Challenge:

Share Business-Critical Insights with 200+ Global Locations

A large multinational corporation needed to do a better job of disseminating key insights and information stemming from key bi-monthly business review meetings with employees at more than 200 remote locations around the world.

Solution:

Record, Edit, Produce & Distribute Meeting Content

To capture and disseminate critical business insights from the company’s bi-monthly business-review meetings, the Chatfield Group recommended the following approach:

• Technology: Evaluate, select, and purchase a coordinated set of technology tools to record proceedings; tools included video cameras and accessories as well as post-production software


• Production Training: Assemble and train a dedicated team responsible for pre-production videotaping, post-production editing, and multiplatform content delivery


• Presentation Training: Train executives and presenters on camera presence, video etiquette, on-camera movement and presentation skills

After accepting the Chatfield Group recommendations for capturing and disseminating business-review meeting insights, the company put together a well-equipped team to achieve its communications objectives. Once its tools and training were in place, the company began to distribute PowerPoint presentations highlighting the results of its business review meetings with its more than 200 locations worldwide via DVD and web broadcasting. The presentations featured photography and animation as well as smartphone technology.

Tags: Global HR — Training — Process Improvement — Technology

Challenge:

Quickly Train Large CSR Pool on Key Regulation

To achieve time-sensitive business objectives, the call center of a large insurance company needed to train 2,700 new customer service agents at 13 separate locations on Medicare Part D. A severe shortage of instructors and classrooms compounded the challenge.

Solution:

A Tailored Block-Scheduling Training Program

To meet the challenge, the Chatfield Group worked with site managers, team leaders, and a pool of internal and external trainers to develop a course of study that could be broken apart and delivered over 10 working days. Our instructional design team worked with representatives of governmental agencies to develop the courseware needed to explain Medicare Part D rules and regulations to the company’s customer service reps.

Tags: Corporate University — Training — New Hire Onboarding — Competency Models

Challenge:

Improve Pool of General Manager Candidates

A large manufacturing company was struggling to fill its GM ranks because it lacked clear insights about the key competencies needed to succeed in the position as well as a talent management approach to increase the number of qualified internal candidates.

Solution:

Launch Targeted Effort to Identify and Develop Internal GM Candidates

To help the company expand its pool of qualified GM candidates, the Chatfield Group made three key recommendations: first, conduct “need-and-gap” analyses of internal talent; second, expand the use of employee self-assessments; and third, identify the key core competencies necessary for success as a general manager at the company.

After gaining company buy-in for these recommendations, Chatfield consultants worked with the company’s senior leaders, department heads, and current General Managers to identify the skills, knowledge, and key competencies required to succeed in the GM role. Then the Chatfield Group compared the company’s GM needs against the skill sets of internal GM candidates as identified through employee self-assessments and observations from senior leaders.

After identifying the key competencies needed for general managers, and assessing the relative strengths of its internal candidates, the Chatfield Group designed a series of integrated training workshops and hands-on work assignments to strengthen the abilities of its GM prospects. In addition, Chatfield consultants developed a system of on-going curriculum support to ensure sustained training success.

Tags: Succession Planning — Custom Surveys — Coaching — Training — Assessments

Challenge:

Streamline Technical Training

A leading telecom company needed to reduce the cost of educating PBX technicians. Its five one-week sessions spread over two years were too great a draw on critical company resources.

Solution:

Develop Blended Learning Program

To streamline technical training, Chatfield consultants took a blended learning approach to the design and development of new courseware. The company’s new curriculum included mentoring, on-the-job activities, self-paced assignments, job aids, and computer-based instruction as well as team discussions, tests, and a one-week facilitated workshop to create a cohesive and effective training program.

The bottom-line impact: The revamped training program achieved a $500,000 reduction in annual travel expenses and created $125,000 in new revenue on top of a 400% return on investment.

Tags: Corporate University — Training — Technology — Management Development

Challenge:

Strengthen a Best Place to Work

A top-ranked employer in a major metro area wanted to know what it could do to enhance its already strong corporate culture.

Solution:

Conduct Employee Focus Group to Identify Areas for Improvement

To determine how best to fine-tune an already strong culture, The Chatfield Group conducted a series of employee focus groups to pinpoint areas of opportunity. Feedback from these focus groups suggested the need to strengthen communications. In particular, employees said organizational silos were stifling communication across business lines, hampering the ability of employees to build cross-functional product knowledge, and interfering with career advancement.

Focus group participants cited the need for a performance management process so employees could get the feedback they need to improve. And they highlighted their interest in formalized training and development opportunities, adding that managers, in particular, should improve their listening skills to do a better job eliciting ideas and feedback from employees.

