Business Issue
In a continuing effort to leverage a shared services model, a global leader in workforce solutions was planning to integrate the Accounting and Finance Operations functions of two of their business units into their Corporate Accounting operation. One of the business units was in Canada, and the other was previously an independent operating subsidiary of the company. The projects were sensitive because there would be positions eliminated within the two business units, and the level of cooperation by some of the employees was expected to be less than desirable. Attrition in the business units accelerated causing a shorter timeline for the project and required a quicker and efficient knowledge transfer. Project management resources were stretched internally due to competing technology/consolidation projects within the firm, so an experienced project management resource was needed to help drive these projects to conclusion.Solution
Jefferson Wells provided a six-sigma black belt project manager to drive these two projects for the firm, which included:
- Accelerated prioritization of high-risk operating processes to enable thorough knowledge capture prior to employees departing
- Successful management of the collection of information from the two sites
- Establishment of project management rigor to ensure successful, on-time completion of the integration
- Timely reporting / updates to Integration Team Executives
Results
The integration of the client’s two business units realized approximately $2MM in savings and was completed ahead of schedule.