UGM change management Case Studies
Meeting the specific needs of clients means that UGM embarks on a wide array of assignments. Our Case Studies represent a small cross-section of our portfolio of experience, providing brief insights into how we have helped many clients. Contact us to learn about the numerous other projects we've worked on over 30 years in business.
MaKING change work after acquisition
When a company with operations in Australia and Asia was acquired by a European interest, they wanted to partner with a consultant firm that could provide them with an interrelated suite of services including: strategic thinking and business planning; leadership development; change management; and cultural intelligence. To secure this ‘one stop shop’ they came to UGM. We worked with the Australian executive team for more than a year but also worked closely with the Asian executive team, bringing the two together to agree on their purpose and promise going forward. The next step focused on helping them work well with their new ‘owners’, based in Europe. Specific programs were developed to tackle the challenges facing, for instance, staff from Europe operating in China and Australians managing up to the European Headquarters, embedding new approaches in an inclusive, high performance culture. The company met and exceeded their financial targets, with both CEO and CFO winning awards. The HR Director during the transition expressed the company’s gratitude to UGM, and commented on the enduring legacy of skills left within the company, as a result of our work.
Asia-Pacific Division Working Together to Win New Business
The Asia-Pacific team of a global software company spans 9 countries, from India to Japan. The challenge they faced was how to change to an inclusive, high performance culture that would drive financial results in diverse Asian markets. They asked UGM to help them map the way forward. First we ran the UGM Trust Inventory with the top 50 managers across Asia, in order to see how things stood on each of the 10 components of trust. We found different cultural groups saw trust quite differently and had different needs. Then we met with these top 50 managers in Bangkok and helped them address their mismatched assumptions and expectations. They found the best way to meet the needs of the various cultural groups and tap their energies more effectively. The Divisional Head Asia-Paicific said, "UGM's help made a huge difference to our business in Asia, We're thinking differently now. For instance, we were able to redesign our value proposition to better suit China's culture and, as a result, we've just secured two significant deals in a tough market."
Review of strategic change project to assess its lack of progress
Prior to engaging us, our large corporate client had embarked on the implementation of a technology change project. Despite very detailed project plans, and the investment of inordinate amounts of people's time, the project had experienced significant delays. The UGM team conducted a strategic review of all aspects of the project, largely through interviews with a variety of stakeholders and the application of our customised suite of tools. We found that although there had been some small benefits, key project deliverables had not been achieved, largely due to a lack of common purpose. Essentially, because the crucial buy-in phase had not been successfully negotiated up-front, subsequent buy-in and support had only been superficial. This would likely plague the project going forward and, additionally, people were change fatigued. Since the project had dragged on for over two years, it was unlikely that it would achieve its objectives without a substanital rework and additional investment. As a result of our review the project was terminated in its present form, a key strategic decision that would prevent any further resources being wasted. This also allowed the organisation to focus on conerns of a higher priority.
Changing evaluation methods to boost strategy implementation
Our client, a business unit within a high-impact not for profit, wished to make changes to better align strategic activities for greater impact. They had a measurement system in place that was helpful but needed some tightening. Essentially, they wanted to be sure that people were focusing scarce resources on projects and activities that made a difference. UGM undertook a review of the performance measures in place to identify the key drivers of value for the business unit. Our evidence-based approach meant that we determined which factors "moved the strategic needle" via internal consultation and scanning the most relevant, current academic literature. This was also key to buy-in, since the measurement system previously hadn't always enjoyed full support. UGM helped the organisation craft a range of performance measures that were more clearly defined and most closely aligned with driving strategic value. Instead of wasting time measuring and reporting on elements that had relatively little impact on desired outcomes, management and staff were able to focus more on those critical few elements that really made a difference to strategic performance. In addition to being able to monitor performance indicators that would have the biggest impact, staff were also made aware of how they might prioritise their time. When faced with a choice between tasks, staff were able to choose actitivities known to generate the greatest value. Benefits of the project included measuring elements that were tightly linked with performance and direction and providing a shared focus on those activities to be prioritised for optimal use of available resources.
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