Clint Fairweather, Sungard
Company: Sungard, Wayne, PA
Company Description: SunGard is one of the world’s leading software and technology services companies. SunGard has more than 20,000 employees and serves more than 25,000 customers in more than 70 countries.
Nomination Category: Human Resources Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Human Resources Executive of the Year
Nomination Title: Clint Fairweather, Director, Organizational Effectiveness, Financial Systems, SunGard
Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since January 1 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Clint Fairweather wrote this goal in his Twitter bio: “Wake up everyday trying to make people better at what they do.” This sums up his achievements in 2010.
SunGard is a corporation built through acquisition. Since 1986, it has acquired
over 160 companies, mostly small, entrepreneurial firms focused more on
developing products than people.
In 2010, Clint began a journey to leverage the collective strengths of the
salesforce within SunGard Financial Systems (SGFS), one of four SunGard
businesses. SGFS supports the accounting and management of over $25 trillion in
investment assets, processing over 5 million trades daily. The SGFS salesforce
of approximately 700 is spread across the Americas, EMEA region (Europe, Middle
East, Africa), and Asia-Pacific region.
SGFS Sales Academy: Clint partnered internally with Matthew Serynek, COO of
SunGard Finance, Japan Operations, and they engaged Richardson as an external
global partner to develop the SGFS Sales Academy. A pilot program was
developed, tested, and fine-tuned, and training began rolling out across the
organization. The 60% goal for participation in 2010 was quickly exceeded, with
90% completing the first foundational course of what has become a broader
curriculum. This reflects both the pent-up demand within SGFS for development
and the high degree of senior-level buy-in for this major undertaking.
The initial SunGard Solution Selling course aligns the sales organization with
a consistent approach and language for selling. It is a highly interactive
three-day course with minimal lectures and maximum hands-on practice in
realistic role plays specific to SGFS scenarios.
A Master Level Managers Program was also introduced, beginning in London, New
York, and Singapore. Solution Selling was a prerequisite for the two-day
program, and it focused on helping managers improve sales productivity and
increase the rate of closed business through the ongoing development of their
sales teams.
The results are positive, especially in two key metrics. 1) Sales cycles are
shortening, with months shaved off deal times, and 2) total contract value is
rising, with less discounting needed as the worth of the deal is presented
throughout the sales cycle. Additionally, because people from across SGFS are
comingled in common sessions, there are more referrals occurring across the
business.
Talent reviews: Another major area for Clint is talent reviews and assessment,
including individual development plans, succession planning, and leadership
development programs.
In 2010, for the first time, senior management took part in an in-depth
analysis and calibration of an initial group of 100 employees. Beyond
identifying high potentials, the goal was to assess skill levels – and skill
gaps – and prepare for succession planning. The SGFS CEO and presidents
discussed employees’ performance, communications skills, executive presence,
collaborative efforts, and other specific behaviors. These were mapped on a
matrix, and development plans designed. Even for those who won’t reach or don’t
aspire to higher levels in the organization, Clint is focused on developing
their skills as one aspect of talent retention. This effort, and developmental
plans, are continuing in 2011.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
http://www.richardson.com/Resource-Center/Sales-Transformation/
Clint Fairweather and Matthew Serynek are co-owners of the SunGard Sales
Academy. In this video, Serynek, the business owner and COO of SunGard Finance,
Japan Operations, talks about the Sales Academy and its effectiveness in
bringing consistency to a global approach and establishing a common language
for value-based solution selling.
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:
Clint Fairweather is director of Organizational Effectiveness, Financial
Systems, SunGard. He has built a well-rounded career covering key aspects of HR
management: recruiting, talent assessment, individual development, succession
planning, performance management. He began recruiting in 1998 at TEKsystems,
moving to Deloitte in 2000, where he recruited in several specialty areas. He
joined SunGard in 2007 as director of Talent Management, moving to his present
role in 2009. He will complete is currently pursuing his MBA at La Salle. He
earned a Wharton School Certificate, Management, at the University of
Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Kentucky.