Change Management
The Challenge
A global luxury brand was undertaking a massive process and technology transformation to improve creative and operational efficiencies and expand their overseas markets. This change would have sizable impacts on individual teammates, the organization, and the enterprise.
The primary objective of this initiative was to prepare for and deliver change in a manner where individual teammates welcomed it and the organization and enterprise realized transformational outcomes. As with most transformation initiatives, resistance to change was the expected cost of doing business. There were, however, two significant factors driving the complexity of change in this undertaking.
The first was that the primary impacted organization would be a creative-heavy marketing function — one that was not used to the operational rigors being considered in this transformation.
The second was that marketing performed by this organization was decentralized across multiple brands and had a global footprint. Results will pave the way for the other brands to follow!
The Approach
LeapPoint placed the individual and culture at the center of our approach and developed a change management plan that focused on four major components of change: communications, learning, support, and buy-in.
The key to driving change in these four areas was to identify the individual personas and tailor each component of change to their specific needs. We also employed an agile and transparent approach to change that elicited feedback and adjusted in real-time to gain individual buy-in and trust.
COMMUNICATION
- Executive messaging
- Stakeholder messaging
- Team messaging
- Rollout prep
LEARNING
- Quick reference guides
- Interactive training
- Focused training videos
- In-person training
SUPPORT
- Change champions
- Change portal site
- Open office hours
- Town halls
- Anonymous feedback mechanism (surveys)
BUY-IN
- Launch celebration
- Attendance rewards (e.g., swag)
- HR alignment
- Learning
Highly engaging interactive learning modules were deployed, featuring participative user actions to drive muscle memory and uplift business goals. This was a part of our blended learning approach that included quick reference guides, instructor-led classes (in persona and remote), and 1:1 sessions.
Creating a Center of Excellence (COE) to Support Change
The COE was utilized to provide a one-stop-shop for communicating all transformation-related activities including news & updates, feedback surveys, training and videos, frequently asked questions (FAQ) and change champions and power users to support change initiatives.
The Outcome
Our integrated approach to change management created a plan and purpose for change that resonated with the executive and core team. It has enabled them to gain individual buy-in and minimize the impact of change on the individual and the organization.
While still in-flight, the client has already garnered significant buy-in from key stakeholders and gained support from the broader group of impacted staff. Moreover, teams are excited about their new approach to work, the enhanced operational infrastructure, and the benefits it will bring to the organization and the enterprise.
Staff is excited about being able to provide their managers and executives with the level of transparency and insight they need to make informed decisions, while at the same time reducing the level of effort required to capture or produce that information. Finally, our approach has established the platform for enabling change throughout the enterprise as the model is replicated across decentralized marketing organizations and global regions.
Individual
- Reduced effort to perform day-to-day work
- Streamlined communications
- Enhanced collaboration
- Improved timeliness and quality of work
Organization
- Improved organization alignment across projects
- Improved performance insight
- Created transparency across all projects
- Increased operational and creative efficiencies
Enterprise
- Created a model for enterprise alignment
- Improved insight and agility
- Created the ability to reduce operational costs
- Improved ability to invest in innovation