Key Focus Group Recommendations

After an analysis of focus group feedback, The Chatfield Group presented specific recommendations to the company, including the following:

• Strengthen Branding & Marketing: Update marketing materials to reflect a shared vision and consistent messages … Build deeper awareness of products and services at all levels…
• Break Down Organizational Barriers: Build cross-functional alliances and teamwork to combat organizational silos that stifle communication across business lines … Expand personal relationships across functions…
• Strengthen Communications: Increase straight-talking business updates from key executives … Create opportunities for employees to connect face-to-face across departments and levels and to offer suggestions…
• Give Employees First Crack at Open Positions: Update the job-posting process to give employees first consideration for open positions … Require that jobs be posted before recruiting externally…
• Provide Focused Training and Development Opportunities: Target leadership development … Provide 360-feedback to high-potential managers … Train executives and managers on listening skills, on providing feedback to employees, and on facilitating employee suggestions … Provide work-flow training to help employees in process-oriented jobs identify process improvements…
• Require Goal-Setting and Performance Reviews Firm-Wide: Hold top executives accountable for reducing organizational silos and for improving communications … Ensure that managers take responsibility for cascading business goals across their departments and for conducting annual reviews with their direct reports…
• Communicate About Pay Practices: Provide employees with clear communications about the company’s pay policies and how pay is linked to performance…

Tags: Culture — Focus Groups — Organizational Structure — Employee Retention — Training — Career Development — Process Improvement — Performance Reviews

Challenge:

Restructure Compensation to Support Anticipated Growth

A fast-growing, privately held manufacturer of building materials needed to establish a formal compensation structure to better support its rapid growth and help it transition to a pay-for-performance company philosophy.

Solution:

Design of Comprehensive Compensation Structure

During this engagement, The Chatfield Group teamed with management to restructure roles and reporting relationships. We also wrote job descriptions for every position and market-priced all jobs so they would fall within the company’s new pay structure and salary ranges.

The Chatfield Group worked with management to introduce a formal, performance management program that aligns pay with performance. As part of this program, we designed performance-based incentive plans for both management and sales personnel. We also implemented a 12-month training & communications program to facilitate the company’s transition to a pay-for-performance philosophy.

Tags: Pay for Performance — Organizational Structure — Incentive Plans — Training — Job Descriptions — Market Studies — Performance Reviews

Challenge:

Provide Communications & Training to Ensure Success of New Performance Management Software

To create a high-performance culture, a major utility was seeking to 1) improve its ability to prioritize and manage goals, 2) strengthen the alignment between individual, departmental, business-unit and corporate goals, and 3) enhance its performance management process. To address these objectives, the company was turning to integrated performance management software and needed communications support for the implementation.

Solution:

Develop & Execute Communications Plan to Support Software Implementation

The Chatfield Group designed and executed a broad-based communications plan to support the company-wide rollout of Success Factors, a robust performance management software. At a high level, the various communications deliverables reinforced the utility’s plans to 1) automate its paper-based performance management process; 2) streamline goal-setting and performance appraisal while improving the quality of reviews, feedback, and employee development; and 3) improve the ability of the company to check alignment between individual, department, business and organizational goals.

Key deliverables included a comprehensive User Guide to help managers and employees set goals, fill out forms, take part in performance reviews, and engage in the online performance management process; handy EZ Guides to walk managers through the performance management process; a training PowerPoint for facilitators to use in conveying key learning experiences to employees; a chart outlining how to create SMART Goals, i.e. goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound; and a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) with information about the planned adoption of the performance management software.

Tags: Goal-Setting — Training — Performance Reviews — Success Factors — Halogen — HRIS — SMART Goals

Challenge:

Restructure Compensation Program

Major not-for-profit organization with 250 employees and more than 100 separate job categories needed to totally revamp its compensation structure.

Solution:

Totally Revamp Strategic Compensation Framework

The Chatfield Group helped the association transition to a more competitive pay philosophy. We developed a strategic compensation framework for the organization to assess the competitiveness and equity of both base pay as well as total cash programs.

The Chatfield Group created a market-based job evaluation system for the association as well as new salary structures for executive and sales positions. We developed a performance-based management incentive plan and a structure and system for sales incentives. We also developed both a salary administration handbook and a training program to introduce the new pay program and pay administration policies to employees.

Tags: Pay for Performance — Job Descriptions — Market Studies — Training

Challenge:

Strengthen Performance Management Across Business Units

A Fortune 100 packaging company serving industrial and consumer markets needed to address performance management issues following the merger of several packaging units.

