Case Studies
Large Systems Integrator requiring Post Acquisition Integration & Transition Management
Achievence was engaged to integrate two major systems integrators who were combining forces in a location outside of Washington, DC. Their two most immediate needs were to quickly assemble their teams and determine their combined strengths and vulnerabilities and to ease the transition for the newly appointed Director, a recently retired General Officer. The Division President trusted Achievence with both of these formidable tasks.
The first order of business was to build a capability/capacity matrix of the combined elements. This aided in the integration of teams and emphasized the new organization’s strengths while revealing gaps and areas where their resources were thin. This provided a framework for the Business Development teams and quickly showed why the acquisition was timely for both companies. Their combined strengths were formidable. The merger of the respective pipelines also occurred simultaneously. Using commitment oriented progression as a measurement tool, we were able to focus on the most winnable opportunities. This turned what could have been a chaotic situation into an organized series of events.
As the new Director of the combined companies, the retired General Officer was challenged, to say the least. Leadership and knowledge of the industry was not an issue. The issue was transitioning to the private sector. Through a training and executive coaching engagement, Achievence was able to accelerate the process and provide the confidence needed to apply his leadership and management skills to the new team and build a cohesive and successful business plan going forward.
Case Studies
Professional Services providing Division of a major International Aerospace Manufacturer
A major 3 aerospace engine manufacturer wished to increase its services revenue in part through a division that provided engine health monitoring to its airline customer base. Yet they had failed to properly leverage the product teams that had the customer relationships and were unsuccessful in hiring strong sales professionals for the division itself instead choosing “out of industry” selling engineers who they felt could best relate to their customer base. Achievence was hired to address these growth challenges to include hiring strategies for sales professionals, strategic planning, messaging and facilitation to bring the product sales teams into the fold and implementation and documentation (CRM) of a structure sales and capture process.
Achievence conducted a sales audit and found several areas of immediate need. 374 sales candidates were interviewed using behavioral techniques to identify sales DNA and cultural fit and two chosen with neither coming from within industry. An on boarding process was installed for the sales executives along with CRM, sales process and performance appraisal and both produced multi-million dollar deals within their first six months (a first for this group and their largest deals to date). Several facilitated sessions were also conducted with the product teams integrating a strategy that contributed to an increase in services revenue for the entire company from below 5% to over 50% for this multi-billion dollar concern. Finally, a post acquisition integration effort was undertaken after the acquisition of a European product company to properly take advantage of the force multiplier created when the two company’s solutions were integrated.
Case Studies
Service Provider Requiring Metrics and Strategic Guidance Leading to Expansion
A mid-sized professional services company with a high rate of growth and expanding client base was experiencing difficulty deciding where to invest in new markets, infrastructure and was experiencing difficulty in measuring the returns on its investments. The decision making process was un-disciplined, its top executives were not getting the information they needed to properly monitor the organizations important functions and its high rate of growth was straining the corporate culture. Turnover was high, recruiting expenses were out of control, and its internal processes were breaking down under the strain of its rate of growth.
Achievence assisted the CEO and his team in creating a three year strategic plan, creating a model and internal methodology for vetting opportunities, and identifying the new infrastructure required to manage its growth. Once the plan was created, Achievence then tackle the internal controls and information monitoring requirements by identifying the key metrics that the organization required to determine the effectiveness of its operations. Achievence designed and created an Executive Dashboard, bringing together all the information required for executive and senior leadership to both monitor and communicate progress against its goals. Additionally, Achievence worked to create a best practice Employee Experience Program which encompasses all functions from sourcing through termination. Achievence worked with the company to improve its recruiting function, restructure its performance monitoring and incentive programs, developed a career-pathing model tied all of the elements together to the strategic dashboard, resulting in increased efficiency, productivity and lower employee turnover.
Case Studies
Cultural Transformation leads to Business Development
A small Government Contractor was having issues hiring Business Development professionals that were successful. After a string of failures, they contacted Achievence for assistance. As with most engagements, Achievence conducted a business growth audit to highlight problem areas, prioritize the issues and provide a roadmap to success. It was during the audit that the real issues were revealed.
The major issue was not that they did not know how to hire BD professionals. The real issues were centered on the culture of the company. They were so operationally focused, they had no growth DNA. The operations professionals were content to do their jobs to the customer’s satisfaction and they denied access to their clients and themselves. All new opportunities were doomed from the start because there was no commitment to grow. The executive team was emphasizing the wrong things. Achievence developed a business growth plan centered on fixing the cultural issues. By focusing on embedded base growth and meaningful dialogue with their clients, the operations managers became more confident in their approach and began to reap the rewards associated with growth—increased revenue and professional development for their teams. The training provided a comfort level when talking with their clients about growth. The coaching provided feedback on their successes and their application. Once the culture shifted from operations-driven to growth-driven (which still obviously demands successful fulfillment), their attitude towards business development changed. They were then able to find and retain a true Business Development professional who has aided tremendously in the growth of the company.
Case Studies
Growing Technology Company Requiring Guidance and Repositioning
A public company spin-off with unique, yet unproven technology was launched just after the dot.com meltdown and just before the attacks of September 11. Its early commercial success was stifled by the post-911 economic slump which affected its commercial customer base. Its marketing and sales models were tailored specifically to markets which were slumping, and potential clients and customers were hesitant to acquire new technologies. Sales were down, revenue targets were not being met.
Achievence conducted sales audits, assisted the CEO in re-writing the strategic and business plans, assisted the company in shifting its focus from commercial markets to the burgeoning homeland security and government markets, restructured the market plan, and sales model. Achievence worked on behalf of the company to identify and onboard a new sales staff, resulting in a 200 percent increase in sales growth. Additionally, Achievence was able to reposition the company to take advantage of opportunities in the public sector.
