This Case Study would showcase as to what issues did the Digital Marketing Organization face on a Strategic HR front and how Stratum Consulting has worked to not only consult, but also execute in solutioning their problem areas

1. Case Study
Digital Media Industry
April 2014 to March 2015

2. Summary
About
the
company
A
young,
fast
growing,
digital
media
agency
iden5fied
the
need
to
balance
fast
paced
business
growth
while
maintaining
a
healthy
and
high
performing
organiza5on
culture.
The
company
wanted
to
ensure
that
its
employees
were
prepared
for
the
fast
paced
growth.
2
4.18
Times ROI
ROI of
₹ 45.19
Lacs
2746
Man-­‐days
Saved
30
Employees
in
2012
50
Employees
added
year
on
year
175
Employees
in
2015
Challenges
Impact
Frameworks
Implemented
• Developing
managerial
/
leadership
skills
in
an
Industry
categorised
by
young
professionals
• Ac5ve
involvement/par5cipa5on
of
Mid
Level
Management
Team
in
driving
Strategic
Goals
• Developing
individuals
that
could
drive
ac5vi5es
end
to
end
with
minimum
management
interven5on
• Crea5ng
a
workforce
that
is
highly
engaged
and
mo5vated
at
work
• More
innova5ve
ideas
from
mid
&
junior
levels
• Freeing
up
senior
management
5me
from
day-­‐to-­‐day
ops
• Increase
in
Individual
Produc5vity
• Increase
in
average
employee
tenure
• Organiza5on
Hierarchy
• Role
Descrip5on
• Individual
Objec5ves
SeTng
• Objec5ve
Reviews
• Individual
Development
Plan
• Induc5on
• Rewards
and
Recogni5on

3. Problem Statement
Challenges
For
sustainable
organiza5on
growth,
there
was
a
need
to
develop
young
employees
on
leadership
and
team
management
skills,
to
ensure
that
the
second
and
third
in-­‐line
are
ready
to
take
up
managerial
roles.
Developing
managerial
/
leadership
skills
in
an
Industry
categorised
by
young
professionals
The
client
sought
for
employees
who
can
work
independently,
were
able
to
adapt
to
changes
and
ini5ate
crea5vity
and
innova5on
with
minimal
managerial
interven5on.
Ac5ve
involvement
/
par5cipa5on
of
Mid
Level
Management
Team
in
driving
Strategic
Goals
Managerial
level
employees
needed
to
be
groomed
to
take
decisions
(independently)
that
are
aligned
with
the
company’s
goals.
Developing
individuals
that
could
drive
ac5vi5es
end
to
end
with
minimum
management
interven5on
The
founders
wished
to
see
its
employees
contribute
to
the
growth
of
the
organisa5on
and
at
the
same
5me
see
them
grow
with
the
company.
Crea5ng
a
workforce
that
is
highly
engaged
and
mo5vated
at
work
3

4. Root Cause Analysis
On
conduc5ng
an
audit,
we
found
out
that
the
organiza5on
did
not
have
the
right
founda5on
needed
to
sustain
the
fast
paced
growth
they
were
aiming
at.
The
root
causes
of
the
overall
problems
put
forth
by
the
organiza5on
were
narrowed
down
as
under:
• Authority
Centraliza@on
–
Decision
making
was
centralized
with
the
founders
of
the
organiza5on.
Although
employees
were
ready
to
take
up
addi5onal
responsibili5es
&
drive
ac5vi5es
independently,
authority
centraliza5on
curbed
their
decision
making
ability.
• Delega@on
BoClenecks
–
Roles
and
responsibili5es
at
different
levels
were
overlapping
resul5ng
in
issues
with
respect
to
work
responsibility.
• Organiza@on
Goal
alignment
–
Organiza5on
goals
were
not
cascaded
down
to
individual
goals,
due
to
which
there
was
lack
of
alignment
of
individual
goals
to
the
organiza5on
goals.
• Growth
and
Development
–
The
absence
of
structured
growth
and
development
plan
within
the
organiza5on
resulted
in
high
poten5al
employees
being
stagnated
in
their
current
roles.
• Employee
Turnover
-­‐
Owing
to
high
employee
turnover
in
the
industry,
retaining
quality
employees
was
a
challenge
which
had
an
obvious
cost
in
5me
and
money
of
procuring
new
people.
There
was
a
need
to
reduce
the
5me
taken
by
an
employee
joining
the
organiza5on
to
perform
up-­‐to
their
expected
levels.
Structured
ac5vi5es
to
recognize
employee
contribu5on
were
not
conducted
which
was
crucial
to
boost
the
morale/mo5va5on
level
of
the
employees.
4

5. Approach
This
was
achieved
by
integra5ng
expecta5on
seTng,
role
clarity,
performance
development
mechanism
and
training
and
development
methodology
thereby
ensuring
performance
of
an
employee
is
linked
to
his
individual
and
the
organiza5on
growth.
5

