Westinghouse Savannah River Corporation
CLIENT: | WESTINGHOUSE SAVANNAH RIVER CORP |  |
INDUSTRY: | DEFENSE (DoE Weapons Complex) | |
COMPETENCIES: | Reorganization/Restructuring |
CHALLENGE
To reduce the management overhead at WSRC by 30% and eliminate over 70 executive and management positions, without compromising the operational integrity of four major companies within the consortium.
BACKGROUND
Actual operation of the Savannah River Site (a Department of Energy organization) was conducted by Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC). WSRC was a consortium of four major companies: Westinghouse, Babcock & Wilcox, Bechtel, and BNFL. The senior management of the site had to be reduced by more than 30%. A structure of 260 VPs, Level 2, and Level 3 Managers had to be reduced to 176. The President and EVP had already drawn up the new structure. There was also a need to integrate the development and succession planning of the four companies to support the site without compromising the integrity of the individual consortium members.PROCESS
In concert with the Strategy Department, ECI designed and conducted a “war game” type business simulation. The plan for the project had three consecutive phases: The proposed strategy was tested to uncover flaws in the analysis, unintended consequences and hypothetical potential “surprise” moves from competitors A business game simulation was conducted, based seven years in the future, on the assumption that the plan was executed successfully, creating a “Future History” of the Company A divisional CEO-level leadership team analysis of the first two phases was facilitated to review and revise the proposed strategy based on the outcome of the business simulation. The “game” was hosted in a confidential location over a ten day period. All AlliedSignal Aerospace strategic business unit Presidents plus sixteen “high potential” Directors participated, including the President of the Company during summation.
RESULTS
In a highly litigious atmosphere, the team led by Ellen E. Colemire (President / CEO, Executive Consulting) completed the downsizing of a significant management level without a single incident or complaint – an unusual feat in an industry traditionally faced with extension litigation action. The team facilitated employee workshops – which were required of all those in the 260 affected positions – received an average rating by participants of 8.5 on a scale of 10 for effectiveness. The team also worked closely with the outplacement firm and jointly set up a resource center for employees displaced in this process. Employee feedback one year later rated ECI at 9.2 out of 10 for overall management of the project. The Executive VP commented he was “astounded by the level of effort, the results, timeliness, flexibility, responsiveness, and the effectiveness” of ECI’s collaborative decision process. Executive Consulting subsequently developed a Strategic Development and Succession Planning System (SDSPS) to integrate the performance management system and the disparate and widely uneven development opportunities of four companies into a single reporting system. Through Executive Consulting’s coaching, the Executive Leadership team was integrated and then jointly developed the leadership standards against which to hold remaining management accountable.
Executive Consulting developed management assessment and succession planning procedures to be used twice a year for two years and once a year thereafter. Reporting procedures were designed to promote both workforce and leadership development and integration. Various on-site opportunities were also cataloged for accessibility.
PROCESS
Ellen Colemire’s team implemented a full, “turn key” process in communicating change, coaching employees, and administering a zero-based staffing process which permitted current employees to bid on the 176 “new” positions. The client provided office administration infrastructure. ECI provided and created everything else including employee counseling, bid forms, development of procedure and formal paperwork, process administration, and IT resources. In a second project some eighteen months after completion of the first, Executive Consulting, Inc was contracted to work with the leadership team to develop and implement a Strategic Development and Succession Planning System (SDSPS).