TRANSCONTINENTAL MEDIA –
Evolving Towards An HR Business Partner
For most growing organizations, there comes a point in time when the Human Resources (HR) function must transition
from transactional fire fighters to proactive business partners. While this type of transition is a common one, it is
none-the-less difficult. once said, “things do not change; we change.” The challenge for
organizations lies in supporting transformation at the individual level so that it becomes evident at the organizational
level. However, many organizations struggle to successfully make this transition. Let’s take a closer look at how one
organization along with an external organizational development consultant made it work.
STRATEGIC BUS
A GROWING ORGANIZATION
Transcontinental is a printing and publishing
business headquartered in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is comprised
of two printing sectors and one
publishing sector (Transcontinental
Media). Transcontinental Media is
Canada’s leading publisher of consumer
magazines and the second largest publisher
of local and regional newspapers.
Its foundation was established in 1979
through the acquisition of one weekly
business newspaper and one magazine.
A steady stream of acquisitions throughout
Canada over the last two decades has
made it the fourth largest print media
group in Canada with annual sales topping
the $500 million mark. Between
1996 and 2003 Transcontinental Media
grew from 250 to 2800 employees.
As a result of growth through acquisitions,
the organization was made up of a
number of independent units throughout
Canada. Most acquired businesses
retained much of their local policies,
infrastructure, cultures and programs.
The organization’s HR professionals
tended to work in silos, were privy to little
business information and were focused
mainly on local administrative issues
related to recruitment, compensation and
employee relations in their respective
geographic areas. As a result of two
major acquisitions in 2000 and 2002, the
development of a “one company” HR
philosophy became apparent. An internal
HR audit, conducted by members of
the HR team in early 2003, confirmed the
need to better align the HR function and
coordinate activities and standardize
processes in order to support the organization’s
growth objectives.
For Katya Laviolette, who was hired in
May 2003 as Vice-President, Human
Resources at Transcontinental Media, two
things became apparent in her first
months of leadership. First, the organization
had grown too large to maintain a
fragmented approach to HR. In order to
continue growing, acquiring and successfully
integrating, the culture needed to
shift from that of a collection of small
businesses to a unified publishing company.
Second, the future of the business
would depend on superior human capital.
Transcontinental Media’s HR organization
would need to become a worldclass
partner to the business in order to
attract, develop and support talent. This
would mean expanding and growing the
responsibilities of the HR professionals
from a focus on the technical aspects of
HR (recruitment, compensation and
employee relations) to include the more
strategic aspects of HR (change management,
communications, organizational
and leadership development). The HR
organization decided to use the following
model by David Ulrich as a framework to
explain the vision of HR and make explicit
the changes required in the role of HR
professionals in supporting and achieving
the organization’s vision and objectives.
CHANGE AGE
CREDIBILITY
• Develops and aligns strategies with business
• Assists line managers in solving organization,
people and change-related issues
• Contributes to management team’s strategic
decision-making
• Fosters systems thinking, customer focus
• Strategically manages workforce
development
• Understands the organization’s culture and what
is effective and ineffective
• Institutionalizes change capability within the
organization
• Assists line managers to lead and facilitate change
• Acts as a consultant in organizational effectiveness
• Enhances management development
• Creates and delivers effective and efficient
HR processes and services tailored to unique
business needs
• Manages people and HR related costs
• Ensures internal and external customer focus
• Applies information technology to rapidly
deliver quality HR products and services
• Develops strategies and helps implement actions
that enhance human capital contribution
• Helps build workforce commitment
• Ensures fair, ethical, and equitable people
processes and practices
MODEL FOR CHANGE
To aid in this transition Laviolette,
engaged Beverley Patwell of Patwell
Consulting Inc., an organization development
consultant, to help develop
their change strategy. Together, and in
conjunction with the HR team, they
developed a collaborative change
process which built on the current
strengths and values of the organization.
This model and its transition and implementation
process enabled the organization
to begin developing competencies
that would make it self-sustaining as
opposed to being dependent on external
consultancy.
In order to achieve their objectives each
level of the organization that was directly
or indirectly impacted by the changes,
was consulted and or involved in the
change process. For Transcontinental
Media this meant that the all three levels
of organization were active players and
participants in various parts of the change
process (Corporate, Sector and National
HR Team). Collaboration was the key to
the success of this project.
The development process consisted of six
basic phases: Understand, Assess,
Develop, Test, Implement and Evaluate/
Refine. As we will see, this process
was used within 2 phases:
Phase 1:Understanding and Strategy Development
and
Phase 2: Execution. Each cycleidentified and addressed learning opportunities
in the areas of the individual,
team, structure, culture and organization.
UNDERSTAND
PHASE 1
UNDERSTAND
• Completed a review of an HR Audit earlier in the year.
• Katya Laviolette (VP HR) held individual meetings with the National HR Team, Corporate HR, and local business leaders from
every level of the organization to build relationships, understand the business as well as the HR challenges/objectives.
• Beverley Patwell (external consultant) held individual meetings with Katya Laviolette, key members of the National HR Team
and business leaders to gather data on their strengths, business challenges, cultural dynamics and opportunities for growth.
ASSESS
• Analyzed data gathered in the “Understand” phase.
• Identified the HR organization’s primary opportunities for growth in order to become a more unified team of HR professionals
and to expand the role of the HR professional to include competencies in the areas of strategic thinking and change
management (Ulrich Model).
DEVELOP
• Articulated vision of the future (Ulrich Model) and gained buy-in with business leaders at both corporate and sector levels.
• Developed and implemented the first HR National Team meeting with the following results:
- Helped the group get to know Katya Laviolette, their new leader;
- Created a common understanding of business challenges/opportunities driving the need for change;
- Created a shared vision of the future;
- Built relational ties across geographical boundaries by involving entire team;
- Created the first HR Operating Plan linked to business strategy.
