Strategy Implementation Current State

A majority of both target groups mentioned the lack of systematic ways of working as a major issue in strategy implementation. Some of target group one mentioned that systematic follow-up about strategy implementation progress and strategic direction

is totally missing at the corporate level. At the senior management level, systematic follow up is also missing and leading to problems, for example:

“Following progress of strategy is inadequate. We do not get back to the projects and

programs when they are finished and then we repeat the same mistakes repeatedly.”

(B11)

SBUs and functions are responsible for implementing corporate strategy as well as their own business strategy. The corporate leadership team has given a lot of respon- sibilities to SBUs but never given much support, as mentioned by some of target group two. There is no clear ownership nor support for the cross competence devel- opment that the new strategy requires. Roles and responsibilities are not defined properly and there are not enough resources for new cross functional collaboration. It seems that target group one expects new ways of working, but employees at lower levels have not heard the message. For example:

“Actions in business units do not support the strategic priorities. There has been [a]

lack of common vision.” (B7)

When implementation follows line organization, middle managers have a lot of re- sponsibility for communicating strategy to their employees and delivering progress. In addition, ways of implementing strategy have varied between SBUs and functions, due to there being no clear implementation process set by corporation management. Every function does what they think is necessary for them, not for the whole corpo- ration, explains a minority of both target groups. For example, supply chain planned their own strategy implementation process because there was no corporate-level im- plementation process, according to a target group two member.

“When there is no structure, everyone tries to yell at the same time and get their

wants through without thinking others. In IT we need to someone from Group man- agement to say that these are the priorities and we do not do anything else.” (B1)

Strategy has not been concrete enough to turn it into action, and conflicts arise from ambiguities. Based on the EES results, 80% of the employees understood how their job is linked to corporate strategic priorities. Target group two saw understanding strategy as a major problem, and it was described as:

“Core people need to understand the strategy, approve it and act based on it every

day to ensure the implementation of strategy.” (B6)

“Strategy is seen far from day-to-day work, therefore we do not think ahead. Also,

One reason why people do not understand the strategy is lack of communication, based on a majority of target group two. Communication about the progress of strat- egy implementation and actions required has not been repeated enough. An HR pro- fessional concluded:

“Action requires a lot of repeating the message, personal understanding and making

the change visible. For example, bonus targets and reporting responsibilities, there always needs to be personal interest to act. We are lacking that.” (B10)

Some previous strategic projects have been too big with no clear start and ending. That has made strategy implementation very slow, and people have gotten frustrated. Implementation is also slow because the current organizational structure does not support new ways of working, based on some of target group one. All in all there is no management system for strategy implementation.

Employees’ own targets and performance goals were not linked to group strategy before 2019. Some senior and middle managers had their targets based on business or functions strategy. Then there were changes to personal goal setting in spring 2019. Every employee had a few personal goals and a few shared goals coming from SBU or functional level. This change was seen as good by a majority of both target groups. Some targets were still difficult to understand and act on, based on the target, therefore there is lack of alignment with the strategic goals.

“On the high level everything is clear, but at the lower levels of organization, infor-

mation flow is very tortuous. Information flow to lower levels needs to be clarified.”

(B5)

Based on a majority of target group two, there has not been any change management for implementing new cross competence ways of working and a more open culture. Culture does not change without change management. The organizational capabili- ties are not exploited well enough, based on some of target group one. Learnings from strategy implementation and project management are not collected anywhere nor used later, as mentioned by a majority of both target groups. Table 13 summa- rizes the problems in corporate strategy implementation in literature categorization.

Table 13 Corporate strategy implementation problems summary

Problems found from literature Problems mentioned by both target groups

Unclear strategy and priorities Not understanding the strategy or lack of priorities (8/12) Strategy has not been translated into action (6/7)

SBU strategies are not aligned with corporate strategy (4/12)

Not enough attention or plan- ning for strategy implementa- tion

Missing structure for planning and monitor (12/12) No discipline and perseverance (6/12)

Same tasks are done in many places (4/12)

Lack of commitment Resource allocation or lack of defined roles (10/12) (6/7) Communication breakdown Lack of open communication and repeating the message

(11/12)

Corporate culture Culture does not support cross competence collaboration (5/7)

Not tracking and measuring the

results No systematic follow up (5/7) Role of middle managers un-

clear and their capabilities to both do operative management and strategy implementation

Misalignment with SBU leaders’ targets (3/12) Not seen in employees day-to-day work (2/7)

Underestimating time needed Lack of change management (4/12) Training and instructions for

lower level No communication guidelines for senior managers (6/12) No coordinated targets at vari-

ous levels and functions. Oper- ations not aligned with strategy

Strategic targets are not linked to strategy (12/12) Personal targets are not aligned to every level (12/12) Other, not mentioned in litera-

ture

Slow implementation (7/12) (4/7)