6. ImplementaMon Methodology
An average increase in ,me availability of 15 minutes per day was observed for Manager Level Employees was noted on
account of clear authority & responsibili,es.
B. Role
Descrip@on
Framework
The
following
aspects
were
implemented:
• Clearly
understanding
and
streamlining
managements
expecta5ons
from
each
role
• Benchmarking
roles
against
industry
standards
• SeTng
clear
defined
&
descrip5ve
key
result
areas
along
with
key
performance
tracking
parameters
for
each
role
• Providing
clear
understanding
to
every
individual
of
his/her
role
expecta5ons
An average produc,vity increase of 4% was noted on account of having clear understanding of expecta,ons and
deliverables thereby increasing the organiza,onal produc,vity.
6
A. Organisa@on
Hierarchy
Framework
The
organiza5on
hierarchy
was
re-­‐defined
and
strengthened
by:
• Introducing
more
levels
in
the
structure
• Clearly
defining
the
authority
and
responsibility
matrix
5ll
the
lowest
level
This enabled the core management team
to focus on strategic work by reducing
,me involvement in opera,onal ac,vi,es.
Note:
The
frameworks
were
implemented
over
a
period
of
one
year
and
were
not
implemented
simultaneously.

7. C. Individual
Objec@ves
SeNng
Framework
The
framework
has
the
following
components:
Ø Performance
Benchmarking
• Iden5fied
actual
and
desired
organiza5onal
and
individual
performance
levels
to
define
organiza5on’s
and
individuals
periodic
objec5ves
and
deliverables.
Ø Goal
Cascading
• Strategic
goals
were
cascaded
and
communicated
across
the
organiza5on.
• Strategic
Ini5a5ves
were
defined
in
alignment
with
Organiza5on's
Strategic
Goals.
• Each
goal
was
bifurcated
under
the
four
major
parameters
impac5ng
business
performance
–
Financial,
Customer,
Process
and
People.
D. Objec@ves
Review
Framework
Regular
tracking
and
one
on
one
mee5ngs
were
done
for
all
employees
to:
• Track
goal
achievement
• Chart
out
further
plans
of
ac5on
On an average, 70% of targeted employee strength was covered quarter on quarter.
Goal cascading was done to the lowest level in the hierarchy.
7
There was a clear linkage of feedback given and
achievement of objec,ves with development
plans and career path determina,on.
ImplementaMon Methodology (Contd.)
Note:
The
frameworks
were
implemented
over
a
period
of
one
year
and
were
not
implemented
simultaneously.

8. E. Individual
Development
Plan
The
following
aspects
were
implemented:
• Development
plans
were
draded
for
high
poten5al
employees
• All
development
pointers
were
linked
to
performance
feedback
and
individual
career
aspira5ons
• Clearly
defined
growth
map
was
charted
for
employees
covered
under
IDPs
• Emphasis
was
placed
on
char5ng
and
implemen5ng
specific
and
measurable
ac5on
plans
for
iden5fied
development
needs
• Effec5veness
tracking
of
ac5on
plans
on
a
periodic
basis
An average of 10% Managerial ,me was saved, which was previously invested in minor opera,onal work, on account of
addi,onal ac,vi,es taken up proac,vely with minimum ,me investment of the managers.
On an average, 14% increase in employee produc,vity was mapped for a period of 6 months, for employees covered
under IDP, as a direct result of clearly specified ac,on plans for growth achievement.
Employees covered under IDP were associated with the organiza,on for 3 months longer than the average tenure.
8
ImplementaMon Methodology (Contd.)
Note:
The
frameworks
were
implemented
over
a
period
of
one
year
and
were
not
implemented
simultaneously.

9.
Employees joining the organisaMon performed at more than expected levels in a shorter span of Mme, saving 3 days per
new joinee (average).
G. Rewards
and
Recogni@on
The
following
aspects
were
covered:
• The
R&R
program
was
designed
to
inculcate
a
culture
which
rewards
pro-­‐ac5veness
and
innova5on
• The
structure
of
the
program
ensured
contribu5on
to
pre-­‐defined
parameters
linked
to
organisa5on
growth
such
as;
Recognised employees were associated with the organisa,on for 2 months longer than the average tenure.
9
Data accumulated from Induc,on cycle
formed a crucial part of performance
feedback and improvement plans.
F. Induc@on
Framework
The
following
aspects
were
covered:
• A
well
defined,
all
inclusive
customized
induc5on
kit
was
designed
which
was
spread
over
a
pre-­‐determined
number
of
days
• An
end
to
end
linking
of
induc5on,
trainings
and
performance
development
was
established,
thereby
ensuring
no
ac5vity
was
running
in
isola5on
of
the
other.
Employees par,cipated and rewarded were
more produc,ve, showed greater loyalty and
are eager to contribute to the organiza,on in
an impacVul and meaningful way.
-­‐ contribu5on
of
the
employee
to
improving
team/organisa5on
efficiency
-­‐ achievement
of
defined
goals
-­‐ contribu5on
in
the
overall
growth
of
the
organiza5on
-­‐ and
resulted
in
increased
contribu5on
to
the
organisa5on
by
all
employees.
ImplementaMon Methodology (Contd.)
Note:
The
frameworks
were
implemented
over
a
period
of
one
year
and
were
not
implemented
simultaneously.

10. Thank You