WHAT WAS THE CHALLENGE?
In January 2020, we launched a new Swedish organization. One reason for the change was to get closer to the market to increase sales, collaborate more and grow as a company. A major change work was required in the organization, as we wanted to shift from a traditional way of selling to instead creating projects and collaborations together with our customers. Here we needed help, to get everyone involved in the change and find new ways of working to really make it happen.

We realized that the power to succeed with the change could above all be found in the extended management team. We needed an extended management team with a strong team spirit, where everyone is on board, where everyone has the vision and target picture “under the skin” with the highest commitment to our new way of working. The goal was to gain consensus around the common mindset, working methods and priorities that were required to work based on the strategy and to reach the goal. So that we together could make it happen throughout the organization through our leadership. It was also important to have a clear plan for how we would continue to contribute to the development of the team and growth for the entire company in the long term.

Doings became a perfect partner for us in this change work. They understood our needs perfectly and shared our view that successful change work is built on commitment, trust and clarity. Doing’s broad expertise in change management, organizational development, behavioral science and communication was an important piece of the puzzle, as our challenge required a supplier with understanding and knowledge of the whole. Doings was also confident and flexible in designing the entire process in digital formats, when we were in the middle of a burning pandemic.

WHAT WAS THE SOLUTION?
The collaboration with Doings included several parts. Since we were in the middle of the pandemic, all parts were made digitally:

Management team development: An important and large part of the change work took place in the extended management team. Doings designed and facilitated a process with the extended management team for about 4 months with various inspiring, challenging and creative activities, exercises and initiatives to build a strong team with a common goal and a strong sense of ownership for our common mission. Among other things, we visualized and co-created our own target image, we summarized our expectations in a management team contract, we formulated common goals and learned from each other in learning buddy constellations, etc.

Individual coaching: Each management team member had to work on their development in individual coaching, which was very stimulating and important to effectively meet everyone’s individual needs and challenges to really develop together.

Team development: An important step to get the change out in the whole organization was to involve all the teams. We did this during the spring in smaller groups with a focus on, among other things, visualizing the target image, creating clarity around the HOW and increasing the sense of ownership and commitment.

Change communication: Parallel to the entire project, Doings supported the whole organization with a clear, engaging and involving change communication that included both written internal communication and support and training for us managers in producing and creating commitment in our oral presentations. Everything to keep the common thread in our change work.

Project management of national kickoff: A crucial activity was our national kickoff where everyone came together to work on our change and our common goals. Doings held all the threads when we brought everyone together to partly increase the clarity of our mission, but above all to strengthen the commitment in the entire organization. We are very proud of our credo, and we connected our journey with our credo and created a great ownership of our shared journey.

WHAT WAS THE RESULT?
We must constantly and closely work on a strong commitment and ownership. Today, we have a clear working method to lean on as well as a clear structure and group for our joint mission. We have received help to go from words to action in the change work. Today, we have an extended management team (SELT) with a strong identity and common goal, as well as increased ownership for the whole. An important support for us in the continued work is our contract (“The Roadmap”), with clearly defined behaviors and approaches to lead the change, which guides us and reminds us of our joint commitment.

Thanks to the work together with Doings, we have increased everyone’s commitment to our national mission and have defined the HOW throughout the organization. Doings have enabled us to constantly stay on the right course and calibrate along the way with a focus on our long-term, shared goal.

Janssen is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies with a mission to fundamentally change the way diseases are managed, interpreted and prevented and thus change people’s lives.