Podcasts about West Monroe Partners

Charli has Kathy Nelson on this week to talk donuts and how she landed on engineering. Kathy Nelson, PE is the Founder and Principal at KN Utility Telecom Consulting, a firm specializing in utilities telecommunications strategy. Ms. Nelson has over 31 years of experience in the utility telecommunications industry including a long career of 25 years at Great River Energy, serving on the board of directors for UTC for 10 years including as Chairwoman from 2017 – 2018, providing strategic direction and leading IEEE standards development at Ondas Networks, providing strategic telecommunications consulting for utilities at West Monroe Partners and most recently founding KN Utility Telecom Consulting. Ms. Nelson is a strong supporter of women in STEM, hosting a podcast “Ordinarily Extraordinary – conversations with women in STEM”. Ms. Nelson resides in Minnesota and is the mother to three adult children and a lively sheepadoodle dog.Read up at EmpoweringPumps.com and stay tuned for more news about EPIC at the Colorado School of Mines Nov 12th and 13th.Find us @EmpoweringPumps on Facebook, LinkedIn,  Instagram and Twitter and using the hashtag #EmpoweringIndustryPodcast or via email podcast@empoweringpumps.com   

Trusted AI ensures that people, data, and AI systems work together transparently to create real value. This requires a focus on performance, innovation, and cost-effectiveness, all while maintaining transparency. However, challenges such as misaligned business strategies and data readiness can undermine trust in AI systems. To build trusted AI, it's crucial to first trust the data. A robust data platform is essential for creating reliable and sustainable AI systems. Tools like Teradata's ClearScape Analytics help address concerns about AI, including issues like generative AI hallucinations, by providing a solid foundation of trusted data and an open, connected architecture.In this episode, Doug Laney, Analytics Strategy Innovation Fellow with West Monroe Partners, speaks to Vedat Akgun, VP of Data Science & AI and Steve Anderson, Senior Director of Data Science & AI at Teradata, about trusted AI. Key Takeaways:Value creation, performance, innovation, and cost-effectiveness are crucial for achieving trusted AI.Trusting data is essential before building AI capabilities to avoid biases, inaccuracies, and ethical violations.A robust data platform is a foundation for creating trusted and sustainable AI systems.Generative AI raises concerns about hallucinations and fictitious data, highlighting the need for transparency and accountability.Teradata offers features and capabilities, such as ClearScape Analytics and an open and connected architecture, to address trust issues in AI.Chapters:00:00 - Introduction and Defining Trusted AI01:33 - Value Creation and the Importance of Driving Business Value03:27 - Transparency as a Principle of Trusted AI09:00 - Trusting Data Before Building AI Capabilities14:51 - The Role of a Robust Data Platform in Trusted AI21:09 - Concerns about Trust in Generative AI23:03 - Addressing Trust Issues with Teradata's Features and Capabilities25:01 - Conclusion

Corporate strategy in growth-stage companies can be very different from strategy in mature organizations. In this episode, we hear from three chief strategy executives who are effectively navigating the strategic journeys for their scaling organizations – Elisabeth Moore from West Monroe Partners, Adam Zalisk from Amplify Education, and Edward Crook from DeepL. Today's discussion is moderated by Outthinker Networks President, Claudio Garcia.  In this episode you'll learn: Practical advice on balancing entrepreneurial freedom with strategic focus How to structure a strategy function to support rapid growth and innovation Techniques for maintaining alignment and clarity in decision-making processes How to turn change from a "chore" into a tactic to drive customer-centricity And strategies for fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing within fast-growing teams Learn more about Outthinker's community of chief strategy officers - https://outthinkernetwork.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/outthinker-networks

