Client	Fortune Ten Company - United States Based
Initiative	Increase Employee Cost-Sharing of Healthcare Benefits
Primary Change Audience	All U.S. employees (management and hourly), retirees, union leadership, community businesses, families of employees and retirees

Reducing the portion of healthcare costs provided by the company is a very difficult change to make. The project team was challenged to implement this change and, at the same time, to ensure that there was no drop in employee engagement scores on the upcoming survey. This change was being implemented in the midst of union contract negotiations and at a time when the organization was reporting record revenues.

By applying the discipline of Managed Change™, the company was able to successfully roll out the plan. Employee engagement scores actually increased four percentage points during the time the employees were learning of the change. The project team was awarded a Silver Anvil Award for Internal Communications - Business by the Public Relations Society of America.

To accomplish this successful outcome the project team did extensive research that resulted in strong and effective communications regarding the need to make this change even though the company was doing well. They also identified the issues that would trigger resistance on the part of the various populations such as an entitlement mentality that had developed over the years, unclear definition of the impact on the individuals, distrust of vendor capability, past healthcare changes.

The team developed a change plan to prevent or reduce these resistance issues and worked extensively with the business unit leaders to help them to address the change issues and carry out the plans within their units.

Of the 750 U.S. salaried and management employees responding to a random survey:

• 90.7% had sufficient opportunity to have their questions answered
• 905 said their division was keeping them well informed
• 85.9% said they understood the need to change