Cultivating Operational Excellence Through Employee-Centered Culture Change

SUMMARY/OVERVIEW

How a Leading Manufacturer Leveraged Feedback to Empower Employees and Elevate Operations

How workers feel about their jobs plays a pivotal role in their performance, as well as their employer’s success. But understanding how employee experience impacts productivity requires scrutiny to identify where the workforce may be underserved and lacking the support they need.

A global company discovered significant challenges for workers at one of its largest North American plants. To drive meaningful change and build a foundation for a high-performing workplace, the company engaged a team of management consulting professionals.

Key Takeaways

Increased employee engagement and trust    

Developed an actionable plan rooted in employee needs 

Established a roadmap toward lasting cultural and operational excellence

BDO Employees Talking
The Challenge

Improving Employee Experience to Drive Operational Success

The company — a leader in the ingredient manufacturing industry with more than 10,000 employees worldwide — faced several operational challenges including:

  • High turnover 
  • Declining employee engagement 
  • Outdated facilities and amenities 

A newly formed leadership team saw an opportunity to use improvements at this site as a model for other key locations and knew that commitment from everyone at the site was essential to success. However, eroding trust between management and frontline workers presented a significant obstacle to driving change.

Leaders sought to overcome these challenges by engaging frontline employees in co-creating a shared vision for the plant’s future and empowering everyone to execute and address the unique needs of their diverse workforce. But the process of getting the right input and driving roadmap execution would be demanding and require steady commitment from the organization.

BDO Employees in a Meeting
The Approach

A Collaborative, Insight-Driven Path to Transformation

Our team needed to gain a thorough understanding of the plant’s workforce and operational environment before beginning the drive toward transformation. We began by conducting a culture assessment — a structured evaluation that included on-site visits and an extensive listening tour. 

Engaging a significant portion of the workforce through deep listening can uncover actionable insights, build trust, and help ensure employees are integral to the solution. Through conversations with 20% of employees across all shifts and roles, we gained firsthand insights into frontline perspectives on plant facilities and operational ways of working. 

The initial assessment revealed key themes, reflecting both positive aspects of the plant and obstacles to high performance. 

Based on these findings, our team offered the company immediate, actionable recommendations for transformation, including:

  1. Co-creation sessions: Our team designed and facilitated a series of co-creation sessions — collaborative workshops where plant leaders and employees aligned on their future-state vision, developed practical solutions, and prioritized next steps. These sessions generated impactful ideas intended to strengthen plant culture, as well as build trust and foster a sense of shared ownership among all participants.

  2. A blueprint for change: We then combined employee feedback with industry best practices to craft a comprehensive 12-month roadmap. Our team met with company leadership and project teams to review the roadmap’s feasibility and validate its alignment with company goals and values. This roadmap now serves as the plant’s blueprint for change — ambitious, actionable, and grounded in its employees’ genuine needs.

To accelerate change, we mobilized five dedicated sub-teams to deliver 17 projects, including: improved access to drinking water, an employee appreciation campaign, micro-learnings for managers, a streamlined communications playbook, and standardized routines for a newly added Plant Coordinator role. To help track the success of these and other future initiatives, we also developed a robust metrics strategy and dashboard.

BDO Employees looking at mobile devices
The Results

Driving Sustainable Change and Building a Foundation for Excellence

By working closely with our team, the company moved closer to its vision of a welcoming, high-performing workplace. Our work had a transformative effect in several key areas:

This transformation goes beyond organizational change — it demonstrates the power of listening, collaboration, and strategic action. By prioritizing employee experience and aligning leadership with frontline teams, we helped the company lay the foundation for a productive and people-centered workplace.

When employees feel heard and included in shaping their workplace, it creates a culture of trust, engagement, and continuous improvement. It was inspiring to see how collaboration unlocked new possibilities for both the team and the organization.
Mallory Nightingale
Consulting Lead
Our approach was rooted in collaboration and deep listening. By bringing leaders and frontline employees together, we were able to uncover real insights and co-design a roadmap that reflects what matters most to the people who make this plant thrive.
Jessica Venker
Consulting Lead

Disclaimer: Work in this case study was completed by Blue Beyond Consulting before its integration with BDO in March 2025. The team now provides these services as part of BDO USA’s People Strategy & Solutions practice.

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