FIVE STAR DEVELOPMENT, INC.
Work Structure & Processes Category
At the end of 2005, Five Star Development, Inc. was facing several challenges that were impeding the organizations growth and ability to retain key personnel. For the first time in the company’s eight-year history growth goals were not met and year-to-year revenue had leveled out from the previous year. In addition, the company was having difficulty retaining staff due to a lack of clear growth strategy and limited opportunities for career advancement. It was identified that the solution to the problem needed to contain the following components: A proven organizational culture diagnostic tool and a long-term plan for continual benchmarking and assessment of the organization’s culture and the ability to execute business strategy; A dynamic and engaging company process to collectively assess the results and agree on the top three action items needed to improve the culture; and An integrated 360 leadership assessments and executive coaching for Senior Executives to ensure they were engaged with the overall improvement effort and driving the organizational transformation.
A program was designed to address these challenges in one integrated approach. The Denison Culture and Leadership Assessment tools, which were used by the company previously, were repositioned to be the single benchmark instrument to measure all progress. The program required participation from every employee to complete the survey, provide input into drivers behind the scores, and agree on the top three action areas that required improvement. The three action areas that were identified were: Refine the company’s corporate vision and mission; Create career paths for employees by modifying the organizational structure to support new leadership roles; and Create direction for the organization by developing a four year growth plan. The top three action areas became strategic initiatives for the company. Each of these areas was implemented over the year and the company then completed the culture survey to reassess progress.
The result of this process was significant year-to-year growth and reduction of attrition rates to an all time organizational low. Based on the evaluation strategy, the impacts of the program were demonstrated in two ways: Quantitative and qualitative improvements demonstrated improvements in culture scores, empowerment, team building, cross-departmental partnership and visioning; and Business results showed that employee attrition rates in 2007 were at an all time company low of as the company grew its workforce 25%. Moreover, the company revenue grew 33% from December 2005 to December 2007.
Company Bio
Five Star enables organizations to achieve and sustain great performance that measurably impacts their employees, stakeholders, and communities. The company was founded in March of1997, when Dave Colaizzi and Lou Camerlengo seized an opportunity for a customer-focused company that delivered quality services. A small team of technical innovators, graphic artists, and instructional designers worked to develop multimedia and computer-based training for corporate clients. Since then, Five Star has expanded to a team of consulting professionals focused on programs, services, and products that enable organizations to execute their business strategies by helping them develop great leaders, great cultures, and great workforces. Typically, 70 percent of Five Star’s annual revenues come directly from repeat business and referrals: they have a 100% client repeat business rate. Clients include Fortune 1000 companies regionally, nationally, and globally. Five Star is focused on evolving their products, services, and tools to meet the rapidly changing needs of the marketplace. They have become known in the industry for their agility, speed, and outstanding value.
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