Background

400 employees, all located in Ontario.

80% unionized.

The company was launching a rebranding initiative. For it to succeed, employees needed to be fluent with and demonstrate the new brand, which meant they needed to be engaged and onside for the change.

Historically there was an “us versus them” culture.

A lot of mistrust existed among employees; many believed the company was just going through the motions and wouldn’t deliver on real change.

The Collin Baer Group was brought in to add credibility and ensure commitments for change were upheld.

We facilitated the inaugural meeting of a Steering Committee which included union representation.

We then facilitated discussions with employees from all parts of the company, including hourly employees and shift workers, to identify what employees needed to support change.

After reporting our findings to the Steering Committee, we worked with them to categorize the employees’ ideas within an Action Planning Spreadsheet for what could realistically be implemented within 2 months, by year-end, and deferred to the next year.

The Action Planning Spreadsheet was communicated to all employees, and commitments for implementation were made by the President/CEO and the senior team including the union chair.

Senior management is now more visible and accessible to employees.

A leadership development training program was rolled out to provide managers with the skills they needed to be better leaders.

On a rotational basis, employees join management meetings to promote inclusivity and transparency.

Changes within the company are developed and implemented on an ongoing basis through joint task groups, which empowers employees and allows them to take ownership for their environment.

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