How 100 employees become a team

In collaboration with Staufen, part of Accenture, Ivoclar then introduced a process known as shadowing. In this method, managers are accompanied in their daily work by experts, who act as shadows. The aim is not to tell managers how they could potentially do things better. Daniel Schnell, the current managing director of GDC, recalls the initial skepticism: “The first reaction was, of course, ‘What else are we supposed to do now?’ But it helped us to do many things differently and better in a short period of time.” A decisive advantage was the young team without entrenched thinking patterns along the lines of “We’ve always done it this way.”

Shadowing proved to be very effective, as the Staufen consultants enabled managers to reflect immediately on everyday and critical situations in their day-to-day management work. “The experts held up a mirror to the managers and worked with them to consider what specific changes they could make, and the results were immediately visible,” Schnell continues. It was also crucial that all levels – from senior management to team leaders – participated. The change in the distribution warehouse was to be a joint project and not limited to individual areas or hierarchical levels. For this reason, the systematic empowerment of the workforce was also promoted. Operational employees were trained to solve standard problems independently so that team leaders no longer had to intervene every time there was a minor disruption. Schnell explains the principle: “We distributed the main workload from a few shoulders to many. The employees who carry out their processes on a daily basis often know these processes better than the managers.” The distribution of responsibility led to more efficient processes and higher employee motivation, as they were able to contribute their expertise and thus become effective themselves.

Cultural change at Ivoclar GDC

At the same time, an open feedback culture was established. Regular anonymous employee surveys and sounding boards made it possible to gauge the mood within the team and implement potential improvements in a timely manner. “In the past, it was difficult to find out what was really going on with our employees. Today, this works very well thanks to the open communication channels,” emphasizes GDC Managing Director Schnell.

The groundwork was important here: What is constructive feedback and how does it work? How do I give feedback from the bottom up? As a manager, how do I deal with critical feedback from my employees? This foundation had to be laid before a genuine feedback culture could emerge.

The success is visible

Thanks to cultural change, new management concepts, and improved communication, measurable progress has been achieved. Productivity has increased by an impressive 50 percent, while the complaint rate has been reduced by over 50 percent. The turnover rate has also been significantly reduced. For Schnell, the lower employee turnover and improved working atmosphere are particularly important aspects: “These are clear indicators that we are on the right track.” The successes of the Ivoclar GDC in Ellwangen have not only transformed the plant itself, but also created a blueprint for other locations. “We can see that this model works and that we work better with the shadowing concept and the simultaneous empowerment of employees. That’s why the concept is now being transferred to our locations in Italy, Liechtenstein, and the US,” says Schnell.

Cultural change: “Making People Smile”

A key component of this transformation was the change in corporate culture at the global distribution center. Through targeted employee empowerment and the development of the entire team, Ivoclar has succeeded in increasing employee identification with the company. The slogan “Making People Smile” is now reflected not only in the dental company’s products, but also in the atmosphere at the GDC. According to Schnell, the new feedback culture has led to much stronger identification and a greater willingness to participate: “There is nothing better than having your own idea and implementing it successfully. That makes employees proud.”