White Papers

Emerging Human Capital Trends

December 06, 2011

Throughout October and November 2011, Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions interviewed HR leaders at approximately thirty of its largest customers in order to better understand their emerging human capital challenges and HR priorities over the next three to five years. The organizations interviewed represent a broad cross section of industries from across Canada.

Beyond the CEO: The Role of the Board in Ensuring Organizations have the Talent to Thrive

October 03, 2011

Most Canadian directors acknowledge that human capital oversight is an essential part of their work. The vast majority indicated their boards have direct responsibility for CEO compensation, performance management, and development, including succession planning. But the majority of directors also believe that boards should monitor strategic talent management areas such as HR strategy, organizational culture, employee engagement, succession planning, and learning and development.

Beyond the Numbers: The Evolving Role of the CFO

August 05, 2011

This research study attempts to provide answers to these important questions. More specifically, this study seeks to determine the key traits, skills and characteristics of the CFO who has moved beyond the controller, treasurer and financial reporting functions to the value-added position of strategic player.

This study also seeks to explore the main challenges a CFO will encounter in attempting to meet the evolving expectations of the role.

The Role and Future of HR: The CEO’s Perspective

May 18, 2011

Corporate vision and mission statements and the CEOs who stand behind them invariably state that people are our most important asset. Still, many senior HR executives continue to believe that they lack impact and influence within their companies.

In Fall 2010, the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) and Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions conducted one-on-one interviews with CEOs from a range of sectors and differently-sized companies to investigate. What we learned offers insight and direction to executives in all areas of the organization, but especially to senior HR executives and their CEOs.

Engaged Employees and the Bottom Line

October 18, 2010

By Sandra Boyd, Principal and Kim Spurgeon, Principal - Career Solutions

Human capital has never faced so many challenges As the economic picture brightens, many top performers are unsettled and, by most forecasts, getting ready to leave their current jobs. Leaders-in-waiting are concerned they have no room for personal and professional growth. Demographic forces are also at work. Many older workers are getting ready to leave the workforce, leaving organizations with gaps in leadership and expertise. The younger workers who are replacing them remain, to many organizations, a bit of a mystery.

Re-Energizing Sales Efforts for 2011 and Beyond

August 27, 2010

Robust markets hide many things and can make selling look easy, so many sales organizations have been blindsided by the realization that the skills and expertise of even the best sales people are being neutralized in the current economic market.

As we speak with sales leaders across the country, we hear many stories of missed sales targets, budget cuts and layoffs. Yet Knightsbridge has observed that there are a few sales leaders who are meeting the current economic challenge head on and are taking the necessary steps to dramatically boost salesforce productivity and performance. These sales leaders have built a winning sales approach by concentrating on initiatives that focus on profiling successful salespeople and ensuring the right sales talent are in the right sales roles.

Career Management Solutions

December 09, 2009

By Sandra Boyd, Principal; Kim Spurgeon, Principal; and Evelina Rog, Consultant - Career Solutions

In response to major changes in the business environment, including globalization and delayering, organizations and employees are being forced to redefine the fundamental meaning of a career and the means for career development. After a recession, organizations need strategies for engaging a demoralized workforce. Moreover, as the economy recovers, organizations will be challenged again to retain outstanding talent. On June 25, 2009, Knightsbridge, in partnership with CIBC, hosted a Career Management Best Practice Session, to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with career management and to identify emerging best practices ...

Leadership Matters

October 21, 2009

By Vince Molinaro, Managing Director and Jessica Sherin, Consultant - Leadership Solutions

The Board of Directors survey was anchored on the Knightsbridge Leadership Pathway, a research-based process for building strong leadership capacity in organizations3. The Pathway outlines an integrated and disciplined approach to development and walks step by step through a series of key practices organizations can leverage in order to build their leadership capacity. It is a tool that supports senior leaders in making wise decisions about where to invest their resources when growing leadership within their organizations. The approach begins with determining the organization’s leadership requirements for future success. From there, it describes planning for succession to mitigate risk, assessing current leadership capacity strengths and gaps, taking targeted action to build a strong leadership culture, and then sustaining the momentum of the investment by embedding the leadership model in organizational practices and evaluating the impact of the investment in leadership.

Urgence Leadership

October 15, 2008

Les Affaires in partnership with Knightsbridge

The Urgence Leadership Think Tank, held in Montreal on August 26, 2008, brought together 37 senior Executives from Quebec organizations concerned about leadership development. They were invited to identify the major issues and explore possible solutions. Participants stressed that Quebec organizations must pay closer attention to Leadership - this is essential if Quebec is to remain competitive in a global marketplace.

Invisible Fire - Responding to the Leadership Gap in Canada

February 08, 2008

By Vince Molinaro, Managing Director - Leadership Solutions

New report on Canada's leadership gap recommends a made-in-Canada solution Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions in partnership with the Canadian Business Hall of Fame and the Canadian Society for Training and Development has released a compelling report called Invisible Fire. It calls on Canadian businesses to “feel the heat and smell the smoke” of the current leadership crisis in Canada. Based on a recent Think Tank of C-Suite leaders in Toronto, the report identifies several major challenges to addressing this crisis: a lack of understanding of leadership as a critical business issue; greater complexity of demands on leaders today than in the past; and definitions of leadership that are too narrow. In response, the report offers six priority recommendations to address the burning need for increased leadership capacity across the country.