Case Studies

Ensuring ERP Success Through Strategic Change Management & Training

Mitigating ERP Implementation Risk: An Adaptive Training Strategy for Maximum User Adoption

Situation: The client was implementing a new SAP/ASTEA ERP system, a critical but high-risk transformation. Training is often the most under-budgeted and underestimated component of ERP projects, leading to low user adoption, process violations, data errors, and ultimately, project failure. The goal was to avoid these pitfalls and ensure a smooth transition that would protect the project's multi-million dollar investment.

Action:
Designed and executed a robust, adaptive training and change management strategy.

Developed a "Four-Tier" Strategic Approach: Originally designed a comprehensive plan that included innovative and engaging training experiences to build necessary Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).
Adapted to Project Challenges: When faced with design alterations, delayed go-live dates, and resource constraints, the plan was intelligently compressed and adapted without sacrificing core learning objectives.
Leveraged Diverse Modalities: Utilized webinars, video recordings, and on-demand learning platforms to provide flexible, accessible training that met users where they were.
Ensured Content Accuracy: Collaborated directly with system experts and business process owners to create accurate training content that reflected real-world processes and system functionality.

Results:

Successfully Mitigated Key Implementation Risks: The training program directly addressed the risks of low user adoption, system instability, and invalid data that doom many ERP projects.
Achieved Cost Avoidance: By viewing training as a critical investment, the project avoided the massive long-term costs associated with post-go-live rework, data cleanup, and employee frustration leading to turnover.
Increased User Preparedness: Elevated end-user awareness and understanding of the new system, leading to a smoother transition and higher productivity after go-live.
Protected ROI: The strategic focus on change management and training was a fundamental contributor to achieving the desired return on investment from the ERP implementation.

Creating a Culture of Excellence with a Structured Career Path

From Novice to Expert: A Formal Career Path Program to Boost Proficiency and Retention

Situation:
A manufacturing organization valued quality and growth but lacked a formal structure to develop its shop-floor talent. Employees had limited visibility on how to advance their careers within the company, which led to a stagnant skills base, higher turnover in critical roles, and a longer learning curve for new hires. The company needed a system to nurture talent from within and solidify its culture of excellence.

Action:
Analyzed data and skill gaps to develop and launch a formal Career Path Program based on the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition.

Designed a Clear Progression Framework: Mapped out a structured pathway from "Novice" to "Expert," with each pay band requiring specific skill assessments and knowledge tests for advancement.
Integrated Adaptive Learning: Used a methodology that ensured continuous development, allowing employees to progress at their own pace while meeting rigorously defined competency benchmarks.
Implemented a Badging System: Created a system of achievement badges to provide tangible recognition for skill mastery, boosting motivation, and signifying expertise.
Aligned Growth with Organizational Goals: Ensured that each level of progression directly correlated with the higher standards of quality and excellence the organization required.

Results:

Dramatically Increased Engagement: Increased core training hours by 279%, demonstrating massive employee engagement with their own development.
Improved Talent Metrics: Reduced turnover and absenteeism for critical manufacturing roles, stabilizing the workforce.
Enhanced Productivity and Quality: Improved technical proficiency across the board led to measurable gains in productivity, throughput, and output quality.
Built an Internal Talent Pipeline: Created a sustainable system for cultivating experts from within, reducing reliance on external hiring for advanced roles, and strengthening the organizational culture.

Upskilling Technicians to Drive Manufacturing Efficiency & ROI

Building a Technical Talent Pipeline: A Training Program That Reduced Downtime and Turnover

Situation:
A durable goods manufacturer was facing operational inefficiencies due to skill gaps within its maintenance technician workforce. Frequent machine crashes, high scrap/rework rates, and unnecessary downtime were costing the company significant resources and impacting productivity. Furthermore, the lack of a structured development path was leading to higher employee turnover, creating a cycle of understaffing and under-skilling.

Action:
Designed and implemented a comprehensive, multifaceted Maintenance Technician Training Program.

Conducted a Rigorous Needs Assessment: A cross-functional team was formed to identify core skill gaps and design a targeted curriculum that addressed real-world problems on the shop floor.
Forged Strategic Educational Partnerships: Collaborated with Tooling U-SME for online theoretical training and Ivy Tech Community College for hands-on, practical assessment, creating a powerful blend of learning modalities.
Implemented a Phased, Measurable Rollout: The program began with baseline testing to gauge existing knowledge. Technicians then progressed through online courses and practical assessments, ensuring they could apply what they learned.
Applied the Phillips ROI Methodology: Established a rigorous evaluation framework from the outset to measure both tangible financial returns (hard dollars) and intangible benefits (soft skills, culture).

Results:

Improved Operational Metrics: Increased machine run-time rates and reduced scrap/rework rates due to enhanced technician proficiency and fewer errors.
Significant Financial ROI: Quantifiably reduced hard-dollar turnover cost to $2,915.63 per associate and decreased overall tooling and operational costs.
Enhanced Talent Management: Improved employee retention and made the company a more attractive destination for recruiting quality technical talent.
Cultivated a Learning Culture: Fostered a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and increased problem-solving capabilities across the technical workforce.

