gram. A large consumer products company, for example, conducted a series of interviews with employee relations staff members to find out whether employees wanted a career-planning program and what techniques they thought would be most applicable. The company obtained factual inputs from twenty individuals, including top corporate personnel executives, employee relations managers in the operating divisions, all members of the training and development ataff, and representatives from compensation, data systems, manpower planning, and other employee relations functions. The result was a plan of action that became part of the following year's budgeted activity