HR CONSULTING CASE STUDY
HR Manager
This multinational luxury homegoods client sought to revamp their benefits website to reflect their modern and cutting-edge image. Their objective was to provide a fully branded, personalized platform that would enable their global workforce to effortlessly access information regarding their benefits.
The company’s primary mission is to inspire employees to redefine luxury. They take pride in offering personalized benefits that cater to the everyday needs of their employees, regardless of their life stage. However, management received feedback from employees indicating that they and their family members were unaware of the full-range of benefits available to them. As a result, employees were not fully utilizing the diverse benefits program offered by the company. Upon conducting a thorough review, it was determined that the benefits website did not align with the cultural values and principles that guide the company’s business decisions.
Another issue identified was that the benefits site was not designed to cater to a global workforce resulting in a lack of consistent benefits information for employees outside the U.S. The company recognized the need for a website that prioritized the mobile user experience as many employees rely on mobile devices for information. Additionally, the new site needed to be user-friendly, maintain a consistent brand voice reflective of the corporate culture and serve as the central hub for global benefits information. Furthermore, the new site had to feature a sleek, modern design that aligned with the company’s brand and provided a seamless user experience for employees mirroring the exceptional service provided to customers.
The new benefits website sought to achieve three goals. First, provide precise, coherent, and user-friendly content tailored to each country that is in-line with the company’s business objectives and desired results. Second, utilize tailored-content and images that cater to the unique cultural norms of each country. And, third, ensure that all information is easily accessible to employees, their family members, recruiters and potential new hires.
After three months of hard work, we successfully launched a fully redesigned, branded, customized and mobile-optimized benefits website for my client’s U.S. employees. Utilizing employee-facing communications, we promoted the site as the ultimate resource for all benefits-related information. Since its initial launch, the website has expanded to include countries beyond the U.S. with customized benefits websites now available for employees in nearly 20 countries. This expansion has allowed for tailored benefits information to a wider global audience further enhancing the client’s employee experience.
The benefits website continues to gain traction since its launch in the U.S. and with each additional country that goes live. Since its launch, the site has attracted over 20,000 users who have visited about 30,000 times and have viewed the site pages almost 90,000 times. Over a quarter of site visits are via a mobile device.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY
CEO
A national retailer with a vast network of facilities identified a need to enhance their project management training curriculum to align with their specific processes. Feedback from participants revealed that the existing courses were not meeting their expectations and were not effectively supporting the organization’s goal of standardizing project management practices and knowledge. In response to this feedback, the client made the decision to revamp their project management curriculum by developing a series of courses that could be tailored to seamlessly integrate their unique processes.
The new courses were designed to provide the right information to employees at all levels of the organization and to meet the client’s training metrics requirements. It was essential that the new courses not only focused on the company’s processes but also adhered to the industry-standard PMBOK® Guide framework. This ensured that employees would receive a comprehensive understanding of project management principles while also aligning with best practices in the field. In addition to developing new course content, the client recognized the importance of having engaging instruction to deliver a dynamic classroom experience. This was crucial in supporting the adoption of the concepts presented and ensuring that employees were able to effectively apply their new knowledge in their day-to-day work. Overall, the client’s commitment to enhancing their project management training program demonstrates their dedication to continuous improvement and their recognition of the importance of investing in the professional development of their employees.
I was brought on board to tailor and deliver a range of courses aimed at various levels of expertise. To kick off the project, I conducted a thorough needs-analysis and crafted a detailed design document for each course. Collaborating closely with the client throughout the entire development process, I integrated their existing PMBOK-compliant curriculum with customized processes and terminology. The courses were rolled out in stages enabling me to adhere to strict delivery deadlines. Pilot programs were instrumental in gathering feedback to refine the content and structure of each course before they were launched to the wider participant audience.
Enhancing project management training resulted in increased process adoption and positive impacts on quality and productivity. Participants in the courses have shown a remarkable 50% improvement in their understanding of project management tools and processes surpassing initial expectations.
MARKETING CASE STUDY
Co-Owner/Founder
The client is an online retailer specializing in luxury children’s shoes. Seeking innovative ways to showcase their products, they enlisted my expertise for fresh ideas. Together, we crafted a comprehensive marketing strategy that combined direct mail campaigns with targeted ads on Google, Instagram and Facebook. By coordinating these efforts, we aimed to ensure maximum impact and overcome the prevalent issue of ad-blindness among consumers.
The advertisements featured captivating images of the products accompanied by the brand names and a concise list of product details and benefits. However, one of the key factors contributing to the campaign’s success was the meticulous selection of mailing lists. Given the specific age range of their target audience, we tailored the mailing list to primarily households with children. Moreover, as a luxury brand, we took care to target households with a minimum income of $50,000 to ensure that recipients had the means to invest in higher-end footwear. To further boost local engagement, we also distributed print-materials to select zip codes.
The results of our efforts were truly remarkable. During the campaign period, the client received over 200 additional orders generating revenue exceeding $45,000. Additionally, the website experienced a surge of traffic with over 30,000 visitors and 3,000 pay-per-clicks across 600,000 ad displays resulting in a commendable 0.5% conversion rate. This successful collaboration exemplifies the power of strategic marketing initiatives in driving business growth and brand awareness.
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CASE STUDY
Stark Accelerators Commercial Real Estate began its relationship with Goodwill in 2005. At the time, the economy was thriving and some residents and landlords were skeptical about having a Goodwill location near them, believing the nonprofit’s image did not complement the desired image of their respective Northern Nevada neighborhood. The Stark team, with Senior Partner, Brad Elgin, responding to the needs of its client, exercised patience in systematically communicating the value Goodwill brings to every neighborhood, regardless of the demographics. Overtime, Goodwill secured locations in the various communities throughout Northern Nevada enabling the ability to generate high quality donations in upscale neighborhoods. Landlords, co-tenants, and residents were all pleasantly surprised by the increased foot traffic Goodwill generated into the retail centers and convenience of the Donation Xpress sites.
Goodwill first approached the Stark team when working to open a retail location on Oddie Boulevard and Donation Xpress locations throughout Northern Nevada. The Stark team leveraged their knowledge of Northern Nevada’s demographics and Trade Areas in strategizing with Goodwill’s management team to secure locations that would bring in desirable donations and, of equal importance, offer convenience for donors. Since 2005, Stark and Goodwill’s team have partnered on growing the nonprofit’s footprint in Northern Nevada. As of 2019, there are a total of seventeen (17) donation centers and retail locations in Northern Nevada. Stark Accelerators is proud to partner with Goodwill and sees itself an extension of the organization in achieving its’ mission.
Stark’s commercial real estate team has partnered with Goodwill for over 14 years in Northern Nevada and remains dedicated to responding to Goodwill’s needs and helping accomplish its organizational objectives.
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