Creating a Strategically Aligned Workforce

This paper focuses on critical success factors in creating an aligned workforce around new strategic goals. Best practices of companies, headquartered in three different continents, are used to illustrate an ideal roadmap. These companies measure and manage their alignment programs in a similar way. Key success factors in creating an aligned workforce appears to be threefold: (1) the managerial efforts aimed at creating alignment should be a joint effort of various specialists, initiated and orchestrated by top management; (2) consistency in behavior of management and internal messaging is crucial and (3) external claims in corporate advertizing should support internal change programs.