Case Study: Bridge Win International Award for Developing Sustainable Leaders
Bridge works with one of the world’s largest and most forward looking consumer goods organisations, developing the leadership of their board and senior leaders. In 2008 and 2009, Bridge supported this organisation in a significant drive towards sustainable leadership.
The Pioneering Strategy
The programme had two very clear objectives:
- Tackle the sense of ‘workload overload’ in the organisation
- Step change the culture on work home balance, enabling individuals to strike the balance that works for them
A Clear, Holistic Approach
The approach had three key foundations:
- Less is More: eliminate complexity and unnecessary work by reinventing the approach to commercial change
- Flexible Working: policies to encourage individuals to be creative about how and where they work
- A ‘Fit for Life’ leadership development programme: a cutting edge development programme to drive insight and sustainable change
The Impact
Less is More
One of the key drivers to ‘workload overload’ was the huge number of commercial projects being undertaken at any given time. The team re-invented the way commercial initiatives were managed, dramatically simplifying and de-cluttering the agenda, whilst maintaining focus against the right initiatives to deliver continuous growth.
- 31% fewer commercial projects in 2008 versus 2007 - significantly beating the 15% target
- 80% reduction in the number of cancelled projects
Flexible Working
A new policy was developed enabling 50 per cent more of the workforce to be able to work flexibly and 60 per cent of the workforce to be able to work from home regularly.
Fit For Life Programme
The Fit For Life programme focused on achieving personal balance across the areas of exercise, nutrition, stress management, work, family, social and personal “me” time. To drive sustainable change, each attendee received personal coaching with an external professional over a three month follow up period.