1. Business Challenge
In the early 2020s, a small natural gas distribution utility was experiencing a significant increase in capital work directed towards restoring the capacity of its gas transmission pipelines, which serve industrial customers. This increase led to organizational strain in several areas of the company, along with increased and – in many cases – unsustainable workloads upon existing team members. At the same time, some groups within the company were also experiencing significant strain related to ‘initiative overload.’ That included the unfinished launch of core IT system software implementations. This confluence of circumstances was leading to decreased employee engagement and challenges with retention.
Leadership acknowledged their challenges, and The Engine Room was invited to conduct an Employee Workload and Engagement Discovery. The Discovery aimed to assess employee workloads, organizational structures, the effects of increased capital budget spend, and leadership improvement opportunities. The primary objective was to provide senior leadership with a thorough assessment of the root causes of the workload strain and organizational challenges that the company was experiencing and provide recommendations designed to accelerate operational performance, decrease workload imbalance, and increase leadership capability and employee engagement.
2. Actions Taken and Tools Used
Following a thorough discovery process, which involved interviewing employees throughout the organization and benchmarking processes and practices, The Engine Room presented senior leadership with a detailed report and a series of recommendations designed to alleviate organizational strain and begin to build a healthier, more efficient, and sustainable operation. The Engine Room then supported the implementation of these recommendations, which included:
| Resolution of Incomplete Software Implementations: The Engine Room worked at the intersection of the people, processes, and technology at the heart of the utility’s incomplete software implementations to lead the effort to organize, stabilize, and systematically resolve the outstanding issues and challenges that were plaguing these projects. |
| Changes to the Organizational Structure: Changes were recommended to address some unconventional ‘quirks’ in the company org chart that did not align with prevailing best practices. These changes ensured a more streamlined reporting structure, allowing leaders to operate at the appropriate functional level in alignment with their role. The Engine Room guided those involved through the change management process to create a structure more aligned with the business’s operational requirements. |
| Process Improvement: To support more efficient workflows, key processes were created, improved, and aligned with business objectives, facilitating a reduction in employees feeling they had unmanageable workloads. As part of the process improvement effort, the clarification of accountabilities and decision-making rights was a key focus. This focus led to reduced uncertainty and increased accountability within these processes. |
| Leadership Coaching: Targeted leadership coaching with several leaders focused on aligning leadership capability and practices with company objectives. Coaching was anchored in the leader’s role in creating processes, workflows, and management systems that align with team, departmental, and company objectives while also facilitating employee engagement. |
3. Business Results
Throughout the engagement, meaningful and consistent progress resulted in vastly reduced levels of employee frustration, tension, feeling overwhelmed, and, ultimately, employee turnover. The incomplete software implementation projects were systematically guided to completion, facilitating a tangible shift from frustration to empowerment among those who regularly interact with the new systems. Completing these projects has allowed the organization to leverage the functionality and benefits of its core IT platforms.
Adjusting the organizational structure to align with operational requirements and business objectives reduced frustrations and facilitated better communication, collaboration, and reporting relationships. Process improvements created clarity around accountabilities, roles, and responsibilities for many employees, which further contributed to more balanced workloads and a tangible reduction in confusion, frustration, and tensions. Throughout the implementation, consistent leadership training and follow-up leadership coaching increased leadership awareness and capability within the organization.
The aggregate impact of all facets of The Engine Room implementation helped guide the organization past a point of crisis and into a period of calm, intentional, sustained improvement in all aspects of their leadership and operations.
