Client: Co-op Food Stores
Location: Upper Valley, New Hampshire and Vermont
Duration: 12 months
Overview
Co-op Food Stores engaged DMC during a significant organizational transition. The senior leadership team had departed, and a newly appointed general manager was beginning their role. Internal challenges had strained relationships, weakened trust, and created disconnects across stores, central administration, and governance.
DMC’s engagement combined employee culture and climate assessment, executive team development, and board assessment and training to establish a stronger foundation for organizational effectiveness.
Employee Culture and Climate Assessment
During the first two months, DMC engaged more than 110 employees through interviews, listening sessions, and workplace shadowing across Lebanon, Hanover, White River Junction, and the Service Center. Participants included frontline employees, supervisors, and managers.
The assessment examined leadership trust, communication, recognition, accountability, staffing, onboarding, and professional growth. Employees expressed pride in the Co-op’s mission and strong relationships within their immediate teams, while identifying inconsistent practices and limited collaboration across departments, shifts, and locations.
DMC translated these findings into recommendations to:
- Strengthen communication and connections between store teams and central administration.
- Establish consistent expectations for workplace conduct, accountability, and responding to employee concerns.
- Improve onboarding, recognition, performance feedback, and advancement pathways.
- Address staffing and compensation concerns affecting morale and retention.
Executive Leadership Development
Building on employee feedback, DMC facilitated training with the general manager and leaders responsible for finance, marketing, operations, and human resources. Sessions helped the newly assembled team establish shared expectations, set goals, and develop strategies for working together.
The work connected leadership development to employees’ daily experiences, helping executives identify ways to improve coordination, support store teams, and respond more consistently to concerns.
Board Assessment and Governance Development
Separately, DMC gathered input from the Co-op’s member-elected Board of Directors to assess board dynamics, collaboration, and its working relationship with the new general manager.
DMC facilitated training on governance, role clarity, board alignment, and behaviors that could undermine organizational effectiveness. Members examined past challenges, clarified their responsibilities, and identified practices to strengthen collaboration within the board and its partnership with management.
Results and Lasting Value
The 12-month engagement gave the Co-op a clearer understanding of employee experiences and the leadership and governance practices contributing to organizational challenges. DMC delivered an assessment report, actionable recommendations, and facilitated development sessions that established shared priorities across employees, executives, and the board.
The partnership created a stronger foundation for employee support, purposeful leadership, and organizational alignment. Strategies introduced through the engagement continue to inform the Co-op’s practices and its service to employees, customers, and members.