A Scientifically Rigorous Framework for Fair Leadership Succession

Eliminating Bias in Partnership Promotion: An Evidence-Based Assessment Protocol

Situation:
A professional services firm relied on subjective evaluations and tenure-based criteria for promoting partners. This informal process created inconsistency, failed to identify high-potential leaders accurately, and introduced unconscious bias, risking the promotion of individuals who might not possess the full spectrum of required skills (e.g., business development, emotional intelligence, executive presence). The firm needed an objective, fair, and scientifically valid method for succession planning.

Action:
Developed, validated, and implemented a multi-modal, evidence-based assessment protocol.

Designed a Holistic Methodology: Created a five-component protocol that combined psychometric profiling (Reiss Motivation Profile), 360-degree feedback, structured behavioral interviews, and quantitative leadership assessments to triangulate data and ensure validity.
Mapped Critical Competencies: Developed a comprehensive competency framework defining over 30 essential leadership traits with observable behavioral indicators.
Applied Rigorous Analysis: Used qualitative research methods (thematic content analysis) and software (CAQDAS) to analyze interview data and established quantitative thresholds on leadership assessments to determine readiness objectively.
Ensured Fairness and Accuracy: The triangulation of data from multiple sources prevented reliance on any single subjective opinion, creating a fair and consistent evaluation process.

Results:

Reduced Promotion Bias: Implemented an objective, transparent set of criteria for promotion decisions, significantly reducing the influence of subjectivity and unconscious bias.
Informed Development: Generated detailed individual development profiles for all candidates, allowing for targeted training to close specific skill gaps.
Proven Reliability & Scale: The validated assessment instrument has been used in over 200 assessments, demonstrating its reliability and scalability across the organization.
Strengthened Talent Pipeline: Provided the leadership team with a clear, data-driven framework to identify and develop future partners, securing the firm's long-term leadership health.

Designing an Organizational Structure for Strategic Acquisitions

Architecting for Growth: A Scalable Organizational Design for an Acquisition-Driven Enterprise

Situation:
A multi-billion-dollar company with an aggressive acquisition strategy was hindered by its decentralized structure. Semi-autonomous business units operated with inconsistent processes, weak central governance, and strong local cultures that resisted integration. This led to operational inefficiencies, an inability to capture synergies, and a slow, ad-hoc approach to onboarding new acquisitions that threatened future growth.

Action:
Led a comprehensive organizational redesign initiative.

Conducted a Full Diagnostic: Performed an in-depth current state analysis across structure, governance, operations, culture, and talent management to identify critical gaps and deficits.
Evaluated Structural Options: Analyzed four potential organizational models against design criteria that balanced scalability, role clarity, and cultural unity with the need to preserve local market responsiveness.
Recommended a Hybrid Model: Advocated for and designed a "Connected Autonomy" model based on complex adaptive systems theory. This included a hybrid-matrix structure, standardized management processes, and a three-tier leadership model to improve spans of control.
Designed for Talent and Integration: Developed a talent acceleration program with clear, cross-unit career paths and established standardized, repeatable processes for integrating new acquisitions.

Results:

Built a Scalable Platform: Established a new organizational architecture that could systematically support the company's aggressive acquisition strategy without breaking existing operations.
Balanced Global and Local Needs: The designed model effectively balanced the need for functional excellence and synergy (central) with market responsiveness and autonomy (local).
Accelerated Integration: Developed standardized integration processes that significantly reduced the time and resources required to onboard new acquisitions and capture synergies.
Improved Talent Mobility: Established clear career paths across business units, enhancing talent retention and expanding the pool of leaders available to the enterprise.

Scaling a Shared Service Center to Support Explosive Growth

Transforming Training Operations: A Scalable Shared Service Center for 33,000 Employees

Situation:
A large organization was rapidly expanding through acquisitions, adding seven new affiliate companies in different geographic locations. The existing training administration team, built to support 5,000 employees, was overwhelmed. Processes were inconsistent across locations, leading to inefficiencies, a poor user experience, and an inability to standardize learning and development. The business needed a centralized, scalable solution to onboard these affiliates without sacrificing service quality.

Action:
Designed and led the implementation of a centralized Shared Service Center (SSC) for Learning & Development.

Built the Business Case: Hosted workshops with key stakeholders to demonstrate the value and functionality of a centralized LMS and a shared service concept, securing executive buy-in.
Scaled the Team Strategically: Managed the significant scaling of the team from 10 to 45 members. This involved creating new shift schedules, defining a customer support model, and meticulously mapping and standardizing processes for every new affiliate onboarded.
Redesigned the Organization Structure: Worked with leadership to reorganize the team functionally into an Operations team (focused on day-to-day delivery) and a Project and Process team (focused on continuous improvement and onboarding new affiliates).
Developed Talent and Career Paths: Utilized a roles and responsibility matrix to redefine all job roles, created five new job descriptions, and led an interview process that resulted in 20 promotional opportunities for existing staff, boosting morale and retaining institutional knowledge.

Results:

Dramatically Increased Capacity: Successfully scaled the operation to support 33,000 employees (a 560% increase) from an initial base of 5,000.
Enabled Rapid Growth: Provided a standardized, repeatable process to seamlessly onboard seven new affiliate companies, directly enabling the organization's acquisition strategy.
Enhanced Employee Development: Created clear career ladders, resulting in 20 internal promotions, which increased team engagement and reduced turnover.
Improved Efficiency & Consistency: Established standardized processes and a clear governance model, eliminating redundancy and ensuring a consistent learning experience for all employees across the organization.