A leading packaging company with over 100 years of high-quality customer service and innovation faced concerns over its leadership team. It was suspected that plant managers were spending the majority of their time addressing urgent work instead of doing important work. The client looked to validate this belief and find out what was getting in the way of plant managers (PMs) accomplishing their important duties. Adonis Partners was enlisted to bring expertise in solving and overcoming organizational challenges.

To uncover the root cause of these issues, Adonis’ expert consultant observed and built an actual day-in-the-life (DILO) profile from activity sampling and comparisons of standard work. Correlations were established between activity sampling, site performance, performance reviews, and situational attributes. The diagnostic process also involved building out Pareto charts, developing a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Structure, and taking a deeper dive into the workflow for the “middle management” layer to understand challenges there as well.

Following this extensive research, the leading causes of reduced leadership effectiveness were disclosed. The client was then provided with a strategic plan for both long-term improvements and “quick wins” to address these challenges. In total, Adonis conducted an analysis and synthesis of findings from 42 interviews and 20+ DILO studies. A comprehensive risk analysis and mitigation plan were also put in place, setting the client up for continued success with an elevated leadership team.