CASE STUDY | Transformation
Messe München
Messe München is a German exhibition company that has been hosting trade shows and events in Munich and worldwide for more than 50 years . The group generated record revenue of > € 470m in 2019 .
www . messe-muenchen . de
SITUATION
· After a record-setting decade , full lockdown due to COVID-19 .
· Global trade show market revenue declined by 68 % in 2020 .
· 3,916 trade show cancellations worldwide .
· Profound upheaval in the industry due to digitization .
· Capacity adjustments along with business transformation inevitable .
goetzpartners was mandated to guide the transformation , focusing on capacity adjustment and organizational structure . First , the inevitable downsizing process was planned by a combined core team of internals and externals using the goetzpartners White Book approach . The personnel overhang was determined , and target organizational structures were developed , together with divisional managers . Taking a holistic approach , this work included a review of the headcount across all hierarchy levels and an evaluation of personnel costs . At the same time , management levels and team structures were optimized . Further structural measures were taken to create a sustainable , more flexible organization .
SOLUTION
The structured goetzpartners approach was backed up by a communication strategy and training for divisional managers . Employees and the works council also received timely , in-depth information that was shared in a way that reflected the sensitivity of the issues being addressed . Throughout the entire process , the advisory team worked very closely with the HR team and supported negotiations . Thanks to the detailed and comprehensibly documented White Book , a trusting relationship with the works council was created .
Together with the goetzpartners team , we completed a complex workforce transformation process in less than 10 months . I really appreciated the structured approach , implementation strength and sensitivity of the team during this project .
Jennifer Hader , Director of Human Resources
During the implementation phase , the advisory team prepared a socially responsible process for determining who would be laid off and assisted with the voluntary layoff program , a concept that was widely accepted by employees and facilitated a smooth transformation .
RESULT
· FTE and personnel cost reduction of ~ 25 % across all hierarchy levels .
· Achievement of the set target with > 90 % acceptance rate during the voluntary layoff program .
· New organizational structure with optimized control spans and amount of hierarchy levels .