"Marketing expertise is central to P&G's business culture, so it was natural to adopt explicit branding and marketing techniques," says Todd Duncan, of P&G's Global Workplace Services.

"Workplace change can be disruptive and threatening to organizations," he says. "Restructuring represents significant change, and not everybody is up to it.

"When you start talking to the head of a division about enabling his or her employees to work anytime and anyplace outside the office, there is a lot of discussion that needs to take place and a lot of resistance can show up," says Duncan. "But Procter & Gamble is pretty good at marketing."

The company employed the following change management tactics to smooth the transition:

Manage the change as a strategy. "Take it seriously," says Duncan. "Be sure to make a good business case that outlines both operational and financial benefits. Set targets as a way to make sure you meet your commitments. Be well organized, well balanced. Do it so you can sell it to your boss."

The team implementing FlexWork also conducts operations reviews with senior management to hold the team accountable for progress and performance against targeted goals.

Implement pilots to demonstrate the benefits to both operating management and employees. The team selected critical operational centers, in Cincinnati, Brussels, and Singapore that were undergoing major housing consolidation projects to test the FlexWork concept.

"That was a way to get the bricks dollars out of the equation," says Duncan. "Instead of employing traditional space standards, the project adopted alternative workplace techniques, which significantly improved utilization and reduced costs."

For example, regardless of an employee's level or function, each is entitled to an identical 8' by 8' open office.

Implementing FlexWork requires a major shift in corporate culture, Duncan explains. Showing how well it has worked in strategic locations will help to implement it corporate wide by 2005.

"Initial employee feedback at the Singapore site has been very positive," he says.

Brand, market, sell. "The boss can tell you to do something, or the boss can convince you that it's the right thing to do," says Duncan. "We make change by changing one mind at a time. We involve people directly through surveys and focus groups, and give them the information they need."

The marketing principles of effective promotion, networking, and repeated exposure are helping WPS make its case for the new FlexWork initiative.

Maintain an external focus. "Look externally, not internally," says Duncan. "You're going to get your good ideas by benchmarking best practices."

Provide loads of support. This can come in the form of training, which is particularly important when the corporation is asking employees to perform new tasks or to perform their old jobs in a new way.

Persistence. "Leave no lead unturned," says Duncan.

L.W.