Solution:

Training Workshops Focusing on Performance Review Process & Communications Skills

The Chatfield Group developed and facilitated management training workshops at multiple U.S. locations of the packaging company, focusing on performance management basics and the core communications skills needed to manage performance.

With feedback from the sessions, The Chatfield Group teamed with the client’s HR staff to create an improved performance management system for the merged businesses.

Tags: Performance Reviews — Management Development — Process Improvement — Training

Challenge:

Train Process Improvement Staff

The HR department of a large, rapidly growing packaging company needed to quickly develop and deliver a comprehensive training program for the company’s process improvement staff.

Solution:

Design & Implement Process Improvement Training Program

Working closely with the firm’s HR group, The Chatfield Group developed a comprehensive training program for the packaging company’s process improvement teams that included team building blocks and both facilitator and TQM training.

Despite tight time constraints, The Chatfield Group achieved rapid delivery of the comprehensive training program to the firm’s process improvement teams.

Tags: Process Improvement — Training — Lean — Teamwork — Train-the-Trainer

Challenge:

Retain Key Talent while Building Bench Strength

Historically, turnover was largely a non-issue for the regional branch of a prestigious federal agency employing nearly 500 scientists, engineers, economists and other highly skilled professionals. Today, however, the agency faces major talent shortages due to an aging workforce.

Solution:

Develop Customized HR Planning Process to Address Recruitment & Retention

To address the prospect of significant staff shortages in the future, The Chatfield Group developed a customized HR Planning Process designed to strengthen the agency’s recruitment and retention efforts.

The project included development of a customized competency model, management training, and training of a facilitation team to implement an organization-wide talent-assessment process.

Tags: Employee Retention — Training — Train-the-Trainer — Leadership Development — Competency Models — Management Development — Workforce Planning — Succession Planning

Challenge:

Quickly Expand Recruiting Capabilities

A rapidly growing telecommunications company faced an immediate need for on-site recruiting assistance to meet aggressive staffing goals and to fill weekly training sessions to capacity. It found itself short-handed in the recruiting area when an internal recruiter had to take an unexpected leave of absence.

Solution:

Customized Training Incorporating Core Competencies

The Chatfield Group provided an on-site recruiting expert to source candidates while limiting the use of contingency firms. Our recruiter phone-screened and interviewed candidates, consulted with hiring managers, and checked references.

Key Benefits: All slots were filled with high-caliber employees, peak-season service requirements were met, and retention of new hires improved by 50% compared with the prior hiring period.

Tags: Recruiting — Training — Interviewing

Challenge:

Broaden Talent Pool

A large consulting firm faced intense competition for the top-caliber hires it needed to preserve its position as a premier consultancy. Internal development and peer-group hiring alone were failing to fill the hiring pipeline.

The firm needed to reach out to candidates from industry. It also needed a reliable method for assessing capabilities needed to be implemented fast.

Solution:

Train Hiring Managers with Competency-Based Selection & Assessment Model

In a series of three-day workshops, The Chatfield Group taught the consulting firm’s U.S.-based hiring managers how to evaluate candidates using a sophisticated competency-based assessment model.

The Chatfield Group assembled a team of experts in assessment, training and competency-based selection processes to conduct the workshops, which included behavioral interviewing techniques and practice interviews as well as videotaped feedback.

Tags: Recruiting — Training — Interviewing — Assessments — Competency Models

Challenge:

Develop HR Tools for Local Managers

A national retailing organization needed to develop a set of HR tools to help local managers deal more effectively with performance-related people issues.

Solution:

Performance-Based Total Rewards Toolkit

The Chatfield Group developed a performance management framework to enable local managers of the national retailer to assess their reward and recognition options and implement cash bonus or incentive programs. The toolkit discusses two key aspects of performance management: first, aligning activities to ensure that goals are consistently and efficiently being met, and second, helping people develop their skills and capabilities and satisfy their own work-related needs while they are, at the same time, contributing to the health and profitability of the business.

The toolkit covers a wide range of topics – from understanding your employees and the importance of employee feedback to the motivational aspects of performance management. It provides sample job descriptions, interviewing techniques, performance reviews and performance improvement plans. It includes tools to keep employees focused on meeting goals and job expectations. And it outlines how developing SMART goals – i.e. ones that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound – can motivate employees to achieve high performance. Click here to learn more about SMART Goals.

In terms of retail-specific content, the toolkit covers performance management and the retail experience, achieving a competitive edge through customer service, and creating the optimum shopping experience for retail customers.

