Case Study: High Technology Company

Business Pain

A high technology company was experiencing a rapid rate of growth through both acquisitions and a high volume of sales.  As a result of this expansion, the number of front line managers was growing significantly.  Unfortunately, the current management development process had proven inadequate at preparing workforce leaders for the field.  The most pressing indicator of trouble was an increasing turnover amongst the managers’ direct reports.

Business Request

The firm requested for a new training regime to be developed for front line managers that would better equip them for the job, and integrate the new personnel obtained through acquisitions into the organization’s team.

Project Response

The Exemplary Performance team collected data through various methods.  A series of phone interviews was conducted with existing managers to ascertain conceived problems and successes with the training course.  Management direct reports were also examined, along with senior stakeholders, to give the EP team a complete overview of a manager’s role, and how to better define it.

Key Findings

The Exemplary Performance team found that the actual training course was adequate, however, the new roles for managers was unclear.  A large portion of managers coming in from other companies, or picked up in acquisitions, felt the corporate training was bogged down and too general.  While the information for new managers was all there, it didn’t do a good job at honing in on particular roles.

Recommendations:

New performance-focused role profiles were developed along with a structured on-boarding process and coaching guides to ensure the newly hired managers knew exactly what was expected of them.  In addition, a supplement was provided from the old training course that taught the best practices for achieving exemplary outcomes and management of personnel.

Results

Direct results:

• Increased “success” rate for new managers as measured by reduced employee turnover, improved business results, and lower drop-out rate from the management training program.
• Improved stakeholder visibility to the keys for front line manager success.
• Improved corporate awareness of the importance of a structured on-boarding process to minimize time-to-competence for new employees.

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