Volcano

Scott Huennekens
CEO – Volcano

“We annually perform an employee survey to understand our culture and achievement of our V-difference objectives. Additionally, this year we wanted to take a deeper dive in the understanding of the organization relative to perceptions regarding diversity. Based on a long standing and trusting relationship I had with Marissa Waldman I included Brainard Strategy into the process by which we choose a partner. I had very little knowledge about Brainard Strategy’s capabilities but I knew that as a public company conducting this type of assessment we would need a credible, experienced and trusted adviser.

Michael, Marissa, and I met, and at that time I was not exactly sure about the right path forward and how to implement the assessment process. I knew that we needed an outside and expert view that could enable us to better understand challenges in and among potentially sensitive area; and then help us to develop a path forward that would be acceptable for the employees, management team, and our board. After our first planning meeting it became quite clear that the team at Brainard Strategy had deep experience, a strong theoretical foundation, and a practical approach that I was eager to support. The Brainard Strategy team partnered with me, my HR team, and two board members to guide us through a global survey that was incredibly painless, fast, and cost efficient. Michael Brainard and Jennifer Konkin brought us the results but more than that a very deep understanding of interpreting the results and guided us toward a pragmatic and effective action plan. Our employees, management team and Board members were impressed with the process and outcomes. We will be leveraging the Brainard team for other types of assessments as they are clearly a unique choice among their peer group.

Michael’s blend of assessment skills, organizational development knowledge, and senior executive presence helped me to get our teams focused on key activities.   The flexible options and Brainard’s customization of the tools used for organizational assessment enabled us to navigate what could have been very choppy waters and we are better for it at the board level, executive team level and organizational level.”