Hewlett-Packard: Change Management

Following the merger with Compaq, Hewlett-Packard Norway turned to Accenture to help integrate the operations of the two companies to achieve economies of scale, reduce the cost and complexity of information technology systems for business and improve the overall experience consumers have with technology. Performed on a country-by-country basis, this integration process involved physically blending HP and Compaq resources, facilities and people, and solidifying its image as a unified company.

Global businesses increasingly seek greater scale to improve efficiencies and clout in their lines of business—with the overall goal of boosting shareholder value. However, along with scale also can come increased complexity and difficulty in coordinating geographically dispersed operations.

This is precisely the challenge that HP faced when it merged with Compaq. Following the combination, HP was challenged to immediately begin integrating the operations of the two companies to achieve economies of scale, reduce the cost and complexity of information technology systems for business and improve the overall experience consumers have with technology. Performed on a country-by-country basis, this integration process involved physically blending HP and Compaq resources, facilities and people, and solidifying its image as a unified, high-performance company.

In Norway, both HP and Compaq had facilities in Oslo and, between them, employed 450 people. Immediately after the merger, HP established shared management teams and reorganized processes and functions to support "the HP way," a shorthand expression for the core values of the company. These values have served HP well throughout its more than 50 years, and have been a critical factor in the company's ability to continually grow its business while never losing sight of its responsibility to customers, shareholders and employees.

Throughout the transition, HP Norway's executives were very focused on understanding current employee behaviors and acknowledging where changes needed to occur to achieve the vision of a unified HP whose new business model would enable the company to dominate its markets. These leaders further recognized that the real challenge of integration would come when the company formally merged its people and resources into one new, shared facility. At that point, the vision of the new company in Norway would really come to life.

HP Norway turned to Accenture for help in making sure that its integration momentum would not falter during the actual relocation. HP selected Accenture because of our history of helping companies identify and capitalize on ways to improve overall business performance. Playing a key role in HP's decision were Accenture's track record of successful project execution; deep understanding of not only HP's business and values, but also the technology industry overall; extensive experience in developing innovative tools and technologies; and proven, holistic approach to organizational change.

For HP Norway's integration to be successful, the company needed to maintain an effective, external focus and continue to serve its customers throughout the integration process. To that end, Accenture quickly assembled a team to help the company design, implement and manage—over a period of just three months—six distinct activities:

• E-survey—Accenture and HP Norway created and distributed a tailored, Web-based survey to all employees to reveal cultural characteristics, differences between the ex-HP and ex-Compaq workforces, attitudes toward the integration and areas of potential risk. The e-survey helped the HP/Accenture team understand the workers' expectations, assess awareness of HP core values and develop programs to guide a smoother transition.
  
  
• Defining Focus Areas—Based on the results of the e-survey, Accenture worked with HP Norway to identify potential areas of resistance during the integration process, craft messages and define activities to promote and secure the effective cooperation between employees.
  
  
• Integration Portal—To answer any questions employees might have about the integration process and the office relocation, Accenture and HP quickly developed a one-of-a-kind Integration Portal, integrated with HP Norway's existing website and internal Web-publishing tools. Using an easy-to-use navigation structure and a subway map metaphor, the portal provided practical information (e.g., "Where will my workspace be located in the new facility?"), as well as updated messages from HP leaders that managed workers' expectations and kept them focused on productive activities. This portal was hugely successful, logging 10,000 "hits" in the month prior to the move.
  
  
• Office Relocation Event—Accenture worked closely with HP to create a "no-hassle" transition on the day of the office and workforce relocation. The team made sure that "info butlers" and technical support resources were on site to guide employees on arrival, answer any questions they might have throughout the day and solve any setup problems immediately. The team also set up "base stations" on site to encourage the HP and Compaq groups to meet and interact with each other. For many, this was the first time they met their new colleagues. Finally, the team helped ensure that HP Norway's management created a positive atmosphere by providing important information related to the new direction and hosting special meetings with their work groups.
  
  
• Project Support for the HP Management Team—In addition to coordinating activities and processes on the day of the relocation, Accenture helped develop and execute the plan, tools and checklists for detailed project control and also identified high-risk areas and possible consequences.
  
  
• Creative Concept—Accenture developed a creative concept to help communicate the critical issues and messages related to the integration. Using a popular local comedian, Accenture created a series of highly entertaining videos—available via the Internet over the three-week period prior to the relocation—that explained the core values and new rules for the HP organization.
  
  

The success of this project is due, in large part, to HP Norway's commitment to its employees and core values. In fact, HP is quite unique in terms of the attention it places on creating and maintaining a dynamic culture that drives business results—a critical component of a high-performance business. The success is also due to Accenture's ability to mobilize quickly and put together a comprehensive and creative approach to relocation and facility integration—an approach that relied on proven methodologies and "out-of-the-box" thinking.

Building on the successful completion of the relocation program, HP Norway once again turned to Accenture—this time for help in changing the organizational culture so it best supports "the HP Way." For this project, Accenture has hosted executive forums, workshops, team discussions and interviews to define HP Norway's existing culture. Armed with information from these sources, as well as data from the eSurvey tool, Accenture is now helping HP Norway determine and implement the changes needed to align the culture in a way that best supports HP Norway's goals.

With Accenture's help, HP Norway completed one of the most successful relocations in history and, most important, maintained its marketplace momentum during the move.

In a move of such scope, most companies typically see their performance drop as employees acclimate to their new environment and new way of working. With Accenture's detailed planning capabilities, integration tools and creative on-the-ground assistance—all delivered in a very short time frame—80 percent of HP Norway's workforce was operating at full capacity by 10 a.m. on the day of the transition. Within five hours, the entire company was operating as if a change had never occurred. According to an HP program manager, "We never missed a heartbeat, due to the effort from the Accenture team."

In addition to improving employee satisfaction and maintaining a unified image for its customers, HP Norway also achieved significant financial benefits from the well-executed move. The company estimates that the successful integration reduced the amount of time spent on internal processes by 20 hours per employee and that the successful communications effort—primarily via the Integration Portal—reduced the amount of time spent on internal communications and information search by 15 hours per employee. Combined, these efficiencies translated into nearly $720,000 in cost savings.

Accenture is now building on the relocation success to help identify and drive the cultural changes needed to cement HP Norway's core values throughout the organization. By aligning behaviors to core values, the new HP will be in an even better position to dominate Norway's technology services market.