Transformation Service Company • Gsponer

About the job

Our client from the software industry has experienced dynamic growth in recent months and years. New resources have been built up especially in the areas of development and project management. At the same time, established structures collided with new requirements. To create clarity and orientation, Gsponer is supporting Ethelred AG in the professional realignment of processes, roles and leadership. The goal is to combine the success factors of the past with a future-oriented way of working and thus sustainably shape the change within the company.

Ethelred AG is a software manufacturer from Basel. Since 1986, the company has been developing a special kind of personnel management software. With the product e3, Ethelred supplies organisations with complex personnel management and time recording tasks such as hospitals, police forces or large companies with special shift and working time models.

The challenge

Due to increasing demand, the company has grown significantly in recent months and years. Resources have been significantly expanded, especially in the areas of development and project management. While the internal way of working has developed over many years and the long-standing team was well coordinated at all levels, the recent growth presents the entire team with new challenges. Established procedures and future visions collide. In the current phase, a new and forward-looking form of collaboration must be established without weakening the valuable experience and well-rehearsed good practices.

Our approach

• Visualise implicitly lived processes and align them with the affected employees / process owners to the new conditions
• Create clarity in the organisational structure, adjust task and role distribution and establish leadership structures
• Empower newly appointed team leaders in the "leadership basics" and accompany them in the mentoring approach to settle into the new role
• Validate strategic orientation and derive a strong "reason-why statement" for change communication

Our procedure

In the first phase, the Gsponer team defined the framework conditions for the transformation together with the management. A qualitative analysis of the initial situation was the focus. Based on this, the entrepreneurial orientation was reviewed and slightly adjusted in a strategy process. This strategic reorganisation now forms the basis for the entire change story, which is of central importance to employees. In parallel, the Gsponer process experts developed the process map together with the management.

The second phase of the transformation process for the entire company was launched with the "Future Day". On an experience day moderated by Gsponer, the management informed about the upcoming transformation and change process. This phase was about taking operational processes to the next level and establishing a uniform and effective way of working. In the spirit of sustainable change management, the Gsponer process experts worked workshop-based with the affected teams. The focus was on dealing with the effective process solution and unifying the understanding of procedures within the teams. For ongoing support, a process expert was available to employees 1-2 days a week over several months.

Meanwhile, the managers had access to the Gsponer team leader training and thus strengthened the basics that every manager must master. The managers are supported by a Gsponer leadership mentor to quickly and purposefully settle into the new role or professionalise their leadership behaviour. The support takes place in the form of individual and group sparring sessions and will continue until the end of the year to support the sustainable development of leadership skills.

Additionally, project management was professionalised to increase efficiency in new implementation projects. An internal project manual was created together as a practical tool for everyday use, and employees were trained in project management through workshops and practical examples.

Outlook

The project management area has been successfully completed. The project manual tailored to Ethelred AG has been created and the company will be comprehensively introduced to the topic by the end of the year. A large part of the processes defined together at the beginning of the project has now been designed.

In parallel, change sparring continues: managers will continue to be accompanied and strengthened in their role until the end of the year. This specifically supports the sustainable anchoring of the developed content and the further development of the leadership culture.

An upcoming highlight is the Present Day in autumn (formerly Future Day). This joint day serves to reflect on, deepen and further anchor the topics developed in the project. At the same time, it offers the opportunity to make the successful change visible and show how much has been achieved as a team – a powerful moment to celebrate the shared success and look ahead.

Results

• The strategic orientation of the company was sharpened and validated together. Based on this, a change story understandable and supported by employees was formulated.
• The relevant business processes were identified based on a jointly developed process map. A large part of these processes has now been designed and documented – the remaining processes are currently being finalised independently by the company.
• Project management was successfully established: a comprehensive manual is available, and the organisation has been enabled to apply project management methodology in everyday life.
• Team leaders were strengthened in the "basics of leadership" and are increasingly taking responsibility in their area. Individual support by a leadership mentor additionally supports them in their role.
• The change process is broadly supported, well anchored in the organisation and further consolidated through targeted sparring sessions with managers.
• With the upcoming Present Day in autumn, another milestone will be set: the progress made will be reflected on, deepened and celebrated – and the power of joint change will be made conscious once again.