05.12.10
A Trend That Can End Tempestuously
After having conversations with a couple of other cemetery and crematory consultants regarding the slowing of utilization of operations, governance, and compliance expertise; a concerning trend is developing that will have negative consequences in the future if it continues. The death care industry typically goes through cycles. Cycle one is the unfettered sales path. This is when sales are ramped up to fever pitch, with little or no accountability toward governance and compliance. Cycle two has been the operations mode, when the consolidators bring more managers (governance and compliance) back into the fold to correct the mistakes made during the sales ramp up cycle.
The successful sales cycle brings as much revenue into the businesses as possible in the shortest amount of time allowable. The successful operations cycle corrects the mistakes made during the sales cycle, and is deemed a success if the result of this second cycle completes with no new litigation or legislation. It generally appears as a constant circular path.
This cyclic path we find the industry on now, is changing. By typical standards, the operations cycle should have begun about a year ago however, the sales cycle continues to grow and the operations cycle is slowing ever further. Restructuring is occuring and operations managers are being downsized or eliminated in favor of sales management and/or General Manager/Sales Manager positions. The difference is there are only a handful of experienced individuals in the industry who are truly capable of wearing both hats, and with emphasis on the sales aspect are given precious little time or resources to insure operational integrity.
Presently there are hundreds of positions advertised for sales people, sales managers, sales executives, and the like. You will find presently not one operations management position posted on any of the job boards, trade boards, or corporate websites. This is a concerning, if not disturbing, trend for the experts in operations.
It would be believed that operations consultants would become busier with this trend, saving the corporations a lot of money by utilizing talent that is not their responsibility. They would not be required to pay for benefits, fica match, or any of the other items necessary for an employee while experiencing a higher level of operational integrity. But this is not the case, and is curious to us all.
It is clearly understood the ramifications of sales. Sales bring in money, and operations cost money with no immediate direct additional benefit to the bottom line. Operations insures the money accrued during sales ramps are spent properly and budgeted for the future, while insuring carefully thought out policies and procedures are honored to eliminate liabilities. I personally know of two such consultants that are about to leave the industry entirely, due to lack of work. These two individuals have worked diligently over the course of their careers to make the death care profession a better place for employees and better experience for the consumers. It will be a loss if they move on, and we lose their passionate approach to an industry they love.
CemOps won’t be far behind, if the present trend continues. Without sustainable business, a business cannot sustain. We believe the industry should keep close tabs on both sides of this equation, and never let their guard down. There is a marriage of the two that should take place, but no marriage can take place or survive with just one partner getting all the attention. Here’s hoping for a brighter future for the ops minded professionals out there. You can’t restructure your business model completely away from compliance, without risking the business. At the end of the day, a lack of rules will cause utter chaos.
