Wickes has over 230 stores and is part of the Travis Perkins Group. To coincide with a significant store refresh programme, Wickes’ Chief Operating Officer Mike Hollis identified a need to enable Store Managers to work more effectively and collaboratively within Regional Teams.
Leading Edge was asked to facilitate a programme of sustainable change by building on some great development work already underway at Wickes.
Leading Edge is experienced in guiding multi-layered teams through change journeys so that ‘change’ becomes ‘how we do things around here. ’ We begin by understanding what this change will look like for the people involved and what is needed to make it possible.
The Wickes change journey began with a Leading Edge facilitated session involving the top 40 leaders within Wickes’ operational function. Across two days, Leading Edge’s experienced consultants supported Wickes to define the change necessary, clarify roles, and identify the team and skills developments needed for success.
Key to this was establishing five ‘From and To’ changes – statements that captured, in behavioural terms, where Wickes was and where it wanted to get to. These ‘shifts’ became the foundations for the programme.
We designed and delivered a 9-month change programme that would move previous development activity forward. ‘Being at your Best’ was created to deliver a step change at all three operational leadership levels at Wickes: Leadership, Regional Team and Store Manager.
Leading Edge Team Coaches facilitated three 2-day events for each level. These were packed with activities bringing Dannemiller’s Change Equation to life and taking the leaders on a journey through change that saw them as the ‘Dancing Guys’ *:
All activities supported the five ‘From and To’ changes to keep the programme focused on the shift identified by the top 40 leaders as being necessary for continued business performance.
Wickes decided to extend the programme beyond the original scope and asked Leading Edge to facilitate post-event ‘Step-Up’ workshops with all delegates to help maintain the positive momentum one year on from the launch event.
"Effecting a culture shift in a multi-site retailer is always a challenge. Leading Edge was an awesome partner in this journey, helping us to define where we wanted to go and then guiding and facilitating our leaders and managers to really own the change.
The commercial results have been outstanding and the programme was the foundation to what has been an amazing new management structure in the shops. The role Leading Edge played was pivotal to the pace and sustainability of this change."
”- Mike Hollis, Chief Operating Officer, Wickes
