Our Work.

Emerson worked with one of the country’s biggest clothing retailers define a new HR operating model while improving business processes. We gathered a group of HR representatives and helped them document existing processes. We then held visioning sessions with the larger group of HR stakeholders (50 people) to vet the findings from the subgroup. We worked with stakeholders to refine and agree on the major processes within the new framework.

These processes became the baseline for the new HR organization and a key factor in selecting the optimal HR operating model.

A major U.S. clothing retailer hired a premier strategy firm to develop a new retail concept and sales/service model. Then the company turned to us for implementation. We developed and conducted the training, communication and coaching required for the concept store.

Our longstanding relationship with this client, across many years and many projects, has made us their go-to partner for human capital implementations.

A large U.S. government agency needed to make sure their people were sharp enough to face today’s challenges. We helped them develop the Intelligence Career Service. Working with a dedicated group of employees, we helped determine the mission-critical competencies needed for three distinct roles – intelligence analyst, language analyst and surveillance specialist.

We also surveyed the entire intelligence and language analyst workforce to learn first-hand how they could better perform their jobs. In the process, we helped embed the knowledge, skills and abilities vital to the core capability of this world-class agency.

When a large regional bank needed help communicating the effects of their organization redesign, they chose Emerson. We worked with the bank to come up with an innovative way to deliver their message. We built a universally understood message, inspired by one of the favorite pastimes of the south: football.

The result was a company-wide “game plan” that identified what was changing and described how the team would tackle each challenge.

The human resources department of a major municipal utility district was overworked. Their top human resource executive was charged with implementing dozens of initiatives to ensure the organization had the people power to fuel its business and remain competitive.

We facilitated the development of a strategic HR plan and then helped leadership develop an operating model for HR work across the district. We helped the team determine resource requirements and create an implementation plan.

A year later, their HR executive wrote, “We have a hard time recollecting another consultant that had such a successful impact for us.”

A major clothing retailer decided to reinvent roles for store employees, hoping to realize cost savings through reduced management headcount and more efficient operational processes. After redefining roles for all retail employees — from sales associates to district managers — they needed to train existing and new employees to perform those roles.

Emerson worked with the company’s learning and development team to analyze existing training, design appropriate methodologies for each level, and develop training that was modular, user-friendly and sustainable.

The result was a program comprising four, level-specific programs covering topics from new hire on-boarding to operational processes to leadership skills development.

A major university’s IT department provides technology services to a world-class university, so there isn’t much room for error. The 360-member team was proud of its outstanding work, but leaders knew IT needed to improve how they manage, plan and forecast when partnering with university clients and health care subsidiaries. They asked Emerson to help improve their value to the organization.

​We conducted a series of highly facilitated working sessions and collaborated with key stakeholders to reshape the IT division and make sure project management and business acumen complemented their team’s top-notch IT skills. The result? Twenty-two job models and associated competencies, a training needs analysis for each role and a training development plan. The results were integrated into curriculum planning, recruiting, career progression planning, succession planning, and performance management. With our help, the university met its goal: an IT department worthy of the Harvard of the South.

A new health care provider came on the scene in 2005 and grew quickly. In 2011, they expanded their kidney care business even further, prepared for regulatory changes and shifted to a new operating model. This was a lot of change for a young company, so they asked Emerson for help.

We worked with them to develop the right organization structure and operating model. We also helped leaders develop a strong and clear message to rally the troops. Executives and managers acted as change agents; they were armed with a “playbook” and workshops to get all employees pulling in the same direction.

The result was a successful transition to a new way of doing business that will serve the company as it grows.

One of the auto industry’s biggest tech providers was facing a huge change. After it spun off from its parent company, major functions like Finance needed to operate independently. At the same time, they took aim at some impressive profitability targets. And that was just the start.

There were many more waves of change scheduled to hit the same group of employees. To accomplish its vision, leadership realized they needed a consistent approach to change. They asked Emerson for help.

We quickly performed triage on their change portfolio of 230+ projects and then organized key stakeholders to develop an approach and a model for their new Change Center of Excellence (CoE). We guided the team to identify high-priority behaviors and build robust messaging. Key leaders, armed with a consistent story, deployed the new CoE. We then built a change toolkit for their new change agents.

The first test of the model: the change team applied its new approach and tools to their Oracle CPQ implementation.

Our country’s premiere global business and financial information and news leader needed a new way of doing business. They reorganized their ad operations structure. and wanted to break through silos as they transformed their single-platform focus to a team-based strategic multi-platform approach.

Once they designed the future-state organization, they asked Emerson to create a learning program that would translate to on-the-job performance.

