The Negotiating Challenge
We were engaged by an international business whose relationship with a crucial monopoly provider had deteriorated. With nowhere else to turn, the company knew it had to rescue the strained relationship or risk long-term damage to its bottom line. Having worked successfully with ENS in the past, the company reached out again for assistance.
How ENS Helped
The ENS consultant was known to the business and familiar with the market environment. This allowed the typical briefing stage to be fast-tracked and value adding support to be promptly provided. Early discussions revealed that there were multiple challenges. Operationally, there was an urgent need to address underperformance which was compounding to impact annual returns. The longer-term strategic need was to foster a culture and process for continuous improvement in order to meet the growth strategy forecast by the business.
The ENS consultant worked with the client on strategies to engage the Other Party through various channels. The difficult context meant this needed detailed planning and careful execution, with specific negotiation and influencing roles for each member of both the executive team and the operations team. The complex nature of the stakeholder environment which included government related bodies, necessitated deep diving on the key stakeholders, their needs, personal style, motivators and level of influence.
Outcomes
Once the monopoly provider agreed to an initial workshop, and from there, to the creation of two cross-functional working groups, it provided forums with the right people to influence mindset and encourage collaboration for future improvement initiatives.
Careful sequencing of engagements was necessary, and the implementation of revised processes began to deliver demonstrated improvements over the course of several months. Thereafter, the ENS negotiation strategist met weekly with both the operations and executive teams to plan for future upcoming engagements to ensure momentum was not lost and that the solutions delivered were sustainable.
This approach and the turnaround in results broke the deadlock, initiating the shift at an executive level to a collaborative relationship to facilitate the longer-term important growth strategy.
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