Team Case Studies

Case Story 1: Manufacturer of Global Technical Products

Welcome to the first of our team case studies.

This client was well established in their marketplace but needed to raise their game to maximise their market share in the emerging technologies sector. We were invited to conduct our Pit Stop diagnostic process to target the specific issues that were blocking their ability to maximise their performance moving forward.

We identified the following issues:

• Trust levels amongst the senior management team were not strong enough
• The performance ownership and accountability framework lacked clarity
• Specific processes were not robust enough
• Teams were working independently of each other and the information flow between them was not optimised
• Team members lacked awareness of the strategic importance of the new product launch

We diagnosed the root causes that lay behind these issues and designed an holistic Unblocking High Performance Programme to address and measurably improve performance in short timescales.

We created a Performance Framework for this assignment which clarified where measurable value must be delivered and the return on investment that would be realised by the client upon successful completion.

The Unblocking High Performance Programme included a wide variety of initiatives each delivered by a specialist member of our Pit Crew, including:

• Visioning Workshop
• Clarify what a winning performance would be and focus the entire senior management team on making a valuable and measurable contribution
• Birkman Profiling
• Raise awareness of the different interests, behaviours and needs present amongst the management team and develop strategies for more effective team alignment
• Product Commercialisation Process Optimisation
• Target opportunities for more effective and efficient product to market strategies
• Team Leadership
• Becoming stronger leaders and utilising key skills to ensure their teams were fully engaged and contributing to strategic success
• Branding & Marketing Communications
• Engaging all teams in embracing the core values and key messages of the new products
• Coaching
• On demand support for any team members to ensure that all learnings were being successfully applied within the work environment

The initial programme has now been delivered and has resulted in:

1. Product to Market Time being reduced by 25%
2. First Quarter's Revenue Targets were exceeded by 34%
3. Positive ROI in excess of 280%

We are now delivering an Accelerating High Performance Programme which will establish even greater focus on winning performances, build ever more positive beliefs across the organisation and generate inspired actions that deliver outstanding results exactly where the client needs them most.

Case Story 2: Industrial Cleaning Business

Welcome to the second of our team case studies.

The business in question was rapidly growing when we first spoke to them. They were in a strong position where:

• There was an increasing demand for their services in the market, supported by the introduction of new legislation
• They were increasingly being recognised as the leader in their market niche
• They were on the approved suppliers list for all of the key market players
• They had integrated another business to expand their service portfolio into further lucrative market segments

So what was their major performance challenge you might ask?

Client Retention: Accelerating performance through the acquisition of new clients was being eroded by the fact that they were losing a significant number of existing clients at the point of annual contract renewal.

The MD asked us to work with his customer service team and apply our diagnostic approach to illuminate the root causes of limited performance and then inspire the team to measurably improve performance where it mattered most.

Our Pit Stop Process captured the frank perspectives of the team membership and leadership as shown in the Benchmark Summary Report below.

Reading this chart for the first time, I expect you can start to identify where the root causes of limited performance for this team might lie.

This was a very process and systems oriented business which reflected the personality of its' leader, but the failure to devote enough attention to:

• Accurately defining what a winning team performance will look, sound and feel like
• Emphasising the key team performance goals for the team and each individual team member
• Building a positive, solution oriented team culture and environment
• Engaging with their people and recognising every success
• Inspiring them to bigger and better performances

was holding the team and the business back.

We worked directly with this customer team over a period of 90 days and utilised a variety of our performance specialists to inspire a winning performance.

We continue to monitor the performance of the team and engage with them when it is most appropriate, but 9 months later the results speak for themselves:

1. Manageable customer loss reduced by 55%
2. Total customer loss reduced by 35%
3. Value to the business of £256,000.00
4. Our fees have totalled £57,000.00
5. Positive ROI of 350%

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