Change Management

Client Profile

Our client, specializing in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) sector, had undergone a merger with another organisation and needed to realign their strategy to unify both people and processes.

Background

The merger has brought about new processes that the newly formed organisation had put into place.

Differing work cultures from both organisations resulted in disregarded new work processes. The lack of follow-through in executing the latest systems and methods resulted in high employee turnover and decreased productivity.

Findings

• Revised systems and processes were integrated, such as updated safety protocols and procurement processes. Top management adopted a “top-down” approach and assumed the alignment of workstyles and integration with brand new processes would follow naturally, which did not occur.
• Throughout the merger process, management did not communicate changes and specific details within both organisations. The lack of communication was discovered through multiple interviews revealing that among the mid-level management and below, there was a lot of fear and apprehension regarding job security, competitive bids, and clash of work cultures.
• There was no clear employee transition plan or program as part of the integration approach. Due to this, rates of attrition were increasing, which negatively impacted the organisational revenue. 

Our Solutions

• Change management,
• Executive coaching, and
• Employee engagement

Our Approach

• We developed an overall employee transition plan for all employees and helped HR create a clear communication strategy for the change. This program addressed employee job insecurity across all levels and allowed an open forum for employees to cope with their fears and apprehensions after the merger.
• We developed executive team integration sessions, where we renewed cultural values and behavioural identifiers that were crucial for organisational effectiveness at each phase.
• Multiple organisational workshops to align new cultural values and behaviours. We developed content and trained facilitators in the transition workshops to share the new values and expected behaviours with all employees in the organisation.
• Coaching engagements provided additional leadership support to facilitate the behaviour change and prepare the leaders in leading the change with proper skills and competencies.

Key Results

• The clear communication strategy for change allowed employees to feel more engaged and aligned with its values, as seen from their annual engagement
• A “common language” was established with a new set of cultural values for the organisation to adopt. The “common language” allowed shared goals, visions, missions, and company processes to be tied to a standard set of values and brand promise.
• The newly implemented “hard” processes, such as safety protocols and contract negotiations clauses, were updated with the shared understanding of the new culture and behaviours. We helped to create clear messaging and templates to ensure awareness among employees. As a result, operational efficiency was back to expected levels within 6- months of the merger.
• As a result of coaching and change management workshops, the executive team was on the same page and committed to conducting skip-level meetings monthly, over 12 months, to ensure management heard all employees’ feedback, concerns, and challenges.