Supporting a successful merger: The GASCO 21 journey (part 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. Serving on the GASCO 21 Team also provided the high-potentials exposure to the senior management and upon completion of their assignments they were recognized for their superior performance and assigned to positions far ahead of their peers.

In fact, the last 3 years of survey results have clearly indicated how the employees' satisfaction with the organization has translated into bottom-line achievements. The results show the workforce feels more involved and committed to GASCO due to the improvements in all of the company's 8 cultural attributes. As employee satisfaction has risen so has the company's KPI achievements - from 85% to 109% to 118% achievement.

What's Next?

The GASCO 21 Journey has become a vehicle that is moving the organization forward as a larger, stronger and quality focused enterprise by leveraging its combined capabilities for greater opportunities for its customers, employees and Shareholders. This is being made possible by reaching out to its most valuable asset, the employees. Although significant achievements have already been realized the GASCO 21 Journey will continue driving the organization forward in 'Realizing the Vision' and helping GASCO forward toward a promising future! For more information visit the website: http://www.gasco.ae/www/

Summary and Lessons Learned

The underlining goal of the GASCO 21 Journey was to prepare the company for the future by creating a culture of continuous improvement. Many changes were initiated within GASCO and one of the most powerful was creating a more open and transparent culture that relied heavily on empowering the people. The results of having an empowered workforce were reflected by the performance increases that took place during the first 3 years of the Journey. The Shareholder's KPI achievements rose from 85% to 118% during that time.

Other benefits included improving business processes & procedures, improving the leadership capabilities of the staff, and creating alignment between their work efforts and the company's mission. One of the most notable achievements was improving openness and transparency throughout the organization, which improved employee morale and commitment.

Although the GASCO 21 Journey has been extremely successful there are seven vital lessons any organization should be aware of before launching their own change program:

1. Scope & magnitude of the change is often underestimated
2. Determining the manpower requirements of the change team is critical
3. Dedicated resources are required to ensure change efforts are successful
4. Overcoming resistance-to-change takes time
5. Management support must be visible at all times
6. Support of both managers and employees is required
7. Everyone in the company must 'Walk-the-Talk'

As the Journey continues to open new doors GASCO is moving closer to 'Realizing the Vision' and with the proper preparation your organization can launch its own GASCO 21 Journey!