For more than 75 years, Kaman has helped advance the aerospace and industrial distribution industries with technical innovations that achieve increasing levels of efficiency, reliability, safety, and other critical measures of performance. Founded by aviation and rotary-wing flight pioneer, Charles Kaman, the company has built a reputation for groundbreaking solutions, committed customer service, and dedication to its people and community.
With two distinct businesses—Aerospace and Industrial Distribution, an aggressive acquisition strategy, and a dispersed, global workforce of over 5,000, unity and consistency of message are an ongoing challenge. A concerted effort is required to ensure an engaged team and strong brand identity. Our work with the company focuses on creating and delivering consistent, authentic experiences of the company through language, imagery, environments, and interactions, and formulating that work to bring deep cultural benefits.
Working with various organizational teams in addition to the corporate leadership team, we design our engagements as opportunities to bring the enterprise together to collaborate. Whether uniting 11 disparate, divisional websites to present a consistent image to the New York Stock Exchange, involving every employee in creating the company’s first corporate values, or working across all the business units to develop a compelling employer brand, participation is invited, and every voice encouraged.
Creating conditions where employees are able to hold a vision of the future, see their contributions to it, and own the results helps ensure a culture that can innovate and change as the world demands.
Two businesses, one company
From the first web project that unified 11 legacy web properties in preparation for being listed on the NYSE to the most recent website redesign that brought a customer orientation to the forefront, the challenge is always to build around the common themes that run through all of Kaman—no matter the business or the customer.
Uniting around shared ideals
Historically, there was no written record of the standards to which everyone at Kaman was held. They were passed along organically—leaders leading by example. But, with a growing and dispersed workforce, this method was no longer working. Through a process that included every employee, we created and helped launch the company's corporate values.
Respecting the inside story
At its heart, the Kaman story is about people. We balanced the website's business focus with videos that highlight the culture and workforce commitment. Capturing employees in their work environments offering their personal reflections revealed the true source of the company's value.
Connection that bridges distance
As part of ongoing efforts to create a sense of unity among a workforce spread around the world, we worked with the human resources team to launch a new intranet site. Regular updates include stories of business success, corporate values in action, and employee awards.
Identifying and elevating leaders
Programs designed to identify and develop a next generation of leaders are central to the success of any large organization. Our efforts in partnership with Kaman's human resources leaders have helped raise internal awareness of the department as a vital career development resource.
