Read the case A Cultural Transformation at Southeastern Grocers. You will likely need to read the case
several times and make notes. Allow yourself adequate time for this.
Assume the role of chief people officer at Southeastern Grocers (SEG). Create a plan for a change
initiative at SEG. Do not focus on sustaining the changes the company has already undergone. Instead,
determine what other change(s) SEG needs to make in addition to those mentioned in the case. Your
change initiative must be feasible, concrete, and HR-centric. Consider focusing on one particular workforce
topic (e.g., diversity and inclusion, trust in company leadership, attracting new talent) in which HR can lead
a significant change. Your plan should contain both an executive business brief and a change vision video:
1. Executive Business Brief
Write a 2-3-page brief that identifies a necessary organizational change. Think of this brief as a
summary document to be shared with SEG’s senior leadership. Your brief must address the
following prompts:
A. How would you describe SEG’s company culture?
B. Describe your change initiative. Why is it necessary?
C. Explain your change plan:
i.
What is your change vision? How do you define it?
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Is there a sense of urgency? How will you generate it?
How will you create a guiding coalition of key stakeholders and early adopters?
How will you communicate your change vision to SEG employees?
What are the potential risks of your change initiative?
How will you determine whether the change initiative is successful?
2. Change Vision Video
Using Zoom, create a 2-3-minute video that compellingly presents your change vision. Think of
this video as a pitch to SEG employees. You need their buy-in for your initiative to accomplish
anything; you have to generate excitement. Your main points should be simple and memorable,
and you should convey an appropriate amount of urgency. Make sure you answer the following
questions in your video:
a. What is the change you are advocating for?
b. Why is this change important and necessary for SEG?
Sample Answer
Executive Business Brief
To: Southeastern Grocers Senior Leadership Team From: Chief People Officer Date: October 26, 2023 Subject: Proposal for a New Change Initiative: Fostering a Culture of Trust and Psychological Safety
A. Description of SEG's Company Culture
Based on the recent cultural transformation, Southeastern Grocers (SEG) has evolved from a decentralized, siloed, and hierarchical organization into a more agile, customer-centric, and collaborative one. The previous culture was characterized by a lack of trust, poor communication, and a top-down management style. Under the new leadership, the company has successfully shifted toward empowerment, a focus on purpose, and a more open, transparent environment. While these changes are commendable and have led to significant improvements in employee engagement and financial performance, a deeper, more enduring cultural transformation is needed. The current culture, though improved, still lacks a formalized structure for psychological safety and building deep-seated trust across all levels, particularly between frontline associates and management.
B. The Change Initiative: Fostering Psychological Safety
My proposed change initiative is to formally embed a culture of psychological safety throughout Southeastern Grocers. This means creating an environment where employees feel safe to speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes, and share new ideas without fear of retribution or humiliation. This is necessary because, despite our recent successes, a significant number of our employees—especially our frontline store associates—may still feel hesitant to challenge the status quo, voice concerns about operational inefficiencies, or provide feedback to leadership. This is a lingering effect of our old, hierarchical culture. Without psychological safety, we risk losing valuable insights from the people who interact most with our customers. This initiative is the next logical step to unlock innovation, improve problem-solving, and ensure our employees feel truly valued and respected, which will, in turn, drive long-term business success.
C. The Change Plan
i. Change Vision: Our vision is to become an organization where every employee, from the distribution center to the store floor, feels empowered to speak their mind and contribute their best ideas. We define this as a culture of unfiltered feedback and fearless innovation. This is a workplace where a cashier can suggest a new layout for the checkout area, a stocker can propose a more efficient inventory process, and a regional manager can challenge a corporate directive, all without fear of negative consequences.
ii. Urgency: The sense of urgency is real and growing. Our competitors are not standing still. The retail grocery landscape is fiercely competitive, and companies that can harness the collective intelligence of their entire workforce will be the ones that win. We need to create an environment where we can move faster, innovate more, and solve problems from the ground up. The alternative is falling back into complacency, risking stagnation, and losing the hard-won gains from our recent transformation. We will generate urgency by sharing customer and operational data that demonstrates the business impact of a lack of open communication, such as missed sales opportunities or inefficient processes. We will highlight competitor innovations that could only have come from a culture that values all voices.
iii. Guiding Coalition: The guiding coalition will be cross-functional and multi-level. It will include senior leaders who are already champions of our cultural shift, key store managers who can act as early adopters, and influential frontline associates who are respected by their peers. We will also include representatives from supply chain, IT, and marketing to ensure a holistic approach. This coalition will be responsible for piloting new communication tools, providing feedback on our initiatives, and advocating for the change within their respective teams.
iv. Communication: Our communication strategy will be multi-faceted and consistent. It will start with a company-wide video message from our CEO and me, outlining the vision and its importance. We will then host town halls, both in-person and virtual, where employees can ask questions and share concerns. We will create a dedicated internal microsite with resources, FAQs, and a progress tracker. Most importantly, we will roll out small, incremental changes at the store level, such as "listening sessions" with senior leadership and a "speak-up" campaign that highlights employees who have shared valuable ideas.
v. Potential Risks: The primary risk is a lack of buy-in, particularly from mid-level managers who may be accustomed to a more traditional, top-down leadership style. They may view this change as a loss of authority. Another risk is the perception that this is just another "flavor-of-the-month" HR initiative without real substance. We also face the risk of a new idea being rejected, which could reinforce old fears and undo our progress. We will mitigate these risks through targeted training for managers on servant leadership and by celebrating every successful employee-led idea, no matter how small.
vi. Success Metrics: We will measure success t