Following a successful 2009, Molson Coors launched an ambitious new Vision: to become a top four global brewer in profitability. The business quickly recognised that it simply had to involve all its employees, or otherwise face certain failure.
Molson Coors
The Solution
While other beer companies were slashing their investment in their people, Molson Coors did the opposite and focused on building a team of extraordinary people.
Having aligned the leadership team behind the new “Our Brew” strategy, which focused on achieving specific growth, profit and people development targets, INVOLVE focused on getting all 2,400 employees taking ownership and personally contributing to how it would be brought to life.
The first phase was designing and delivering Moslon Coors’ National Conference, a one-day experience at the Liverpool Arena for over 1,200 employees.
Groups of employees explored 7 zones representing the 7 pillars of growth for the business: Extraordinary People, Innovation, Amazing Our Customer, Beer Champions and Extraordinary Brands. Every element of each zone was fully participative, with lots of practical examples and opportunities for people to explore Molson Coors’ priorities using different learning styles.
For example, the challenge of improving the company’s profitability was illustrated using real jugs of barley. Starting with a full jug, employees could see the impact of paying taxes and covering all the overhead costs. In another zone, employees became part of a play with different characters discussing the company’s views on important issues such as responsible drinking. The innovation zone was presented in the form of a shop. Here, employees used shopping baskets to choose ideas from the 70 innovations the management team had developed over the last few months. The most popular ideas were taken forward.
Molson Coors also wanted to demonstrate how people like to learn in different ways, and how that impacts how we behave at work. How about a line dancing class? This was a fun, simple, but really effective way of showing different learning styles. Some people kicked off their shoes and jumped into the line trying out their new moves, while others stood back and observed, getting themselves acquainted with the routine before taking to the floor.
The day ended with everyone taking part in a ‘human orchestra.’ We Will Rock You was reproduced and performed using hands, feet, beer kegs and a 1,000 bottles of beer as opposed to traditional instruments. Over dinner, everyone experienced a ‘beer tasting’ brand immersion, with 9 different courses served with 9 different beers.
The Results
Pre and post event measurement results showed:
“I believe that we have a strong and aligned leadership team” – 15% increase“I feel valued and recognised for my contributions by the business” – 14% increase“I feel motivated and excited about the future direction of the business” – 14% increase
Molson Coors’ recent People Survey revealed that 92% of employees are proud to be part of the company, and that 88% are actively engaged – a figure higher than the national average and increase of 13% on the previous year.
Phase 2 was the ‘Decide and Do’ roadshow for the remaining 1,200 employees, giving everyone the chnace to get involved in the programme.
INVOLVE was recognised by the IoIC (Institute of Internal Communication) in 2011 and received an Award of Excellencefor the National Conference and ‘Decide and Do’ roadshows.
