Multinational in bioscience

Question

A leading organisation in the chemicals and materials industry has over 2100 employees worldwide, striving for a more sustainable world every single day. Every three months, the most important managers in the organisation hold a virtual meeting during their “top 100 leadership” event. This is an important occasion where the managers of different divisions throughout the world can connect with each other. Given the forthcoming merger with another similar business, Involve was asked to use its experience and knowledge of change to flesh out a presentation about the psychology of change.

Approach

A planned merger has an impact on the organisation long before it is actually implemented. The future suddenly looks quite different for existing employees. And this can create disquiet, with uncertainty about what this change might mean for their work. This disquiet and uncertainty can, as far as possible, be prevented by getting the organisation ready for the forthcoming change in good time.

To support the organisation, Involve focused on preparing the employees to deal with the coming changes by working on fostering a resilient and creative workforce that could more easily step outside their comfort zone, with greater curiosity. Employees who would recognise different perspectives and were open to being inspired and enriched by them. All of this helps to think about opportunities instead of obstacles during times of uncertainty.

Training and equipping these top 100 managers helps in percolating this skill further through the organisation. Inspired by the workshop and the practical toolkit, managers can then apply this process themselves within their own teams. We hope in this way to contribute towards a smooth change process within the organisation. We’re looking forward to the results in the longer term!