PREDICTIONS AND PROJECTIONS OF DEVELOPING BUSINESS TOPICS. In this article I address a high level view of the latest topics and trends in business. This information is based on current client interaction and projects, across a variety of industry role players.

1. Group coaching proving beneficial: We are seeing an increased uptake of group coaching as companies realise the business, employee and cost benefits of a coaching environment. Group coaching differs to formal or stand alone training and provides sustainable learning as a group deals with the challenges of their daily business reality in a coaching environment. For individuals, the process reduces time out of the office and provides an environment where they can focus on real-time issues. Our clients are finding that the benefits are win-win: their people develop on a personal and skills level, and the business gets the operational results they expect.

Coaching for individuals can be expensive, so offering coaching to a team or group of peers has the desired effect while being kind to the bottom line? especially important as businesses continue to feel the effect of the recession.

2. Yes to integrated strategy implementation? Businesses are taking a much more integrated approach to developing and implementing strategy, whilst simultaneously looking at developing culture.

Clients are beginning to focus more on processes, which motivates a quicker Return on Investment (ROI). The financial driver for smarter implementation is not just about managing limited resources, it is also to get more out of training and development budgets and leverage SETA grants. Its all about how businesses get more value for their development spend.

This shift also indicates a trend of businesses to focus on change as a process rather than as an event. The approach is most successful when integrating all people activity into one collective process, linked to achieving key strategic objectives, in order to leverage spend. This is opposed to just focusing on addressing development needs individually or through stand alone organisational interventions.

A highly integrated strategy enables clients to experience quicker results and focus on high impact areas. It's about ensuring every activity the business invests in ultimately links to the strategic high impact areas and simultaneously gives their people the right development to create competitive edge.

3. Management processes improve productivity: The recent recession has forced executives and leaders to think differently about their business models. There has been a critical look at processes, systems and organisational structures. People are trying to do more with less, and get more from their time.

Pure is observing increased levels of fatigue and stress in businesses. This mindset makes it difficult to embrace new change and implement innovation. So how do we build and maintain a healthy, energised workforce? There is a tendency to throw effective people management processes out the window when there is pressure on delivery. A complete focus only on tasks creates assumption and team insecurity, everything is about how much we deliver rather than:
1. Are we delivering the right things?
2. Where are the workflow issues?
3. How can we improve our productivity?

Companies need to, more than ever, ensure their people management processes are as tight as their financial management processes: this is what increases people motivation and output.

This means ensuring regular team meetings, tracking time spent on specific tasks, regular check-ins with individuals and continuous identification of what is going well and where you can shift. Effective consistency in people management tells a positive story in financials.

4. Making a difference creates purpose: The Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) scorecard has brought about a renewed effort on social development. There is a strong business focus on supporting their surrounding communities. The initial compliance requirement is having a positive impact as businesses become more CSI focused, organisations are experiencing a mind shift within. People are motivated by working for companies that make a difference. They feel they are making a positive contribution and are electing to give back more and work harder. The result is an increase in productivity when they understand that their jobs are purposeful and have value.

Businesses helping their communities are seeing the differences they are making in people?s lives and are receiving encouraging feedback. Inherently people want to make a difference, and feel that they count, so it does not matter to the extent  of the efforts as long as they are authentic and meaningful to both parties.

Kim Kemp is the CEO of Pure Innovation (www.pure-sa.co.za).