Creating A Learning Culture

Increased Profit Demands Cause A Shift in Thinking:
A Lesson in Keeping the Ball in Play

The Challenge

Continuing financial pressure from the foreign parent company resulted in system-wide downsizings... The mantra "more with less" had fatigued the staff to the point of indifference. Constant "fire drills" from national staff confused and overwhelmed the field staff. Sharing of information in "real time" was critical, yet no progress was being made. The selling season, with higher quotas than ever, was in jeopardy.

Analysis

An analysis of the completed reductions showed an imbalance in the number of field eliminated positions. Attempts at training the remaining staff was met with resistance by both management and staff. Costs and time were the issue. No one could afford to be away from the WORK. Training occurred on the job, but given the lack of resources, newly hired or promoted staff had to "figure things out for themselves". Each branch office operated independently but not always in the most efficient manner. Information sharing was carefully guarded. Inconsistency prevailed. Selective focus group interviews were conducted across the entire branch office system and a predominate theme emerged.

The HCp Solution

Convince Senior Management that a new approach was needed. Introduce the concept of a company-wide
conversation shifting the current culture away from command attendance to participative involvement. In order to shift the current paradigms, a Learning Initiative was needed among cross-functional teams. Conversation modeling was used as a key to establishing a common language across all business segments.

The roll out began with the New York branch as a pilot. From the structure of the material to the delivery, all aspects were created with an eye towards Future Possibilities. The program was created from a systems perspective, focusing on what made the team/division/company strong. The concept of a Strategic Conversation was established. Commitment to practice the concepts and learning's were established. Each branch manager committed to seeking out Breakthrough conversations at each branch staff meeting.

Results

The year the Learning Initiative and Breakthrough conversations were implemented sales increased by 18% and revenue from 36 MM to 50 MM.

Senior management and local branch offices gave testimony to the program's effectiveness. The branch feedback indicated that HCp approach worked not only for the sales and new product rollouts, but also as LIFE SKILLS that were applied across all business decisions and in their personal lives.