Driving Culture Change with Holaspirit: Insights from Welser Profile

Can you really change the culture of a company that’s been around for 360 years? Believe it or not, the answer is a resounding yes! And if you’re skeptical, just ask our client, Welser Profile. 😉

Welser Profile is a family-owned enterprise steeped in history, with its origins as a blacksmith shop dating back to 1664. By 1960, they revolutionized their operations by developing a roll forming process to create steel profiles, now essential components in industries like construction, transportation and power generation. Today, Welser Profile delivers worldwide, making a global impact.

Key Data about Welser Profile:

• 2,400 employees
• 5 production sites (including Austria, Germany, and the US)
• 11 sales offices in Europe
• 24,500 cross-sections designed and produced

Five years ago, Welser Profile embarked on a mission to foster agility, trust, responsibility, and collaboration within their teams. And what better tool to drive this culture change than Holaspirit?

To dive deeper into this journey, we spoke with Karl Teufl, Holaspirit Guru at Welser Profile, who has dedicated 30 years to the company. Here’s what he shared about their remarkable transformation.

A Culture Change to Foster Alignment and Agility

First, let’s look at what the company looked like before implementing Holaspirit, and what motivated them to make such a drastic culture change. 

Karl Teufl: Previously, each department set its own goals, leading to a lack of alignment and agility across the company. To address this challenge, we embarked on a culture change project in 2018. 

The goal of this project was to adopt a more agile mindset and build trust between employees and leaders. To achieve this, we began by defining our company’s purpose. This allowed us to lay the foundation for organizational transformation and align all teams toward common objectives. 

Choosing the Right Framework and Tool 

Next, we looked for a robust framework to drive our culture change. We quickly realized that Holacracy was the perfect fit, as it not only allowed us to focus on our purpose but also fostered greater trust and accountability among employees. We began by training our employees to cultivate this mindset, first with the help from external coaches, and then with our own in-house coaches.

Afterwards, we sought a tool to implement Holacracy. We tested both Glassfrog and Holaspirit, and ultimately chose Holaspirit for its superior fit. The platform’s user-friendly interface, comprehensive features, and agility-focused design made it the ideal choice for us. For instance, making governance changes is remarkably straightforward with Holaspirit.

Additionally, we had excellent communication with the Holaspirit team, who were and continue to be very receptive to our suggestions for improving the platform.

Implementing Holaspirit: A Step-by-Step Approach

We began implementing Holaspirit in 2022, starting with a small team to build the initial circles, and then expanding step-by-step. Our first test was with the Finance department, who worked with Holacracy and Holaspirit for about a year.

Following this successful test, we decided to roll out Holaspirit across the entire company. We integrated each department one at a time, gradually picking up speed. For instance, we deployed Holaspirit in the Services department over a six-month period, and then implemented it in the next department within three months.

We used a lot of trial and error to identify what worked and what didn’t, gaining valuable insights along the way. The most significant lesson that we learned is that people need to change their mindset to make it work, and that this change must start from the top. Once leaders embrace this change, it becomes more natural for the team. However, it's important to note that this process takes time!

Creating a Hybrid Holacracy-Based Model 

As a production company, we face unique challenges that aren’t fully compatible with the Holacracy framework. On one hand, our 24/7 production line offers no flexibility in working hours, making Holacracy unsuitable for this part of the business. On the other hand, our services operate on a standard 9-to-5 schedule with flexible hours, allowing for the implementation of Holacracy’s principles.

Instead of rigidly applying the Holacracy Constitution, we decided to create a hybrid model that combines the best elements of Holacracy and traditional structures. We call it “the Welser Organizational System”. To create this model, we adopted Holacracy's organizational chart, circles, and meeting structures, while tailoring other aspects to fit our needs. 

Regardless of people’s roles, we also take pride in ensuring our core values remain consistent throughout the company: trusting in our people and providing them with the room to grow.

Enhancing Adoption with a Knowledge Base and Guru

As our platform grew, we decided to create a Holaspirit guru role to help people better understand the tool and how it works. I took on this role and built a Holaspirit knowledge base to centralize all resources in one place, including video tutorials and answers to frequently asked questions. 

‍Employees can use this knowledge base for self-training purposes whenever they want, which means we don’t have to organize additional Holaspirit training sessions for them.

One Goal and One Purpose for All

Implementing this culture change brought us a lot of benefits. Instead of working on different objectives, we now have one purpose and have one goal for all circles, and we work together to achieve it.

Another significant change is that we demonstrate our trust in our employees and solve customer problems together, instead of having each department trying to find a solution on its own. With the new role structure, people feel more responsible and autonomous in their job. We also see employees from all circles suggesting initiatives to evolve these roles, which is very positive.

What I like about Holacracy is that it allows all employees’ talents to shine. If someone excels in multiple areas, they can take on different roles without being confined to a single job description. The ease of changing roles also enhances our agility, which is essential in today’s VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world. 

Scaling Up with Holaspirit

One of our next steps is to increase the number of users on the platform. This year, we grew from 200 to 600 users, and next year we aim to reach 800 active users. Our long-term objective is to ensure that all 2000+ employees can access the platform, at least in read-only mode.

Additionally, we want to deepen our use of the platform. Currently, we primarily use the organizational chart to edit and visualize roles, as well as synch meetings and governance meetings to ensure team coordination.

The next step for us is to start using the Projects app and centralize all our project management on Holaspirit. Another major challenge will be to make Holaspirit compliant with our integrated management system, which requires adherence to several certifications. 

Moreover, we’d like to connect our SharePoint to Holaspirit to facilitate access to our old documentation and begin implementing OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) in the next few years.

Tips and Tricks for Successfully Implementing Holaspirit

Now, if I had to give you some advice on implementing Holaspirit in your organization, I would recommend three key strategies:

1. Create a Holaspirit guru, i.e. a dedicated expert who understands the ins and outs of Holaspirit and can provide guidance.
2. Build your own Holaspirit knowledge base to centralize useful resources and best practices
3. Hold quarterly meetings with the Holaspirit team to track your platform’s metrics and identify areas for improvement.

By following these tips, you'll set yourself up for success with Holaspirit!

To Conclude

The journey of Welser Profile with Holaspirit exemplifies how a well-thought-out culture change can transform an organization. By adopting a hybrid Holacracy-inspired model, they were able to unify their purpose, foster trust, and enhance agility across the company. Initiatives like the creation of a Holaspirit Guru and a comprehensive knowledge base, along with regular metric reviews, have been pivotal in their successful implementation.

Welser Profile's experience shows that with the right tool, framework and mindset, any company can achieve such a culture change. If this is something you’re looking to do as well, please reach out to our team; we’ll be happy to guide you along the way.

PS: Want to learn more about innovative organizational models like Holacracy and how to implement them in your company? Download our latest white paper packed with expert insights 👇

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In our white paper "The Ultimate Guide to Organizational Models", you'll get: a comprehensive overview of innovative organizational models (like Agile, Teal, Holacracy, Constitutional Management, and more), testimonials from pioneer organizations that have successfully adopted it, best practices for choosing, implementing and measuring the effectiveness of our model, as well as digital tools to facilitate the transition.

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