The most successful change initiative of which I was involved would have been the organizational change of 2008 of Liberty Mutual Company Sales Organization. Due to a class action lawsuit filed against the company.
The lawsuit claimed employee misclassification as exempt and non-payment of overtime. Specifically the company’s sales force. During the time of the announcement we were told these changes had nothing to do with the lawsuit. In fact the company had made the decision to implement the restructure to increase productivity and cut cost.
Meanwhile, I and other Sales Representatives began to receive emails requesting to be interviewed by the Plaintiffs Attorneys. Management continued to claim the company would fight the lawsuit and the company had done nothing wrong. In the weeks to follow it was only communicated that changes would be occurring. According to management these changes to the sales organization were not only necessary but would be positive for the sales representatives. Rumors and speculations begin but were kept to a minimum. Finally, an announcement went out stating organizational changes would include the removal of Regional Managers, the removal of Sales Managers. Changes also included the addition of a Senior Sales Representative position and a Branch Managers position. The announcement also stated we would have local sales meetings to communicate the details. Within a week all Sales Representatives had one on one meeting with our managers to explain in detail how the changes would affect the individual. During the individual meetings we were informed that we would now be paid an hourly rate and would receive