Manufacturers today are under intense competitive pressures. Amid widespread globalization that is commoditizing products in all industries, customers everywhere are demanding more value in the form of higher quality, speed of delivery, better service and support, and lower costs. The requirements of more value/lower cost touches all manufacturing activities, including supplier management, product design and R&D, production, logistics/distribution, sales and marketing, It also has forced the need for improvement strategies well beyond the plant floor. Yet despite the pressure to improve, only handfuls of truly world-class manufacturers are achieving the quantum improvements necessary to succeed and capitalize on the vast opportunities of global markets. Many manufacturers simply are unable to improve because of an inability or failure to develop the employee talents—from frontline to senior executives—that allow them to take on the cultural and process changes that improvement strategies, such as lean manufacturing, require. So many manufacturers conscious of the competitive global landscape and focused on the customer often fail to translate their strategy and attention through the organization and, ultimately, satisfy customers and remain competitive.
BASF Corporation 
Development of a selection system to rapidly hire a large number of people.
BASF Corporation 
(PDF)
Developing a high-involvement culture.
BIC (PDF)
Reducing turnover, ensuring high-quality hires, and ascertaining job fit by implementing a structured hiring process.
Caterpillar A multinational manufacturer overhauls its performance management system and reaps huge benefits.
Caterpillar Developing the skills supervisors need to succeed.
Caterpillar (PDF)
Providing leaders with the skills, knowledge, and tools to manage employee performance effectively.
General Motors Corporation Standardizing selection and assessment to boost quality and improve performance.
GKN Identifying high-potential leaders and targeting individual development needs.
ICI Group Recruiting the best and the brightest by implementing a four-stage recruitment and selection system.
Interbrew Cultivating and developing future leaders is key to ambitious growth strategy.
Mattel Development programs help shape leadership skills in fast-paced environment.
Mattel (PDF)
Staying on top by providing leaders with the skills to guide and improve employee performance.
Philips A complex organization streamlines its global approach to training.
PPG Industries Rebuilding bench strength through a 2-tiered career management program.
Siemens Creating tailored individual assessment centers to test defined capabilities in order to identify leaders who are ready to take on leadership roles.
Steelcase Canada Assessing lower-level to senior leaders, and furnishing them with a comprehensive skill-building program that combines classroom learning with ongoing on-line development support.
Syngenta Designing and delivering a leadership development program to reinforce an emerging organizational culture.
The Boeing Company Developing a selection system to rapidly hire 2,000 people.
VP Buildings, Inc. Realized $3 million in process savings by fostering teamwork, making team leaders more effective, and promoting accountability for action.
Client Successes
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