As part of a long-term partnership with a global engineering company we worked over a 12 month period to re-engineer its European graduate and MBA selection processes. For each level of recruitment, this involved moving from seven function-specific assessment processes to a single process shared by all business functions (Marketing, Sales & Service, HR, IT etc). For the first time assessment processes across European countries were also to be fully aligned.

The key business drivers for the change were:

• to realise efficiencies in development costs and ongoing administration
• to ensure consistent, robust and fully defensible assessment decisions were being made across the organisation.

Throughout the project we worked closely with our client's in-house occupational psychology unit, the centralised Recruitment Department, the training function and line manager representatives in Germany and the UK.

Our contribution included:

• job analysis and development of a competency framework
• communicating and selling the vision for a pan-European, cross-functional approach
• managing the change, including working to understand and overcome resistance
• designing new assessment exercises (interview, group discussion, in-tray, role play etc)
• facilitating the first live assessment events & validating the process following the first season of recruitment.

The project outcomes were:

• successful implementation on time and within budget
• line managers who were initially sceptical of the merits of a pan-European, cross-functional assessment process came to be strong advocates for it.
  

As part of a major project to re-engineer our client's European graduate and MBA selection processes we developed a new assessor training and accreditation programme using a blended learning approach. The project involved moving from an ad-hoc, function approach to training to an organisation wide model designed to realise efficiencies and ensure consistency and validity.

The programme we designed comprised 3 modules:

1. fundamental skills in assessing competence (a module that also equipped managers to conduct fair and meaningful performance reviews with current staff)
2. interviewing skills
3. a scoring workshop to ensure accurate calibration of assessor ratings.

Each module combined a face-to-face skill development workshop with pre- and/or post-work. This minimised off-the-job time and meant that the programme content was matched to an appropriate learning format (e.g. familiarity with concepts and assessment materials gained through background reading in own time).

The accreditation process combined knowledge tests with a final assignment that was assessed by a skilled and experienced assessor.

By recognising the importance of assessor skill to the integrity of the selection process overall, and by implementing a robust yet flexible training and accreditation programme, assessors were more competent, and felt more confident, in their role. This had a number of tangible benefits:

• a fully defensible selection system was assured
• a more consistently professional image was projected to candidates
• assessors were more efficient and effective during assessment events

Despite initial misgivings about the more stringent approach being taken to their selection and training, assessors came to understand and appreciate the merits of the new approach.

As part of a major re-structuring, this organisation needed to assess current job holders for a newly created position. To ensure the process was fair and objective they decided to use a work simulation exercise in additional to a focused interview.

Over a five day period we worked with our client to scope and develop a role play exercise, simulating a consultation with a key client. This enabled key decision makers to assess the candidate's suitability as well as provide a robust evidence base for developmental feedback to each of the candidates.

By working in partnership with the HR department and building on the expertise and in-depth organisational knowledge they already had we were able to provide a cost-effective solution in a short time frame. Our client reported that the exercise went "incredibly well" and requested similar support for another area of the business the following month.

Against the backdrop of high attrition and a tough recruitment environment, this global pharmaceutical company sought to create a leading edge development process and better career opportunities for its Sales Representatives and Regional Sales Managers. The main objectives were:

• to enhance the attractiveness of the company as an employer
• to identify high flyers for a fast track programme
• to support the development of all good performers within the sales organisation.

Working together with the HR function, a Divisional Director and his operational managers, this project involved:

• job analysis & development of a competency framework
• supporting the change, including the development & delivery of a communication strategy to promote the business case for the programme
• design of a development process, including a Development Centre event
• design & delivery of training for senior managers and Directors involved in the process
• facilitation of, and assessment during, six development events
• developmental feedback to participants

The project outcomes were:

• successful implementation on time and to budget
• a reduction in the loss of good sales people from the Division
• appreciation by senior managers and Directors that the structured, evidence based process had challenged their assumptions about who the high flyers were
• positive feedback from participants, stating that the event had been useful for their personal development and for the development of their careers within the company
• adoption of the same Development Centre process 18 months later

We were approached by this global telecommunications company for help in developing a career development framework for its field force of engineers. High levels of attrition and general dissatisfaction were the key drivers for their request. Initial discussions and scoping of the project revealed additional organisational problems, in particular difficulties with managing engineer resources to meet customer demand. Taking a systemic approach, we recognised that both identified needs could be addressed by the development of more transparent and meaningful people processes.

