How we steered a world-renowned car manufacturer through a company-wide change programme Jaguar Land Rover
Service Line:
In 2008, the continuing impact of the global economic downturn meant that Jaguar Land Rover needed to execute significant remedial contingency plans that would have a significant impact on all its employees. These tactical plans would need to demonstrate significant cost savings across the whole spectrum of the workforce. Penna were engaged to develop a significant workstream project within this contingency that would impact on its senior management population not only in terms of outcome but also in terms of how they would be required to behave going forward.
Company background
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is a business built around two great British car brands that design, engineer and manufacture in the UK. Jaguar, founded in 1922, is one of the world’s premier manufacturers of luxury sports saloons and sports cars. Land Rover is a world-renowned manufacturer of premium 4x4s based in the UK.
Employing nearly 15,000 people with a large manufacturing base and headquarters in the midlands, JLR is an employer of choice supporting a large number of supplier organisations across the UK and Europe and operates as the UK’s largest manufacturer of vehicles in its sectors.
The situation
With a new owner, the TATA group, helping to develop a new cultural identity and way of working with autonomy being key, Jaguar Land Rover developed a clear plan for what the future organisation would need to be to work successfully post economic downturn.
However, it was clear that the current overcapacity and organisational structure issues would need to be addressed first as a key milestone toward recovery. Whereas, the manufacturing issues were addressed in a landmark two year pay deal that would help Jaguar Land Rover save £70m there was a need to address the senior management population that sat outside this programme.
There needed to be a reduction in headcount for this population and Jaguar Land Rover were concerned that any change programme put into place would need to be handled with great care and sensitivity. It would need to reflect the company’s values too, because this would be the first time that this group would be exposed to such significant changes – changes that individuals would not only have to carry out but also be on the receiving end of, and it could mean leaving the organisation.
Our challenge was to work with Jaguar Land Rover to identify the key support and quickly polarised it into three areas:
- Organisational Design and Project Management
- Developing Line Managers Skills
- Post – restructure support for individuals affected by the change
What Penna did
We worked with the JLR senior management Human Resources team to agree the detail with each phase of the programmes. We also defined a way of working with the JLR internal project team, which was headed up by the HR Business Partner and a Main Board Director
Organisational design and project management
With a clear mandate to develop and utilise a methodology for a new organisational structure to achieve the headcount reduction programme, we provided support with a range of key project activities. These included the development of a robust plan, clear scoping of activities and roles and responsibilities and setting up of a programme office infrastructure and governance processes. With a Penna Project Manager working alongside the key HR Business Partner, Board level and other key stakeholders were brought on board to help agree the new organisational structures using process design and RACI tools.
The internal communications programme developed an open approach to all involved and impacted by the change so that there was clarity about the challenging due process. Full information was provided at each key stage in the consultation process.
A critical element of the design process was the new approach to selection for redundancy and support for senior leaders having to undertake difficult conversations that could lead to colleagues leaving the business.
Developing line managers skills
With the senior team brought into the process, the next phase involved supporting line managers for each of the technical and professional areas in the selection criteria process and rehearsing a number of difficult scenarios to prepare for the outcomes that would be declared within very tight timescales.
We worked with over fifty line managers on this programme and helped all get to a place where they felt they could comfortably meet this challenge.
Post restructure support
With the outcomes from restructure happening within the space of a month, we needed to integrate our Career Transition offering into the above programmes to ensure that there was a natural flow to the change support being provided. Utilising the Penna Birmingham office as its central base, our team set up initial counselling sessions for the these individuals at risk to explain the confidential support on offer and demonstrate that they would have professional advice from an experienced coach beyond their employment with Jaguar Land Rover.
Each individual’s support was shaped around need, and ranged from finding another similar corporate role or looking at portfolio career options to understanding self employment.
The results
With such high involvement of Penna in all key stages in the project, Jaguar Land Rover have been delighted with the progress made in such a short space of time. Outcomes were achieved that added real value to the £70m deal mentioned above.
Of the 300 positions designed out from the organisation, Jaguar Land Rover managed 90 individuals into internal vacancies for the roles outside scope of the reorganisation with the remainder requiring support from Penna. When analysing outcomes on a 1:1 basis at interview, only 50 individuals were classified as compulsory redundant. The remainder fell into the voluntary/not needing support category.
How did it 'add value?' to Jaguar Land Rover
- Improved behavioural performance for leaders by having difficult conversations with colleagues maintaining their professional credibility
- Strong project management implemented at key stages led to measurable bottom-line savings achieved through well-designed headcount reduction
- Maintained the required skills needed for business during and after a global recessionary period
- Helped align people to new roles and organisation structure
- Encouraged people to see the Jaguar Land Rover behaviours at work
- Helped Jaguar Land Rover “own” the programme of change – seen as coming from the employer and not from an external agent
To the individual
- Open process of change with no hidden agenda – a fair and robust process with fully understood criteria
- Identify their transferrable skills
- Know their worth and the value of the Jaguar Land Rover brand
- Which jobs and environments could utilise those skills
- Where jobs are to be found
- Where own preferences lie
- How best to market themselves
- Ultimately help displaced people to take control of their destiny
For more details
For further information please contact Paul Hills on 07802 603338 or email paul.hills@penna.com