This episode of the eCom Logistics Podcast is the first in our series, Women in Supply Chain, Retail, and Ecommerce running for the month of March. Today, we welcome Stephanie Cannon, SVP Operations Excellence and Collaborative Innovation at Pitney Bowes.Stephanie talks about her leadership role at Pitney Bowes and her experience in handling multiple functions including automation and systems innovation, ops excellence, workforce optimization, and more. She also discusses how they integrate automation in daily processes for more productivity and better results. ABOUT STEPHANIEStephanie oversees the Operations Excellence and Collaborative Innovation Group for Global Ecommerce at Pitney Bowes Inc. to accelerate network modernization and expansion and support operational excellence and long-term growth. Her prior roles include Vice President of Operations Practices and Innovation, Senior Director of Automation and Systems Innovation, Director of Operations for Fulfillment Services, and leader of the Industrial Engineering Group for Fulfillment Services.She previously consulted for West Monroe Partners, serving as an SME in operations and engineering strategies and creating operational assessments to provide unique solutions to customers. Stephanie started her career at UPS, rotating through various roles during her tenure in hub, package, and transportation. HIGHLIGHTS02:01 How Stephanie started in supply chain and logistics 07:16 Handling multiple functions at the same time14:17 Cutting through the noise when it comes to innovation and automation26:51 The impact of automation on the workforce33:03 Can we apply gamification in the innovation standpoint? QUOTES16:04 The ecommerce world is ever-changing - Stephanie: "Flexibility has actually become one of the most important things because you don't want to buy just this traditional automation that isn't viable to use in two years because your profiles have changed."25:27 Refine ideas for operational optimization in the real world - Stephanie: "When I partner with these people, it's really critical that I help them bridge how do we solve a real-world problem but also how is it commercialized in the long-term. " Find out more about Stephanie in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-cannon-68b15196/About Pitney Bowes: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pitney-bowes/

Will there be a recession this year? It seems not even economists can agree, but regardless of how likely it is, the simple fact that it's possible is brewing uncertainty. So what's a seller to do?Here to help answer that question is the latest episode of “Winning the Challenger Sale,” where host Andee Harris, CEO of Challenger, is joined by Tim Kocher, Director of Business Development at West Monroe Partners, for a discussion on how to navigate economic uncertainty in a way that actually drives sales growth and captures market share.Tim shares his wisdom from selling and leading sales teams through four recessionary periods and drops a serious truth bomb… Sellers can't be as successful solely relying on technology and virtual selling. He also highlights two areas of focus: account-based growth and engaging Mobilizers in your deals.Tim and Andee close it out by exploring how the sales universe is changing and the potential impact of generative AI on marketing and sales in the future.Join as we discuss:How to sell amidst uncertainty and why you need to play offense even during difficult market conditionsUnexpected yet simple ways to differentiate post-pandemicBehaviors that high-performing sellers are using to navigate this economyWhat's in the crystal ball for the sales universe in the next five yearsBe sure to rate and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform!

Will there be a recession this year? It seems not even economists can agree, but regardless of how likely it is, the simple fact that it's possible is brewing uncertainty. So what's a seller to do?Here to help answer that question is the latest episode of “Winning the Challenger Sale,” where host Andee Harris, CEO of Challenger, is joined by Tim Kocher, Director of Business Development at West Monroe Partners, for a discussion on how to navigate economic uncertainty in a way that actually drives sales growth and captures market share.Tim shares his wisdom from selling and leading sales teams through four recessionary periods and drops a serious truth bomb… Sellers can't be as successful solely relying on technology and virtual selling. He also highlights two areas of focus: account-based growth and engaging Mobilizers in your deals.Tim and Andee close it out by exploring how the sales universe is changing and the potential impact of generative AI on marketing and sales in the future.Join as we discuss:How to sell amidst uncertainty and why you need to play offense even during difficult market conditionsUnexpected yet simple ways to differentiate post-pandemicBehaviors that high-performing sellers are using to navigate this economyWhat's in the crystal ball for the sales universe in the next five yearsBe sure to rate and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform!

Are you happy with your company's Total Rewards Program? If not, you're not alone. A recent study found that less than half of employees are satisfied with their current benefits package. So, what can be done to make Total Rewards more appealing? Listen in as Kim Seals and host Shari Simpson discuss tips on how to create a rewarding experience for both your employees and your bottom line! Guest: Kim Seals, Senior Partner, West Monroe Partners Kim Seals is a Senior Partner in West Monroe's Human Capital Management practice. Kim has spent more than 25 years of her career in global human resource consulting, corporate and leadership roles. Her expertise includes leading M&A transactions, HR service delivery transformation, talent, compensation, benefits, and recruiting program design, as well as technology development, selection, and implementation globally. Prior to joining West Monroe, Kim was a Managing Partner at Sapient Insights Group, a research and advisory consulting firm. Kim previously spent 15 years at Mercer in several positions, including Atlanta Market Leader, Global Talent Technology Solutions Leader, and HR Effectiveness Global Practice Leader. Mentioned in the episode: West Monroe Partners: https://www.westmonroe.com/our-team/kim-seals    

