For Many Firms, Change Management Is Good

When IBM wanted to train its sales reps to think like customers, they called in Wilson Learning Corp.

Xerox turned to Wilson when it began shifting its emphasis from selling products to solving problems for customers through the use of Xerox products. Wilson also got the call when Burger King wanted delivery truck drivers to be more responsive to the needs of its franchisees.

Consulting has become a big business as companies move from an era focused on survival--when they cut employment to remain competitive--into a growth mode.

“The fat and muscle has been taken out of a lot of companies. We’re beginning to see a shift away from downsizing and focus on growth--creating new value and new marketplaces,” said David Ehlen, chief executive of Wilson.

Consultants are needed because the changing expectations have been difficult for some employees, Ehlen said. He cited research showing that 80% of workers will remain inactive followers, trying to keep out of trouble and avoid risks, responsibilities and commitment during periods of corporate change.

The other employees fall into two groups--those who commit their skills and energy to work with the company and those who grudgingly comply or sabotage the changes.

The challenge, Ehlen said, is to involve and inspire the complacent employees to share responsibility in moving the company forward. That means some letting go by management and some taking charge by employees.

“Training has become a huge issue,” said Tom Rodenhauser, managing editor of Consultants News in Fitzwilliam, N.H.

“Like it or not, the people remain the key. It only takes a few folks to really louse things up. Consultants in change management are doing very well right now,” he said.

In its course on social styles, Wilson helps sales representatives identify their clients’ styles and adapt their pitch in accordance.

During a recent training session, instructor Keith Sondrall explained that sales reps need to spend more time building rapport--schmoozing--with customers who have warm, folksy personalities.

The opposite approach is needed for the cool customer.

“I run the risk of turning him off if I take too long. The difference between selling and not selling is what I do in the first few minutes,” Sondrall said.

An analytical customer requires a slow, cautious, “don’t be flitty, give me what I need” approach, he added.

“We teach people to build relationships with people, to get inside a company and be more than just a peddler,” said Sondrall, who has been teaching consulting courses for 25 years.

Doug Hellmer of American Honda Motor Co., the Torrance, Calif.-based distributor for Honda Ltd., has worked with Wilson on training programs for the last 15 years.

American Honda first brought in Wilson to help develop a course in interpersonal service skills for dealers and now is working with Wilson to develop a creative problem-solving course for employees who work to resolve customer complaints.

“They’ve primarily helped us with the people-skills side of our business, which is their specialty,” Hellmer said.

Wilson also offers training for companies whose employees need to adapt to social styles of different cultures as they do business worldwide. Wilson, which is publicly owned and traded on the Japanese stock market and has offices in about two dozen countries, does half its business outside the United States.

Wilson’s trainers hear some common concerns among businesses moving from cutbacks into growth. Managers wonder how to create an environment where people are willing to commit to a company.

Executives must refocus their thinking to ask, “How do I get the job done with you, not through you,” said Tom Roth, Wilson’s vice president of organizational and individual growth.

“Management alone can’t keep a company competitive anymore. The responsibility for the company’s survival is something that needs to be shared by everyone. The individual is being asked to play a leadership role,” Ehlen said.