From an organizational project to short-time work – when reality overrides the assignment
How a newly defined project scope created structure, clarity, and financial relief in a volatile market environment.
An organizational project aimed at increasing efficiency shifted in the very first week into a fundamentally different assignment: defining, coordinating, and implementing short-time work for around 700 employees. Leadership of the new scope was directly tied to the executive management team. Over the course of the project, monthly savings of €200k to €400k were achieved, coordination with the works council and the Federal Employment Agency ran smoothly, and employee satisfaction was broadly high across the workforce. At the same time, the original reorganization plan was assessed and aligned with key internal decision-makers.
Project at a glance
- Project:
- From reorganization to short-time work – how quickly uncertain decisions can change
- Client:
- A long-established production site in the manufacturing industry, integrated into an internationally active corporate group.
- Industry:
- Plastics processing
- Company data:
- Several hundred employees at the site, a long company history, part of a larger international group.
- Project goal:
- Review and revision of the organizational plan, support for the new CHRO, and implementation of the organizational changes.
- Role:
- Full leadership of the newly defined project scope, reporting directly to the management team.
- Result:
- Monthly savings in the range of €200k to €400k, smooth coordination with the works council and the Federal Employment Agency, broad-based satisfaction among the workforce.
Initial situation
The assignment began as an “organizational project”: increasing efficiency, optimizing communication, simplifying processes, and easing the burden on the HR function. One special condition was that the Head of HR position was vacant when the project started. The new role holder joined only two weeks after the project began. The original target picture was therefore clearly defined: reviewing and revising the organizational plan, relieving the new CHRO, and implementing the corresponding organizational changes.
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The reality behind the target picture
Within the first few days, it became clear that the clean target picture and the site's actual situation were far apart. The company was under economic strain, operated in a volatile customer industry, and was struggling with capacity utilization issues—under noticeable pressure from the parent group. On top of that, there was remarkable instability at leadership level: 25 changes in C-level positions within 15 years. HR was suffering from a lack of resources, the authorized signatory structure had grown unchecked, and the relationship with the works council was marked by conflict.
Against this backdrop, the project assignment shifted fundamentally in the very first week. What had started as an organizational project became the task of defining, coordinating, and implementing short-time work: works agreements, coordination with the Federal Employment Agency, planning for around 700 employees, and targeted alignment to protect critical projects and customers. The history made it even more difficult: according to the consistent view of management, the works council, and executives, two previous short-time work phases had been chaotic. In situations like these, decision-makers often face the question of how a viable, orderly path can be created at all from a mix of pressure, mistrust, and prior strain.
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Approach and solution
The new project scope was taken on in full and linked directly to the management team. The approach followed the complete methodological sequence in its logical order and depth: from classifying the situation through structured analysis and deriving a concrete roadmap to operational implementation on site. The starting point was a capacity utilization analysis, supplemented by an impact forecast, in order to reliably assess the economic and personnel implications of short-time work. On this basis, structured clarification followed with all relevant stakeholders. The focus was on defining a clear framework: the process and communication for the short-time work were clearly established so that everyone involved—from management to the works council to the Federal Employment Agency—worked from a shared, understandable basis. At the same time, the original reorganization plan was assessed and aligned with key internal decision-makers.
Key measures
- Capacity utilization analysis as a factual basis
- Impact forecast to assess the scope
- Alignment with all relevant stakeholders
- Definition of the framework, process, and communication for short-time work
- Assessment and internal alignment of the reorganization plan with key decision-makers
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Outcome
In the end, there was a structured, reliable short-time work process in place. The results included monthly savings of €200k to €400k as well as a smooth process — including in the often conflict-prone coordination with the works council and the Federal Employment Agency. Within the workforce, the outcome was more than mere acceptance: broad-based satisfaction, because the respective interests were taken into account in such a way that no compromises were necessary. Social hardship was mitigated. Compared with the two previous short-time work phases, which had been experienced as chaotic, this created a clearly structured process.
What was actually in place
- Monthly savings in the range of €200k to €400k
- Smooth coordination with the works council and the Federal Employment Agency
- Broad-based satisfaction among the workforce
- Mitigation of social hardship
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Client quote
"From the very beginning, you created a new level of quality in clarification and structure. This also saved us a great deal of money, effort, and negative experiences in areas that remained invisible. The foundation for this was your competence, openness, and honesty—which I value immensely as Managing Director. Perfect. Job well done!"
Managing Director (anonymized, confidentiality agreement)
What this success story reveals about PRECI
This case shows what matters in the manufacturing SME sector when an assignment changes shape within days: senior executive experience that can immediately take full ownership of a changed scope, and the ability to create decision clarity and robust structures under pressure—instead of slide-deck logic with no practical relevance. What is remarkable is that the individual steps—classifying the situation, analyzing it, deriving a roadmap, and implementing it operationally—remained effective even when condensed under time pressure and consistently led by a senior hand throughout. Here, PRECI combines HR, organization, leadership, and execution into an approach that brings together the interests of everyone involved and channels them into structured, effective action.
This success story, despite its bumpy start, also shows how important it is to create clarity before a project begins. This is why PRECI.expert clearly separates theory first in Modules 1 to 3 (clarity for decision-making) and then practice in Module 4 (clarity in execution).
Facing a similar challenge?
If one of your initiatives is developing differently than planned under real pressure and you are looking for an experienced partner who can engage with management as an equal, an open-ended conversation is worthwhile. We will assess your situation realistically and outline clear options for action. Simply send a message describing your concern to asking-costs-nothing@preci.expert.