What do bosses do anyways? On this episode of the Radical Candor podcast, we're starting a new series to answer that question! Is it a manager's job to go to meetings? Send emails? Tell people what to do? Are they supposed to work alongside their teams and carry part of the workload, or dream up strategies and expect other people to implement them?  At the end of the day, a boss's job is to guide a team to achieve results. However, depending on the size of your team, that process could look very different. Today we're going to talk about managers of small teams and we're going to define “small” as a team of 10 people or less. Listen to learn three key things every manager of small teams needs to know. Radical Candor Podcast Episode At a Glance In order to be successful, managers are responsible for guidance, team building and getting results. Managers listening to this podcast and thinking, “I know I should do these things, but I don't know how,” you're not alone. A common issue faced by managers is that they are very likely to have been, until recently, an individual contributor who was doing excellent work. Work so good that it earned them a “promotion” to a management role. Unfortunately, many companies fail to recognize that management is a job with discrete skills that need to be learned.  In many companies, managers receive little-to-no training, and this has very real consequences. A  2018 study by digital services firm West Monroe Partners found that 41% of small-team managers received no training before becoming managers and 42% mimicked the style of a previous manager in lieu of any training or coaching. And if they're mimicking bad-boss behavior because they don't have any other models, that's going to be a problem for the entire team. So now you've got someone with no training managing a team — but the issues don't stop there. These managers are also doing a lot of administrative tasks. “In addition to the lack of training, managers report they're too busy with administrative tasks to adequately oversee their team: 36% report spending three to four hours per day on administrative work. Nearly half (44%) frequently feel overwhelmed at work.” The situation can be so unpleasant that a UK-based survey found that managers who haven't received any management training were 36% more likely to leave their jobs in 2022 than managers who have been trained. This isn't just a problem for managers; it affects the entire team. The Gallup 2022 State of the Workplace report found: “Managers need to be better listeners, coaches and collaborators." People with managers who embody these skills are noted as thriving at work. "95% of people who are thriving at work report being treated with respect all day and 87% report smiling and laughing a lot." Listen to the full episode to get all the tips and resources! Radical Candor Podcast Checklist Think about how you're spending your time and make sure you're focusing on managing your team. Take the time to get to know each person on your team and regularly show appreciation and support for your team's work. If you're an individual contributor “promoted” to management, assess where you are — take a step to start building competence. Consider seeking out a mentor or coach to help you develop your management skills and read books, listen to podcasts, watch videos, etc. Admit you have accountability without control. Let go of control and remember that it's part of your job to be held accountable and also hold others accountable. Start by soliciting feedback. You need to find out what other people think needs to happen and what you are doing both right and wrong.  Radical Candor Podcast Resources Tactics for Successfully Managing a Small Team How to manage a small team? : r/AskEngineers 4 Ways To Help New Managers Succeed | Radical Candor 6 Key Lessons For Every New Manager | Radical Candor Untrained managers more likely to change jobs in 2022 - Workplace Insight Research Shows That Your First-Time Managers Aren't Ready to Lead. Now, What? Companies are overlooking a primary area for growth and efficiency: Their managers | West Monroe Don't Care About Your Employees? They May Be Quiet Quitting 3 Strategies for Managing an Understaffed Team 12 Small Team Benefits To Consider When Building Teams | Indeed.com Key Differences In Communicating To Small Teams And Large Teams Radical Candor Podcast: How To Use The Get Sh*t Done Wheel Approved Resources And Courses For Kim Scott's Radical Candor State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report | Gallup

Doug Laney is the Data & Analytics Strategy Innovation Fellow at West Monroe Partners. He consults to business, data, and analytics leaders on conceiving and implementing new data-driven value streams. He originated the field of infonomics and authored the best-selling book Infonomics. He is a three-time Gartner annual thought leadership award recipient, a World Economic Forum advisor, a Forbes contributing author, and co-chairs the annual MIT Chief Data Officer Symposium. He also is a visiting professor at the University of Illinois and Carnegie Mellon business schools, and sits on various high-tech company advisory boards.In this episode, we cover a range of topics including:- Infonomics - His latest book Data Juice - Quantifying data's economic value - Applying asset management principles to data management - Data monetization patterns - Collateralizing data - Underwriting and insuring the data asset - Testing ideas for feasibility - How to price data products 

Shoby Abdi is the Director of Architect Success at Salesforce. Before his current role, Shoby worked for several consulting firms in the Salesforce partner ecosystem, including Model Metrics, Mavens Consulting, 7Summits, Wave6, and West Monroe Partners. In this episode we discuss the history of the ecosystem, how firms maintain or lose their culture, and Shoby gives the inside story of the B2B and B2C Solution Architect program. 

