Columbia Gas of Ohio

Need:

Columbia Gas of Ohio (COH) had reorganized and restructured in support of a new strategic architecture. Given the change initiatives that characterized the reorganization and restructuring, COH recognized that it needed to identify and hire four senior managers with skills sets that were vastly different from those that had previously defined COH leadership.

Solution:

DDI assisted COH in designing and executing an executive selection process to identify candidates from all levels and functional areas of the organization for the four positions. This selection process included a tool called the Career Achievement Record, which was used to document each candidate's on-the-job leadership experiences and accomplishments, and a full DDI assessment center in which candidates participated in a series of simulation exercises that revealed how they would behave in on-the-job situations reflective of COH's new operational challenges and leadership demands. The selection process also included a panel interview conducted by key COH stakeholders and an interview with a hiring manager. The data gathered from this process guided the selection decisions and was also integrated into a performance feedback summary for each candidate that could be used to direct future development.

Results:

The newly placed senior managers produced positive performance results, including stronger operational performance. Operating costs per customer were reduced from $178 to $139 over a two-year period. In addition, overall customer satisfaction index scores for field visits improved, as did the results of COH's internal culture survey—showing that employees had accepted the restructuring and reorganization.