One example of how Organizational Architecture assists its client with management training is our work with ACRT Inc. and its management development workshops. Training and development programs can help new managers grow into their role and make current managers even better! ACRT is a leading independent utility vegetation management consulting company that prevents and rapidly resolves utility challenges by assessing and monitoring utility systems for vegetation liabilities and storm preparedness. They have teams of employees all over the United States ensuring that electrical power lines are clear of hazards that can disrupt service. They were ready to implement several initiatives to help their workforce, but with limited bandwidth, they needed to bring in an external resource to assist them. Their leadership had already done a needs assessment of their managers and identified development areas, so they were ready to hit the ground running. We were able to help them by developing and delivering training workshops on topics such as Customer service Effective communication Effective interviewing and selection Effective presentation techniques Leading productive meetings Understanding generational differences The workshops included facilitation, workbooks, activities, handouts, and other tools for effective learning. Additionally, many of these workshops were developed to be uploaded to their learning management system [LMS] so that remote learners could take advantage of the learning. Bob Chess, Chief Human Resources Officer at ACRT, said, Organizational Architecture was a huge help with developing and delivering our leadership workshops. We had begun to develop an internal capability for staff training and development as part of our overall succession planning process, and needed assistance in the meantime ensuring our staff received the training they needed. Partnering with Organizational Architecture allowed us to focus on launching other HR initiatives while ensuring that development of our managers was underway. They were effective in helping us develop the content for the workshops as well as the tools to ensure effective learning. Organizational Architecture was able to provide an outside perspective on how to deliver the training effectively, which equipped our managers with tools to integrate into ongoing performance management and delivering annual performance reviews. No matter what type of training your staff or managers need, Organizational Architecture can provide the necessary training to help...
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This month’s success story highlights how Organizational Architecture assisted its client with a recruiting challenge. Keith D Weiner & Associates Co., LPA is a creditors’ rights law firm founded in 1985 with offices in Ohio and Wisconsin. Their practice is limited to commercial and retail collections, foreclosures, bankruptcy, replevins, evictions, and civil litigation related to these areas. They strive to build rewarding and long-lasting attorney/client relationships based upon a foundation of value, accountability, reliability, and integrity. They found they needed help filling their Human Resources Manager position. We stepped in to assist them with the sourcing, screening, and selection process for their new HR leader. We began this project by having discussions with the firm’s leadership team about the position and its responsibilities as well as the role of HR in a law firm. Before engaging with any potential candidates, we needed to understand the position description and skills necessary to be successful in this role to ensure we found the right person for the job. Keith D. Weiner, founder and principal of the firm said: Organizational Architecture helped simplify the recruitment process and guided us to find the right person for this opening. They listened to our needs, asked insightful questions, and took the time to clearly understand what we were looking for and how this role fit into our firm. They kept us informed throughout the process and took into consideration our feedback every step of the way. They helped us determine exactly what competencies and technical expertise were needed to perform the duties required of the job and found candidates with those skills. They also helped us consider the applicants’ strengths and how they would complement our team and lead our HR, personnel administration, and payroll functions. They provided quality guidance, support, and expertise throughout the engagement. The candidate we selected had all the characteristics we were looking for…we are extremely pleased with our experience working with Organizational Architecture. Spending time evaluating the responsibilities of the role before searching for candidates is critical for successful recruitment. Identifying these screening criteria helped make our recruitment fast, efficient, and effective. Do you need assistance with a strategy for effective recruitment? Contact us to learn how we...