Sam Dawes is a digital transformation expert with manufacturers across the globe. Adept at delivering complex cross-functional programs that deliver impact, Sam works with consumer brand manufacturers to design and implement transformative digital solutions that drive operational excellence. He helped a consumer products client identify more than $10 million in annual benefits across material savings, labor productivity, IT spend, and overhead reduction. He was recognized by Consulting Magazine as a “Rising Star of the Profession” (35 under 35) in 2016 for Excellence in Client Service. Sam is passionate about helping manufacturers address workforce challenges, especially the need to attract and retain top talent. He has been published several times offering unique insights on this topic.

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly SillsJoin the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon This is the second part of our discussion: What is the meaning of art? This may seem like an impossibly difficult question to answer. Art is subjective, right? Art is off limits to scientific analysis because it's too broad, vague,  and amorphous, isn't it? Isn't art whatever anyone wants it to be?We asked the OSCILLATIONS inner circle what they thought was the meaning of art, and we found a common thread. From our investors to thought leaders in immersive technology, celebrated jazz musicians to linguists, neuroscientists to art historians, everyone converged on a definition of art that we use at OSCILLATIONS to guide the work that we do. Join us for a discussion that really gets at the heart of what we're all about and why we do what we do. Featured guests: Isabelle Charnavel, Department of Linguistics at Harvard UniversityMoran Cerf, Professor of Neuroscience and Business at Northwestern University, MIT, New York University, and the American Film InstituteEric Oldrin, Director of Emerging Platforms at FacebookSarah Vick, Strategic Growth at Hulu, Business Development and Producer at Intel StudiosRotem Sivan, Jazz Musician at Steeplechase, Fresh Sound, and Alma RecordsSuzanne Dikker, Cognitive Neuroscience at New York UniversityAnna Winestein, Executive Director at the Ballet Russes Arts InitiativeChristopher Deustch, Investor at Lofty VenturesTom Emrich, VP of Product at 8th Wall, Co-Organizer at Augmented Word Expo, Investor at SuperVenturesLydia Hannah, Director at Atland Ventures, Technology Consultant at West Monroe Partners

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly SillsJoin the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon What is the meaning of art? This may seem like an impossibly difficult question to answer. Art is subjective, right? Art is off limits to scientific analysis because it's too broad, vague,  and amorphous, isn't it? Isn't art whatever anyone wants it to be?We asked the OSCILLATIONS inner circle what they thought was the meaning of art, and we found a common thread. From our investors to thought leaders in immersive technology, celebrated jazz musicians to linguists, neuroscientists to art historians, everyone converged on a definition of art that we use at OSCILLATIONS to guide the work that we do. Join us for a discussion that really gets at the heart of what we're all about and why we do what we do. Featured guests: Isabelle Charnavel, Department of Linguistics at Harvard UniversityMoran Cerf, Professor of Neuroscience and Business at Northwestern University, MIT, New York University, and the American Film InstituteEric Oldrin, Director of Emerging Platforms at FacebookSarah Vick, Strategic Growth at Hulu, Business Development and Producer at Intel StudiosRotem Sivan, Jazz Musician at Steeplechase, Fresh Sound, and Alma RecordsSuzanne Dikker, Cognitive Neuroscience at New York UniversityAnna Winestein, Executive Director at the Ballet Russes Arts InitiativeChristopher Deustch, Investor at Lofty VenturesTom Emrich, VP of Product at 8th Wall, Co-Organizer at Augmented Word Expo, Investor at SuperVenturesLydia Hannah, Director at Atland Ventures, Technology Consultant at West Monroe Partners

This episode is part of UA Summit 2021 - for more great content like this, register here.Sponsored by West Monroe Partners.

You're a small brand, but you want to be a big one. To turn into a brand that people recognize, you have to stop separating marketing from the rest of the company. In other words, the firm's business strategy has to become marketing's agenda. There are a few other things to do, too. Creating 100% digital content. Building relationships with the right customers. Failing fast and often. In this episode, Casey Foss, CMO at West Monroe Partners, tells her David vs. Goliath story about investing in her company's brand and demand at B2BSMX 2020.

In this episode, host Lisa Shatz, assistant dean of MBA programs at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, chats with Tristan Opie, MBA’19, an experienced consultant for the Healthcare and Life Sciences division of West Monroe Partners, a Chicago-based national consulting firm with offices throughout the U.S., including Dallas. Shatz and Opie discuss what life has been like in the year since he graduated from the Full-Time MBA program, during which he was in the consulting immersion program. Opie also explains why he selected UT Dallas from among other top MBA programs and recalls fond memories while he was getting his degree.

