Transformation and Engagement: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Often the success of a transformation initiative can be tied to an organization's ability to get employees to buy into the transformation. Similarly, transformation initiatives can also appear daunting to employees who fear they might one day lose their jobs to automation. The role of shared services and GBS is to turn this fear into an asset by keeping employees engaged and motivated to deliver a successful transformation.

Luciano Martinez, Virtual Center of Excellence (VCOE) Americas Director for CEMEX, is no stranger to managing employee satisfaction amidst large-scale transformation projects. In his 25 years with CEMEX, Luciano has managed dozens of transformation initiatives.

“At CEMEX, we have seen that in order to have a successful transformation, you need to have the full engagement of your team,” said Luciano. “And nowadays if you don't have a transformation, most likely you won't have enough engagement because we are seeing that the younger generations want to move quickly.” 
 
On October 11, Luciano will be at SSOW LATAM in San Jose, Costa Rica to share his thoughts on the knowledge and tools needed for a successful transformation. However, before the conference, Luciano sat down with SSON Editorial to discuss some tips for engaging employees during a transformation project. 

Determining who to engage with 

When beginning any transformation strategy, it’s important to break down which employees need to be engaged with throughout the course of the process. For Luciano, there are three groups of stakeholders that shared services and GBS should focus on.

1. Experts and leaders: These are the people who have the expertise and knowledge that will be involved in the transformation project. They need to be engaged early on in the process to get their buy-in and to ensure that their skills and experience are used to the fullest extent.
2. The rest of the team: This includes everyone else who will be affected by the transformation project, either directly or indirectly. They need to be kept informed of the changes that are happening and to be given the opportunity to provide feedback.
3. Customers: Customers need to be aware of the transformation project and to understand how it might affect them. They need to be assured that their needs will still be met, even if the services they receive change temporarily. 

Getting employee feedback 

Once you determine the groups of individuals worth engaging with during the transformation process, it’s important to develop opportunities where these individuals can share their thoughts and concerns. 
Every year CEMEX launch an engagement survey to all their employees in order to request feedback from the essential stakeholders of a transformation project. This has been instrumental in measuring the impact of a transformation initiative in their employees, which Luciano says is essential to the overall success of these projects.

Thanks to CEMEX’s engagement survey they are able to get direct feedback into how employees feel. This feedback is then used to determine action points leaders need to prioritize to better engage employees. 

“When you begin a transformation project you will face either an increase or decrease in engagement,” said Luciano. “As a result, you are going to have to work really hard to get engagement levels to where you want them. By surveying employees, we can gain some perspective and visibility into the best ways to increase engagement.” 

Don’t fear transformation

While Luciano has plenty of practical advice for engaging employees during a transformation project, the biggest takeaway he would like to see conference attendees walk away with is to not shy away from transformation.

“I think GBS and shared services need to turn on transformation mode,” said Luciano. “Transformation should be part of our DNA because in our departments evolution and changes are going to happen every single day. So, like we turn on airplane mode when we are flying, it’s time for GBS to turn on transformation mode in its employees.”

If you are looking to hear more from Luciano, be sure to attend his session at SSOW LATAM in October. For the entire agenda of the three-day conference, click here.