Case Study Roundup

Culture Strength During Supply Chain Disruption

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Case Study Overview

Logistics Firm Focuses Strategic Objectives & Identifies Cultural Barriers

Read Time: 3 minutes

Client: Logistics & Transportation Firm

Product: Culture 5 – 1 Check-Ins, 5 Questions, 30 days

Anxiety Rating: Managed

Staff Connecting: 68% Connecting

Value to Leadership

  • Leadership was surprised to learn Culture & Well Being scores were above expectations/ exceeded the community average at 30 days; anticipated weaker results
  • Armed with insights/ data, Leadership was empowered to move forward – implementing a refocused strategic planning project
  • Leadership became aware that staff understood their roles, but needed frequent, clear communication from the leaders and managers about what was happening at the company

Leadership Profile

  • CEO shared there was an exodus of leadership and management staff over 12+ months due to industry supply chain upheaval and disruption
  • Leadership felt ‘something was off‘ at the company by sharing “things felt very out of control”
  • Leadership struggled to uncover problematic issues or have a candid discussion about challenges with staff
  • There was an organization-wide bias of a ‘culture disconnect’ between various departments (Sales, Operations, Administration)

Outcomes

  • Leadership overestimated the level of anxiety in the workforce due to a disruptive 12 months (Managed – 36% reporting Anxiety)
  • Leadership unknowingly fostered a Stop Behavior – Allowing Double Standards/ Only Focusing on Squeaky Wheels; they didn’t have an understanding about the behavior to begin to make improvements, often ‘tip-toed’ around the issue
  • Expressed Staff Needs – Start, Stop, Continue – brought clarity to leadership, giving them next steps and behaviors they should immediately address

Requested Leadership Behaviors Expressed:

Continue: Provide Open & Honest Communication
Stop: Allowing Double Standards/ Only Focusing on Squeaky Wheels
START (Action Plan): Hold People & Teams Accountable, Share What Leadership is Working On

Metric Goal

Culture Score = Contributing/ Performing
Well Being Index = Stable/ Energized
Anxiety Rating = Managed/ Minimal
Feelings Index (Connecting) = Higher % the better

Milestones

  • Leadership worked to incorporate the tailored/ prioritized Action Plan behavior, Hold People & Teams Accountable, into a monthly KPI metric for company-wide Strategic Planning sessions
  • Leadership enacted a monthly communication strategy focused on a second requested Action Plan behavior, Share What Leadership Is Working On, in a memo shared with managers and staff in all departments.

About the author

Will Gladhart
William Gladhart
Chief Marketing Officer