This podcast is brought to you by West Monroe Partners. It is part of UA Summit Reimagined virtual event. Register here.Panelists:Joyce LePage, Manager of Enterprise Data & Analytics, DTE EnergyAJ Morales, Manager of Work Tracking Automation, PG&EJeremy Wortz, Senior Architect, West Monroe Partners

What makes a great recruiter great.In today's conversation...There are subtle nuances that separate great recruiters from their peers…but what are they?Out panel members talk about the “art” in recruiting and what traits seem to be common in great recruiters.Listen in to find out if you are in agreement with what are panel members are thinking on this topic. Today's panelists are:Ed Frankel, New York City Chapter with Omnicom Health GroupLeslie Newton, Portland Chapter with RedfinYvonne Ngundam, New York City Chapter with PVH CorpTyler Byrd, Chicago Chapter with West Monroe Partners

The CandEs Shop Talk Podcast welcomes Scott Schaffer, Talent Acquisition Manager at West Monroe Partners, a national management and technology consulting firm — and a proud Candidate Experience Awards winner. Listen in on how improving candidate experience impacts recruiting and the business bottom line.

Greg Poffenroth, the current director of customer experience at West Monroe Partners, tells his story of establishing the customer experience division at a modern business consulting firm. Greg touches on how digital marketing has shaped the way companies and consumers interact.

In this episode, Audrey profiles Fifi, an Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) student at USC. Fifi explains what ISE is and talks about her experience in the major. As an engineer, Fifi has studied abroad in New Zealand, done research at USC's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events, managed projects for Engineers Without Borders, and chaired the USC Women in Engineering organization. Last summer, Fifi interned at the aerospace company Moog as a systems engineer and this summer will be interning at the consulting firm West Monroe Partners. Tune in to learn all about Fifi and ISE!

Connect with Larry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrybriski West Monroe Partners (WMP): https://www.westmonroepartners.com WMP Careers: https://www.acceptthechallenge.com Timestamps: 00:40 - Indiana University and choosing a major 02:11 - Joining Deloitte out of college and initial career growth 04:42 - Getting an MBA and transition to independent consulting 06:22 - How Larry met his business partners and built their consulting firm, Invoyent 09:39 - The strength of the business partners at Invoyent 11:30 - Hiring, training, and culture at Invoyent 16:03 - Challenges of building a company at age 28 and evolving as a leader 20:00 - Rapid growth and Invoyent being acquired by West Monroe Partners (WMP) 24:41 - Larry’s role at WMP and what they do in healthcare 27:20 - Culture at WMP and its alignment with Invoyent 28:57 - People development and career growth at WMP 32:13 - Advice for young professionals looking to grow their career rapidly 33:46 - Mentorship and how Larry invests in people 38:48 - Owning your career in consulting 40:25 - Advice for college students and how to approach their education 42:54 - Connecting with Larry and West Monroe Partners Learn more about Project Violet at https://www.projectviolet.com

with Kevin McCarty, CEO, and Susan Stelter, Chief People Officer, West Monroe Partners  Q&A Podcast

with Kevin McCarty, CEO, and Susan Stelter, Chief People Officer, West Monroe Partners  Q&A Podcast The post A People-First Organization Driven by Values appeared first on Bravanti.

Listen to Katherine Sikma interview and commission Doug Rabeneck into his work as a consultant with West Monroe Partners.

Prepare for More Distributed Energy Resources. Paul DeCotis, senior director in West Monroe Partners' Energy and Utilities practice, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. West Monroe, in partnership with Greentech Media, conducted a survey of more than 1,700 utility customers, 140 utility executives and managers, and more than two dozen regulators in major markets across North America. Its findings were released in a report titled Planning for a Distributed Energy Future. Interestingly, 92% of survey respondents said they had distributed energy resources (DERs) on their system, up from 80% when the survey was conducted three years ago. However, DeCotis noted during the podcast that DERs are not yet universally economical throughout the U.S. “Not all states and regulatory jurisdictions handle DERs the same. It'll be a few years before we see very significant DER penetrations uniformly across the country,” DeCotis said. “DERs still need substantial backup generation because utilities have the obligation to serve load and be the provider of last resort, so the industry will develop cautiously in some parts of the country until regulations become more certain and incentives become more mature,” he added. The report notes that distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) technology is on many utilities' radar, but more than half of respondents said they had no concrete plans to invest in it. “As the system gets more distributed, [utilities] do need a way to have visibility and to manage that system so that they can be the provider of last resort,” DeCotis said. Therefore, DERMS technology will continue to become more and more important as DERs are added to the grid.

