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Synergetic Solutions - Moving Forward

Katrena Purdie
COM/530
October 26, 2015
Gloria Davis

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Synergetic Solutions - Moving Forward
Synergetic Solutions Inc., recently underwent a major change that impacted not only the
way they do business, but also the employees that worked for them. Harold Redd, the CEO of the
organization has assigned the task of documenting the highs and lows of the change process, to a
newly created division with the Human Resources Department, called change management. This
will allow the organization to evaluate what worked when it came to getting employees to adapt
to change. Harold Reed values the employees that work at Synergetic, and it was important to
him, that they were well informed and trained as the organization embarked on this new journey.
Change is imperative for an organization to evolve; to stay ahead of the game. Harold Reed knew
this and took action to move his company into a new era; one that would meet competition head
on. The Chief Operating Officer, given the task of pulling off this transformation, recounted the
process that successfully changed Synergetic from a systems integration company to a network
solutions giant. First, the report will briefly point out the action plans that were part of the
change agenda. And then, the results of those actions will be discussed. The majority of the
report will focus on evaluating the various obstacles that were visible throughout the change.
This included internal and external forces, models of change, resistance, and how these areas
played a significant part in the selection of the action plans taken; their success or failure. All of
these factors enabled Synergetic Solutions Inc. to become a learning organization that is always
on the forefront of change.
The Task
Harold Redd paid close attention to the market, and decided that it had become stagnant.
An inventory of their business practices was necessary, to determine if the changing market left
them behind. Synergetic was no longer considered competition, due to the fact the market was

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moving toward network design rather than system integration; the business of Synergetic. The
organization had a staff of 300 employees, with limited computer assembling and
troubleshooting skills, along with four highly skilled specialists. The CEO carefully weighed his
options and strategized on how they would impact costs, productivity, and the workforce. In the
end, Harold decided it was time for a drastic change if Synergetic was going to be around in the
future. The CEO enlisted the services of the COO to manage this change; become the change
agent. A change agent is described as being entrusted with the responsibility of managing
changes in processes, structures, technologies, and interpersonal and group relationships in the
organizations. The ultimate goal is to create a renewed organization. (www.mbaskool.com).
Going forward, the COO will be referred to as the change agent. The CEO wanted to turn the
business on its head and make Synergetic into a networking design hothouse from a computer
trading company within 9 months. The target was 80% of sales, based on revenue of $12m.
Specifically, the change agent needed to redesign organization from current departmental
structure to a team based structure; develop HR policies and programs to help employees with
the transition, and upgrade skills and or hiring new employees with relevant skills. Due to the
time frame, targets were given for each quarter, and expert advisors from technology, marketing
and finance, were brought in for counsel. The change agent had to determine the best approach to
reach each target, while monitoring productivity and absenteeism.
Action Plans & Results
Given the goals set up by the CEO, the change agent set out to accomplish the goals by
reinforcing team based structures and decentralizing responsibilities; improve workflow
efficiencies and employee interaction; improve operational efficiencies and production standards,
and improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being. Targets had to be reached of

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$7.5m in revenue, of which 35% of sales came from network solutions. Each action had to
ensure productivity was a minimum 4% and absenteeism 2%. Once the actions were discussed
with the advisors, the strategies chosen by the change agent were: (1) Improving operational
efficiencies and production standards by identifying and investing in key technologies like
project management and workflow automation software and (2) Improving organizational
effectiveness and employee well-being by evaluating employee competencies, knowledge levels,
redefining roles and tasks, and lastly, addressing employee concerns. The change agent decided
on this course of action because it would cause an unfreezing of the status quo; the companys
normal way of doing things. This strategy was working, however; the change agent had to
immediately consider a new project in the pipeline that required immediate action. In the middle
of this change process, he had to determine whether training of current staff was feasible or if he
needed to hire specialists to get this new project completed. He had to ask what impact this
would have on his progress thus far in turning the company around. What steps could he take
now to ensure he continued to stick to the goal set by Harold Redd?
The change agent chose to hire specialists with relevant experience and certifications;
ensuring the new project would be completed. They could not afford to lose this project was the
consensus of the advisors. Restructuring compensation packages, which offered incentives to
current employees, was a way to motivate them to perform better and pick up new skills. This
strategy helped to complete the task as well as make sure employees were not left out.
Productivity and absenteeism percentages for this quarter were better than expected. Now that
the change agent successfully unfroze Synergetic from the status quo, it was time to put new
processes in place, which would move them closer to becoming a network solutions giant. The
next quarter had targets of $9m; of which 50% of sales came from network solutions. The same

