Clients & Testimonials

Penumbra Group was formed in 1998, with a focus on employee training and development for clients on the West Coast of the US. Today, Penumbra has grown into a full-service talent management consulting practice, specializing in selection, retention and development services for clients worldwide. Your dedicated Penumbra team is with you from start to finish, becoming experts on your company structure and culture. You receive the benefit of trusted advisors with a valuable outside perspective that includes open dialogue about improved performance, best practices and competitive information. Learn more about our services.

PARTIAL
CLIENT LIST

Eaton Vance
First American
General Motors
Glidewell Labs
Highgate Hotels
Income Research + Management
Ingram Micro
Mayo Clinic
MBK Senior Living
McDonnell Investment

Nationwide Insurance
New Balance
Scientific Drilling
Silverado Senior Living
SNHU
Transamerica
Vintage Senior Living
WSH Management
Williams Energy

PENUMBRA CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

READ A SELECTION OF TESTIMONIALS FROM A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE CLIENTS

SUE SYNODIS

DIRECTOR OF HR, IR+M

“I first met Jen at a one day Emotional Intelligence workshop; I was so impressed with both the material and the quality of her presentation that I made a note to keep her contact info if I was ever able to bring someone in to provide training for our firm. Two years later I found myself on the cusp of getting the OK to provide 3 different workshops for our management team. Jen first volunteered to come up to the office, meet our senior partners, and give us a chance to get to know her before officially signing up. In one hour she was able to easily wow our leaders into signing on for the multi-step program. After seeing her in action, particularly in the Communication Styles training, we moved forward to roll the program out to the rest of the firm. Subsequently, Jen continued to be immersed in our culture and now has become a valuable partner to our senior leaders – which in turn has enabled her to customize additional programming for us that really feels relevant and valuable to our participants. She has also taken on executive coaching for a few of our managers.”

“Jen has a unique ability to present her material in both a thoughtful and thoroughly engaging way, providing humorous stories and encouraging dialogue. Participants inevitably leave her sessions with a sense that it was time well spent, which in the investment management field is no small feat!”

“I’m thrilled to recommend Jen’s work, as she has been a great partner for me and for our firm.”

ROD SWARTWOOD

CORPORATE DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYMENT & STAFFING, THE FIRST AMERICAN CORPORATION

“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.”

MARTY STANTON, ESQ.

REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, THE FIRST AMERICAN CORPORATION

“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.”

CHIP SMITH

SPHR

“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.”

DANIELLE MORGAN

SENIOR VP, MBK SENIOR LIVING

“Jen Shirkani’s greatest strength is her ability to connect with her audience. Her motivational, inspirational and practical style of coaching provides practical solutions to our manager’s everyday business challenges. We hired Jen to develop our key managers by equipping them with skill sets to transform them into leaders. Every new manager is required to take classes tailored for MBK Senior Living: Understanding Communication Styles, Driving Performance, Smart Hiring, Progressive Discipline, and Conquering Conflict. The development of our key talent has produced measurable results by strengthening the performance and the productivity of our associates and the company as a whole. Jen has also been a valued business partner as our young company matures. Catering to our ever changing needs, she has facilitated numerous specialized Emotional Intelligence based interviews, cultural audits, talent assessments, and team building sessions. We don’t consider Jen’s company a vendor. We consider her to be an essential partner to our on-going success.”

MARCY REDONDO

VP / DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYMENT & TOTAL COMPENSATION, WESTCORP FINANCIAL

“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.”

SCOTT EVERSON

VP OF HUMAN RESOURCES, THE FIRST AMERICAN CORPORATION

“The training provided by Penumbra raises the level of skills within the business and HR team. Their ability to offer learning in multiple formats and delivery methods has proven extremely valuable to the business. I have recommended Penumbra Group many times and will continue to do so because of their excellent services and customized business solutions.”

DEANNA CASON

VICE PRESIDENT OPERATIONS, VINTAGE SENIOR LIVING

“My Penumbra coach 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.”

BILL COTTER

BUSINESS OWNER

“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 newsletter 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.”