Conquering Change at Hollister: Equipping Manufacturing Managers to Lead Change
Hollister Incorporated, an independent employee-owned healthcare company with manufacturing and distribution operations across three continents and customers in nearly 80 countries, recognized that achieving its global strategy required more than process improvements. To become a faster, more agile organization, it needed leaders who could confidently guide people through continuous change.
The Challenge
While some leaders naturally embraced change, many lacked a consistent approach for leading others through uncertainty.
“Although some leaders were comfortable leading change, others were less confident. We didn’t have a common language or a standard approach for navigating an environment of constant change.”
— Jodi Lanis, Senior Organization Development Manager
The organization also identified another opportunity. Employee engagement survey results indicated that leaders needed to communicate more effectively and involve employees earlier throughout change initiatives. Hollister wanted a practical framework that would help leaders:
After evaluating several approaches, Hollister selected the Leading People Through Change® program as its enterprise-wide change leadership model.
The initiative supported the company’s broader strategy of increasing organizational agility by giving leaders:
The research-based program teaches leaders how to recognize and address the predictable questions and concerns people experience during change. Participants learn to identify where employees are in the change process and conduct meaningful conversations that increase understanding, commitment, and buy-in.
Global Rollout
Hollister initially focused on intact leadership teams responsible for major business initiatives. The program was first delivered through instructor-led classroom workshops before evolving into a virtual experience consisting of four two-hour sessions.
Rather than treating the training as a standalone event, leadership teams learned in the flow of work by moving real organizational changes forward during the program. As a result, they left with:
After successfully training intact teams, Hollister expanded the program through open enrollment for leaders across the organization.
Sustaining the Learning
Recognizing that lasting behavior change requires reinforcement, Hollister invested heavily in sustainment.
Leaders received ongoing access to change management resources through an internal portal, including:
The company also paired each leadership team with certified change leadership coaches who provided three post-workshop coaching sessions focused on applying the concepts to real organizational challenges.
The coaching proved so valuable that Hollister certified internal coaches. Today, the organization has approximately 40 certified change leadership coaches and 30 change management practitioners who support leaders across the globe. Quarterly Communities of Practice allow these experts to continuously learn from one another while strengthening organizational capability.
Adapting to Change by Living the Model
About eighteen months after launching the initiative, the initiative expended to include targeted modules to help leaders understand three common employee responses to change:
New tools, including the Tipping Point exercise and a high-involvement self-assessment, gave leaders additional ways to strengthen change initiatives and address concerns proactively.
As Lanis noted, the organization was able to apply its own change leadership principles while implementing the updated model — reinforcing the credibility and effectiveness of the methodology itself.
Results
Hollister measures progress through pulse surveys conducted every six months.
The results consistently demonstrate meaningful improvements:
According to Lanis, success came from treating change leadership as a strategic capability rather than a training event.
Executive sponsorship, a common leadership framework, real-world application, ongoing coaching, internal capability building, and sharing success stories created lasting change momentum that continues to strengthen Hollister’s ability to execute change across its global business.
The Bottom Line
Hollister’s success demonstrates that building organizational agility requires far more than teaching change management concepts. Sustainable change happens when leaders share a common framework, communicate consistently, involve employees early, receive ongoing coaching, and are supported by systems that reinforce new behaviors long after training ends. By treating change leadership as a strategic organizational capability rather than a one-time learning event, Hollister increased leaders’ confidence, strengthened employee engagement, and created an internal network of coaches and practitioners that continues to accelerate successful change across its global business.
To learn more about equipping manufacturing managers to lead change, download The 5 Science-Backed Change Leadership Practices That Drive Successful Transformation
About LSA Global
Founded in 1995, LSA Global is a trusted performance consulting and training firm that helps high-growth technology, services, and life sciences companies turn strategy into measurable results. We partner with executive teams to build competitive advantage by aligning culture and talent with strategy — so individuals, teams, and organizations perform at their peak. Learn more about how organizational alignment drives performance.
Tristam Brown is an executive business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.
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