5-Year Sustainable Growth Strategy Development

1. Develop a 5-year Growth Plan (through virtual engagements only) for The Company, whose growth has stagnated and slightly declined over the past 3 years.
2. Determine The Company’s direction with clear objectives and KPIs for both the current financial year and the 5-year strategy.
3. Engage multiple Head of Departments and leaders (Leadership Team) from across the entire organisation into a productive discussion towards the future, while still accounting and equalising concerns for the various realities and needs of each operating unit.
4. Elevate the critical and strategic thinking skills of the Leadership Team while creating an effective method of communication and collaboration amongst them.

First, we engaged the CEO of the organisation to understand the high-level needs and direction for the organisation, not just from the business point of view, but also with regards to the desired style and working dynamics between the leadership team of The Company. The CEO sought to encourage the existing leaders to work together with a more open, collaborative and critical thinking approach. We also found out that the team was fairly new to the strategy development process of their company and that it would be the first time for many to be involved. Hence, we customised our usual process and approach based on these needs.

The initial part of the project was a Healthcheck Analysis that involved many employees of the organisation. The project was launched and communication to the workforce, and multiple levels of engagement took place in order for us to identify current areas of need and concern within the organisation. We also engaged the top leadership through individual virtual meetings in order to address high-level requirements and challenges.

Prior to the Growth Strategy Workshop, we conducted a 3-hour training session for all the workshop participants in order to ensure that everyone shared a common language and understanding towards the process of the workshop. We introduced the proper use of relevant strategy tools and how to design effective KPIs at the corporate-level. This process gave a lot of confidence to the workshop participants and they were able to better prepare themselves for a more productive engagement throughout the workshop.

The highlight of the project was the Growth Strategy Workshop that was conducted 100% virtually over five days. Our team had to engage 19 individuals from the company’s leadership team in a highly effective and efficient manner through virtual platforms. We leveraged on multiple virtual engagement tools and platforms throughout the workshop. A SWOT-TOWS methodology was used to determine corporate direction and strategic thrusts. Our team facilitated through the opinions brought up by participants, with reference to the outcomes of our Healthcheck Analysis.

Throughout the workshop, there were high levels of cross-departmental learning and some tense moments where difficult situations and realities were address. Our team effectively navigated the workshop dynamics and participants’ interactions to ensure that every voice was heard, and every opinion was respected. Finally, the team was able to arrive at a common, shared 5-year vision, with clear objectives, measures and targets.

1. NPS Score: 77
   For the 5-day Growth Strategy Workshop, EASY achieved an extremely high NPS Score of 77 (average score of consulting industry in 2020 is 51).

2. Shared Clarity and Commitment Towards Company’s 5-Year Strategic Direction
   The 5-year vision and strategic thrusts of the company were co-developed by the Leadership Team. As they were fully involved in the process, they were able to better appreciate and understand the need behind certain decisions, which cements their drive and dedication towards them.

3. Incorporation of Sustainability as a Key Vision Area for the Company
   Through debates and discussions, the team realised that not only is there a values-based reason to get onboard with the global sustainability agenda, but because it brings about a strong business case for their company. Hence, the whole team were able to fully appreciate business sustainability in order to better incorporate it into daily operations. With commitment from all leaders, only can sustainability initiatives be well implemented in the organisation.

4. Elevation of Leadership Dynamics and Interactions
   Prior to the workshop, communication channels were set up to enable the leadership team to provide their input on current operations and future direction. Hence, insightful conversations began even before the workshop commenced. During the workshop, the leaders were able to productively engage one another in conversation areas and at levels that they have never been able to before. Rather than being operational and transactional, they learnt how to productively debate differing opinions and perspectives in. order arrive at a strategic, common agreement.

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