The situation. Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), operator of Los Angeles International, Ontario, Palmdale and Van Nuys Airports, required a new organization structure and an enhanced operating culture to enable it to accomplish a new set of business objectives. The organization, previously structured to provide efficient service while developing a comprehensive Master Plan, was now faced with the challenge of increasing service quality in the ever-intensifying competitive environment of its industry and delivering an unparalleled series of complex and expensive revitalization and construction projects. The Schnur Consulting Group was retained to develop a cost-effective, employee-lead process to improve internal efficiencies, enhance service, drive performance gains and, in the process, create a culture that was more adaptable, resilient and one capable of sustaining growth.
Key objectives. The goals of the project included:
- Identifying and implementing a new organization structure, one capable of increasing efficiency, service quality and executing its Master Plan
- Developing the foundation of a new operating culture, one that significantly improved cooperation, collaboration and effectiveness
- Creating a high-performance leadership team
- Improving internal communications
- Increasing the ability of staff functions to drive business performance, and, ultimately,
- Increasing the likelihood of the organization to complete the revitalization and construction projects on time and on budget.
Project scope. Activities included:
- Conceiving and implementing a new organization structure
- Development of the foundation of a new “building” culture
- Designing and assisting in the execution of a comprehensive communications plan
- Creating an employee-driven process to enable culture change to be directed and achieved from within, and
- Development of metrics to track the progress of change.
Benefits achieved. To date, benefits include:
- A new organization structure
- Clearly-defined behaviors essential to a building culture
- Creation of an employee-led “design team” to oversee the culture transformation process
- Creation of a set of “sub-teams” to assist the Design Team in developing and implementing communications, training/education, and metrics.
