Case studies

This organisation operates multiple-brand, household retailing stores and is recognised for its approach to understanding and meeting consumer needs. Its market penetration makes it the leading retailer in Australia.

In assessing safety performance, the board and executive management team came to realise that their past methods of managing this important business issue demanded a radically different approach.

In designing this organisation’s change program, we placed a major focus on building a much higher capability across the entire management team to better understand and manage risk, to develop appropriate leadership behaviours, and to learn how to more effectively engage with employees by involving them in risk identification and resolution.

As a consequence, in the first year of implementation, this business reduced claims by 26% and lowered premiums by 13% — a feat never before achieved in the history of this business.

This company is a global automotive manufacturer and is one of the most recognised and highly regarded brands in the world. It leads its industry in environmental technologies.

The company had worked hard to improve its safety performance by developing a highly systematic approach. This had brought significant gains, but management was still dissatisfied and wanted to understand what else could be done to get even better results.

Our review highlighted that although much good work had been done, there were still opportunities to further develop the knowledge, skill and capability of the leadership team and to more actively engage with the workforce to resolve identified issues.

The company incorporated our recommendations into its plans and continues to refine and improve its methods and performance.

This company is one of the world’s largest miners within its particular field. With its headquarters in South Africa, operations span much of Africa, America, South America and Australia.

Working with a team of other consultants, our brief was to examine safety performance globally and to develop the right strategic positioning for the future. The business had historically operated on a country-by-country basis, but wanted to establish a globally consistent footprint for safety and other business initiatives. It understood that it could not become the leading company in its field unless it transformed safety.

The majority of our work was conducted in South Africa, West Africa and Brazil. Our review focused on three key dimensions: safety culture, safety systems and performance, and futures-based scenario planning to determine potential sources of risk. Our report identified 12 key areas to be addressed. Of particular interest to this client, these areas included key strategies to deal with community safety as well as unique employee communication and engagement issues.

The CEO and global executive team endorsed the recommendations and implementation has started.

This large Victorian Government Department provides a diverse range of services to the community.

It had been determined by senior management that one of its key offices was no longer adequate to service its client needs and a new office location was identified. In relocating the office, the Department wanted to move the team to an open plan environment, where previously staff had resided behind a secure office and reception. The primary driver for this decision was to provide a more contemporary setting for client service. Key employees concerns related to issues of security and privacy given the sensitive nature of much of their work.

Peter Wagner & Associates was commissioned to develop a change strategy that engaged staff to work through these and other issues. Focus groups were conducted with an emphasis on what was required to make the move successful and what might be potential solutions that would resolve any outstanding concerns.

The result was a better-than-expected response by staff to the new office environment and a smooth transition to the new location.