Partial Client List

Client Testimonials

 Strategic Interviewing 

"Penumbra Group created a learning experience for our hiring managers that they never had before. The Penumbra facilitators transformed the group's attitude from 'why am I here wasting my day' to, 'WOW, that was fantastic and I wish I had had this 15 years ago'.

We were able to gain valuable momentum in our strategic plans by putting the necessary skills in place quickly and effectively with Penumbra's help. The team working on our project did exactly what they said they would do on our time-line (which included no small amount of flexibility on their part). They were effective professionals who brought a great deal of outside expertise and yet seemingly became a part of our organization. Their Immersineering process brought them immediate credibility with our business leaders. It was as if they had been working in our company for years.

Their ability to assimilate and then make effective presentations/facilitations created very powerful behavior changes in our hiring managers. They were small enough to work with us flexibly and yet professional and experienced enough to meet our strategic needs."

Rod Swartwood
Corporate Director of Employment & Staffing
The First American Corporation

"Partnering with Penumbra Group has been a fantastic experience. They sought to understand our business needs and culture and then tailored our programs to meet our specific needs. We continue to receive outstanding customer service which in turn allows us to provide customer service to our customers. The emotional intelligence assessment ties well with our competency-based interviewing tool and has provided a competitive edge in our selection process.

We look forward to a continuous and growing relationship with Penumbra Group and would highly recommend them to any Company."

Marcy Redondo 
VP / Director of Employment and Total Compensation 
Westcorp Financial

 Executive Coaching

Jen Shirkani of Penumbra Group Inc. simply changed my life; her philosophy of immersing herself into my business allowed me to have great success quickly.  The process of self-awareness is critically important in any leader's development no matter the stage of your career.  I now think in ways I never did before.

In today's corporate environment, winning is everything.  I was constantly driving to do more with less, meet and exceed objectives, drive profits and watch the bottom line.  In this respect I was a success, but where I failed was leading an effective team who helped me accomplish this.  In order to be truly successful, it was critical for me to understand myself first.  This process helped me, through self-evaluation and peer/employee review, to identify myself as a pace-setting leader.  I became self-aware; I understood why and how I approached my work.  This exercise allowed me to examine my strengths and weaknesses and in turn, how I interaction with my colleagues.  I better understand those who work with me and their perceptions of me.  I am developing strategies to better communicate with and lead my group.  I believe these strategies will allow my group to meet and exceeds our organization's goals as a cohesive team that understands and supports one another."

Marty Stanton, Esq.
Regional Vice President
The First American Corporation

My Penumbra coach, Faith Csikesz, has been a source of encouragement and support. She has kept me accountable to myself, taught me new skills and reminded me to value myself. I'm in the process of breaking some old patterns and ways of doing things that consistently present outcomes that I do not want to happen. With the help of my coach I have seen growth in areas I once felt powerless to change and now feel in control of my own growth and development.

Deanna Cason

Vice President Operations

Vintage Senior Living

 Consulting Services

Jen Shirkani, CEO of  Penumbra, a boutique management consulting and leadership development firm, has successfully built a company that is one of the best in delivering management consulting, EQ and leadership development. Jen maintains the highest degree of professionalism and delivers products that consistently exceed expectations. Her ability to hear client needs and customize a program is far better than many larger companies that bring a template approach or other small companies lacking her depth and experience in subject matter expertise.

My initial contact with Penumbra planned to offer a two-day communication skills management development program to first level managers. The program met with such success that the CEO and COO expanded the program to the entire company requiring attendance by almost 2000 employees. Jen soon returned to provide a custom three-day management development program for all supervisors and above in a high performance team building program. More recently, Jen provided a two-day team-building program for a major oil company that exceeded expectations. The program offered creative sessions that reached well outside the box to be engaging and educational. Most importantly, the sessions offered participants durable take-away knowledge with strong retention quality.

Jen and Penumbra are highly recommended as top-tier program providers, consistently offering quality custom work in leading management development concepts.

Chip Smith, SPHR

"A few years ago several of my business partners came back from a meeting raving about the person who coached them in recruiting tools. I somewhat dismissed their praise thinking they just liked the person and that's why they were so impressed. A year ago we needed to find someone who would act as a coach-facilitator for us in developing our Long Range Plan, and one of my associates suggested Jen, having remembered her from several years before. I was taken back by what an excellent, professional job she did for our Team. Since ten I have been privileged to get her newsletters and other information from her company, Penumbra Group. They specialize in talent management (recruiting and retention, coaching, etc) and their enewsletter is most often about those critical topics. They are well written, insightful and easily read and I always take the time to read them since they are so well done. Jen does an excellent job: You will be well advised considering her company the next time you need help in the talent management field."

Bill Cotter, Business Owner