The future is this way - Irish Business and employers confederation

The future is this way 

A new strategic 

direction for IBEC 

2013-2015

“ we are in 

the business 

of business 

growth.”

Contents 

2 Foreword 

3 Introduction by Danny McCoy, Director General, IBEC 

4 Vision, mission and high level strategy 

6 Strategy theme 1: National and EU policy agenda 

8 Strategy theme 2: Membership strategy 

9 Strategy theme 3: IBEC positioning 

11 Strategy theme 4: Sector alignment 

12 Strategy theme 5: Organisational transformation 

13 Implementation and delivery 

A new strategic direction for IBEC 2013-2015 1

Foreword 

Dear Member, 

IBEC is ambitious for Ireland’s economy, we believe in the strength of the Irish 

business model and its ability to secure a stronger, positive future for our country. 

With this in mind in April 2012, we launched our campaign, Driving Ireland’s 

Recovery. At the heart of this campaign we set out the business community’s 

ambition that Ireland has the potential to grow by 3-4% per annum over the 

coming decade. This ambition establishes the strategic context for IBEC for the 

coming year and beyond. 

This strategic plan sets out a new approach for IBEC. We recognise that IBEC’s 

success will be contingent on its ability to adapt and shape itself to address the 

needs of our members and act as the strongest and most effective voice for 

business in Ireland and beyond. Over the last number of months, we have worked 

to develop a strategic plan that ensures our organisation serves the needs of our 

wide and varied membership. Working with the IBEC Board and management we 

have developed this plan that places an emphasis on developing an organisation 

that matches the ambition and needs of our members. 

Our strategic objectives recognise the challenge ahead for IBEC in meeting this 

goal. We will work to ensure that IBEC is a strong and effective voice on national 

and European issues. At the same time we will strengthen our organisational 

capability and ensure that we deliver member service in a sustainable manner 

into the future. All of this will be underpinned by enhancing the skills of our 

enthusiastic and talented workforce led by a professional and committed 

management team. 

We want to express our gratitude to our colleagues on the Board for their support 

in developing this strategic plan. We want to thank you, the members of IBEC, for 

your continued support during the next phase of development for this organisation. 

With your support we passionately believe that we are well placed to deliver this 

ambition and ultimately a strong and professional service to you, our members. 

Julie O’Neill Paul Rellis John Kennedy 

2 

A new strategic direction for IBEC 2013-2015

Introduction from Danny McCoy, 

Director General, IBEC 

Against the on-going economic and political 

turbulence at home and in the eurozone, IBEC 

has performed well. Over the last four years 

the organisation has weathered a number of 

challenges and continues to be seen and accepted 

as the strongest voice for business in Ireland. 

We have demonstrated this in how we moved away from Social Partnership in an 

orderly and constructive way; reforged relationships with the new Government and 

established ourselves as the ‘go to’ business organisation in Ireland for the Troika. 

With the global spotlight firmly shining on Ireland during this period, we used the 

opportunity to proactively engage with international media and other influential 

stakeholders to ensure that despite all the noise, the message that Ireland’s 

business model was not broken was heard loud and clear. 

Unlike many similar organisations in Ireland or indeed across Europe, our strength 

comes, not just from representing business on broad macro issues, but by working 

on a daily basis directly with companies addressing their individual and unique 

issues. We are well placed to leverage this knowledge and insight to deliver a 

stronger and more credible voice for business on behalf of our members. Our 

ongoing success however depends on our ability to adapt. We have listened to 

our members and other key stakeholders and ultimately we need to look, act and 

deliver more like you, the businesses we represent. 

With this in mind we embarked upon the development of our strategy for 2013- 

2015. This new strategic direction represents a major change to the way in which 

IBEC has evolved and operated since it was founded 20 years ago. At its core 

IBEC’s role will not change, however in a challenging economic environment where 

businesses are facing tighter budgets, we have to ensure that we are providing 

value to members at competitive costs. The organisation therefore needs to focus 

on what you our members want and value and we need to implement this in a 

way that is sustainable and financially viable for IBEC. This statement of strategy 

document outlines what we intend to do, how we plan to do it and the benefits 

it will bring to our members. 

As with any transformational change process, there will be challenges for us. 

