creating a centre of excellence for a pharmacy retailer
Winner of the MCA Change Management in the private sector award
the challenge
One of the largest pharmacy retail chains in the US had lost its market-leading position and was struggling to adapt to rapid changes. They were facing a declining performance and rising costs. They needed to unlock the potential of their 250,000 strong workforce to drive a new strategy and approach.
A lack of collaboration, ownership and customer focus was compounded by overly complex processes, unclear performance management systems driving metrics not behaviours, and conflicting priorities.
Having been working with teams in store, it became clear we also needed to refresh ways of working in the centre using similar tools so that they could become better connected, aligned and be a better support.
the results
Established a central hub, reducing internal communication by 40%, creating a focused and empowered culture.
Reduced onboarding by 65 hours and budget exceptions by 30%, embedding sustainable efficiency across the organisation.
the process
We started by understanding exactly what the problem was we needed to solve. As well as looking at performance data, we not only listened to people in the centre but also got feedback from the stores around the support function. We identified inefficiencies through data analysis and extensive interviews – with both employees and stakeholders. By streamlining communication and decision-making processes, we created alignment between Retail and Pharmacy, reducing noise and confusion. We wanted to create something that was truly at the core of empowering the business and stores to be better: this was named “The Hub.”
We then crowdsourced input as to what the Hub should look like. What did the business need from these functions? If they weren’t getting it, why not? How could we restructure and rethink these core elements of our client’s business to be better and help them meet their goals? And once we thought we had the answer, we went back and validated it with the wider field and central teams. At its core this was about galvanising the whole central team around doing what was right for the stores and, most importantly, for the customer.
We needed better connection between elements of the Hub, reducing the number of functional areas and establishing an efficient and consistent process across both Retail and Pharmacy aspects of the business. Clear accountabilities and metrics would allow transparency and the ability to track performance in the ways that really mattered. To alleviate the frustration from the stores around the constant disconnected communication and initiatives coming from the centre, we made sure there was a process and planning calendar for sequencing work that ensured fewer, better, communications being sent out.
This applied to many of the changes we were making as well: we ran roadshows and developed clear communications which kept everyone engaged in everything going on across various teams and regions.
The real key to success was the strong connected thinking between this work and the cultural change we were leading in our client’s stores. Our change management focused on connecting central and field teams with a shared mission: delighting customers. We simplified functions and developed metrics that mattered, supporting a cultural shift from disconnected to united.