Australian Negotiation Survey by CMA Learning reveals millions of dollars at risk
Announcement posted by CMA Learning Group 29 Feb 2012
A new survey by CMA Learning Group reveals that inconsistent negotiation practices are leaving Australian organisations at risk of losing an average of $26 million annually in their negotiations with clients, staff and suppliers. CEO Simon Dowling and senior consulting staff will be presenting these findings to key industry leaders at Negotiation Insights events in Melbourne and Sydney in March.
655 respondents believed that their organisations have on average $13 million at risk to their bottom line as a result of current negotiating behaviours over a six month period. Simon Dowling said, “In many organisations, that figure may be much higher with substantially larger values being negotiated.”
“Organisations are failing to ensure that all their negotiations are being handled by skillful people, whether through recruitment, training, or outsourcing,” said Dowling.
Other key findings include:
- 58 per cent of respondents cited successful negotiations over internal structure and resources as being key measures of success
- 69 per cent of respondents felt that they didn’t have adequate time and resources available to prepare for important negotiations, more than 20 per cent higher than their next biggest concern (lacking sufficient or shared information critical to success)
- Only 12 per cent of the people surveyed ensured that their negotiators always receive adequate training, whilst 40 per cent of organisations never bring in professionals to manage their negotiations
“There are steps that effective negotiators can take to mitigate these systemic limitations, if they’re aware of the importance of doing so,” said Dowling. “Additionally, factors impacting on risk may seem out of a negotiator’s control, but which can be successfully managed by a skillful negotiator.”
CMA Learning Group’s Negotiation Insights events are running in Melbourne at the RACV Club on Friday 2 March, 7.30am, and Sydney at the Grace Hotel on Friday 9 March, 7.30am.
About CMA
CMA Learning Group has been helping teams and organisations build their negotiation capability since 1993, when founded in assistance with leading figures from the Harvard Negotiation Project, the world’s leading think tank on negotiation practice. Their work with clients enables individuals and organisations to have interests-based, value-creating conversations, even in the face of difference and difficulty.
About the survey
CMA conducted an electronic survey of over 650 staff across Australia from a variety of industries, including government, professional services, financial, education, infrastructure, health, industrial, IT and essential services. CEOs through to frontline staff participated, and answered seven different questions regarding the current negotiation behaviours and practices within their organisation, and the values attributed to these negotiations (both internally and externally).
Media Contacts
Kate Olsen
CMA Learning Group
+61 3 9613 0757 or +61 424 720 794