The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) (now called The Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals) needed to transition from a volunteer managed organization to the creation of a full-time staff of professional association executives. To ensure the success of this transition, we needed professional help from an external consultant firm. Neil Simon, of Business Development Group (BDG), was contracted to assist in the planning and development of the organization’s growth, leadership and talent development. Additionally, Neil helped me develop the organization’s strategic evolution, new processes, and coached us to prepare for the growth transition.
When BDG began working with our team, the organization decided that a key measurement of productivity would be revenue per staff (4 employees plus full-time volunteer equivalents) of $50,000. Seven years later this ratio exceeded $200,000 per employee as the organization grew by adding professional staff (25 employees).
Key to this change was the creation of a culture, methodology, and processes including employee selection and development. Individuals were selected based on attitude, enthusiasm, desire to contribute, and a willingness to join in the dream of developing a new professional society.
The search was for potential team member included development of criterion. A key criterion was seeking individuals who excelled in past jobs, and had often found it challenging to work in a group due to the feelings of being held back by other team members.
With the help of BDG’s individual coaching sessions and regular group programs responsibilities were developed from which individual jobs were then defined. The focus was not on the traditional “how” to do a job but on “what” needs to be done to help the organization succeed in achieving its goals and objectives. Employees weren’t “managed,” they were encouraged to lead, collaborate, and cooperate in order for all to be successful therefore helping meet customer’s (internal and external) needs while growing the organization.
Each year all staff came together in a multi-day event facilitated by BDG to review responsibilities, re-assign areas and as a group defined where the organization would go in the coming year.
As many staff members said “this is probably the best job I’ll ever have. I get to do exactly what I like, and get rewarded for my performance.”
Guy Kolb, Former Executive Director
Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals