Reaping the Harvest: The Results of the Transformation

In this chapter, named ‘Reaping the harvest,’ the extensive results of a transformative organizational change process are reported. The one-and-half year of implementation of the Culture/Soba Council within a Portuguese subsidiary in Angola had created company trust and a community at company level. Decision making improved considerably, taking information from the bottom up and vice versa. Workers had found a space to express their needs; time was spent together, and relationships were built. Engagement and motivation went up visibly, and absenteeism and personnel turnover plummeted. Management observed innovative minds expressing themselves and emerging leadership skills they had not seen before. The yearly Company party improved enormously and the handing out of several awards gave the frontliners a chance to express their appreciation for certain colleagues as well as the possible lack of it for management. The evaluation of the Culture Council was very positive, except for a small minority who felt that the Council had a tendency for snitching.