Board development | Strategic plan facilitation
Organizational analysis and development | Executive coaching
Our Workplace: confidential employee communication
Human resource consulting | Succession planning
Family business development and family councils

Board development

Benefit: 

• Improve the board’s contribution to business effectiveness and success
  
  
• Recruit additional expertise and knowledge to supplement management skills
  
  
• Meet legal and regulatory requirements for representing the interests of all shareholders
  
  
• Clearly define the board’s and board members’ roles and responsibilities and organizational expectations

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Any organization, for-profit or non-profit, that seeks to maximize the effectiveness and contribution of its board to the organization’s success

Description:

Board development includes multiple areas focused on ensuring that any organization’s board is composed of the right people with the right mix of skills for the organization at the current time.

In board assessments, AGH consultants meet with the organization’s leadership to help determine existing needs from a board of directors or trustees, as well as understand the current board structure and purpose. As organizations grow and evolve, the nature of their needs from board members may change. Then, as board needs and expectations are identified, our consultants compare existing board members’ skills, contributions to the organization and their “fit” in the mix of board members against the organization’s overall needs from its board. If the existing board no longer meets the organization’s needs, the consulting team may help leadership members develop a plan for transitioning members off the board and recruiting new members, or even making changes to the board governance structure.

The phrase board development often describes the process of AGH consultants working with an organization’s leadership to identify specific skill sets and areas of expertise needed on a board, locate and screen potential candidates who possess those qualifications, and recruit qualified candidates to join the board. It may also include helping define expectations of board members’ activities and participation.

AGH consultants can also provide board training, offering seminars or workshops during or in addition to board meetings on topics related to maximizing board members’ effectiveness or increasing their understanding of their responsibilities.

Back to top

Strategic plan facilitation

Benefit:

• Step back from day-to-day operational concerns to focus on long-term business issues
  
  
• Build consensus on shared vision, goals and strategies
  
  
• External facilitation keeps focus on meeting goals and content
  
  
• Sets foundation for future decision-making, tactical plans and day-to-day activities
  
  
• Renew motivation and energy to work toward long-term objectives

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Any organization seeking a more effective, focused, and participative strategic planning process

Description:

Strategic planning can sometimes deteriorate into time-wasting meetings of key personnel and a thick book of PowerPoint presentations that sits on the shelf. How do you keep strategic planning pertinent, timely, and actionable? At AGH, our approach integrates employee and key personnel input, a facilitated examination of current vs. desired status, and development of a plan to close the gap.

In a three-phase process, AGH consultants first gather information about the organization and its situation from employee surveys and one-on-one interviews to share with the organization’s leadership. Next, a facilitated planning retreat compares current reality to desired outcome, analyzes the gap and environment, and develops strategic plans and action steps to close the gap. In phase three, follow-up meetings tracking the action steps help ensure organizational accountability and follow-through.

Back to top

Organizational analysis and development

Benefit:

• Align organizational structure with long-term strategy

• Ensure the right individuals are in the right places

• Clarify positional roles, responsibilities and accountabilities

• Strengthen organizational culture in alignment with the long-term vision

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Any organization experiencing or preparing to initiate significant growth or change

Description:

Structure follows strategy. Leaders know that they must find ways to translate their organization's long-term strategy into effective organizational structures, processes and policies. AGH's consultants have supported leaders in a wide variety of industries to assess their organizational and cultural strengths and weaknesses, and to help them prepare them for the future. Clarifying organizational relationships and positional roles and responsibilities help drive the performance and accountability required for significant change. Throughout the process, AGH's consultants provide best-practice knowledge, tested processes and tools, and supportive facilitation skills.

Back to top

Executive coaching

Benefit:

• Retain and develop key personnel as a competitive advantage
  
  
• Groom high-potential executives for top positions
  
  
• Provide safe, objective, external  and confidential sounding board for executives
  
  
• Address barriers to successful leadership that may be difficult to resolve internally
  
  
• Support executive skill-building and problem resolution with testing, feedback, and coaching

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Current CEOs and other top managers seeking personal and professional development to increase their effectiveness
  
  
• Next-generation or CEOs-in-waiting who could benefit from additional coaching to be groomed for leadership positions
  
  
• Valuable but problematic executives requiring coaching to better meet the expectations of their position
  
  
• Executives learning to balance work and personal life effectively to avoid burnout

Description:

While most executives earn their place in the organization by excelling in one or several specific areas – perhaps finance, operations, or sales – little training is available to help those who lead an entire organization, especially inside the organization itself.

AGH’s executive coaching services are objective, confidential, and tailored to an individual and organization’s needs. Based on a mutual understanding of results desired for both the executive and the organization, our coaches first gather information about the executive’s performance and environment, combining individual testing and interviews with key personnel in the organization.

That data serves as the foundation for goal-setting with the executive, delivery of skill-building and leadership training if required, and a flexible schedule of personal coaching. During personal coaching sessions, AGH’s consultant serves as a confidential, objective, and “safe” sounding board, yet is able to provide candid and sometimes challenging feedback to keep the sessions progressing toward goals.

A coaching program may be limited in scope or ongoing, depending on the nature of the goals and the executive’s requirements. 

