THE CHALLENGE
HAKS was one of New York City’s premier engineering, building inspection and surveying firms until the it was rocked by a crisis in the C-Suite and faced a mass exodus of employees, as well as the potential loss of large accounts from clients who were blind-sided by the scandal.
THE APPROACH
The first challenge we faced was to reestablish trust with the employees and remind them that the strong company culture they so valued still remained and that the problem wasn’t systemic, but lay only with a couple of rogue individuals at the top.
To accomplish this we focused on rebranding the organization with a particular emphasis on its people. After many collaborative sessions with internal groups the EXCEL.TOGETHER. positioning was born, reflecting the collaborative and family culture inherent in the business.
The brand had to also communicate a fresh ‘Under New Management’ dynamic to clients and also support a new targeted private sector strategy devised to grow sales. We worked closely with senior management and created the new name – ‘ATANE’ with the descriptor line, ‘Design and Construction Consultants‘, to clearly communicate the company’s areas of subject matter expertise.
This extensive positioning and rebranding program was expedited and completed in 4 weeks, after which the new President delivered the following motivational message to over 600 relieved employees.
“At ATANE our goal is to attain great things and EXCEL.TOGETHER.
To do that we’ll strive everyday to improve the communities in which we work and live, while enhancing the social and economic conditions for all who work here.”
