A selection of Workwise case studies

Engaging Employees
A rapidly growing global pharmaceutical manufacturer planned to launch its fifth quality improvement program in six years. The company wanted to gain employees' attention by transcending the facts and figures of its previous quality programs. We developed an internal communications strategy to engage employees in improving quality. Our plan focused on connecting workers emotionally to the users of the products they manufactured. We trained local champions to launch and sustain the program.

Employee engagement during a product launch
Workwise Communication designed a workshop, and then coached several business leaders to facilitate it to initiate the process of changing the workplace culture. The workshop produced ideas for helping employees understand the company’s core values, and how they could be translated into creating a more professional business environment to support the new product launches.

Moving to a strategic internal communication function in UBS Wealth Management
We worked with UBS Wealth Management to develop their internal communications department to provide a centralized, global communicator network supporting the internal aspect of their brand promise “You and Us”.

Bringing Sweden to the U.S.
This medical device organization established a US-based operation. We worked with the new leader and leadership team to define a strategy for growth and standardize business processes. We initiated a multi-phase project, first focusing on getting the company on track and then onto longer-term goals.

Using a service brand to regain market share and retain employees
The vaccine business of a major pharmaceutical company was losing customers to low-cost competitors. Unable to match on price, the business launched a value proposition to move from selling boxes to managing relationships. We managed the launch and ongoing implementation for the sales force and service. The business regained their top position and employee turnover dropped from 50% to 4% in one year.

Using internal communication to smooth a merger
This organization tripled in size after acquiring Wang and needed to quickly retain employees and gain commitment to the new brand and business model. With no formal internal communication in place, we set up and ran the global internal communication function delivering everything from a global communicator network to management conferences, leadership communication and a new brand launch, all with very tight deadlines.

Becoming a profit focused business
A global biotech company undertook a major restructuring and downsizing program to achieve profitability following a multimillion-dollar loss. The restructuring required carefully managed communications in two phases. Initially, there was a complete reorganization including office closures and layoffs. Subsequently, we designed and carried out a strategic internal communications plan to engage all remaining employees in an entirely new commercial environment. The restructuring was successful with break-even achieved two months early.

Communicating a restructuring and downsizing
This global bank had been badly affected by the credit crunch and needed to make significant changes. The changes involved headcount reductions and restructuring, including consolidation of departments. We worked with them on developing the communication strategy and plans, including messages and the timetable, and process for announcements.

Launching a new leader and business strategy
A biotech company was acquired and a new chief executive placed in charge. The new leader had kept a low profile during his ‘fact finding’ stage and was now ready to meet employees and announce new plans. We worked with the leader and his team to define the organizations’ strategic plan, internal communication messages and deliver a leadership visibility program.

Accelerating growth
This pharmaceutical company was ready to grow their business and bring in new products. We worked with the leadership team to prepare them for the growth including working as an effective leadership team, formalizing the culture and values, improving internal communication and delivering more engaging sales conferences.

Improving the relationship between the head office and sales force
Following this pharmaceutical merger, the new sales force was bombarded with conflicting internal communication from the corporate office causing severe morale issues. We undertook employee research and delivered an internal communication plan linked to business objectives and employee needs. We trained corporate office internal communication champions to ensure communication was reduced to what was really important.

Communicating a new brand across 220 countries
This global logistics company evolved from numerous acquisitions to 55,000 employees across 220 countries. We implemented a strategy and plan to gain management and employee commitment to the new umbrella brand prior to the customer launch. Independent research results showed that 92% of global employees knew of the brand prior to the customer launch.

Building a brand from the inside out
This European auto distributor wanted to dramatically increase their sales volume by boosting their brand. We developed and trained a network of European brand champions to change their distributor network to better reflect the new brand starting with the internal brand.