Success Stories
Engaging & Retaining a Disengaged Workforce
Client Challenge
Software company consultant function struggled with attrition nearing 20%. This caused a failure to meet customer expectations and timelines, which resulted in millions in lost revenue.
The consulting function recently went through a reorganization following a merger and hired a new SVP of Consulting.
The goal was to understand the causes of attrition and to recommend targeted, high impact, low cost actions to reduce short term and long term attrition.
The Solution
Reviewed attrition data to determine trends and held focus groups with consultants, grouped by years of service.
Based on our analysis, we recommended action steps that were ranked by cost, impact and ease of implementation. Following an executive review, we initiated the following solutions within six months:
- Launched a Stay Interview initiative across the entire consulting team.
- Created a new, director level position focused on implementing a consistent and comprehensive consultant onboarding and training program.
- Established a new communication strategy that accommodated a remote workforce.
- Created a promotion review board that facilitated a transparent, consistent promotion process.
Results
Within the first year, attrition dropped by 30%. Consulting services revenue saw a significant increase.
Recommended solutions improved employee engagement and the new solutions remained in effect for many years.
Corporate Culture Transformation
Client Challenge
New EVP was brought into a long-standing business unit to transform the organization, with the objective of meeting new market challenges and facilitating growth.
Many of the business unit’s leadership team were long service employees, with minimal experience working at other companies.
Goal was to transform a corporate culture to a high-performance culture based on accountability, collaboration, trust, communication and managing talent.
The Solution
Within the first six months, worked with the EVP on transforming the culture:
- Held meetings with business unit leaders to involve them in creating the climate for change.
- Created a communication strategy focused on KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators), core initiative updates and employee recognition.
- Enhanced quarterly business reviews to include new KPI’s.
- Identified desired competencies for leaders and employees. Incorporated employee development plans around these competencies into the company’s performance review process.
- Calibrated performance reviews across the organization. Ensured leaders were accountable for managing talent based on performance calibration.
We followed these actions with a formal leadership talent review that included a talent gap analysis, performance/potential ratings by level, and succession plans.
Results
Business unit’s culture moved toward one with enhanced leadership and employee accountability, more cross functional collaboration and a consistent, open communication strategy.
Implemented a new organization design that provided leadership development opportunities and facilitated future succession planning.
Minimizing Costly Attrition of Outside Sales Hires
Client Challenge
Division challenged by voluntary and involuntary turnover of newly hired outside sales professionals, resulting in lost opportunity and revenue.
The goal was to change the culture of the sales function by providing structure to the recruiting process and basing interview decisions on competencies directly linked to performance.
The Solution
Pulled together and led a project team comprised of sales leaders, sales operations and recruiting. After gaining executive buy-in, we:
- Developed detailed sales job descriptions.
- Worked with leadership to identify core competencies of successful sales professionals.
- Mapped a new structured interview process, which included:
- Several behavioral interview questions for each identified sales competency.
- A descriptive rating scale for each interview question.
- A clear role and focused interview approach for each interviewer.
- A structured role play for the interview process.
Results
New hire outside sales turnover was reduced and the quality of candidates improved.
Sales leadership had clarity and increased confidence around candidate selection decisions.
New sales recruitment process recognized as company best practice and shared with other divisions.