Back to top

Confidential employee communication

Benefit:

• Retain valuable employees by creating an environment supporting ethical behavior
  
  
• Protect your assets
  
  
• Minimize liability exposure

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Organizations seeking to minimize risk of employee or workplace actions resulting in asset loss or liability
  
  
• Organizations with high numbers of employees, high vulnerability to theft or fraud, or history of liability problems
  
  
• Organizations seeking to create, maintain, or strengthen a culture of ethical behavior

Description:

Our Workplace™ is an employee communication program developed to help organizations provide their employees with a confidential, secure way to report any issues they believe deserve broader attention. To deliver Our Workplace, AGH creates a customized website for each employer, where employees can log on with a company ID (or simply call) to communicate anything they feel uncomfortable going through conventional channels to discuss. Each employee communication is reviewed by AGH consultants in a timely manner for appropriate routing back to the client organization to respond – yet employees have the security of knowing that their communications are confidential and screened first by an objective third party.

The types of topics typically raised through confidential employee reporting mechanisms include harassment, theft, customer service issues, fraud, conflicts of interest, and failure to comply with laws or regulations. Our Workplace is NOT designed for situations requiring emergency responses, but it does deliver timely information to employers that could help avert losses, minimize liability and manage risks.

The simple existence of confidential employee reporting capability may also help mitigate potential liability, as well as reinforce an organizational commitment to ethical behavior. As requested, AGH consultants may provide the organization with counsel and support on appropriate responses to employee communications on a variety of issues, or even instigate fraud investigations.

Back to top

Human resource consulting and outsourcing

Outsourcing benefit: 

• Gain access to skilled human resource specialists with a higher level of expertise, ongoing current training, and sophisticated testing and technology resources than you may want to pay to maintain internally
  
  
• Monitoring of current regulatory requirements to ensure compliance with DOL, OSHA, EEO and other guidelines
  
  
• Broad network of training, recruitment, policy, and employee benefits specialists available with one call, plus access to AGH’s consultants and advisors for financial, tax, accounting, audit, employee benefits, corporate finance, organizational development, HR and investment issues beyond the scope of human resource issues
  
  
• Reduce space and technology requirements of human resource records management and archival while increasing security and confidentiality (including ability to meet HIPAA requirements for flexible-spending claims)

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Organizations with insufficient human resource staff time or expertise
  
  
• Organizations whose volume of human resource requirements varies greatly throughout the year or which have large-scope projects
  
  
• Organizations with complex human resource requirements, such as unions, multiple locations or a history of HR problems
  
  
• Organizations seeking to outsource non-core functions

Description:

Each human resource consulting engagement is customized based on the organization’s needs, and may range from brief meetings to address a specific topic to an ongoing arrangement completely outsourcing all human resource functions permanently or for a period of time (due to, for example, staff vacations, illness, maternity leave or termination).

Services available include:

• HR audit: Interviews with management to determine key issues; review of personnel policies, procedures, position descriptions and personnel files; recommendations for changes needed for compliance with regulations as well as support of overall HR function
  
  
• HR development: Based on HR audit, implement recommendations to bring organization’s policies, job descriptions, procedures and processes into compliance; develop additional HR training and support for organization as required
  
  
• HR workshops: Provide counsel and training to management and/or employees on a variety of HR issues, including performance review, hiring/firing, avoiding harassment, regulatory compliance, motivation, and shaping behavior
  
  
• HR projects: Supplement existing HR capabilities as needed for projects ranging from job description revisions, policy and procedure review, workshops, or other special requirements that can be fulfilled by an HR professional
  
  
• HR management: AGH’s consultants can supplement existing HR capabilities as needed or manage the function entirely if desired, for limited periods or an ongoing arrangement

Back to top

Succession planning

Benefit:

• Plan for long-term success and continuity

• Lay the groundwork for transition success before it is required

• Utilize objective processes and tools to identify and develop talent

• Develop a plan for a healthy partnership among future owners

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Any organization preparing for long-term success and continuation

• Businesses preparing for future ownership transitions

• Organizations seeking to identify next-generation leaders and enhance overall management depth

Description:

A commonly cited statistic suggests that only one out of every three family businesses will successfully pass into the next generation of ownership and management. Other studies suggest non-family businesses may fail at an even higher rate. Succeeding at succession requires careful planning and diligent effort. AGH consultants have years of experience at helping organizations assess and plan for both management and ownership transitions. AGH consultants will help you develop a shared plan for the transition, establish development plans for potential successors and provide objective coaching as needed for plan success.

Back to top

Family-business development and family councils

Benefit:

• Reduce conflict by increasing understanding of how family, business and ownership issues interact
  
  
• Increase capability of family and business to survive ownership and other transitions
  
  
• Provide a forum for learning and developing needed skills
  
  
• Evaluate and identify family and business values to be strengthened, maintained, or modified
  
  
• Clarify understanding of the roles and responsibilities of family, business and ownership

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Family-owned businesses seeking to “professionalize” their organizations for growth and continued success
  
  
• Family businesses anticipating a transition, such as a change in ownership structure or business leadership
  
  
• Family businesses seeking to learn about, evaluate or adopt best practices for family businesses
  
  
• Family businesses in conflict or seeking to resolve potential areas of conflict

Description:

Ninety percent of businesses in the United States are family-owned. Yet despite the numbers, few entrepreneurs understand how powerful the mix of family, business, and ownership can be. At AGH, understanding of a family business starts with information-gathering: interviews of family members to create a snapshot of the family business and compare it to best practices.

The information gathering provides the foundation for an initial kickoff family council meeting, facilitated by AGH consultants. During the typically day-long meeting, consultants outline the meeting structure and guidelines, present information from the assessments conducted earlier, help the family identify key issues that need to be addressed, and create next steps, including a plan for regular future family councils.