When a global organisation decides to change its entire way of working, it’s always a strategic challenge. And when Saint-Gobain decided to transform their business culture, they looked to us for help.
A world-leading organisation that designs, manufactures and distributes products and solutions for a wide range of applications, predominantly automotive, Saint-Gobain employs over 1100 people in 14 countries.
Our task was to work in collaboration with the client to help define exactly what shape the new culture would take. And then find ways to help all those people – in all those different places – to embrace it.
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A great culture needs a meaningful set of values. So, the first thing we did was find out what the people who worked at Saint-Gobain felt was important. After extensive research work, taking part in workshops and getting up close and personal to a complete cross-section of people, together we identified seven core values that were clearly at the heart of the business.
Throughout the process, we worked with representatives from all countries, to ensure that the values reflected the views of everyone – across all areas of the organisation. To help bake these values into Saint-Gobain’s DNA, we created a set of icons and definitions – using compelling visual and verbal language that people could readily engage with. We went on to create a whole raft of associated brand collateral – from cards and leaflets to films and animation - launching the new values in workshops across 14 countries in 11 languages.
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In-house magazines don’t often inspire you to pick them up – let alone read them from cover to cover. So when we suggested to Saint-Gobain that they should have an in-house magazine to convey the changes they were going through – inspiring their people to make a difference – we knew we had to do something different too.
From the outset we decided to put the people centre stage. So, we interviewed individuals in different countries from right across the organisation - and photographed them both in and outside their workplace. We also shot films which could be viewed via QR codes within the magazine.
Feeling an important part of something big is a big deal. And a year in, people across Saint-Gobain now feel more connected to one another.
So for example, someone working in the sales team in Shanghai could feel an affinity with a machine operator in New Jersey and an application engineer in Bristol could better communicate with a supply chain specialist in Kolo. In their own – and interconnected way – they could feel that they were making a difference.
By bringing to life the values that were important to them, we provided a focus around which they could unite. We helped them feel more empowered and positive about their part in the new culture.
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