We recently worked with a global organisation in the steel wire manufacturing industry to ensure their management team were able to move their business towards ‘World Class’. Read the case study below:
The Client: Our client is the UK Production site for a Belgian global market leader in the steel wire industry
The Issue: Historically, the business had changed from a family-owned European player to becoming part of a world-class, global business. There were conflicting cultures and styles within the business and between its managers, many of whom had worked in more of a ‘command and control’ environment within the company. In order to move towards a world-class operation, it was clear that the abilities and capabilities of the Management team needed to be unlocked to allow the necessary changes to take place.
Our Solution: Azure have been involved in a number of interventions over the last few years. We facilitated a number of workshops to improve staff engagement using feedback from a staff satisfaction survey, as a result of which several initiatives were implemented, including delivery of an ‘Engage’ leadership programme delivered to the Senior Management Team over a twelve month period. We have also coached a number of individual managers, delivered management training to Production Supervisors and most recently, facilitated the recruitment process of 5 new Cell Leader positions. This was a rigorous process which included competency-based interviews and an assessment centre, to ensure it was an objective, fair process which selected the right people with leadership potential.
Results: The team now feels that they are equipped to take the business forward, they communicate more openly and honestly and feel that they now work together as a more cohesive unit. There has been a measurable impact too, the business is now more profitable than ever previously with a strong forecast for future growth.
What Our Client Says:
“The business needed to address the restrictions that were present caused by the existing ways of working and communicating. This was essential in order to allow the business to follow its objective of becoming a world-class manufacturing site.
The Azure team facilitated new means of interacting amongst the Management team and provided enhanced skills for the team to use. Following the development work that Azure delivered, it is almost possible to feel the difference within the team and the interactions that we now see on a day-to-day basis within the team and in the rest of the business.
The management team is better equipped to lead, with the tools and know-how to develop and support staff. In return, staff are now taking ownership of problems and focusing on what they can do about them. It feels like a positive and energetic place to come to work.
The unique skill that Azure provided and continues to provide to our business is the all-encompassing package of training and knowledge. This means that Azure has become involved with other groups of personnel within the business in order to support the roll-out of new skills, ways of working and ways of approaching the challenges that we face in a modern manufacturing environment. The result is that the site is one of the top performers in the Business Unit and has, as a result, secured investment of £6m.
As the business has developed and changed over time, this intervention with Azure has made a positive, lasting impact and hugely facilitated necessary culture change”