As Director General I am totally focussed and committed to delivering this 

change and I know that with your support, the ongoing support of the IBEC 

Board and my executive colleagues we will succeed. 

Danny McCoy 


Vision and mission 

A New VISION 

IBEC – The most influential, dynamic business 

representative organisation in Ireland, 

driving our business agenda in Europe 

A New MISSION 

IBEC - Leading, shaping and promoting business 

policy and conditions to drive economic success 

IBEC values 

Teamwork 

Trust 

DEDICATION 

TO OUR 

MEMBERS 

Integrity 

in our 

actions 

Respect 

for 

people 

4 


High level strategy 

National and 

EU policy agenda 

MISSION 

STRATEGIC THEMES 

Membership 

strategy 

VISION 

IBEC – The most influential, 

dynamic business representative 

organisation in Ireland, driving 

our business agenda in Europe 

IBEC - Leading, shaping and promoting 

business policy and conditions to drive economic success 

1 2 3 4 5 

IBEC 

profile 

Sector 

alignment 

Organisational 

transformation 

Teamwork 

Integrity in 

our actions 

IBEC VALUES 

Dedication to 

our members 

Respect 

for people 

Trust 


Strategic theme 

01 

National and EU policy agenda 

Strategic objective 

Develop and promote a national and EU 

policy agenda to support the development 

of a sustainable and successful economy 

to drive Ireland’s recovery 

Actions 

n Identify and assess existing policy development 

in IBEC 

n Develop a proposal on potential policy areas that 

IBEC can have an impact on at sectoral, national 

and international level for the Board and Council 

n Implement and review policy agenda on an 

ongoing basis 

n Leverage connections through Ireland’s European 

Presidency 

n Develop a strategic plan for IBEC Europe 

n Develop an organisation with the requisite skills to 

deliver on this role 

n Assess role, function and effectiveness of IBEC’s 

current position in Europe 

n Determine how IBEC can develop a more influential 

role on the international stage through strategic 

alliances 

6 


influence 

IN Europe 



02 

Membership strategy 


Develop the membership strategy that 

leverages IBEC’s strengths, e.g. connections, 

access, insight, influence, power and scale 

Actions 

n Define IBEC’s unique selling proposition 

n Define the target membership base 

n Review relevance of current sectors 

n Review all member services and decide what is 

core and non-core 

n Develop the membership propositions by sector 

and membership category 

n Develop criteria for the entrance/exit of sectors 

to IBEC 

n Develop account management framework 

n Implement a membership development strategy 

8 



03 

IBEC profile 


Position IBEC as Ireland’s foremost 

business organisation 

Actions 

n Defining what ‘foremost’ entails as distinct from 

what we are today 

n Identify the current activities that are used to 

position IBEC at present 

n Assess the key stakeholders expectations 

n Conduct membership survey on members views of 

current activities and how IBEC should position itself 

n Conduct competitor analysis on positioning, profiling, 

membership services, pricing etc 

n Develop a programme/activities to position IBEC as 

the foremost business organisation e.g. Think-tank, 

thought pieces, white papers etc 

n Develop a brand strategy for IBEC and sectors. 


IBEC – the 

power of 

one voice 

at work. 

10 



04 

Sector alignment 


Align and integrate the sectors, their 

objectives and policy agendas to inform 

IBEC’s future direction 

Actions 

n Conduct analysis of the current sectors, their 

objectives, policy agendas and how they currently 

inform IBEC’s direction 

n Develop a new integrated management and operating 

framework around how sectors are managed 

n Develop a knowledge-bank for policy etc 

n Identify new potential sectors that are not currently 

represented 

n Assess strategic fit of affiliates and determine 

appropriate relationships 



05 

Organisational transformation 


Develop a commercially sustainable business 

model and transform the organisation’s 

capability to deliver the strategic objectives 

Actions 

n Develop the revenue and cost targets based on the 

membership strategy 

n Develop a new pricing model based on new 

membership propositions and service benefits 

n Review regional service provision and infrastructure 

n Develop risk management plan 

n Complete ongoing cost reduction programme 

n Deliver the full implementation of the ‘Investment 

in people project’ 

Note: This includes: Culture and values, organisation design, 

leadership, talent management, skills and competencies, 

change capability, internal communications, HR policy 

n Develop/redesign processes to support the 

organisation design 

n Develop an internal communication plan to support 

the transformation of IBEC 

12 


Implementation and delivery 

Financial 

Sustainable 

business model 

Service alignment 

Cost control 

Pricing model 

Implementation plan 

Implementation of the strategic objectives and actions will be monitored and 

reviewed on an ongoing basis with reference to the IBEC balanced scorecard (outlined 

in the model below) which drives the IBEC performance management cycle. 

