Pittsburgh Corning Europe
Project: Management Team Development
The "oldest" European production unit of Pittsburgh Corning Europe (PCE) http://www.foamglas.be/ is located in Tessenderlo. Following the introduction of the new European structure, 1,5 year ago, Didier Vercruyssen became the new Plant Manager of this site. The objective is to turn the different plants into autonomously operating units. The new Plant Manager wants to develop the Tessenderlo site into a "Center of Excellence". He’s convinced that to achieve this, the Management Team plays an important role. In order to professionalise and develop the Management Team, the assistance of ASTYRE was asked.
Pittsburgh Corning Europe employs 350 people in Belgium. To succeed in an optimal cooperation with such a large group, a well balanced Human Resources Management Plan is indispensable. In that plan, the Management Team required extra attention.
" Both the Plant Manager, Didier Vercruyssen, and myself are convinced that an optimal functioning and efficient Management Team is a top priority. Only such a team can succeed in becoming a plant of Operational Excellence." Brigitte Lacroix, HR Manager Pittsburgh Corning Europe
The Management Team consists of managers who were successful in their individual roles in the past. Too little attention was given to the evolution of the broader management capabilities. All team members were excellent in their roles, but, as a manager, they each worked in accordance to their own views. The objective was to install and engage a team spirit.
A further bottleneck was the lack of a functional meeting culture: a fixed schedule didn’t exist, meetings lacked structure and often occurred rather operationally, even without the whole team being present. The objective was to guide and support the Management Team through installing as structured and focused meeting culture and as a result achieve a higher managerial level.
In a first phase, the managers were offered an assessment, allowing them to acquire a detailed insight in their own personality and management style. During this process, potential area’s for development were highlighted and discussed. Together with the manager, a Personal Development Plan (PDP) was drafted.
Further analysis of the findings showed that it was recommendable to install a permanent ‘guidance’ within the organisation and the management team itself. This guide could provide daily on-the-job personal mentoring, thus allowing the team to develop faster and with more focus. It was clear that this important role would fit the HR-manager.
"Together with ASTYRE, we measured our Management Team in a number of key areas, such as, managing people and achieving measurable objectives and attitudes. Based on a detailed Personal Development Plan and supported by on-the-job Mentoring, the team is today developing according to plan. As a result, it is has strengthened both the individual manager and the management team within the European structure of the company." Brigitte Lacroix, HR Manager Pittsburgh Corning Europe
Conclusion Astyre:
Dealing with today’s business and organizational challenges requires team effort and spirit even more than before. Managers are expected to perform and deliver, both as an individual as in team. They have to manage their departments independently, often cooperate in multiple teams, yet keeping corporate objectives in mind. We focused in particular on these challenges.
Today, the Pittsburg Corning Europe Management Team, is a more coherent and complementary team and therefore stronger and ready for the challenges of tomorrow.
Hilde Lemmens, Managing Director Belgium, ASTYRE