Context
A rapidly expanding international manufacturer of high-tech products with 4 subsidiary companies with factories and offices around the world.
The problem
The pace of the organisation’s expansion meant that every year there were up to 100 new recruits who had an international role within their own company but who had no overall picture of the whole organisation, its values, management style or product range.
What we did
- Worked with HR and the board to identify critical factors that needed to be included in the 2 ½ day event.
- Gathered all the new recruits from around the world together at a venue close to the Head Office. Each person was asked to bring along a product made or sold by their home base.
- The participants were asked to work in groups according to the company they worked for and find a way to creatively present their products to the rest of the group (exhibition / presentation / stage show). The groups then had 2 hours to plan, assign roles, create materials and practice.
- Each of the 4 companies was assigned half a day in which the company groups presented their products to the rest of the participants. This was followed by an Executive Dialogue by company’s MD in which they presented the history, present situation, vision and strategy and answered participants’ questions.
Benefits for participants
- They got an understanding of the size, complexity and future of the organisation, the interconnected nature of the subsidiaries, the vast range of products and the wide variety of customers.
- They experienced the “spirit” of the organisation as a whole and the individual character of each of the subsidiaries.
- They all met the board members of the holding company and the MDs of the 4 subsidiaries,
- They formed a strong network of colleagues.
Benefits for HR
- Strong employee branding.
- The format of the event was developed so that the HR staff could run it themselves – so far they have done it every year for 4 years.
Benefits for management
- Participants returned motivated, with a better understanding of where their roles fit in to the global scheme of things.
- The number of interventions the managers had to make has reduced as participants have been able to make use of their strong network of contacts around the organisation.
- Participants have seen examples of innovation and best practice at the event and have brought those back to their home base.
