Olga Loffredi, CEOIn an interview with Manage HR, Olga Loffredi, CEO of Vanto Group, shares insights on how the firm initiates coordinated action within an organization to bring about major changes. She also speaks about the unique methodology on which Vanto Group bases its solutions to catalyze client success.
Driving success with a tried-and-tested approach
Vanto Group’s purpose is to enable organizations to produce long-lasting, breakthrough results using its robust consulting methodology. In the work that we do, we’re not only working with companies on how to transform processes and business models. We focus on the people aspect of organizational transformation as our access to successfully causing sustainable change. Olga Loffredi, CEO We have been focusing on this aspect of organizational transformation as our fundamental area of expertise for over 30 years. There are so many offers on the market related to the process and systems aspects of change management. What we bring is the glue—the people element—that makes all of the changes actually work. In other words, we work with our clients to create their desired change as a living culture within their organization.
Catalyzing coordinated action through conversations
It is a common scenario in companies that plans don’t go as expected, regardless of how well thought out they are. There’s often a gap between the proposed plan and its implementation. Vanto Group bridges the gap and drives change within organizations by aligning employees at all levels with the company’s vision and goals through a process we’ve refined over decades.
When working with a client, we start by listening to their challenges through a perspective termed the ‘Network of Conversations™’. This unique perspective allows us to transform an organization by transforming the conversations happening within it. The Network of Conversations™ is multidimensional, meaning we have customized approaches for working across all dimensions of the client’s organization, resulting in employees at all levels experiencing a sense of alignment and ownership. As mentioned before, this provides the glue that makes the desired changes actually stick.
The first dimension involves looking at the long-term future of the organization, including conversations with senior leaders – owners, executives, shareholders. We look with them at their organization’s mission and goals and identify the gap between where they are and where they want to be in the long term, or said in other words – the gap between what is predictable and what is desirable.
The second dimension involves the short- and mediumterm future of the organization, where our focus is on the business units (BUs) and functional areas and identifying gaps. We work with them to create initiatives that drive coordinated action, that ultimately increase performance and deliver results consistent with the long-term future of the organization.
The final and third dimension is what we’ve coined ‘today,’ or ‘now,’ and it refers to all members of an organization, at every level, actually being an expression of the short-, medium-, and long-term futures in their day-to-day work.
Having looked across each dimension, we map out a plan and curate initiatives that will take the organization forward toward their desired future, keeping in mind their size and culture and customizing accordingly. The end result is that people at all levels of the organization experience a sense of ownership of the future of the company, which allows for new levels of creativity, coordinated action and performance that weren’t possible before.
Shifting business models by shifting conversations
Vanto Group once worked with a large mining operation in Latin America. Mining operations are a major financial commitment, as a significant amount of time exists between identifying the mining opportunity and extracting the ore and generating profits. Our client’s business plan was to extract ore from a mining site pre-determined to be at a certain level of quality, but these plans didn’t go as expected. They discovered that the ore was mixed with other minerals and differed significantly in expected quality. Those involved in the project, including the investors, executives, unions and the local communities surrounding the mine were immensely dissatisfied.
Vanto Group was brought in to support the organization in turning the situation around. When we looked across the organization’s Network of Conversations™, we found that people at all levels of the operation had lost hope in the project. We worked with the project team to shift the conversation about their long-term future by having them consider: “Instead of experiencing being trapped by this situation, what other options could we consider?”
What we bring is the glue—the people element— that makes all of the changes actually work
Although this happened several years ago, the issue of shifting business models is one that is absolutely relevant for companies today. Think of all the startups and all the companies that are making major bets on certain business models.
Vanto Group’s key differentiators
We’ve done extensive research and development work to design our methodology, which has been tested and proven for many years. This is one of our major differentiators.
Another major differentiator is our team. Our team comprises a unique group of experienced professionals. We look for three specific qualities within candidates: a track record of and commitment to continuous learning and discovery; an affinity for success in their endeavors, whether through an entrepreneurial pursuit or a traditional career path; and ambition to take on challenges that are transformative to the way business is done. The combination of these three characteristics has given us a dynamic, passionate, and creative team that, when paired with our methodology, offers clients a unique experience. Our hiring criteria ensure we can place experienced professionals at all phases of our solution.
Our team has been supporting clients for over 30 years using our unique methodology and approach. Our core competency is creating, at all levels of the organization, a shared sense of ownership and commitment to fulfilling on the organization’s mission and goals. We spearhead change within the company in a way that allows our clients to create breakthroughs in performance while simultaneously enhancing the quality of life for their people at work, aspects normally not seen together.
