Lamoille Health Partners President and CEO Stuart May envisioned an organizational transformation and a culture shift for the Vermont provider of comprehensive health and wellness services and its 175 employees.
He wanted to attract talented people and provide them with a clear path for growth through continuous learning, helping to make Lamoille Health Partners the premier employer of choice.
May’s vision required several organizational area of focus:
What’s the correct structure and infrastructure for the organization?
How could the company enhance the performance-based employee merit system?
How could he ensure that everyone is aligned with organizational goals and that those goals align with each individual business’s goals?
How was Lamoille Health conducting evaluations and tying compensation to the results?
To achieve his vision and get answers to his questions, May turned to the expertise of Theresa Sweeney Kwayi, CBY Professional Services’ Chief Human Resources Officer and Vice President of HR Consulting. With more than three decades of experience in human resources, Sweeney Kwayi possesses a deep understanding of the intricacies of transforming company culture.
The beginning of a transformational journey
May’s vision for the organization was clear: He wanted to shift its culture and management structure to make it more agile, accountable, and responsive. This shift aligned closely with his strong belief in servant leadership, a philosophy that prioritizes the needs, well-being, and development of team members or employees. It’s an approach that flips the traditional top-down model of leadership on its head, with the leader serving the team rather than the team serving the leader.
In the spring of 2023, three years after becoming CEO, May recognized the need to change the organization’s culture and approach as it embarked on its new strategic plan. As proposals for expansion solidified, it was crucial to establish the correct infrastructure and management model to support growth without the company becoming top-heavy.
May also wanted to ensure that every team member and division of the company not only is accountable for its work but aligned with the organization’s overarching goals.
Bringing in the specialists
Sweeney Kwayi quickly became an invaluable partner and subject-matter expert. Her role extended beyond being an HR consultant; she was instrumental in structuring and guiding the entire transformation process, May says.
Instead of merely presenting ideas and leaving the implementation to Lamoille Health Partners, Sweeney Kwayi laid out a clear path for the transformation. She identified milestones and communicated the reasons behind every step.
Together, Lamoille Health Partners and CBY developed the framework for what is now called the “Leadership Excellence Journey,” which encompasses business goal alignment, performance management system development, and enhanced communication. A primary result of the transformation is the implementation of a performance-based employee merit system that ties individual efforts to organizational success.
Organization-wide impact
Though the transformation is in its first phase, the response from the C-suite employees has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The end result,” says May, “is that we’ll have an improved management structure, everybody is better aligned, and decision making in the hands of the right individuals.”
The transformation process at Lamoille Health is more than a project; it’s a defining journey for the organization.
“They do become true business partners,” May says of CBY. “They challenge us and make sure we have a clear path.”