As cybersecurity breaches and hacks are making the daily news, offensive security measures become essential for every business Sean and Rich discussed with Sergiu about Threat Hunting as a must for organizations that actively implement cyber resilience programs and debated on how security analysts can identify and contain the adversarial threats which have already evaded the existing lines of defenses. More Information about BearingPoint Talks on: www.bearingpoint.com/talks

Matt Sondag, leader of West Monroe Partners' M&A practice, and Brian Jacobsen, managing partner of West Monroe Capital, joined MMG Editor Kathryn Mulligan to discuss the business and technology consulting firm's new co-investment strategy, including how it began and the types of deals the firm looks for. They also weighed in on trends impacting middle-market M&A heading into 2019.

West Monroe Partners is known for partnering with companies to help them reimagine, build & transform their business with technology. The company recently read a study shows that, despite a tightening labor market that should be making companies sweat about how to convince their skilled workers to stick around, most of those surveyed ranked employee engagement toward the bottom when asked about their company’s top 10 priorities - and it didn’t even make the cut for 10% of the respondents. So, what’s it going to take for companies to realize that they can’t take their top talent for granted? In a competitive labor market like this, the Employee Experience is the new Customer Experience - and it’s time companies figured that out. I invited Paul Hagen, a senior principal in West Monroe’s customer experience practice and author of this report onto my tech podcast to find out more. Paul Hagen is a senior principal with West Monroe Partners in San Francisco where he heads the firm’s customer experience and innovation strategy. He is an experienced strategy, customer experience, and marketing professional with over 20 years of market research, human-centered design, technology and digital strategy, facilitation and project management experience and a track record for creating solutions that enable business goals through innovative technology and systems.

Brad Haller and Paul Cotter of West Monroe Partners, a household name in IT diligence, join me on this episode. We get into one increasingly important aspect within IT diligence, namely cybersecurity diligence. Securing your company’s data has become a vital aspect of running a business. There are serious costs in failing to secure that data. How do you protect yourself from acquiring companies with data security issues? Listen up!

According to a recent study from the biz/tech consulting firm, West Monroe Partners, 1 in 3 millennial HR professionals surveyed said they frequently pass on an IT job candidate if they don’t have strong soft skills. Tech jobs aren’t easy to fill, but you want to make sure your new hire is great both behind and in front of the screen. So, if you’re tired of hiring people who look good on paper but can’t collaborate or write well to save their lives, you should start by hiring a millennial to lead the change. West Monroe Partners, a business and technology consultancy's latest study “Closing the Technology Leadership Gap,” investigates the state of soft skills, defined as communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, and leadership in technology and IT hiring decisions. Specifically, it pinpoints the lack of focus on soft skills in today’s workplaces as the cause of productivity, innovation and growth issues. The report found that, while the importance of soft skills has increased significantly over the past three years, many companies don’t train for these capabilities on technology teams – including IT. The study also found that leadership is technology employees’ most underdeveloped soft skill. “To stay competitive in today’s digital world, business leaders need to enlist a holistic mindset regarding technologists’ skillsets,” said Kevin McCarty, president and CEO of West Monroe. “Some of today’s best leaders come from a technology background, and we need more of them. To remain on the forefront of innovation, companies need to put their technologists in a position to lead. They also must prioritize soft skills and leadership training as part of continued growth and development.” West Monroe surveyed 1,250 individuals across two surveys made up of 600 HR and recruiting professionals, and 650 full-time employees who regularly work with their company’s technology teams. Key highlights include: HR Leaders Want Soft Skills (But They Don’t Cultivate Them) 98 percent of HR leaders say soft skills are important in landing a technology position - so important that 67 percent say they have withheld a job offer from an otherwise qualified technical candidate solely because they lacked soft skills. They ranked verbal communication and collaboration the most important soft skills. Once a hired, however, most companies don’t invest in developing their technology professionals’ soft skills further. In fact, around one-quarter of companies provide soft skills training to line-of-business employees, but not to IT. Technology Professionals Aren’t Seen as Leaders HR leaders consider leadership to be the least important soft skill for prospective technology hires. Technology employees often don’t ascend the career ladder, with 39 percent of companies lacking a technology background in the c-suite. This absence affects collaboration between business and tech employees. Lacking Soft Skills Hurts An Organization’s Ability to Innovate 43 percent of full-time employees say soft-skills-related challenges with IT have negatively impacted their work, which is problematic considering that innovative projects increasingly require employees to work alongside each other.  

