50 employees in Toronto.

Highly educated non-union workforce.

The “family” culture was no longer sustainable or appropriate with the company’s continued growth.

Employees were feeling disconnected and disengaged.

The company’s sole asset was its consultants. A disengaged workforce could have a perilous impact on the bottom line.

The organization operated by consensus and team. All employees had to be involved for the initiative to be successful.

Trust and confidentiality were issues. Third-party involvement and facilitation was imperative.

The Collin Baer Group developed a paper survey for all employees to complete during a corporate offsite meeting, to identify their core issues and list them in priority order.

From this data, we discerned the top 3 issues impacting employees: career development, work/life balance and training.

We arranged all employees into small groups and conducted Action Planning Discussions to discuss the top 3 issues.

We provided all partners and employees with a report that summarized the Action Planning Discussions and outlined specific recommendations and next-step actions to be taken.

We then conducted a follow-up facilitated discussion with all employees to discuss the report findings and agree on the tactical next steps.

From beginning to end, employees were involved and helped drive the process.

Their issues were the basis of discussion, and changes were developed, designed and implemented by the employees.

Employees saw that their opinions count and were able to take full ownership for change. This was empowering and resulted in a more engaged and productive workforce.

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