Louise Marshall – Brother UK Ltd Infrastructure & Shared Services Director
Infrastructure & Shared Services Organisational Structure – Infrastructure & Shared Services Louise Marshall Infrastructure & Shared Services Director Shared Service Shared Service Shared Service Sam Johnson Linda Willows Brian Pickering Maggie Robinson BIE HR BIE IT BIE Finance Internal Communications Head of Legal & Business IT Development Manager Facilities Manager Co-Ordinator Management
Background • Brother UK was established in Manchester in 1879 – it was originally a sewing machine company (Jones) - taken over by our parent company 50 years ago, and from the early 1990s had a Japanese MD. • These MDs came into the business for a 3 year term, and then returned to Japan – with the business “stalling” periodically while it adjusted to new leadership. • Our main purpose is the Sales & Marketing of Brother products in the UK, via distributors and retailers – but we also conduct a number of support services and administration from the site.
Background • Our main product focus was the sale of printers (laser and inkjet) and fax machines. • We had around 4 main competitors and held a solid and consistent share of the markets we operated in. • Our operating costs were relatively high but good margins meant that we made a modest profit most years, and we had the security of the Brother group when needed. • Our average length of service was 13 years, and staff turnover was very low. • However, staff satisfaction wasn’t high, because there was the feeling of a “glass ceiling” preventing progression and promotion.
Organisational Hierarchy Perceived Influence Organisation HIGH LOW
Organisational Hierarchy Organisation Far Near Market Proximity
Background • Our reporting structure was very hierarchical :
The winds of change… • Around 3 or 4 years ago we realised that our year on year performance was static, or dropping, and so was our market share. • We now had more than 10 competitors, and our product range was becoming less relevant in a digital age. • Along with this new competition came the economic pressures we all had to face. • Business became less about loyalty, and more about squeezing margins, and offering best value. • The group recognised this at a central level, and got into new markets, and developed new products – scanners, web conferencing, mobile printing, and many more - but that meant a big change for Brother UK…
A New MD… • Along with that change came a new MD • A young, British MD with a background in Sales & Marketing, and a vision of a more entrepreneurial and agile organisation that could cope with the complexities of the fast moving markets we now operated in. • After a lot of reading and networking, he Phil discovered the Kinetic Organisation Theory, and it resonated with his vision for the future – where Jones as much of the company’s resources as possible are aimed at what the customer and the market needs.
The Kinetic structure The most senior decision maker in the organisation Brings wisdom to ensure the we don’t Leaders People Managers Owner Re-learn old lessons. Recruiter/Coach Wise Owl Work Loader Defines and loads the projects, adjudicates, monitors quality of output Agility Controller Rulemaker/Referee Ensures decisions do not impair ‘agility’ of the organisation in the long term Ensures fair play! Executives Connector People who do the work Workplace Infrastructure Deliverer Makes links between cells for the benefit of the enterprise, sharing knowledge and taking sure that effective interworking Provides all hard technology and soft infrastructure and training takes place. to help project teams deliver their best performance.
Kinetic Working Impact / People Culture Technology Process Workplace Kinetic Working With all of these elements under the same leadership it was possible to align them in a common goal of creating a more kinetic organisation. Working groups were set up for each element, with changes being introduced.
Kinetic Working - Exercise Impact / People Culture Technology Process Workplace Kinetic Working Split into 5 groups & each group will be allocated one of these elements. As a team take about 20 minutes to come up with some ideas that could be implemented in a business to move towards a more kinetic way of working. We will then ask each team to present their ideas.
The Brother UK Journey • That change started to take place for us 2 to 3 years ago, and still continues… • Since then our turnover has increased (despite the tough economy), our staff levels have reduced, and the ratio of internal to external staff has changed with more in sales & marketing and the remainder in support services. • Our operating costs are down, and our market share has increased in all key product areas. • So how have we done that??? Impact / People Culture Technology Process Workplace Kinetic Working
Transition Strategy
Our Direction of Travel Contractual PV Transformed Business Model Renewed Customer Base In-built resiliency New Brand Perception 17-18 16-17 Accelerate (15-16) Deploy (14-15) Refine (13-14) Prepare (12-13) Grow Services Revenue Transform Business Model Portfolio Expansion Cost to Serve Reduction Continuing Brand Investment
Rolling 3 Year Direction of Travel Contractual PV Transforming Business Model Renewed Customer Base In-built resiliency New Brand Perception 17-18 15-16 • New Categories? • Acquisitions? • Reduce cost of business • Customer Terms Review • Deploy Brother Cloud BPS 14-15 • Protect and Convert MiF Grow Services Revenue • Scale MPS • Grow new categories Transform Business Model • Evolve Workplace and Culture Portfolio Expansion Cost to Serve Reduction Continuing Brand Investment
People (Organisational) Changes • Replaced the Senior Management Team of 15 with a smaller Team of Directors covering the 4 main elements of the business : – Sales & Marketing – Strategic Development – Infrastructure & Services – Operations (Supply Chain & Service) • Implemented a new Personal Development Matrix to give clarity on career development, and how everyone adds their own value and impact. This included how their role is benchmarked against the outside world to ensure fairness and consistency of remuneration at all levels. • Developed new, flexible working relationships for specialists in the business.
The New Brother UK Organisation Organisation Kinetic Organisation MARKET CUSTOMER FOCUS NEAR
Cultural Changes • We identified some cultural champions who were evangelists for the new ways of working, and helped others along the journey. • Challenged the meetings culture in favour of more agile discussions. • Developed our “PRIDE” scheme, giving colleagues the opportunity to make peer to peer nominations, and give immediate recognition for collaboration and a job well done. • Holding regular employee engagement activities – charity days, wellbeing weeks, customer focus days, coffee mornings – they bring people together outside of their usual working teams to build new relationships. • Using psychometric profiling to understand personality types and working styles.
Technological Changes • Made best use of our own technology by encouraging web conferencing instead of meetings. • Maximised use of mobile devices to work on the move and remotely – creating apps for customer presentations, accessing service, ordering replacement consumables, etc.. • Introduced Yammer as a company wide social network for sharing information and reducing the use of email. • Rolled out Sharepoint to increase collaboration and simplify the sharing of information, particularly for those who are not office based.
Process Changes • Introduced kinetic teams for projects, customer type or key issues (like communications and employee engagement), bringing a diverse range of skills and ideas to find original solutions, with more people feeling connected to the outcomes and sharing the leadership. • Introduced new policies to support new ways of working. • Reviewed administration and support requirements across the business, providing resources based on requirements rather than status. • Implemented a cascading communications process, from Directors meetings to quarterly reviews, then to team talks and 1-2-1s and appraisals • Use common language and objectives
Workplace Changes • Aligned infrastructure and shared services under one person to ensure maximum value from existing resources, including the physical changes needed for agile working. • Relocated some teams to make them feel more connected with related departments. • Created new styles of working space – stand up meeting areas, café style spaces, etc… - but on a temporary basis and monitored use and feedback before deciding on a permanent style, and have them in all areas of the business. • Recognised the issues associated with remote working and created better connections across the business, whilst encouraging the flexibility to work off site.
Recommend
More recommend