In this episode, Mike and Paul revisit the topic of Business Agility, the advantage it can provide organizations when done properly, and the role CX leaders and functions can play in driving agility within organizations. They discuss some of the results identified from research completed by West Monroe Partners and the CXPA, including what are top challenges for achieving more business agility, who is leading these initiatives within organizations, and top reasons and tools that make CX Leaders successful in leading these initiatives within organizations.

This podcast episode sponsored by West Monroe Partners, and brought to you by creative strategies.How do we think about change in the electric utility industry caused by distributed resources? Is it like telecom? Internet-based retail?Sam Uyeno, senior manager in West Monroe Partners’ energy and utilities practice, says that it may be more like ride sharing. As distributed resources flourish, he argues that utilities will have to think about how to leverage new customers within its network — just as Uber came into the taxi market and allowed anyone to become operators. When you consider distributed resource management software, “maybe that’s the Uber.”Utilities are making large investments to keep up with the quickening pace of technological innovation. But it may not be enough to keep up with distributed energy resources. Utilities should also be looking for a new regulatory compact all together, argues Tom Hulsebosch, senior managing director for West Monroe Partner’s Energy & Utilities and sustainability practice. In this podcast, we talk with Hulsebosch and Uyeno about the technology investments and business practices that utilities need to adopt in order to get ahead of the wave of distributed assets connecting to the grid.Recommended reading:Addressing the Challenge of Distributed Energy Resource GrowthPositioning Utilities to Win the Battle for CustomersNew Role for Utilities Leads to Business Opportunities

Dan Belmont is senior director of energy and utilities at consultancy West Monroe Partners and authored recently a report titled “Signature Research: Managing Grid Modernization: Integrating IT and Operations at US Utilities.” He spoke to us about how his firm advises utilities to bring IT and OT together, and how to attract top talent to achieve the goals of an evolving industry. NOTE: An article based on this interview with some quote excerpts is available for Smart Grid Today subscribers here: West Monroe reports to utilities on IT, OT convergence

In this episode, Hall T. Martin conducts an interview with Mark Huson and Scott Fuzer, of West Monroe Partners, a multinational management and technology consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Nancy Tseng, West Coast Mergers and Acquisition Leader at West Monroe Partners, has been surrounded by ambitious people from a young age. Having been exposed to the hard work and perseverance of her mother and grandparents, she's taken that ambition and created her own illustrious career. After making connections and networking at Stanford, she was exposed to the world of engineering. In this week's podcast, Nancy talks about the importance of networking, the need for more women in management consulting and the women who impacted her life and career. 

Nancy Tseng, West Coast Mergers and Acquisition Leader at West Monroe Partners, has been surrounded by ambitious people from a young age. Having been exposed to the hard work and perseverance of her mother and grandparents, she’s taken that ambition and created her own illustrious career. After making connections and networking at Stanford, she was exposed to the world of engineering. In this week’s podcast, Nancy talks about the importance of networking, the need for more women in management consulting and the women who impacted her life and career. 

The CandEs Shop Talk Podcast welcomes Adela Schoolderman, Talent Acquisition Manager, Diversity & Inclusion Leader and Candidate Experience Champion at West Monroe Partners, a business and technology consulting firm — and a proud Candidate Experience Awards winner. Listen in on how improving candidate experience impacts recruiting and the business bottom line.

Episode 1: In this inaugural episode, we interview Ms. Shawna Saffle, a Manager at West Monroe Partners. Shawna sits down with us in a local cafe and shares her perspective on change ahead in 2017. Our discussion covers insights and observations in a few industries experiencing an unprecedented amount of disruption and change, and how best to manage that change.