Tags: Performance Reviews — Incentive Plans — SMART Goals — Training — Pay for Performance — Job Descriptions — Interviewing — Customer Service

Challenge:

Improve Employee Orientation

A major, multinational corporation created from the merger of two key competitors needed a fresh, more sophisticated approach to New Hire orientation. At its inception, the company’s New Hire orientation and employee onboarding processes were dated, cumbersome and labor intensive.

Solution:

Streamline New Hire Orientation & Launch Comprehensive Onboarding Program

To revitalize and strengthen employee orientation, The Chatfield Group recommended a multi-step action plan:

• Streamline New Hire Enrollment – To provide managers with greater hiring flexibility, facilitate a “when you’re ready” start date rather than restricting managers with fixed hiring dates. Once a job offer has been accepted, send a Welcome e-mail to New Hires along with a summary of employee benefits and a website link to your annual report.
• Create New Employee Webpage – By providing New Hires with access to an onboarding website, new employees can download payroll and benefits forms so they can complete paperwork in advance or electronically. They can also gain online access to orientation presentations, your employee handbook, and other corporate, product and marketing information.
• Develop a Formal, 90-Day Onboarding Program – Onboarding is a comprehensive process designed to help new employees feel comfortable in their new work environments and become productive more quickly. The two primary objectives of an onboarding program are to 1) help new employees learn about their new organization, its culture, its customers, and the specific jobs to be performed and 2) provide supporting relationships and learning events to reinforce an employee’s decision to join the organization. In many cases, the onboarding process begins when an offer of employment is accepted and continues through the time when an employee feels “at home” and productive in a new work environment. Conclude your formal onboarding program with 90-day follow-up and review.
• Involve Hiring Managers, HR & Peer Mentors in Onboarding Process – Onboarding involves three primary players: the Hiring Manager, who takes the lead in providing the New Hire with a positive introduction to the department and the organization; Human Resources, which works with hiring managers to select peer mentors and provides program development, consultation and administration, as needed; and Peer Mentors, who perform a variety of supportive tasks to help the New Hire feel welcome and productive.
• Develop Personalized Launch for New Hires at Corporate HQ – To provide New Hires with a solid welcome to your organization, develop a comprehensive orientation program that delivers high motivational value and ensures a smooth transition to other components of your onboarding program. Feature live presentations by company leaders, if possible, and put presentation materials on your company intranet so they can be updated, archived, and accessed conveniently by presenters and other employees. Use your welcome to heighten employee appreciation for your mission, values, primary markets and key products as well as your approach to Research & Development, people development and the like. By doing so, you can generate excitement about your company, reinforce company values, reinforce an employee’s decision to join the company, and strengthen organizational relationships with new employees.
• Build a Department Orientation Template – Develop a standardized approach to departmental orientations to ensure that employees receive a solid introduction to the company and their primary operating unit. Help create customized departmental websites with checklists and guides for New Hires, hiring managers, peer mentors and administrative assistants.
• Create a Manager’s Guide to New Employee Onboarding – To optimize the success of your onboarding efforts, develop a manager’s guide to employee onboarding at your organization. Such a guide will help Hiring Managers provide a consistently high-quality orientation to their respective departments as well as monitor New Hire progress. In terms of content, consider including (1) a template for the New Hire’s first day on the job as well as an outline of activities and milestones for the New Hire’s first week, first month, and first 90 days with the organization; (2) training & development (T&D) activities scheduled to take place in the department during the New Hire’s early months of employment; and (3) questions to consider during the New Hire’s critical first 90 days of employment.
• Provide Ongoing Developmental Opportunities – To be effective long-term, an onboarding program should include a variety of continuing education opportunities for New Hires. These can range from all-employee “Lunch & Learns” and focused workshops to webinars and other types of online learning opportunities offered on a flexible basis.

Tags: New Hire Onboarding — Global HR — Websites — Employee Handbook — Employee Engagement — Training

Challenge:

Eliminate High Employee Turnover

A mid-sized technology company experiencing high turnover among its employees needed to address its turnover issues.