IBEC balanced scorecard 

Process 

Position IBEC 

Policy agenda 

Stakeholder management 

Sectors 

Europe 

Technology 

BPR 

Members 

(Customer) 

Membership strategy 

Customer-centric 

operating model 

Account management 

processes 

Redefined customer 

value proposition 

People 

Transform 

organisation’s capability 

Leadership 

Performance culture 

Change management 

Deliverables 

In summary, this strategy will deliver a higher-performing organisation 

with the following key deliverables: 

1. A redefined vision 

2. A commercial focus 

3. An emphasis on ‘business’ 

4. The use of technology being optimised 

5. A new member-centric operating structure which is flexible, agile and lean 

6. Strategically focused leadership and well developed talent pool 

7. Continued development of our key stakeholder relationships 

8. A redefined customer value proposition with a new pricing model 

9. Realignment/re-engineering of operating processes 

10. Redefined performance culture with clear accountability 

11. Sustainability and balance 

12. An engaged workforce 


delivering 

14 


Implementation and delivery (continued) 

Initial key milestones 

2012 2013 

Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

Strategic theme 1: National and EU policy agenda 

Proposal on policy areas 

Analysis of current European position 

European strategic plan 

Strategic theme 2: Membership strategy 

CRM 

Account management framework 

Membership propositions 

Membership development strategy 

Strategic theme 3: IBEC profile 

Brand strategy 

Positioning programme 

Strategic theme 4: Sector alignment 

Sectoral analysis 

Management and operating framework 

u 

u 

u 

u 

u 

u 

u 

u 

u 

u 

u 

Strategic theme 5: Organisational transformation 

Revenue/cost targets 

New pricing model 

New organisation structure 

Internal communications plan 

Ongoing workstreams 

Communications 

Cost reduction 

‘Investment in people’ project 

u 

u 

u 

u 

Key success factors 

The availability of following factors will be critical to achieving a successful 

Strategy Implementation: 

1. Board support 

2. Leadership quality 

3. People quality 

4. Successful rebranding 

5. Changing the corporate culture 

6. Keeping momentum and pace 

7. Change management 


Driving Ireland’s Recovery is all about: 

n Restoring domestic demand 

n Keeping Ireland strong in Europe 

n Supporting job creation 

n Delivering world-class public services 

Find out more at www.ibec.ie/recovery 

16 


irish business and employers confederation 

Confederation House 84/86 Lower Baggot Street Dublin 2 

phone + 353 (0)1 605 1500 fax + 353 (0)1 638 1500 

email info@ibec.ie www.ibec.ie 

Join the conversation 

IBEC Driving Ireland’s Recovery @ibec_irl ibecinformation 

www.ibec.ie/recovery 

CORK 

Knockrea House 

Douglas Road 

Cork 

phone + 353 (0)21 429 5511 

email info@ibec.ie 

south east 

Confederation House 

Waterford Business Park 

Cork Road Waterford 

phone + 353 (0)51 331 260 

email southeast@ibec.ie 

mid-west 

Gardner House 

Bank Place 

Charlotte Quay Limerick 

phone + 353 (0)61 410 411 

email midwest@ibec.ie 

west 

Ross House 

Victoria Place 

Galway 

phone + 353 (0)91 561 109 

email galway@ibec.ie 

north west 

3rd Floor Pier One 

Quay Street 

Donegal Town 

phone + 353 (0)74 972 4280 

email northwest@ibec.ie 

ibec europe 

Avenue de Cortenbergh, 89 

Boite 2 1000 Bruxelles, 

Belgium 

phone + 32 (0)2 512 3333 

email ibec.europe@ibec.ie 

www.ibec.ie/europe

The future is this way - Irish Business and employers confederation

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