High-profile change efforts too often fade and fall short, plagued by poor organization, competing priorities, slow progress and other challenges. Our change leadership advisors can help you avoid and overcome these obstacles—with a smoother path to better outcomes.
How we support Business Transformation
We serve as a partner to your leaders and teams, ensuring you make the best decisions for your initiatives, while benefiting from our extensive knowledge of what works.
Why is “Big Change” So Hard?
The easy answer: It’s not something organizations do all the time (and if it is, that’s another problem). More specifically, it’s because the challenges are underestimated and actions to manage them are not sufficient.
Transformational Pyramid
Some examples of where things go off the tracks:
While there’s no easy way to avoid these gaps, we rely on a model—the Transformational Pyramid—to guide development, diagnosis and execution of major change. Weakness at any level of the Pyramid can lead to collapse of your initiative.
Success Stories: Business Transformation
Telecom
Worked with executives, managers and front-line staff of a phone and data utility to develop and implement an enhanced performance measurement and management system. The successful deployment included refined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), updated job descriptions and evaluation criteria, and a regular annual cycle for goal-setting, assessment and individual feedback.
E-Commerce
An established brick-and-mortar retail firm was enjoying rapid growth through its on-line sales channel. Already concerned about capacity to meet demand during the busy holiday period, those issues became a near-crisis when eStore orders more than doubled in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Completed in just four months—with close involvement of management and stall—a major redesign of processes, systems and facilities enabled successful handling of four times the peak volumes of previous seasons, with no late shipments and dramatically less stress on staff.
Human Resources
A major national transportation company needed to improve response to employee complaints and grievances. Both the firm and union agreed the process was not working, with delays, concerns about fairness, and confusion about rules. Our team coordinated an in-depth assessment across several operating centers, documenting processes, types and volume of issues, impacts on employee satisfaction, costs and other factors. Findings led to a series of changes that allowed prompt response, fewer complaints, more consistent handling and satisfactory resolution.
Manufacturing / Petrochemical
An international petrochemical company suffered major disruptions due to missed delivery times of custom-built equipment: only 16% of deliveries met the expected window. Pivotal guided a joint supplier/customer initiative to assess and improve the end-to-end process. Our consultants facilitated efforts to agree on goals and coordinate changes—from clarifying delivery date agreements to streamlining the manufacturing process. Early deliveries were eliminated through “quick win” changes, with on-time deliveries jumping 33% in just a few weeks.