The Client's Challenge
Drake International had a poor history of implementing change. “We have not successfully implemented any major change in 19 years” (Head of Drake's European Operations).
As a result of a comprehensive operational simplification program leading to a complete replacement of its systems, Drake was facing a transformational change.
Scope
The implementation of a multi-stage change program consisted of
- 72 immediately implementable changes
- 46 change projects
- 3 concurrent, integrated systems projects
- across 87 offices in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
Approach
Staff from across the organization were involved in “Change Teams” to develop each change program in detail.
These teams progressively developed a series of Change Action Tasks (CATs) for each change activity.
These CATs allowed staff inexperienced in making change to successfully complete a change activity that cumulatively contributed to the achievement of the overall business goals.
Ten concurrent streams of change activity and over 1000 change activities were involved!
The Results
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Multiple, coordinated change plans were actioned simultaneously, all heading towards the same (defined and agreed) desired business outcomes.
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A supporting enablement program was established to ensure these change programs were expertly supported and simultaneously ensured the desired business results and benefits were fully delivered.
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A previously change-averse organization was successfully enabled to implement a series of comprehensive and demanding change programs mainly through its own staff’s efforts
The Payoff
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Even with the implementation of only the first stage changes, Drake was able to achieve a competitive edge that directly assisted them to win several competitive tenders for services in areas where they had previously been deemed uncompetitive.
- On completion in Australasia, the program was extended to Europe and North America.