Pratt & Whitney Engine Center

Convening Issues:

The Engine Center of Pratt & Whitney was going through a major restructuring of their operations. The leadership team was tasked with integration of engineering and manufacturing operations into an integrated product development group responsible for an engine from cradle to grave. This integration was further complicated by the consolidation of the military and commercial engin businesses into one facility. This latter move called for the closing of the Florida military facility and the relocation of key personnel and functions to Connecticut. The challenges were not only how to accomplish all of this movement without stalling progress on critical engine programs, but how also to deal with the social and emotional impact of those whose jobs were being moved or lost as a result of the changes.

Cricial Success Factors:

Align the leadership team on strategy, structure and process. Find a win-win solution to social issues related to the plant closing in Florida that could negatively impact engine programs. Keep people actively engaged in the business even though they know at the end of a year their job will be terminated or they will have to relocate to Connecticut. Address union fears and concerns about restructurings impact on jobs. Implement the new organizational structure within nine months.

What we did:

Leadership Alignment: PDA consultants worked with the Senior Leader and the HR manager for the team to create a leadership alignment process for the entire leadership team. We worked with the team to create a shared vision of the new organization and then helped them translate that vision into a workable organizational design. Designed and facilitated a meeting of 300 senior managers of the new organization to certify the organization design and form action teams to guide implementation.

Social Issues Initiative: Working with a design team we created a large group meeting for a critical mass of employees in the Florida facility to address the social issues related to the plant closing. The theme of the meeting was "We can't change the cards we have been dealt, but we can try to turn it into a winning hand for everyone." Attending the meeting were people who would eventually lose their jobs, but we needed them to stay productive until that time; people who were being asked to move north and didn't really want to; and people who were being asked to stay on in the Florida test facility but they thought the company was lying about keeping it open.

Organization Alignment & Deployment: We structured a process to engage the union and broader workforce in refining and deploying the organization design.

Results:

1. The organization was designed and deployed within seven months.

2. Florida meeting that began with anger ended with standing ovation for management team and workable plans to assist all affected parties make the best of the difficult situation.

3. Organization launched on time with Union involvement and support.

Return to Previous Page | List ALL Case Studies

Our Partners

Mary Curran

Nancy Reuscher

Paul Tolchinsky

Charles Tweedly

Contact PDA

Email Contact info@pdassociates.com