Supporting a successful merger: The GASCO 21 journey (part 2) (page 1 of 2)

This merger resulted in one of the largest gas processing companies in the world and it provided GASCO with a chance to look into the future and discover ways of making two good companies into a great company! Today's article focuses on the tools GASCO used to mobilize both organizations' workforce and built a culture focused on continuous performance improvements driven by the company's most valuable asset, its people.

In the July article the main focus was on eight topics: Getting Started, The Company's Team, Creating the Vision, What is the GASCO 21Journey, The Importance of Change Communications, Getting on with "The Journey", GASCO's Cultural Attributes and Leading the Journey: a New & Expanding Team.

Discussing those issues laid the foundation of the GASCO 21 Journey that was implemented throughout the organization to ensure a successful merger between two gas producing giants within Abu Dhabi. Now we'll take a look at those things that helped us keep the Journey on track!

Journey Support Tools

To help the organization cope with the change process numerous tools were employed that contributed to the success of the Journey. They helped improve employee & management buy-in and commitment, establish on-going processes to improve company performance and create an environment that supports individual development and creativity. The tools included:

How Effective Has the GASCO 21 Journey Been?

The overall effectiveness of the GASCO 21 Journey has been remarkable and the new culture is felt throughout the organization. But why has this movement been so successful? First, the program has the support of both management and employees and the message of the Journey is continually reinforced.

During the annual achievement party the GM stated: "GASCO's vision is clear: we aspire to be the most innovative and respected supplier of Gas and Hydrocarbons in the UAE, seeking excellence in all that we do. We will reach this objective only if the whole organization shares this vision, in a permanent spirit of challenge and innovation, openness and team work. You know that this is the basis of GASCO 21. This dynamic program aims at making us able to address the challenges of the 21st century, by improving the way we perform our work as individuals and team members. We have the full support and encouragement of our Shareholders to continue in this direction. With your commitment, we will succeed."

Another measure of success can be measured by the number of people who are personally touched by the Journey. The entire GASCO organization consists of just over 3500 direct hire employees, shareholder representatives and contractors the following achievements / statistics are amazing:
• 1-day Teambuilding workshops were held for each of the 19 Divisions
• Customer Service workshops were completed for 1401 participants
• Commercial awareness program launched in late 2005 and already reached 863 people
• More than 3325 individuals attended the Leaderships Curriculum programs
• Annual Survey had 1112 participants in 2003, 1523 in 2004, and 1466 in 2005

Success can also be measured on a personal level. The high-potential UAE Nationals selected as Change Champions were given the opportunity to gain experience and take part in activities that were driving GASCO towards a brighter future.