UNDERSTANDING & STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
Below is a summary of the activities undertaken and the results achieved in each phase of the cycle during the first rotation.
TEST
• Reviewed the National HR Team’s draft of the joint HR Operating Plan with corporate and business leaders and made
appropriate modifications.
IMPLEMENT
• Implemented, monitored and evaluated the progress of the HR Operating Plan. Corresponding individual action plans were
executed over an 8 month period.
REFINE & EVALUATE
• Recognized, rewarded and celebrated new behaviors and achievements of operational objectives.
• Performed periodic reviews of individual action plans and group successes against goals established and identified in the
HR Operating Plan.
• Conducted a post-offsite survey to define and prioritize individual skill development needs for HR team members.
PHASE 2
UNDERSTAND
• Reviewed the assessment of the first HR National Team Meeting & the groups’ expressed interest in developing their competencies
in the areas of coaching, influencing and consulting.
• Held individual meetings with functional experts within the HR team, in addition to HR managers, local business leaders and
corporate leaders to understand the impact of the first change cycle as well as and learning opportunities.
ASSESS
• Synthesized data gathered in “Understand Phase” to set priorities for the second HR National Team Meeting to address the
following: developing individual strengths and areas for improvement and re-articulating shared vision and operational
objectives.
DEVELOP
• Developed and implemented a second off-site with the following results:
- Created fundamental awareness of individual strengths and opportunities for growth particularly in the areas of consulting
and influencing skills;
- Strengthened and displayed individual capabilities by involving HR team members in the design and delivery of the
HR National Team Meeting;
- Further built relational ties across geographical boundaries by involving the entire National HR Team;
- Created a second HR Operating Plan linked to business strategy.
• Modelled a consulting process for the team by using it to create and implement the offsite.
TEST
• Reviewed the National HR Team’s draft of the HR Operating Plan with corporate and business leaders and made appropriate
modifications.
• Obtained feedback from HR Leadership Team and other key stakeholders as well as internal clients.
IMPLEMENT
• Worked on HR Operating Plan and corresponding individual action and development plans and implemented the actions over
a 12 month period.
EXECUTION
Below is a summary of the activities undertaken and results achieved in each phase of the cycle during the second rotation.
REFINE & EVALUATE
• Recognized, rewarded and celebrated new behaviors and achievements.
• Performed periodic reviews of individual action plans and group successes against goals outlined in HR Operating Plan.
• Conducted a post meeting survey that defined and prioritized individual skill development needs for HR team members.
RESULTS/INTEGRATION
The process described above has helped
the organization establish a shared vision
for the role of HR. This vision is owned by
HR professionals across the organization,
championed by senior management and
understood by all business partners.
Professionals at the local levels are now
more responsible and accountable for the
strategic and change management aspects
of HR as well the technical aspects of HR.
Furthermore, each HR professional has
developed their own learning plan that
incorporates the technical, strategic and
change management competencies
required for their success. The HR competencies
have increased across the
board. As a function, HR is being called
upon to participate in various strategic
initiatives. The HR team is now able to
set their own performance measures and
assess their results.
Going forward, the National HR Team has
established quarterly meetings to review
their progress and work on individual
development needs. Finally, a regular
annual meeting has been established to
structure their HR Operating Plan and
focus on continued HR Business Partner
training and development.
CONCLUSION/KEYS TO SUCCESS
For Laviolette and Patwell, there are a few key lessons they have gleaned from their success in jumpstarting this transformation.
VISION OF THE FUTURE
- On reflection, Laviolette and Patwell both agree that defining a clear vision based on good organizationaldata was critical. However, it wasn’t just having the vision that made the intervention successful. Key success factors
included:
• Linking the HR vision to the strategic priorities of the business and having senior leaders champion and reinforce the vision.
• Building an HR Operating Plan in collaboration with the National HR Team helped create buy-in and momentum for their work.
• Tracking and measuring results on a regular basis reinforced their progress on a individual, team and organizational level and
was highly appreciated by every member of the National HR Team.
PATIENCE & POSITIVISM
- The bottom line is that no matter how quickly we need to change; change requires patience, apositive vision, and a concrete plan. Leaders must ensure that small but important and visible signs of change are apparent to the
organization – especially early on. Key success factors included:
• Celebrating and recognizing quick wins.
• Providing recognition (group or individual) for successful interventions and achievements of critical milestones.
• Identifying and dealing hands-on with varying levels of resistance.
• Being aware that individuals deal with change in different ways and require varying levels of support.
• Taking the time to develop a customized HR approach, as opposed to replicating an approach from previous experience.
COLLABORATIVE PLANNING & TRANSPARENCY
– The change process involved a partnership that was strongly rooted in anorganizational culture that valued collaboration. Key success factors included:
• Including everyone in the design and planning process of the interventions (2 HR National Team Meetings, Competency
Development, Developing the HR Operating Plan, Developing and monitoring performance measures and individual and team
learning/development plans).
NON-DEPENDENCE
- Patwell’s approach to consulting asserts that in order to affect permanent change within an organization,the system cannot become dependent upon the external consultant. Rather, the consultant is there to model and provide the
process for learning and in this case, some of the content early on. Through this process, the organizational system takes on
ownership and becomes responsible for its own learning.
CLIENT FOCUS
- As with any change initiative, it is imperative that the consultant begin by developing a strong understanding ofthe cultural, business, technical and individual context in which she/he will be working. Key success factors included:
• Tailoring the intervention to the culture in order to develop the right strategy to ensure sustained change.
• Staying constantly attuned to what the client needs by obtaining sound and current data throughout the life of the project.
• Being aware of your Use of Self and monitoring your own strengths and learning opportunities.
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