Janice Deskus
CHRO
Staples
Episode 349
The Real Secret to Big Change: Understand Your Org's Soul & Develop the Whole Self
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleJanuary 14, 2025 · 15:56
Thesis
“Successful large-scale change and organizational transformation depend on a deep understanding of an organization's history, present, and future goals, coupled with relentless, empathetic communication and a holistic approach to leadership development that prioritizes the 'whole self' of employees.”
Show notes
This episode of the Built by People podcast features Janice Deskus, an experienced HR leader with over 30 years of experience. Host Dave D'Angelo dives deep into Janice's extensive career, from her early days in HR at United Technologies to leading major transformations at companies like Danaher, Cigna, Aetna, Covidian, and Staples. Janice discusses her approach to change management, including her experiences navigating Staples' significant transitions under private equity ownership and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. She shares her innovative strategies for fostering leadership and effective change management, including a unique program developed in collaboration with Babson College. The episode also explores the restructuring of Staples into three entities and the strategic initiatives that helped rebuild momentum post-pandemic. 00:45 Welcoming Janice and Her Career Journey 03:48 Experiences in Change Management at Staples 05:46 Challenges and Opportunities During Staples' Restructuring 08:26 Navigating the Pandemic at Staples 11:16 Innovative Leadership and Change Management Approaches 14:25 Parting Advice on Change and Transformation 15:49 Conclusion and Farewell
What you'll take away
- 1Change management requires a tailored approach based on deep organizational understanding (past, present, and future), rather than a generic 'standard recipe.'
- 2Holistic leadership development programs that encourage individuals to define and pursue their 'ideal self' (personally and professionally) lead to broader benefits across all life aspects.
- 3During major organizational restructuring, especially when entities remain physically co-located, consistent and clear communication is paramount to ensure both employees and customers understand the new delineations and operations.
- 4To navigate market disruptions, organizations must pivot by diversifying business models, exploring ancillary services, and maximizing existing assets like robust distribution channels.
- 5Effective change efforts demand persistent and empathetic communication, focusing on the 'why' behind changes and ensuring employees understand how company goals connect to their own experiences and concerns.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Janice advocates for a leadership development program that is not 'your standard leadership program' but rather focuses on an individual's 'overall full-picture ideal self,' believing that personal growth will trickle into professional leadership capabilities.
In Janice's words
“Every time you come into an organization, you have to really take a step back and understand where has the organization been, what is it actually trying to change, what's the reason, what's the rationale, the business strategy, whatever it is that's prompting some level of change.”
This highlights the foundational principle that effective change management starts with a deep, context-specific understanding of the organization's past, present, and future goals.
“Similarly, for the employees, it was very important for us to make sure folks understood where the delineation was.”
This emphasizes the critical challenge of internal clarity for employees during complex organizational restructuring, particularly when new entities share physical space.
“Over the years, we have gotten much better in terms of integrating and making sure we're talking. So the CHROs from the 3 entities, as an example, we have spent a lot of time over the last 6 or 7 years making sure we all know what each other is doing and making sure we're managing either the customers, if there's impact to our customers, or to the employees going forward.”
This illustrates the practical application of cross-functional communication and integration at an executive level to manage complex multi-entity operations effectively.
“But rather, we talked about what is your overall full-picture ideal self? And we spent the first year working with folks not on how they would necessarily be a better leader at Staples, even though that was a bit of a, of an ancillary benefit. It was more helping them to really spend time and focus and give them some structure around thinking what is their ideal self in the future.”
This quote describes an innovative, holistic approach to leadership development that prioritizes personal growth and self-reflection as a pathway to professional improvement.
“Communication is one of the fundamental building blocks of any kind of a change effort, and it will make or break you. So don't in any way ever feel like you're overcommunicating because it's never enough.”
This powerful advice underscores the non-negotiable importance of constant and clear communication in any organizational change, emphasizing that perceived 'overcommunication' is often just enough.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Employees in co-located but legally separate business entities struggle to understand the distinctions in policies, resources, and leadership, leading to internal confusion.
- •Companies can lose significant customer connectivity and market share when customer purchasing habits rapidly shift due to external factors like a pandemic, diverting business to consumer-focused channels.
- •Organizations undergoing long periods of distress often underinvest in leadership and general employee development, creating a talent and engagement deficit that needs strategic redress during turnarounds.
- •Communicating the value proposition of B2B contracted services becomes challenging when individual employees resort to retail purchasing, obscuring the inherent discounts and benefits for the customer organization.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Your career goes back about 30 years at this point
The Journey of Chief Human Resource Officers
Janice Johnson has been with Staples since 2007 and helped lead change management
Janice Hawkins on Change Management at Staples
Staples recently underwent a major restructuring, splitting into 3 entities
In 2015, Staples Split into 3 Businesses
The pandemic posed unique challenges for Staples as an office supplies company
Staples CEO on the Pandemic
Janice Miller implemented innovative leadership programs at Staples during times of transformation
Janice Staples: The Company's Leadership Program
Jenice, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
Janice Flannery on Change and Large-Scale Transformation
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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