The Challenge
Jostens’ was in the midst of due diligence, planning to divest its Photography business in the U.S. and Canada. It was approaching its peak sales season and needed to ensure a smooth transition to minimize disruption to its core business, as well as follow through on a commitment with the acquiring company to manage a smooth transition for employees. With more than 3000 employees in 50+ locations, Jostens needed assistance in designing an effective change process and managing implementation of the transaction in order to minimize disruption to the entire business.
The Solution
Our solution put in place change-communication support for the divestiture of the Photography business as well as overall project management for the transaction. Change communication and implementation plans were developed which mitigated the risk of losing key employees during the transition, maintained operational excellence of both the divesting company and Jostens’ core business, and facilitated a smooth transition for employees.
Subsequent projects have included leading a team to address manufacturing and service processes to improve profitability, managing the communication and overall effort to build a closer alliance with a sister company, and providing project management and change communication support during the re-organization of its Latin American sales business.
The Challenge
Having recently acquiring a business from one of its competitors, Lifetouch asked Straight Talk to assist with the integration into its existing business model. The two companies had vastly different cultures, manufacturing systems, sales strategies and HR programs. Lifetouch was privately/employee-owned and the acquired business was part of a larger organization, owned by a holding company.
The Solution
Straight Talk developed a change management strategy to support the integration during what was considered “peak” season for both businesses, making it a priority to minimize disruption to operations. We engaged senior functional leaders and their teams, facilitated functional and role-based mapping to identify not just the key changes, but where there might be strength in one business that could be leveraged in the other. The change was supported by a communication strategy which paid particular emphasis to delivering timely and accurate information that would ensure a smooth transition so employees could focus on continuing to deliver value to customers.
The Challenge
In order to control rising healthcare costs Bunge wanted to identify opportunities to drive the idea of healthcare consumerism through its diverse employee base. The goal was to increase employee interest in and commit to improving their health through a lifestyle program, "Bunge Living." They needed to drive a culture shift.
The Solution
We developed a strategy which engaged employees and managers on the topic of healthcare consumerism. Focus groups were held across the U.S., in both face-to-face and teleconference/WebEx formats. Attendees included representation from its corporate office as well as supervisors and employees from its manufacturing facilities. After analysis of the data, Sutton provided Bunge with a report highlighting programs that would help them reach their culture shift goals with the support and active participation by employees and managers.
The Challenge
Textron underwent significant HR transformation which among other changes included some HR outsourcing, centralization and a new HRIS implemented globally to support its 80,000 employees. The challenge was significant in that it brought change leadership, employees, systems and processes in each of their businesses in North America, Europe, Asia and South America.
The Solution
Sutton was responsible for leading the global change communication program throughout the transformation, which included leadership of global and regional communication teams, stakeholder coaching to secure buy-in, project management and development of all strategic and tactical communication, including management of the translation process. Beginning with a road-show to preview the business case, the change communication strategy ensured that this multi-phased, 36-month project was aligned with the overall global project plan and built upon lessons learned from each “wave” of the implementation. Feedback, both qualitative and quantitative, confirmed that objectives were met throughout the multi-business initiative.
The Challenge
Lockheed Martin had grown dramatically due to acquisitions during the 80’s and 90’s. At first, the decision to allow each new acquisition to remain fairly autonomous made sense, but with time it became clear that HR costs exceeded industry best practice due to dozens of duplicated processes and systems, inconsistent policies, unique recruiting and orientation strategy with no leverage by centralized HR purchasing. Business leaders became frustrated because, among other issues, they were unable to seamlessly transfer employees between L-M companies, thereby limiting mobility and adding cost. Concurrent with Lockheed Martin launching its “One Company” vision, HR volunteered a new HR service delivery model that would be its first attempt to operate from one HRIS (PeopleSoft) deliver services through an internal HR Shared Service Center, and standardize HR policies and programs.
The Solution
A stakeholder analysis program was designed for implementation in conjunction with the multi-phased initiative. The program began by assessing the gaps between expectation and reality, collecting feedback on the HR Service Delivery model, and providing an opportunity for the organization to “preview” new tools and processes. This approach permitted managers and employees to react and provide feedback about the new HR Service Delivery model and the supporting communication, after which time final changes were integrated throughout the implementation. Feedback confirmed the success of the change effort; the implementation was managed with little disruption to the business.
The Challenge
Earlier this decade saw Goodyear struggling to avoid bankruptcy, which drove HR to look at outsourcing as a way to dramatically reduce the costs of its HR transactional tasks in North America. While the business units supported the decision, 18 months into the initiative Goodyear was challenged with the reality that managers and employees were still heavily reliant on the HR business partners for very tactical issues. The implementation of SAP hadn’t driven any process change or standardization, employee self-service hadn’t been fully embraced, and HR generalists were still getting involved in problem solving in areas of payroll and benefits.
The Solution
Sutton developed an HR change-communication strategy which increased stakeholder alignment and positively influenced employee and manager behaviors so that the new HR service tools were more effectively leveraged. Work included an audit of the HRO implementation materials, questionnaires targeting input from senior executives and managers and facilitation of employee focus groups. When implemented, the change strategy created alignment between HR and the organization and was later used to help “sell” the business case for HR transformation globally.
The Challenge
The COO and VP of HR of Thomson Reuters North American Legal organization understood the value of open and clear communication and wanted to drive a culture shift in the organization whereby managers and employees would feel more comfortable asking for and receiving feedback on a day-to-day basis. It already had in place a performance management system and supporting processes, but barriers were preventing more frequent and regular feedback-focused dialogue.
The Solution
Straight Talk Communication designed a multi-media program which reinforced the value of candid feedback and open communication. The solution delivered a product that engaged all levels of the organization, encouraged participation and effectively created a shared value for open and candid communication.
Straight Talk was also retained to plan for and facilitate an executive-level strategic planning session to identify priorities for the upcoming year.
The Challenge
MAPPCOR is a non-profit organization which has responsibility for establishing and enforcing standards for the upper Midwest (U.S.) electrical power suppliers. MAPPCOR’s member organizations include public, private and co-op electrical associations who voluntarily pay dues and participate on the Board to ensure cooperation across suppliers. The CEO and Board of Directors was looking for input on a series of new value-added services under consideration to expand the service offering.
The Solution
The solution included the the design and implementation of a member-focused survey aimed at collecting feedback to better understand the need and feedback on the proposed new service offerings. She developed all the supporting communication to drive members to the survey website with the goal of the client to achieve at a 60% response level. The survey achieved an 85% response rate, and successfully identified several new service areas as well as improvements members wanted to see in existing services.
