Cotecna
Global Program to Design and Implement New Vision, Mission and Values Statements for the company
Cotecna is a leading provider of testing, inspection and certification services. They offer solutions to facilitate trade and make supply chains safer and more efficient for their clients.
The situation
Founded in 1974 in Switzerland by Mr Elie George Massey, Cotecna started off as a family business and has now grown to become a world-class international player with close to 100 offices in over 50 countries.
In 2016, Cotecna embarked on a major new chapter in its history with Frank Piedelièvre joining Cotecna as a minority shareholder, and Mr Piedelièvre is today majority shareholder.
In April 2017, Sébastien Dannaud was appointed as the new CEO of the company, aiming to bring a new management dynamic with an ambitious transformation plan.
Read more about Cotecna: https://www.cotecna.com/en/about/our-history
The challenge
It was clear that the Vision, Mission and Values statements had to be actionable, bring a real impact on the internal and external branding, and be relevant for the daily work in the organisation.
The global management team has a considerable wealth of knowledge of the business and industry, and success in the respective regions and countries. However, the team did not have the habit of working together on common projects.
The new, modernized Vision, Mission and Values statements implies real change of how the leaders and their teams are working.
And, needless to say, the managers all have a business to run… so limited time to invest in projects like this…
The solution
We designed a hybrid experience for the leaders to collaborate and create the new Vision, Mission and Values Statements together. The leaders were involved from the first step, designing this experience, taking ownership of it, and creating the content.
We put as much time and energy on how we would create the new statements, and what it was going to be used for, as we did to create the actual content…
We used a wide range of methods such as visual thinking, socio-analytical drawings, back-casting and speed-pitching. We did this partially to make the initiative engaging and motivating, and partially because these methods allowed to advance in a highly pragmatic way…
The impact
Cotecna has today Vision, Mission and Values statements that are founded on the actual culture of the company, and the collective future vision of the leadership team, making them authentic both inside and outside the company.
https://www.cotecna.com/en/about/vision-mission-and-values
This was accomplished with very limited time investment, making the most out of the face to face interactions and using new technology and collaboration methods to collect and share information, exchange ideas, and move forward.
Less than a year after the program was started, there is now:
- Approximately 100 managers collaborating online to implement the new Vision, Mission and Values.
- Employees across the world telling the new story internally and externally.
- Creation of engagement and excitement at all levels of the organisation.
- A foundation for the cultural change aligned to Cotecna’s ambitions.
- Motivated teams that are hungry for more…