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This month’s success story is an example of how Organizational Architecture assisted its client with the launch of a new business unit by providing HR best practices in a retail environment. The National Association of College Stores [NACS] is a not-for-profit trade association representing the $10 billion campus retailing industry. NACS represents more than 4,000 stores serving colleges, universities, and K-12 schools in the United States, Canada, and around the world; along with more than 1,000 companies supplying goods and services to campus stores. NACS members also include higher education professionals, organizations, associations, and others interested in the industry’s vitality. NACS is headquartered in Oberlin, Ohio, with branch offices in Westlake, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; and Irvine, California. NACS recently launched a new initiative through its indiCo subsidiary to provide operational and management solutions to independent campus stores at colleges and universities across North America. While they had provided consulting to college bookstores in the past, this new endeavor included services involving direct management of college stores. They were already connected with Organizational Architecture through their employee benefits advisor who was aware of the deep experience we had with retail HR systems. Frank Sulen, Chief Financial Officer, said: We were connected with Organizational Architecture through a trusted advisor who knew of their experience with retail and multi-unit organizations. Not only has OA provided consulting services to retailers, they have actually worked in management positions with several large retail organizations. We needed help modifying our current HR processes, which were developed to support an organization with a few locations and many people in each location, allowing our HR department to support them in a direct, face-to-face fashion. We needed help leveraging our current processes to a widely distributed model. OA started by conducting a review of all of our current HR practices, and made recommendations on how to modify them to serve retail organizations. Then, they developed an extensive collaboration checklist to assist us before, during, and after the process to convert stores from school management to ours. They worked with us each step of the way to ensure that when our first college store management collaboration commenced, we could foresee any last-minute issues and develop good processes to...
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This month’s success story is an example of how Organizational Architecture assisted its client with an executive level recruiting challenge. The Cuyahoga County Public Library offers the very best in public library service in the nation. The library is focused on being the center of community life and is dedicated to creating an environment where reading, lifelong learning, and civic engagement thrive. Recently, their Human Resources Director retired. Since we had worked with the Library before and knew the organization well, they asked us to assist them with the sourcing, screening, and selection process for their new HR leader. Before we even started to engage with the talent market for this role, we had discussions with the Library leadership team about the role and its responsibilities. We discussed the unique role of HR in public sector employers and the critical need for a good understanding of labor relations. Sari Feldman, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Public Library said: Organizational Architecture facilitated an incredibly positive recruitment experience for CCPL. They demonstrate a thoughtful and organized approach to uncover the unique needs of the organization and the role, and then to find the right people. They asked strong questions and clearly understood our needs. Additionally, they kept us apprised throughout the process, and within a short period of time provided us with an outstanding slate of candidates to meet. They helped us consider the candidates’ strengths and how they would complement our leadership team, lead our HR function, and support our employees. They provided quality guidance and support throughout the process. The candidate we selected brings all the things we were looking for and more…we could not be more pleased with our experience working with Organizational Architecture. Spending time at the front end of the search to fully understand the role and the organization is critical. Identifying these screening criteria helped make our recruitment fast, efficient, and effective. Do you need assistance with a strategy for effective recruitment? Contact us to learn how we can help and check out our blog for more...
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This month’s success story is an example of how Organizational Architecture assisted its client, Shaffer Capital, with a recruiting challenge. Shaffer Capital was in search of a new Client Service Associate. Shaffer Capital is a financial planning firm located in Westerville, OH. They help their clients plan for retirement and achieve financial success through informed investments and risk management solutions. Matt Shaffer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shaffer Capital, said: “We asked Organizational Architecture to help us fill the position because of our positive experience with them in the past. We knew they would listen to our unique needs and work with us to find someone who could be successful in our business. Organizational Architecture worked closely with us to think about the responsibilities of the job and the experience needed to perform those duties effectively. The candidates they screened for us had the characteristics we were looking for, which made the selection process much easier. They presented to us four qualified candidates who brought unique talents and styles which gave us options when making our selection decision. Not only did we find a great new team member, but we also connected with candidates who may have a future spot with us”. As mentioned in Part 1, we spent time doing a bit of work on the front end of the search outlining the necessary competencies for the job. Developing and identifying these screening criteria helped make our recruitment fast, efficient, and effective. Do you need assistance with a strategy for effective recruitment? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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Today’s success story highlights how Organizational Architecture helped its client recruit the right person to fill an opening in their office. Our client is a financial planning and investment management company located in Westerville, OH. We have a long-standing relationship with this client and were excited to help them again. One of the initial steps we took was to update the job description. We worked closely with our client to determine how this role fit into their organization as well as the necessary duties and responsibilities. Spending time on the job description ensured we sourced, screened, and selected candidates efficiently and effectively. It also helped us streamline the recruitment process and find the right person for the job. Additionally, by taking the time to update the job description to fit their present needs, the new hire would understand exactly what was expected of them when they started and be able to meet those expectations. Do you need assistance with a strategy for effective recruitment? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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