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productivity and absenteeism targets were given. This strategy plan would be more vigorous. The
plan included reorganizing the organizational structure and hierarchy by defining team
structures, holding meetings to communicate the changes, setting up platforms for employees to
address concerns, and documenting the progress. The additional plan chosen was to improve
employee skills and competencies by implementing training in critical areas, defining and
implementing a training mentoring plan, in addition to installing a performance management
systems. The change agent knew that this may cause some resistance from employees. The staff
and management were accustomed to a certain culture and reorganizing the structure would
definitely cause uneasiness and anxiety over what this meant over the long run. This was realized
as employees were contemplating an exit from the company. Employees were not favorable to
teams and they thought the company no longer valued their contribution; there were lots of areas
of uncertainty. The change agent knew this needed immediate attention or they would lose
competent employees. To overcome this resistance, it was important to address concerns head on
so employees knew they had a voice. This task was given to team leads and functional heads.
They also improved processes and skills, by instituting incentives for improving solutions and
processes, adding crucial competencies, and excelling in training programs. The key thing for the
change agent was motivation and what he thought would get the employees to accept the
changes better. Organizations must consider what an employee needs to fully adapt to a change.
Meeting these needs will determines job performance, satisfaction, and commitment to the
company. These two actions proved successful in that they helped to communicate the change
needed, afforded employees an opportunity to voice concerns, and offered incentives for
performance. The change agent was confident that he successfully unfroze the company from the
status quo and implemented major changes that moved Synergetic closer to its goal. The final

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quarter was most crucial because it involved permanent implementations that the organization
would follow going forward. The target was now $12m, of which 80% of sales was from
network solutions; productivity and absenteeism percentages remaining the same. The last stage
involved improving project accountability and effectiveness, by setting up an employee pool
based on skills and competencies, introducing the clien-facing team concept to increase
accountability, and lastly allocating self-regulated budgets and work schedules for the project
teams. The change agent also established processes and documentation procedures, by
implementing a 360 degree appraisal system for all employees, involving employees in product
development plans and offer individual training budgets, and lastly announcing variable
compensation packages based on competencies and performance on projects. To further decrease
any resistance from team leads who managed off-site projects, the change agent focused on
project performance, an area that would appeal to these employees. This strategy installed a
project performance dashboard, set up forums to discuss project improvement and also offered
incentives for innovative ideas related to project processes. They also encouraged process
improvements by promoting performers as key process owners, installing documentation
procedures, delegating competency growth to specialists and offered a performance based
compensation package.
The transition was a success due to the actions that the change agent put into place. It was
not an easy task and several hurdles had to be overcome. The change agent throughout this
process focused on the individual targets, the action plans that would accomplish them, as well as
dealt with any resistance from employees. Harold Redd was very satisfied with the results:
$6.0m in sales and 80% was from network solutions. Now, we take a look back at the obstacles
encountered and how the change agent conquered them.

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Internal and External Forces
There were several internal and external forces; stimulants for change, that the change
agent took into consideration. Organizations need to know these factors so that they can
strategize on what should be a priority in their vision for growth. Internal forces are easily
upgraded because they are under the control of the company. The internal forces that would need
changing included, the image of Synergetic, the nature of the workforce, revenue growth,
staffing and employee skillsets.