SUPPORTING THE TRANSFORMATION OF A PRODUCTION PLANT

Use Change Measures to Support Employees During the Change Process in a Target Group-oriented Manner

In an era characterized by technological advances and digital transformation, companies are faced with the challenge of adapting and modernizing their production processes.

However, the introduction of new technologies and processes is not only met with enthusiasm, it also causes anxiety and uncertainty among employees. In this context, the importance of effective communication measures is becoming increasingly clear.

Our holistic approach of change and communication offers our clients a tailor-made complete solution from a single source – our key to a successful transformation.

Service Portfolio for Transformation Support

Target Group Analysis

In order to get to know the needs, expectations, attitudes and behaviors of our target group, we first carried out a target group analysis. This is the basis for us to develop targeted and effective strategies together with our client. One of our most important findings was the different communicative accessibility of managers and production employees. Apart from a company-wide employee app, which they used on their private smartphones, the latter could hardly be reached via digital media - an important factor for planning the communication channels.

Kick-Off Workshop and Changeroadmap

In a joint kick-off workshop with the relevant stakeholders of the transformation, we used creative and agile methods to develop an effective change and communication strategy. The aim was, on the one hand, to support managers in continuously shaping the change in dialog with their employees and, on the other hand, to continuously inform and engage employees with on-site communication measures during the change. We mapped out the measures developed for this on a timeline. This represented our implementation roadmap for the next two years.

Transformation Facilitation

Another important element of our change roadmap was regular meetings with our customer to conduct retrospectives after important milestones and feedback rounds. This allowed us to continuously review the effectiveness of our measures and flexibly adapt strategies as soon as the framework conditions changed.

Creative Workshop For Developing Change Figure

An important, emotionalizing element of our change and communication strategy was the introduction of a cheeky 'mascot' as a motivating 'change agent' - in the form of a cartoon character. This character symbolically represented the change and was at the start of all communication measures as a carrier of important messages. In a joint creative workshop, we designed our mascot both graphically and conceptually, defining not only the appearance but also the characteristics and possible uses of this fictional character.

Film Production and Storytelling

A central element of our change communication was a short film in which we designed a stylistic mix of live-action film and animated comic. It was important to involve the core group of the transformation - the production employees - as actors. Together with our client, we developed a story in which the plant manager and the change mascot visited representative employees at their various workplaces and talked to them about the challenges of the change. We turned this story into a storyboard and script, and also took care of the film production from A-Z.

Guerilla Communication

As the majority of our target group at the production plant has little access to the internet and no time due to the work schedule, we focused on physical communication tools that we integrated into the employees' daily living and working environment. Short, cheeky visual slogans on posters, construction fence banners, window and floor stickers surprised employees on the way to their workplace or break rooms. With this form of direct communication, we were able to reach our target group with our messages virtually 'in passing'.

Train-The-Trainer

Employees are far more likely to accept changes if they are actively and authentically exemplified by their managers. This is why we developed a 'train-the-trainer' concept for all managers up to foreman level, so that they can effectively communicate the changes in dialog with their employees. We developed the content together with committed managers in a bootcamp workshop format. The train-the-trainer courses were conducted by the managers themselves as trainers - this promoted credibility and trust among all those involved.

Change and Communication from a Single Source

Ensuring sustainability through continuous support

In the case of our client, we supported a transformation over several years. As a result, we knew both our client and the target group very well, were able to provide targeted advice and delve deep into the content. Thanks to our continuous support, we were not only able to implement short-term measures, but also use effective long-term methods that ensured the sustainability of the change and communication activities.

Competences Involved

All of our areas of expertise come into play at such a comprehensive event. That's why we can offer such an event from a single source.

CONCEPT

CHANGE

EVENT

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