landscape?  Does this lock HP clientele out of contention for other BPO and HRO service providers?  What happens to ExcellerateHRO?  Where does Towers Perrin fit into the mix?  Does this freeze the market?  I’d like to think of this as [...]
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The Sideline Offensive – Vendors Take Note

By Mark Stelzner | Published: April 24, 2008
Several weeks ago we addressed the issue of vendor sustainability, with acquisition activity one of the confounding variables in the constantly shifting sands of the HR vendor community.  Many thanks to my good friend Bridget Boix of Krill Northgate for pointing me to a an article in Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine entitled, “The Sideline Offensive”. The [...]
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Checking the Expiration Date on India’s STPI

By Mark Stelzner | Published: April 8, 2008
More companies are starting to look at the back of their India-based outsourcing agreements to assess what impact March 31, 2009 will have on their business.  This is the date that the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) tax break is scheduled to expire, a 10-20% development incentive program designed to foster net-new growth across [...]
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How to Address Risk and Sustainability Among HR Vendors

By Mark Stelzner | Published: March 21, 2008
Earlier this week we addressed a growing concern surrounding sustainability of HR vendors.  Issues such as financial solvency, management turnover, ongoing investment into product portfolios, backwards compatibility and support, legal action, and acquisitions (among others) can cause significant disruptions to both near and long term value propositions.  So how should one address these concerns, and does a system [...]
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