We worked closely with the HR function, the Director of Field Operations and his operational managers over a six month period to develop:

• technical and non-technical skills frameworks for all engineer roles
• a series of processes to enhance the placement, training, appraisal and career development of its field engineers.

Through close liaison with the functions responsible for resource management we were also able to support the development and implementation of new systems to ensure customer demand was met more satisfactorily through the efficient and effective allocation of engineers to jobs.

The following project outcomes were observed:

• significant improvement in the management and utilisation of the field force
• consistently favourable feedback from field engineers on the new processes which they reported to be fair and workable, with practical and easy-to-use tools.
  

While implementing a major turnaround strategy within its European operation our client recognised the need to build a performance culture in order that stretching performance objectives could be met. Historically, performance issues had not been addressed satisfactorily and, more often, had not been addressed at all.

As part of its strategy to shift mindset and build line manager capability to manage performance more effectively, we were asked to develop and facilitate a management development programme focused on four key performance management activities: setting objectives, assessing competence, giving feedback and coaching.

Working in close liaison with our client's training and organisation development functions we created a modular programme using a blended learning approach.

Participants found the programme to be practical and extremely useful in helping build their confidence as well as their competence in managing performance. The modular approach enabled them to focus on the skill areas most pertinent to them at the time and accommodated flexible work patterns. The blended learning approach, which placed high value on face-to-face contact time with a skilled facilitator, enabled genuine skill development to take place while minimising off-the-job time.

Our own observations, and anecdotal feedback from participants, suggest that a different culture around performance is beginning to emerge. People are taking greater responsibility for their own performance and line managers are playing a more proactive and developmental role in supporting performance improvement.

We have also received feedback that the approach taken to the development and facilitation of this programme has played an important role in beginning a shift in mindset about how people learn; rather than participants behaving as passive recipients they are engaging as active learners.

Jane worked as a senior manager in a large public organisation. Our coach started to work with her during a 2 day development centre. This formed part of a leadership programme that included, in addition, 360 degree feedback and completion of 2 psychometric instruments (personality and motivation). Following the development centre, the coach worked one-to-one with Jane over a nine month period.

Jane had been quickly promoted in an organisation that prized academic success; her own lack of a degree left her feeling marked out as 'not good enough'. She had not expected her recent promotion and seemed to be waiting to be found out as a charlatan. She knew there were expectations of her as a leader, but didn't know what those expectations were; her sense was that everyone but her was 'in the know'.

Jane hoped that the coaching process would enable her to more fully understand her strengths and weaknesses, and build her confidence as a leader.

The initial assessment revealed her key attributes to include clarity of thought and expression, being able to assimilate complex and diverse ideas and a strong, but warm and impactful interpersonal style. Her areas for development included some elements of strategic thinking, risk management, and a number of behaviors relating to personal confidence (for example, not communicating effectively with those higher up the organisation, taking challenge too personally).

During the nine months of coaching support, Jane had five face-to-face sessions with her coach, each lasting 2 hours. The process enabled her to crystalise her understanding of the unique contribution she made to the organisation and involved her drawing up a development plan. She set specific goals including going to two executive board meetings as an observer, reading a book on emotional intelligence, and attending a workshop on influencing and negotiating.

The coach's role involved encouraging and reviewing Jane's learning from these development activities. It also involved discussing with Jane the new challenges she was facing and exploring with her the range of approaches available for dealing with them.

