Case Studies

Case Study No. 2: The Keys to Profitability: Employee Engagement and Trust in Management

"I created this company," says the Owner, "to offer people a place to do great work, make a great living, have a long-term career and most of all, have fun. I learned that even with the best intentions, one does not always see things the way they should. Winning Workplaces allowed our staff to speak openly and honestly, and then thoughtfully shared the information with us and worked diligently to create a strategy to make things better. Things could not be better. Our employees have verbalized their appreciation in our most recent round of reviews. As a company we are again a team, refocused and back on our previous growth curve thanks to Winning Workplaces."

The Issue
Winning Workplaces was retained by a private promotions marketing company, based in Connecticut, with 11 employees. For years, the company had experienced a high degree of profitability and had a motivated and long term productive workforce. However, in early 2004,
the owners began to notice a number of disturbing changes in the staff. Several of their employees' sales numbers were down, some significantly. A number of employees were coming in late, leaving early, and taking long lunch breaks. At the same time, despite declining productivity, they still believed they were entitled to receive the large bonuses to which they were accustomed.

Not surprisingly, all of this impacted the company's bottom-line. After experiencing nine straight years of growing profitability, the firm's revenues were declining. The owners shared their concerns with employees, but were unable to discern the true reasons for their employees' change in behavior.

The Response
Winning Workplaces' staff conducted a series of employee focus groups to determine what factors were impacting employee performance. A number of issues arose such as a lack of trust between management and staff, worries about job and salary security, and frustrations over work/life balance. Afterward, WW staff shared this information with management and guided them in establishing a follow-up action plan that included a day-long, off-site staff retreat. The retreat, at which management and employees spoke frankly, triggered a real transformation in management/staff relations. Management learned that while they had worked toward reducing their day-to-day involvement in the business through empowering their staff, their strategy was not working and it needed to change. WW staff continued to coach the owner on a variety of issues from structuring and running staff sessions, communications and employee performance.

Impact
After the retreat, as management and staff began to work more collaboratively, motivation and productivity significantly increased. In addition, several initiatives were launched based on employees' input. For example, management:

Restructured the company's compensation and bonus package, resulting in greater employee security.

Instituted even greater flexibility in employees' work schedules to support the desire for work/life balance.

Revamped the firm's maternity-leave policy.

Added additional benefits under an already generous health plan.

Clarified job expectations of staff to avoid misunderstandings.

After 13 months of declining revenues, the company's sales steadily began to increase following the retreat. In fact, 2005 turned out to be its most profitable year to date.

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