Agenda for Change Guides Transition Management to Improve Business Processes at Entegris

Two years after a successful merger, the nationwide economic downturn reared its head, spurring industry-leading Entegris to develop a new competitive advantage. The company had two objectives: (1) capture even greater market share by enhancing key business processes and (2) continue to improve decision-making processes at all levels.

A Multi-Step Approach

Step 1: Set the Framework
Linkage and Entegris built an Agenda for Change^™ team, a team consisting of nine employees from various functions and four global regions who were known for their passion and dedication to making the organization more successful. The team first defined the desired future state, including specific outcomes, before splitting into cross-functional sub-teams tailored to their goals: Roles and Responsibilities, Process and Systems, and Incentive and Rewards.

Step 2: Plan for Change
The sub-team individuals became experts in their focus areas and, with Linkage on hand for change and transition management coaching, the sub-teams developed and delivered high-value improvement recommendations to the Senior Leadership Team in just six weeks.

Change across the Organization

Each sub-team contributed to unique changes and outcomes within Entegris.

Entegris more clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each individual, ensuring that all employees know how they impact the organization’s mission while also benefiting from solidified decision-making processes. The organization enlisted a pricing consultant who approached product pricing from a strategic standpoint. In addition to exploring opportunities to reduce average selling price erosion and to increase operating income, Entegris established a new forecasting process. Entegris has also explored key strategic objectives and ways to ensure alignment between sales, divisions, and functions.

The organization as a whole benefited from the foundation of knowledge it developed—knowledge that proved essential during a major restructuring that allowed Entegris to eliminate overlaps and encourage skillful decision-making throughout the organization—which, of course, benefited the bottom line.

Linkage’s approach to change and transition management recognizes that for change to happen, people need to understand why there is change, manage their own uncertainties, and embrace the change. In developing the Agenda for Change^™ team, Entegris secured initial buy-in from team members at various levels who then fostered and inspired that change throughout the organization.