MANUFACTURING CONSULTANCY DEVELOPS EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE

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Catalyst Connection is a non-profit manufacturing consulting organization based in Western Pennsylvania. As a part of NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership,the consultants at Catalyst Connection are committed to advancing the success of manufacturing organizations in the state of Pennsylvania by implementing new processes to improve efficiency, business development, and drive employees satisfaction.

In 2019, a consultant from Catalyst Connection approached Rhabit Analytics to understand how a partnership would help them create more value for their manufacturing clients. Catalyst Connection’s Organizational Development team saw the potential of implementing Rhabit’s Engagement and Leadership Development tools to help manufacturers better understand the cultural health of their organization, as well as identify opportunities for leadership growth.

This case study shares the opportunities that were created by Catalyst Connection with the continued collaboration of the team at Rhabit Analytics. These two organizations have worked hand-in-hand to grow a partnership and provide world-class leadership development and engagement experiences for previously underserved manufacturers in the midwest.

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MANUFACTURERS NEED UPDATED PROCESSES TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE

As a mission-driven organization, Catalyst Connection is constantly looking for new opportunities to create growth opportunities for its manufacturing clients. Many of these customers came to Catalyst Connection with antiquated processes that needed to be updated to stay competitive in a trying labor market.

Rhabit’s easy-to-use platform allowed Catalyst Connection’s customers to engage their workforce in a way they previously could not, including the most important population - their frontline employees. Likewise, Rhabit’s customized analytics allowed HR leaders and Executive Leaders to finally have visibility into the pulse of their organization, unlocking opportunities to get a grasp on what was impacting their top concerns: retention and employee satisfaction.

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CUSTOMIZED PARTNER PROGRAMS GUARANTEED JOINT SUCCESS

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While the partnership with Catalyst Connection began in 2019, the advent of the 2020 COVID pandemic ignited new programs to help bring immediate value to manufacturing customers with a new set of pressing needs. In the first week of April 2020, Rhabit developed a COVID-19 engagement survey to distribute, free of charge, to Catalyst Connection’s manufacturing clients. Within the first week, several new organizations were using the Rhabit platform to measure business-critical worker sentiments on workplace safety for those on the frontline, turnover intent, and capability for workers now based from home.

This quick pivot resulted in an 80% conversion to paid Rhabit customers, of which Catalyst Connection received a percentage of the ARR to add to their revenue stream. At the time of publishing 100% of the customers from this custom program remain active Rhabit customers, with Catalyst Connection receiving annual residuals.

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HOW RHABIT DESIGNS TALENT MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS FOR MANUFACTURERS

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Catalyst Connection’s Organizational Development team focuses on implementing the processes manufacturers need to become an Employer of Choice to stand out in a difficult labor marketplace. Rhabit’s consulting team works hand in hand with these programs to help measure and reinforce the efforts of Catalyst Connection’s consultants, ensuring they will be able to deliver impact for their clients. Rhabit also provides additional support to interpret client dashboard data and provide insights to help pinpoint areas of additional opportunity, and where there has been growth.

Catalyst Connection’s customers typically start with Rhabit’s continuous listening program to establish a baseline of employee satisfaction, and after trust has been established with the workforce Rhabit will introduce leader behaviors. Leader behaviors are often selected from Rhabit’s library of leader Habits, however, Rhabit has developed custom Habits to align with a manufacturer’s values or existing competencies. After several weeks of data has been collected, Rhabit partners with the client to create custom analytics dashboards to visualize the results and tell the story of the organization’s cultural health.

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IMPLEMENTING NEW TALENT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES

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Using Rhabit’s reseller model, Catalyst Connection hands off the client to Rhabit Analytics for implementation. Rhabit’s Account Managers work with the client to develop a project plan to plan for milestones and ensure a successful rollout to the manufacturer’s workforce.

Project Plans Include:

• Development of a change management strategy, identifying supporters and detractors to ensure high adoption at the time of rollout.
• Building a communication and adoption plan for frontline workers, officer workers, and remote employees.
• Training of Feedback Providers, Managers, and Administrators, including format (pre-recorded videos, live training, town hall, etc.).
• Announcement emails and other training materials to help familiarize participants and feedback providers ahead of the launch of the program.

Rhabit understands these programs are often time-sensitive and are often able to launch in under one month. Rhabit's consulting team collaborates seamlessly with the client, ensuring the program's immediate success. This hands-on approach facilitates a smooth launch and enthusiastic participation.

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METHODOLOGY

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For decades manufacturers have been trying to solve the problem of engaging their production and frontline employees, having to choose between cumbersome systems that lack psychological safety, or not receiving engagement data at all. HR managers at manufacturing companies had to overcome the challenge of low participation rates, distrust of the survey process, and a huge investment of time just to discover results that were difficult to take meaningful action from.  

The problem with getting feedback from production and warehouse workers is that honest, objective feedback is difficult to collect. The two main problems with getting quality feedback are: 1) it is difficult to engage workers who do not have access to company tools like a personal email address or company login and 2) feedback providers may fear retaliation if they give honest feedback to their leader or organization, resulting in inaccurate feedback.

Rhabit’s Engagement and Leadership Development platform solves these two problems with exceptional elegance.

Rhabit’s feedback platform focuses on observed behaviors. Rhabit ships with a comprehensive library of engagement questions and behaviors that are clustered into competencies or Habits as they’re called in Rhabit. These behaviors can also be customized based on existing competency models, strategic priorities, or the specific role of the feedback recipient. In the case of leaders, this may be by level or seniority. For example, first-time managers and executives typically have very different leadership challenges and will rely on a separate set of skills to be successful. With engagement, data can be segmented by plant, leader, or business unit to help consultants and senior leaders identify areas of the organization that may be at higher risk of turnover or disengagement.

Rhabit supports these variations and needs for customization, and the organizational psychologists in our organization have the capability of creating or modifying models for organizations of any size and complexity.  Rhabit can lead or follow our consulting partners  in selecting or designing these clusters of behaviors for their leadership development programs utilized by Reflect.

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OUTCOMES

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In more than 4 years of partnership, Rhabit and Catalyst Connection have helped manufacturing organizations boost employee satisfaction, reduce turnover, and identify leaders for growth opportunities. With a high-trust, collaborative relationship our customers have a 100% renewal rate, further reinforcing the success of our programs. Catalyst Connection continues to explore new ways to position Rhabit with its clients, and Rhabit remains committed to building the tools Catalyst Connections needs for its success.

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PRICING MODEL

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The pricing model of Rhabit Analytics is flexible to the business model of the consulting partner. Some partners pay a single per-user license fee for each user receiving feedback on the platform, others receive a percentage of the ARR of the program sold. Our competitive prices are similar and sometimes less than those of our competitors, allowing our partners to compete on price and create sustainable margins that allow their businesses to grow. We also offer integrations, analytics, and supplemental consulting services where relevant to our partners.

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GET IN TOUCH

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Working in learning and development services as a consultant? Connect with us today at rhabitanalytics.com/partnerships  to see how the team at Rhabit can help your consulting organization attract and win amazing clients immediately with no upfront costs.