As a result of this coaching Jane was able to strengthen her relationship with senior managers, raise her profile and presence, and do things she wouldn't have believed she was capable of at the start of the process. As a consequence of her exposure to different and broad perspectives on business issues, she was able to clarify her vision for her own team. Some of the mystique about leadership that she initially felt also started to evaporate; for example, having spent some time talking with another senior manager reputed to be a great strategic thinker, Jane reported 'there weren't any tricks, there wasn't some secret way of doing it'.

With goals relating to work-life balance still on her agenda at the end of the nine month period, Jane acknowledged that her journey was only half way through. Reflecting on the coaching process she described the sessions as 'challenging but always thought provoking' and she experienced the process as 'invaluable'.

At the end of the nine month period Jane was offered a new position as a result of a personal recommendation from one of her board members.

We worked with this client for the 12 weeks following their acquisition of one of their major competitors. Our remit was to help people handle the change process at a personal level and to assist the organisation in directing its change resources appropriately. Managed Change™ was the fundamental but unseen framework used throughout the assignment.

Working closely with the organisation's People Development Managers, the Director of Transformation and his Transformation Team we developed a half day event designed to:

• allow people to express their change issues and develop an understanding of what was happening and why
• enable people to understand their role in change and the roles that others would play
• provide people with an opportunity to describe the safety nets they needed to make the transitions necessary for successful change.

The event was designed to enable key change agents to gather real-time information about what was happening in the organisation as well as to address participants' individual needs. By feeding critical information back to the Transformation Team on a regular basis it became possible for the organisation to make informed decisions about how to progress with the change and communicate more effectively with those in the organisation most affected by the acquisition.

The following project outcomes were observed:

• those who participated in the 'Handling Change' events found them invaluable in helping to make sense of what they were going through
• participants were also able to develop strategies for dealing with their own change issues
• the Director of Transformation commented that the information obtained as a result of our involvement played a key role in helping the Management Board decide how best to direct its change resources
• in line with our client's company philosophy, they reported that the input we gave represented a cost-effective solution

As part of a long-term partnership we worked with our client to develop and facilitate a three-day Managed Change™ workshop programme designed to enable change agents and sponsors to implement lean manufacturing processes and principles into their local organisations. We worked with the European organisation as part of a global change programme led by the US.

Workshop programmes were delivered over a period of two years across multiple European locations. Sometimes groups were made up of change agents from different plants, on other occasions we worked with whole plant implementation teams comprising Plant Manager, change agents and shop floor operators.

The programme introduced participants to a framework for understanding change processes and provided a methodology and practical tools for mitigating the associated risks. The focus of the workshops was application to live change issues rather than exploration at a theoretical level.

The common change framework enabled project members working in different locations, from different professional backgrounds and with different languages and cultures to communicate more effectively with each other than would otherwise have been possible.

One senior change agent reported that he hadn't come across an approach that was so effective at creating the conditions needed to sustain major change. He valued the approach in particular because it:

• helped provide focus for disparate teams engaged in a single change programme
• helped define and develop roles and responsibilities among key stakeholders
• created opportunities to influence entrenched culture and shift mindset
  

Change 3
Transitioning to a Transformational Function

Our client's European HR organisation was engaged in the process of changing from a transactional to a transformational function. As part of the change programme we were responsible for developing and facilitating a series of 2 day Managed Change™ workshops for HR professionals in all parts, and at various levels, of the organisation.

The workshops played a key role during the early stages of the change with the dual objectives of helping HR professionals:

• understand the change their own organisation was going through and the implications for their roles
• develop change management competence to enable them to fulfil their new transformational roles more effectively.

The workshops were also used to gather real-time information about the change issues within the HR organisation. This information was fed back to senior HR managers on a regular basis equipping them to respond appropriately to current and emerging resistances, and to manage communications optimally.

Approximately 25 workshops were run over a period 2 ½ years. The common change framework enabled HR professionals working in different parts of the business and at different levels to make better sense of the change within their own functional organisation. In addition, it provided practical tools to enable them to quickly identify points of leverage within their client organisations and play a more influential, and transformational, role than they had previously been able to.

One participant described the workshop as "without a doubt the most aligned and impacting course" he had been on.