Trium
Global brand strategy consulting firm
Maintaining Balance and Building Organizational Capabilities for Future Growth
Background
Our client, a leading consulting firm that provides brand leadership and brand-driven growth services to the Fortune 500 as well as to emerging companies pursuing market prominence, was struggling with stability and profitability during a dramatic economic downturn. They had enjoyed booming growth, doubling their staff and opening new offices in major US cities. When business stalled, they calculated a need to reduce staff by 30%. An additional challenge: recent new-hires were anticipating growth and harbored hopes for an imminent IPO. How to retain core talent, sustain motivation and focus forward while maintaining market leadership?
Trium's Role
Trium knew that employees would expect firm leaders to stand as role models, demonstrating the spirit in which the firm would conduct itself — in good times and in bad. We counseled the leadership team toward decisive actions that would restore confidence and trust as they repositioned the firm for success in this new environment. Trium's approach included a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the entire organization, including a cultural survey and focus groups in each office. We then worked with the leadership team to:
- Communicate assessment findings
- Prioritize organizational challenges
- Address specific issues within their individual teams
- Identify key actions for stabilizing and then strengthening the organization
- Model a new communications framework for engaging and mobilizing the broader organization
- Create individual action plans to heighten their own effectiveness
Client Impact
Despite market conditions, the client retained 90% of its remaining staff and established a formal international presence with new offices in London and Tokyo. New clients were drawn to the firm by its talented professionals — 25 clients joining in the first and second quarters alone. Through their work with Trium, the leadership team learned and adopted the new perspectives, behaviors and business practices that continue to drive them toward their goals today.
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