In this session, Joe DeCosmo, Chief Analytics Officer, Enova International, sat with Vishal Kumar, CEO AnalyticsWeek and shared his journey to Chief Analytics Officer, life @ Enova, and some challenges/opportunities as he is observing as an executive, industry observer, and a Chief Analytics Officer. Timeline: 0:29 Joe's journey. 5:05 Credit risk and fraud prevention models. 6:27 Enova: in facing or outfacing? 9:12 Enova area of expertise. 10:47 Enova decisions: Center of Excellence? 12:36 Depths and breadths of decision making at Enova. 14:51 CDO, CAO, and CTO. 17:24 Who owns the data at Enova? 19:55 Challenges in building a data culture. 25:52 Convincing leaders towards data science. 31:24 Business challenges that analytics is solving. 34:15 Getting started with data analytics as a business. 38:11 Exciting trends in data analytics. 41:09 Art of doing business and science of doing business. 44:00 Advice for budding CAOs. Podcast link: https://futureofdata.org/analyticsweek-leadership-podcast-with-joe-decosmo-enova-international/ Here's Joe's Bio: Joe DeCosmo is the CAO of Enova International, where he leads a multi-disciplinary analytics team, providing end-to-end data and analytic services to Enova's global online financial service brands and delivering real-time predictive analytics services to clients through Enova Decisions. Prior to Enova, Joe served as Director and Practice Leader of Advanced Analytics for West Monroe Partners and held a number of executive positions at HAVI Global Solutions and the Allant Group. He is also Immediate Past-President of the Chicago Chapter of the American Statistical Association and serves on the Advisory Board of the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Business. The podcast is sponsored by: TAO.ai(https://tao.ai), Artificial Intelligence Driven Career Coach About #Podcast: #FutureOfData podcast is a conversation starter to bring leaders, influencers, and lead practitioners to discuss their journey to create the data-driven future. Want to Join? If you or any you know wants to join in, Register your interest @ http://play.analyticsweek.com/guest/ Want to sponsor? Email us @ info@analyticsweek.com Keywords: #FutureOfData #DataAnalytics #Leadership #Podcast #BigData #Strategy

Structured surveys have been the workhorse of customer experience (CX) measurement programs, but often fall short in capturing real-time insights about the totality of an experience. In this episode, we speak with Paul Hagen, head of Customer Experience and Innovation Strategy at West Monroe Partners, about the evolution of voice of the customer (VoC) programs from […] The post 53: The Evolution of Voice Of The Customer Programs appeared first on The CX Cast ® by Forrester.

The Paris Climate Agreement resulted in a commitment by 195 countries to enact strict policies to address global climate change. Now manufacturers will have to fall into line. Whether they're prepared to do so is another question entirely. A recent study by West Monroe Partners found that 49 percent of North American supply-chain executives don't view sustainability as a strategic priority. And 64 percent have no plans to adopt sustainability initiatives in the coming years. Like it or not, though, they're going to have to take steps to slash their emissions, and fall into line with the goals of the COP21 meeting in Paris. But what exactly will that take? On this episode, we get some guidance from David South, senior principal with West Monroe Partners. He discusses the results of the firm's study, and lays out the challenges facing small and medium-sized manufacturers in their efforts to go green. Is sustainability a financial burden? Or can it bolster the bottom line?

Michele Catalano / West Monroe Partners Michele is a Talent Development Manager with West Monroe Partners. Michele is a talented professional with extensive experience in all aspects of curriculum development, including: needs assessment, instructional design, and comprehensive evaluation. She has direct experience with curriculum design for sales and management; orientation program creation; facilitation; and measurement […] The post Michele Catalano with West Monroe Partners appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

Manufacturing and distribution executives love the idea of slashing inventories. But it's distribution-center managers who must deal with the consequences. Lean is the watchword in supply-chain management today, and inventory isn't immune. All that merchandise sitting around on warehouse racks seems like a prime candidate for cost-cutting. And most of the time, the practice makes sense. Who wants a lot of unneeded product dragging down the bottom line? Unfortunately, D.C.s aren't always involved in the high-level decision to cut inventories. On this episode, we hear from Jeff Primeau, senior manager in the supply chain practice of management and technology consulting firm West Monroe Partners. He talks about how distribution operations can cope with sharply reduced stocks, and keep product flowing efficiently.

As more distributed generation comes online, will we see more energy efficiency? The number of rooftop solar systems has increased dramatically. It makes most sense for solar users to focus on efficiency first, says Tom Hulsevosch, managing director, energy and utility practice, West Monroe Partners. This presents an opportunity for both energy efficiency companies and solar installers: They could focus on both installing solar and providing efficiency, he says.

President Obama has called for utilities to use more renewable energy. What does this mean for distributed generation and energy efficiency? Lisa Cohn interviews David South, senior manager in the sustainability practice for West Monroe Partners, who identifies the challenges and benefits of the Obama plan for energy efficiency and distributed generation.