- approx. 36,000 employees
- at over 40 sites in Europe, Asia and America
Details about the company
Leading global supplier of semiconductor and system solutions
Situation and challenge
The company is in the red, the new CEO is to get it back on track
Restructuring with simultaneous reorganization are essential. The greatest danger is that the company will be paralyzed, that customer focus will be lost, that performance and productivity will plummet. It is necessary to counteract the resignation of the managers and the uncertainty of the employees and to build trust in the (new) top management and its decisions, so that the entire course is supported instead of just endured.
Project
cetacea provides support with a team of several people on site over the period of more than one year
Focus: Enabling and motivating the entire international leadership team, building trust between the executive board and the leadership team, providing communication support for the restructuring and cost-saving program, and simultaneously establishing an efficient and flexible top team communication infrastructure to ensure consistent messaging across all sites at the same time.
Result
Leadership engagement and enablement on the one hand, communication in difficult times on the other:
- A team behind the CEO with a common understanding of requirements
- A CEO who convinces the management team and carries them along, despite a difficult path
- A workforce that goes along with the difficult path, even with voluntary salary cuts
- Insight and trust in the top team despite significant staff reductions
- A single story for internal and external audiences
- A resilient and flexible infrastructure for timely internal communication at all times
- Noticeable improvements in sick leave and employee stress levels
Procedure
Working closely with the CEO, overseeing all CEO and top team communications, consideration of all stakeholders for trust-building and stabilizing measures. To ensure short coordination paths and the optimal efficiency, the cetacea team and the in-house internal communication team on the customer side worked hand in hand in the joint “war room”.
First, cetacea conducts an assessment based on over 60 interviews. Where does the leadership team stand? How much confidence does it have in the new course and the top team? How effectively can the leadership team guide their teams through this challenging time? Is there a sense of urgency? Which messages reach the target groups? Based on this, recommendations are made for executive engagement and CEO communication. In parallel, the implementation of the first measures begins. cetacea designs the change story and develops and implements the appropriate communication tools for the upcoming kick-off communication of the savings program, where job cuts cannot be ruled out.
CEO communication to executives is strengthened, motivation arises from insights and transparency. All stakeholder groups are informed and prepared for their own communication: Top management, supervisory board, middle management, works council, committees, HR consultants – they all need to be able to provide information. Messages to the financial community, media and public, customers, suppliers and business partners are also aligned to ensure consistent communication.
A leadership engagement plan and a clear communication plan is developed that defines the sequence of communication as well as the flow of cascading communication across all sites and hierarchies. All-hands meetings, Board e-mails, newsletters, and ongoing updates and communication materials for middle management ensure continuous information throughout the restructuring process.
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