Context

An international FMCG organisation embarked on a global change to focus on growth to market share. An integrated operational unit was being set up, in various stages, across local markets. This is the largest structural change that the company had experienced in its 90 year existence. Within this structural change, roles were redefined and reallocated from different parts of the value chain. This would ensure a focus on efficiency within processes, systems and organisational structures. Implementing an outsourced and off-shore partnership model was a significant part of this change. The model moved task orientated, routine work to the partner whilst, the more specialist work was maintained within the organisation. With these efficiencies eventually reducing FTE significantly, change management was used to guide the operational and behavioural change to make the business model successful and ready the employees for future changes.

Snap Stats

• 5 core functions impacted
• 3 core product offerings
• 3 structural changes
• 80% reduction in FTE
• € 1 billion in liquid cash by 2023

Size of Change

• Operates in 190 countries
• 34 markets have transformed
• Our scope – South Africa and India

Duration

With Covid and civil unrest, the change was planned to be managed over 18 months:

• Wave 1 – February 2020 – May 2021
• Wave 2 –April 2021 – March 2022
• Wave 3 –April 2022 – July 2022
• Change Manager: 9 months

The Results

• 100% of employees retained (at time of case study)
• A two week intervention for Wave 2 showed:
  • ‘Depression’ was reduced from 26% to 0%
  • ‘Anxiety’ was reduced from 53% to 31%
  • Acceptance of change increased from 11% to 19%

The Approach

7S Model successfully delivered:

• A differentiation between tangible and intangible changes
• United partners and organisation with common values, common purpose and common understanding
• A shift of purely operational change to systemic change

Lewin’s model supported the change by:

• Identifying resistance to change
• Identifying unhelpful behaviours between partnerships and organisations
• Unfreezing ‘old’ behaviour through experiential learning
• Freezing changed behaviour through commitment statements

Codifying the Change Management Process

• Begin with the change beyond the runway
• Begin with change metrics immediately
• Define the tangible and intangible change required
• Create a roadmap of each step
• Have a robust communication plan to support each step of the change, and its outcome
• Be clear in communication to address the ‘fear’ and ‘loss’ that the change will bring, and to manage the predictable problems head on
• Have a dedicated task team that includes a Project Manager and a Change Manager
• Define the role of the Change Lead and HR Lead to prevent duplication
• Sort out ‘your own house first’ before you can expect partners to work effectively

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