Global chemical company's multiyear outsourcing transition involved transferring procure-to-pay processes to innovation centers while managing an existing European location.
A global chemical company was in the final stages of a multiyear outsourcing transition when 145 contractors received termination notices—triggering a work stoppage that threatened to derail the entire transformation. The transition had been technically successful from an outsourcing perspective, but the human impact hadn't been adequately managed, and morale had collapsed.
With critical operations at risk and contractor engagement plummeting, leadership needed an immediate intervention to salvage the transition, retain institutional knowledge, and restore enough trust to complete the migration.
We designed and facilitated a 6-week employee engagement and transition support program focused on three imperatives: restore trust, retain critical talent, and ensure knowledge transfer. The approach combined transparent communication about transition realities, career transition support for affected contractors, and knowledge capture processes before institutional expertise walked out the door.
The engagement included structured listening sessions where contractors could voice concerns, career counseling and job placement assistance, documentation of critical processes and tribal knowledge, and creation of alumni network to maintain relationships beyond the transition. We also worked with leadership to identify which contractors held irreplaceable knowledge and structured retention packages accordingly.
The work stoppage was averted, and the outsourcing transition completed on schedule. Of the 145 contractors, key knowledge holders were retained through the full transition period, critical processes were documented before departures, and the majority transitioned to new roles without further disruption.
Beyond avoiding the immediate crisis, the engagement established a model for humane workforce transitions. The knowledge capture process created operational documentation that the company had previously lacked, the alumni network became a source of future contractor talent, and leadership learned that managing the human side of transformation is as important as managing the technical side.
The engagement succeeded because we addressed both immediate crisis and long-term transition. Transparent communication—even about difficult realities—rebuilt more trust than vague reassurances would have. Career support demonstrated genuine care for affected contractors, making them more willing to support transition success. Most critically, identifying and retaining key knowledge holders prevented operational disaster while the transition completed.