Case Study:
Changing a
Company’s
Culture
Worldwide Retailer of Apparel
| ISSUE |
Our client determined that its managers
needed to be more committed and forthright
in improving internal customer relationships.
Leaders wanted to change the management
culture to be more collaborative but also to
sustain high performance, i.e., to be “tough on
results but responsive to people.”
|
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATES’
SOLUTION |
A team of our psychologists and training
designers interviewed top management and
key executives to provide a profile of the kinds of behaviors needed to further a more
collaborative culture.
These behavioral factors
became the basis for
choosing appropriate pre- and
post-development
assessment tools, and for
custom designing leadership
and management
workshops that would
emphasize working together more collaboratively
and productively.
We began with a small pilot program in
one area of the country. As the program was
validated and fine-tuned, top management became advocates, and it was rolled out to
ultimately include all managers from the top
down to director level, totaling over 1,000
people.
Case content for the workshops was customized
to emphasize corporate issues. However,
the heart of training was the real-life cases.
Managers targeted difficult interactions they
were facing at work and wanted help in strategizing
solutions. They practiced their cases in
teams, using the core collaborative skills and
tools that are the foundation of Psychological
Associates’ training. They also took part in
candid feedback sessions from team members
regarding their management style and
behavior.
Veteran Psychological Associates trainers
and Ph.D.-level psychologists delivered the
workshops and pre- and post-360° feedback.
Eventually, we certified two corporate trainers
who continue to deliver the program in
Europe, Australia, and
Asia.
|
| MEASUREMENTS |
We determined in
follow-up that 80 percent of
managers completed their
real-life cases successfully,
that is, effectively improving
the targeted interaction with an internal
customer. Our post-360° feedback assessments
showed that most managers met or exceeded a high-level norm for collaborative behavior.
|
| OUTCOMES |
The program is now imbedded in this corporation,
which has become a more collaborative
culture, thanks in part to the commitment of
top management emphasizing its importance.
The company now shares a common language
around collaboration, which is reinforced through activities such as post-workshop
assessments and follow-up on conducting the
real-life cases practiced in the workshops. |
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