CASE STUDIES:
Corporate Development
Customer: Financial Association
Country: USA
Industry: Financial
Challenge: Change the culture within a division of the organization to be more proactive and strategically focused while improving communication and accountability of the staff to the needs of the company.
Solution: Implement an assessment that creates a baseline understanding of opportunities the leadership can take advantage of then use the findings to establish critical goals related to the feedback received. Finally, provide leadership development and follow up to address the areas of concern and provide the leaders with the tools for success.
Corporate Development Case Studies:
Case Study: Financial AssociationThe Scenario:
As a result of these changes in the marketplace, the financial association had to change to keep pace with the competition. Over the past several years, it restructured and streamlined its operations in order to continue to be profitable. These changes have led to staff reductions and reorganizations.
“A number of changes have taken place in the past 12 months,” says the Senior Vice President of Research. “Recently, new departments began reporting to me, and as a result, there were many people who had new reporting relationships. As with any change involving restructuring and downsizing, our staff was uncertain what was next.”
He knew his leaders needed to be active in communication and help rebuild the trust and communication. He also wanted his team to have a stronger awareness of being strategic thinkers, and be able to get the staff to work together and be proactive towards the customers’ needs.
The Solution:
He had heard through an acquaintance about InVision’s services and thought InVision could assist his division with the challenges that lie ahead. He spoke with Dan Paulson, President of InVision about the obstacles facing the organization and what he wanted to accomplish. Together they agreed that in order to build communication, they needed to understand what the people in the division were thinking.
InVision assisted the SVP with developing a survey to discover what his team was thinking about the division and the obstacles facing the staff. InVision administered the survey through a secure, anonymous web format to allow participants to share freely. This survey provided some of the groundwork for the division leaders.
Next, InVision began working with the SVP's leadership team to strengthen strategy and leadership. Using the Executive Leadership process, InVision worked with the team to find ways to communicate better and to be proactive with the challenges facing them.
“To get everyone in a room together and get them talking would have never happened without InVision,” said one of the Vice Presidents of Research. “Dan helped us understand that the problems we encountered were not unique to our company.”
InVision was able to help the Research division improve communication and become focused as leaders on the success of their business. Several members reported that the changes they made with their communication and direction improved response time and created more teamwork within the departments. “Invision Training provides sound practices that instill confidence in both new and experienced leaders,” said one of the managers about the development process.
“I look forward to the follow up steps, and to engaging InVision’s services to facilitate my team’s 2006 strategic planning session this summer,” said the Senior Vice President upon completion of the initial development process.
The Results:
In short, stronger relationships between the leadership teams, better communication with staff, and quicker results on projects. After the survey was administered, the results were shared with the leadership team. The information recognized several areas of opportunity for the division in relation to communication and professional development. A communication plan was created to share the results with the division and implement action plans to address the concerns.
During this time the leadership teams were introduced to a process that involved gaining a better understanding of strategy, leadership, and their role in the organization. Through this process, the team learned new ways to communicate with staff members to gain commitment and understanding of the vision. Two key areas of improvement were discovered. These areas involved working on changing the culture within the division to one of change and accountability, and establishing effective communication to everyone inside and outside the division. Strategies were developed and implemented.
The division has seen improvements in communication and accountability. One manager reported that a project was completed ahead of schedule when the expected results were communicated and accountabilities set. It also required less hands-on work for him because he trusted his staff to take care of the project. Another vice president realized that a manager position she tabled for 2006 was actually needed to allow her to be more effective in her role. By understanding where the bottlenecks were, she was able to address the issue with the senior vice president and begin work on filling the role.
InVision Business Development and Marketing, LLC is a recognized leader in providing world class training and development that improves the lives and well being of others by assisting business leaders and sales teams in creating new success habits. InVision delivers assessments and processes that have been proven effective in creating positive cultural change, internal marketing strategy, and effective sales approaches for businesses worldwide. For more information, visit InVision on the web at www.invisionbusinessdevelopment.com.
For more information, contact InVision at 1-608-235-5320 from anywhere worldwide.
Copyright © 2007 InVision Business Development and Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. InVision assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document.
