Strategy forming and break down to people management initiatives at a car parts company
THE MARKET SITUATION
Start Autó Kft. trades in car parts in the Hungarian market, and is a major organisation having conventional operations. It is one of the companies that are still in complete Hungarian ownership. The company has nationwide coverage, and serves customers in 24 outlets and a total of over 200 employees in its network.
Due to the changed market environment and the significant drop in turnover, a new market approach and a new corporate operating mode gained ground. All these required a changed of attitude from employees. Develor entered into a business relationship with Start Autó as a skills developer and attitude former.
THE SOLUTION
Assessing the complexity of the task in the autumn of 2009, Develor recommended a diagnostic tool especially used for sales development for which Situational Sales Workshop was the first step.
Based on the workshop result, a comprehensive programme was prepared, which profoundly changed the organisation’s operating model. The essence of this programme was to initially formulate the expectations, strategies and future ideas of the company management. These were followed by creation and development of lower-level processes that ensue from a detailed breakdown of the company strategy. The processes obtained in this way were used to lay down the professional and other competencies needed for each position, and skills development was commenced involving a pilot group. In addition, a system assisting retention of key personnel was also part of the development process, which was adopted and operated after the changes.
IMPACTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT
The developments concluded with specific and palpable results in both cases (Corporate Strategy and Sales Plans). Currently, Start Autó has a realistic Strategic Plan, as well as a Strategic Map, which is a tracking tool.
The following materials were developed in connection with the Sales Strategy: declared expectations, job descriptions, an incentive system, unique route plans, a system of customer categories.
Short-term impacts were seen in colleagues’ attitudes, approaches and way of thinking.
Long-term impacts are also visible now, as despite the hard winter, which also affected the car parts market, measurable improvement has been seen in the results.
In the event of all the above changes, strategic reorganisation of Start Autó also took an undoubted toll on the Company. A number of employees who were unable to identify with the changed circumstances and objectives left the company during the reorganisation. In our opinion, this phenomenon is useful in certain cases and between certain limits, and supports renewal of the company in the long run.
OBSERVATIONS BY START AUTÓ
The fact that our processes are in line with our plans is largely owed to the foundation work we would never have carried out without Develor. If further internal projects follow, which call for external help for efficient implementation, we will continue to rely on Develor’s staff.
Connecting solutions
NEWS
The key method of the proposed project is the use of the unique Sociomapping method which is able to analyze and visualize relationships in a team or a group. With this method, we can capture failing cooperation, problematic relationships and continuously improve the cooperation effectiveness.
Study visit about the application of Kirkpatrick methodology
Develor organized a three-day regional best practice sharing workshop for a 10 people delegation of the Slovenian Labor Office (ZRSZ) about the application of the world-class, Kirkpatrick planning and measurement methodology.