Background:
The business, with international sales and based in Eire, was experiencing a need for major changes under pressure from the new, US, holding company’s management. The CEO bought a series of coaching sessions to be carried out close to Dublin.
Challenge:
The business was complex with many potential areas for cost-saving including moving all manufacture to China and the shedding of staff. The CEO had made no real friends in the principal, US business and was very unsure as to his position or influence. Loyalty to the workforce over generations made this scenario difficult for the CEO to swallow.
Solution:
The CEO was actively researching possibilities within an improbable time-frame, as set by the principals. It was clear that early cuts would be needed and a strategy for ‘buying time’ developed, so that the cost-benefits of the potential new strategies could be properly compared. A communication strategy was developed for the staff and initial areas for redundancy established. A new approach was developed, exploring franchising (in partnership with a multinational 3rd party). New perceptions of stakeholder’s interests were developed and as a result, a coherent plan of communication and ally-building carried out.
Outcomes:
Five 1-2-1 sessions over about 10 weeks led to a stay-of-execution by the principals and more confidence in the CEO. The CEO was surprised to find that his personal announcement to staff and his walk-abouts (to speak 1 on 1 with staff) regained their trust. He worked even harder to support the relocation programme for those that were made redundant. The business survived, placing some manufacturing under licence overseas and developing the franchise network to service and supply local markets leading to both improved maintenance and reliabilty of equipment, in several overseas markets.