Warren Services, a family business founded in 1990 that specialises in the high-quality manufacture of mechanical and electro-mechanical components, sub-assemblies, and machines, first approached the MTC to support with the development and deployment of a new business strategy that matched the ambitions of the business and its people.
Based in Norfolk, Warren Services offers its clients full turnkey solutions to engineering and design, and a pioneering approach to sustainable manufacturing and the training of the workforce of tomorrow. With location being a limiting factor to the amount of readily available human resource, the MTC was tasked with disseminating a strategy that retains the commitment of the current workforce and makes Warren Services and manufacturing an employer of choice to attract local talent from local schools, colleges and universities.
As well as addressing the strategic requirements of the business, the new plan for Warren Services would need to futureproof its operations and provide scope for future growth including the exploitation of new sectors, new technologies and being able to obtain certain accreditations that would allow them to enter markets successfully including ‘Fit for Offshore Renewables’.
The project was split into two phases of work. Firstly, the Business Transformation Team utilising their Strategy, Culture and Coaching service offering created a process model to understand the manufacturer’s existing operations and to help identify its current strengths and weaknesses.
As the project was completed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the MTC did this by engaging the Senior Leadership Team over virtual platforms and in-person in a series of workshops and individual 1-2-1s to complete a SWOT analysis of Warren Services. This process began to clarify the business’s vision, mission, and purpose, and what the key KPI’s were for the years ahead, alongside highlighting potential future skills needs of the business.
To ensure this process was as effective and thorough as possible, the MTC also engaged the Warren Services Leadership and Management teams in a series of innovative techniques including Lego® Serious Play that would also help to identify the best route forward. Completing tasks such as this meant the team were better able to reflect on the current state of the business and allow for a more effective dialogue amongst peers.
The second phase of the project saw the MTC work with Warren Services to build the new vision for the business and finalise the new strategy for the next 12 months and the following three years. It would then support on the initial deployment and dissemination of the strategy amongst the workforce, starting with the team and departmental managers to ensure they understood the direction of Warren Services.
Through reviews every three months post the initial dissemination, the Business Transformation Team continued to provide help and support to ensure the strategy and vision for Warren
A vision for the future of Warren Services was established and a path to achieving its goals and objectives was identified.
The new business strategy for the next 12 months and three years was created to support the business in the short term and to build for a prosperous future.
A clear plan for the dissemination of the new strategy amongst the whole workforce was determined and Warren Services were supported through tri-monthly reviews to ensure they remained on plan and could review the implementation on an on-going basis.
Warren Services was provided with a strategy that futureproofed its operations and allows for essential growth including identifying potential skills requirements if it was to enter new markets. It is now in a better position to embrace the future and can engage with new sectors by being able to obtain essential accreditations including the ‘Fit for Offshore Renewables’ accreditation that the previous strategy didn’t allow for.
The process also created a more harmonised Senior Leadership Team engrained in the vision of the family business and what it is looking to achieve.
A more engaged workforce that can see a future, subsequently ensuring that Warren Services and manufacturing in Norfolk is seen as an attractive career choice that offers endless opportunities.
Created an environment more open to adopting new ideas and technologies; Warren are now completing a Digital Discovery project with the Digital Transformation team to map out their journey towards industry 4.0