Employees who once worked in only one advertising channel needed to learn how their colleagues got things done.

We worked with them to create training and on-the-job support to build capabilities and confidence for new roles and behaviors. The program supported 240 employees on three different continents.

A large child care and early childhood education company had 1,500 centers using an array of client management systems. They wanted to roll out a single company-wide solution to bring their centers up-to-date, recoup lost revenue, all without disrupting operations.

From the beginning, the initiative faced challenges: they had been trying to replace IT systems over ten years and lacked internal change capability. The company had a very loyal and caring culture and we needed to use that energy to help them succeed.

Emerson brought methodology and metrics to the plan. We offered an operating model, readiness assessment and metrics, a define phase for learning, and a learning model and deliverables. We helped build capability in their teams and left a transition toolkit to reinforce process and measure progress.

The world’s fourth largest retailer was ready to make its U.S. grocery debut. Emerson designed, developed and implemented training for the launch. Their new store concept required a service model built around “customer assistants.”

To support that, we developed strategically driven training for both new hires and existing employees. They learned about the parent company, the genesis of the retail concept, and their role in living the company mission: a fresh and easy place to shop, a good neighbor, and a great place to work.

The program used innovative techniques to train employees to perform their jobs seamlessly within the new service environment. With the help of Emerson, staff were ready to enter the U.S. market.

A major consumer products player — the parent company to 14 well-known household brands — needed help defining “world-class excellence” and plotting a course to get there.

We were thrilled to help.

Emerson created an HR Excellent Blueprint that described the future state on a five-point scale, then created a change assessment for their short, mid, and long-term capability goals.

Our partnership with this client has them well on their way to new levels of excellence.

A group of former Tour de France cyclists knows how to run a race, but when the elite road biking company wanted to reinforce their strategic planning, they sought a different kind of expertise.

Emerson led a workshop with the organization’s leadership to create a cohesive direction.

The result was a shared understanding of the organization’s values, purpose, and strategic anchors.

You don’t become a petroleum giant and one of the most respected companies in the world by sitting still.

Leadership turned to Emerson to help with internal communication as they absorbed another major brand. We constructed a plan that supported integration with their company-owned stores, their franchisees and internal operations.

We developed a communication plan, analyzed sponsorship, stakeholders and impacts. We then worked with them on a detailed work plan for initial rollout and ongoing communications to support the dual brand strategy. We also developed training for franchise holders.

We were honored to be part of our client’s smooth assimilation of one of America’s most recognizable brands.

When a business technology corporation acquired another company, ​they understood that the stakes were high. This change touched a vast landscape of processes, systems and stakeholders. Our client wanted to preserve the best of both company cultures, so they turned to Emerson for help.

​First, we created a Change Leadership Council to align executives on priorities, messaging, and engagement with front-line employees. We developed a comprehensive change plan that addressed workstreams, skills and behaviors; we created a stakeholder analysis that informed the communication strategy and plan; and we designed communication tools and templates to ensure the quality of ongoing communications. We worked with stakeholders on a behavior and skills impact analysis and a learning strategy.

​The solutions ranged from the strategic (creating message and momentum) to the tactical (changing over email addresses and signage). Throughout, we provided change management coaching to their change leaders – helping our client maintain the momentum needed to achieve a new, unified company.

A well-known visual storytelling consultancy wanted to implement a new organization that would allow them to grow as they scaled upward.

They asked Emerson to help them transition to a centralized organization that would consistently support the company’s mission.

The Emerson team led leadership through working sessions that produced their toolkit: a message, a change plan, critical behaviors, process designs, and 30, 60, and 90-day plans to implement their strategy.

The CIO of one of the world’s biggest hotel and hospitality companies knew he needed change. His IT organization had to modernize its operating model to lower costs and improve delivery of technology services to internal customers and guests.

Streamlining functionality meant outsourcing some applications while retaining high-value strategic skills, in-house.

The result was an IT transformation project to save the company tens of millions of dollars, improve partnership with business functions, improve speed-to-market, and operate more efficiently. Hundreds would be affected by shifting roles and a reduced workforce.

We helped align senior executives and create the communication strategy and guide the transformation. Since then, IT has achieved dramatically higher efficiency, effectiveness and value.

A major gas company’s data centers were nearing capacity and unprotected from potential natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes. To address these risks, our client designed a new centralized data center, built new IT infrastructure, and started migration of over 1,200 applications.

They knew Emerson was the company to help.

We prepared our client’s employees to be productive continuously through the changes. We built change plans, communications, and business readiness activities to move our client to new levels of stability and performance.