Solution:

Use Focus Groups to Identify Reasons for High Turnover and Generate Ideas for Improvement

To determine the root causes for the company’s high turnover, The Chatfield Group conducted a series of focus groups at the firm’s primary operating facilities. The lack of a clear chain of command and poor communications were identified as key concerns. So, too, were the needs to improve employee orientation and to provide training and development opportunities for both managers and employees. After analyzing staff feedback, The Chatfield Group teamed with company management to implement the following six-step plan to correct organizational deficiencies:

• Step 1: Expand Management Ranks – To clarify reporting relationships and improve functional management, the company created a layer of departmental management. Under the company’s revised organizational structure, Department Managers take the lead in communicating with employees on a day-to-day basis, in coaching employees on performance, and developing employee capabilities.
• Step 2: Launch Onboarding Program for New Hires – To increase retention of new employees, the company developed an onboarding program designed to make New Hires feel comfortable and productive in their new work environments from Day One. Hiring Managers developed an Onboarding Plan for each New Hire to address practical concerns of both the new employee and the Hiring Manager. Topics included 1) key people for the New Hire to know; 2) tools of the trade, such as computer log-ins and directory structures, file-naming conventions and reference materials; 3) a review of job basics, including the New Hire’s job description; 4) a “starter” assignment in which the new employee works independently to quickly add value with minimal supervision. To check on New Hire progress, Hiring Managers and HR schedule formal reviews with New Hires after they have been with the company for 90 days.
• Step 3: Strengthen Corporate Communications – A number of focus-group participants expressed the need for more frequent communications from the company. To address this issue, the company launched a company intranet designed to share lessons learned, project updates, job descriptions, job titles and contact information. It developed additional forums for discussion. And it began conducting exit interviews with departing employees to continue gathering feedback about the factors underlying its employee turnover challenges.
• Step 4: Improve Benefit Communications – In response to focus-group feedback about the need for a better understanding of employee benefits, the company benchmarked its current benefit plans with industry standards. During benefit-enrollment periods, it met with employees in small groups to provide them with an overview of company benefits and announce benefit changes. In addition to strengthening some benefit options, the company also began providing vacation accrual information on employee paychecks.
• Step 5: Introduce Performance Appraisal System – To provide greater clarity with regard to performance expectations, the company introduced a performance appraisal system that includes goal-setting, ongoing performance feedback, employee development and coaching. Training managers on setting goals and providing feedback was given high priority.
• Step 6: Provide Training & Development Opportunities – Many employee suggestions focused on the need for better management training. In response, the company developed a multifaceted T&D program that included Quarterly Workshops for Managers covering topics such as Maintaining a Strong Customer Focus, Interviewing Skills for Managers, and Coaching for High Performance. To build its management pipeline, the company introduced a Leadership Development Program. And to respond to employees’ thirst for learning opportunities, the company launched a series of “Lunch ‘n’ Learn” seminars for all employees.

Tags: Employee Retention — Focus Groups — New Hire Onboarding — Management Development — Job Descriptions — Performance Reviews — Interviewing — Coaching — Training — Employee Engagement

Challenge:

Attain Aggressive Performance Goals

A global commercial finance company with more than $20 billion in assets needed help attaining aggressive performance goals.

The client sought to attain top quartile ROE for each of its five core businesses as well as A/A+ bond ratings and a 15% overall ROE.

Solution:

Leverage Training, Coaching & 360-Feedback Programs

The Chatfield Group developed and implemented a performance management training program that included goal-setting, coaching and feedback, and performance appraisal modules as well as a customized online 360-feedback review process.

Tags: Goal-Setting — Training — Coaching — Performance Reviews — 360-Feedback

Challenge:

Support Business Ramp-Up with Just-in-Time Custom Training

A global shipping leader with an expanding US presence needed help building a training curriculum to address the development needs of its employees, managers and new hires. The company was searching for a cost-effective means to help employees develop core leadership skills, starting with an introduction to its new performance management process.

After assessing its training & development options, the company elected to develop customized workshops incorporating the company’s philosophy and core competencies. Although the company’s expert training staff would facilitate the workshops, the company lacked the time to develop the workshops internally.

Solution:

Customized Training Incorporating Core Competencies

The company selected the Chatfield Group to partner with its Director of Training to develop a comprehensive training curriculum designed to meet the development needs of the firm’s US employees over a three-year period.

Innovative, turn-key workshops are the primary delivery vehicle for the new training and development curriculum, which can be adapted, as needed, to address changing business requirements. The workshops – which were designed to reinforce core competencies and build essential leadership and management skills – incorporate design flexibility as well as customized branding and design.

Topics covered in the new training & development curriculum include Performance Management, Behavioral Interviewing, Basics of Management & Leadership, Career Development, Emotional Intelligence, Conflict Management, and Essential Communications Skills.

Tags: Training — Corporate University — Curriculum Development — Leadership Development — Performance Reviews — Competency Models — Management Development — Interviewing — Career Development — EQ - Emotional Intelligence — Conflict Management