Research and Advisory

Supporting informed decision-making for leadership development and succession

Performance is the goal uppermost in the mind of Ushankk and its consultants when they engage with a client. The Ushankk team is equipped to conduct various types of research in support of this goal. Evaluation of the existing leadership team’s capabilities, knowledge and skill is one of the ways in which organizations seek external inputs in an effort to stay sharp. This is not just for new hires.

Research could be of various types and seek to assess different skill-sets and capabilities, such as:

1. Competitor Mapping – Identifying the closest competitors and conducting a study of its organization structure and decision-making process.

2. Compensation Research – Compensation is a key part of a contract between employer and employee. Ushankk supports this process through salary benchmarking surveys and analyzing market trends in compensation such as ESOPs, bonuses, benefits, etc.

3. Prospective Candidate Evaluation – This is done to establish the credentials of a candidate for a role. It requires a background check to verify employment history, education, and credentials, reference and reputation checks to establish operating styles and cultural fit, and a digital footprint scan to understand the individual and his/ her likes/ dislikes, leanings, preferences, better.

4. Competence Mapping – Typically more frequently used for middle management, these evaluations could be conducted as an in-depth interview, with a senior leader participating or contributing to the question-set. This enables the organization to map people and roles better. Competence mapping is also carried out to identify skill gaps which often naturally lead to upskilling programmes, either through the clients’ training initiatives, or Ushankk’s leadership development programmes.

As a facilitator in the process, Ushankk is not limited to a finite set of tools and techniques and can access a wide spectrum, depending on the need of the client organization.