Ions Consulting: The MP2 Training Program

Clark Loon's background and role at ICS

Ions Cunsulting: The Mp2 Training Program the times (mpre cloped M It was 7:00 p.m. on April 25, 2007 and Clark Loon only had three days left to show the executive board of lons Consulting Services (ICS) that his newly developed Mentoring Management Project for Professionals (MP-2) training program was indeed worth the cost, the time and the resources to implement it across the company. Loon, the newly hired human resources director for ICS, was in charge of developing and implementing a training program that would meet the company's needs of transferring knowledge from older, more experienced project consultants to the junior, inexperienced associates. Loon envisioned that the MP 2 program would reshape the company's training practices and retain employees over the long term.

However, implementing the program proved to be much more difficult than he ever imagined Clark turned on his computer and started to replay in his mind the meetings he had during the day. He wondered how to assess the success of the program, how to convince the board that it would work and whether there was anything that he should be doing differently. CLARK LOON Clark Loon had worked in the consulting industry for over 20 years, with experience at six different consulting firms in various cities across North America. At the outset of his career, he never intended to move quickly from one firm to the next, but he longed to experience living in different parts of the continent.

Prior to joining ICS as the human resources director, Loon worked as a project management consultant for three years at a small advisory services firm in Detroit, Michigan. However, as time went on, he became less happy being based in Detroit, which prompted him to look for another opportunity. Ultimately, he returned to ICS in his hometown of Vancouver. Loon was familiar with ICS because he had worked there 14 years previously as an associate consultant, when the firm was just beginning its operation. Although he decided to leave ICS after six years of service for reasons of geographic relocation -

he continued to maintain close ties with the president of the company. Ultimately, his close relationship with the president is what helped him land his current position as human resources director. However, at no time in the eight months that he had been there did Loon feel at ease. Loon felt that the company had changed for the worse in the 14 years of his absence, and was facing severe human resource challenges.

IONS CONSULTING SERVICES (ICS) ICS started in 1989 in downtown Vancouver with the concept of offering superior solutions that enabled client organizations to improve project execution with regards to budget, schedule and efficiency. Over the years, ICS had achieved success by developing its client portfolio primarily with health care and telecom companies, assisting them in various IT-related projects. ICS's core competence lay in IT project solutions, including system integration, network management, custom application development and e-commerce development.

Founded by three experienced aspiring individuals, ICS grew quickly. In 2003, three years prior to Loon re-joining the company, ICS had added offices in two different Canadian cities (Winnipeg and Toronto) in addition to their Vancouver office. At the same time, the firm grew to just over 60 employees. A recent downturn in the IT market had forced ICS to lay off some of its employees in an effort to reduce costs. By the time Loon re- joined the company in 2006, the total number of employees across the three offices had been reduced to approximately 40 employees.

As a result, employee morale was low, and the employee turnover rate was the highest it had ever been. The recent downsizing not only had detrimental effects on the low-performing employees that were let go, but also on some of the high-performing employees, who no longer wanted to remain with the firm because of perceived job insecurity. Amongst the layoff survivors, employees began to look for jobs elsewhere.

• What kind of revisions should Loon make to the MP^2 Program?(700 words)
  
  
• How will the revised MP^2 Program benefit senior employees, the junior employees and the firm as a whole? (700 words)