Every employee engaged in the strategy dialogue

Huhtamäki, a global provider of sustainable packaging solutions, operates in 37 countries and employs over 18 000 people. In 2023, the company sought to cascade its 2030 strategy throughout the entire organization so that all 18 000 employees would gain an understanding of the company’s strategic objectives. To achieve this, the company engaged all employees in a Strategy Dialogue workshop to make the company’s strategy clear and engaging for every employee.

Why and how was this initiative implemented? Sofia Yrjö-Koskinen, Vice President of Organization & People Development at Huhtamäki, tells us more.

WHY?

“We need to begin by reflecting on the years impacted by COVID-19, which coincided with the appointment of our new CEO. During this period, we developed our ambitious Strategy 2030, but its implementation was significantly hindered by the pandemic, preventing us from effectively cascading the strategy throughout the organization. In 2023, we revised and refined the strategy to make it more focused. It is crucial that every employee understands the core of our Strategy 2030 and understands how their daily work contributes to it. Our goal was to engage all employees, including those in production roles, not just those in white-collar positions. To achieve this, we recognized the need for a new and inclusive approach.”

STRATEGY DIALOGUE aimed to:
– Give teams an opportunity to discuss and interact with each other and give positive feedback
– Draw awareness to what we as a company want to achieve
– Build connection and commitment to our collective goals and team goals
– Expose all employees to the Huhtamaki 2030 Strategy and capabilities we want to focus on
– Explore how everyone’s actions contribute to our joint success and define the actions the team want to focus on

WHAT & HOW?

”We previously implemented a leadership project using the dialogue method, which received highly positive feedback. Consequently, it was natural to continue with this approach. Since the method was already familiar to our leaders, it facilitated their ability to engage their teams effectively. The objective was to transition from understanding the strategy to taking actionable steps.

Our leaders were well-prepared for this initiative. Most participated in the Leader’s Imprint dialogue training and attended centrally organized strategy workshops, where top executives discussed the strategy in detail. Additionally, they had access to an e-learning package about the strategy, ensuring they fully understood the strategy and the principles of strategic dialogue.

DIALOGUE APPROACH:
– Pedagogically designed dialogue tools provide an engaging and impactful way to involve employees. They enable goal-oriented peer learning that strengthens a solution-oriented work culture. Every participant is in an active role in small group discussions and can feel included.
– The content of the dialogue tools is co-created with the client organization to ensure practical and meaningful discussions that promote the wanted changes in thinking and behaviours – e.g. related to strategy implementation or leadership development.
– Dialogue tools can be utilized in face-to-face or virtual workshops facilitated by the organization’s facilitators, e.g. managers. Materials can be translated into local languages to ensure a unified message throughout the whole organization.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK?

“By the end of summer 2024, 80% of our employees had participated in Strategy Dialogue workshops, and we received excellent feedback. This positive feedback has been consistent worldwide, including from shop floor employees. The average feedback score for the Strategy Dialogue has been an impressive 4.58 out of 5.

Employees appreciated the opportunity to discuss our strategy, which has fostered a more positive attitude towards it. Our pulse survey results indicate that teams who have participated in the strategy workshops have a higher understanding of the strategy. The concrete actions these teams have committed to during the workshops focus on enhancing digitalization, increasing employee engagement, improving efficiency, ensuring safety, prioritizing customer excellence, and promoting sustainability.

It is essential to maintain an ongoing discussion about the strategy in the future. We now have a more concrete understanding of our strategic themes, such as sustainability and digitalization, making it easier to continue these conversations.

The strategy dialogue tools have also been incorporated into our onboarding process. New employees have participated in discussions within diverse teams, and I have been amazed at the depth of their discussions after just 1-2 months with the company.”

”I was very impressed with how engaged they were in the discussion and some of the ideas they came up with. We’re still talking about the results and topics from the Strategy Dialogue in our staff meetings. It just proves it was absolutely the right thing to do.” – Shawn Reckrodt, Head of SC Plan&Spec Projects

WHAT’S NEXT?

Huhtamaki intends to incorporate the Strategy Dialogue into the onboarding process for all new employees, potentially implementing it with groups of newcomers at different sites. The company wants to create an ongoing dialogue around its strategy and utilize the Strategy Dialogue framework beyond the initial rollout. This will ensure that all employees – both new and existing, across all levels of the organization – gain a clear understanding of the strategy and how their specific roles contribute to it.

”The team feels more engaged and included and that will drive multiple actions and it will strengthen each and every element of our strategy on a consolidated level”

Sofia Yrjö-Koskinen was interviewed by Heli Vähätiitto from Dazzle, who is Huhtamäki’s partner in dialogical strategy implementation and co-creation of the Strategy Dialogue tool.

Pictures are from Strategy Dialogue workshops in Huhtamäki teams in Türkiye, Thailand, and China.

Special thanks to Jessica Molanger for gathering feedback and quotes.