Building a System for Critical Frontline Connection
Groendyke Transport: A Case Study in Leader-Led Culture™
Groendyke Transport operates in a safety-sensitive sector of transportation, hauling hazardous chemicals, petroleum products, and other bulk materials. In that environment, frontline professionalism, strong relationships, and consistent leadership are essential.
To strengthen those connections, Groendyke partnered with ADVISA to better understand employee experience, equip leaders with practical tools, and build a more intentional culture of alignment and trust.
Challenge
Groendyke’s work demands more than operational excellence. It requires trust, consistency, and strong relationships between leaders and the frontline employees who represent the company every day.
As Groendyke continued to grow, leaders wanted a more intentional way to understand employee experience and strengthen connection with drivers and frontline teams. The goal was not simply to gather more data. The goal was to help leaders interpret feedback, identify what employees were experiencing, and use those insights to have better conversations.
For a company that had recently turned 90 years old, that also meant challenging long-standing habits. As Holly McCormick explained, organizations can fall into the paradigm of, “This is the way we’ve always done it.” Groendyke wanted a partner who could help leaders consider what might need to shift — without telling or selling, but by bringing outside perspective and practical support.
Groendyke Transport turned 90 years old this year, and so we fall into the paradigms of, “This is the way we’ve always done it.”
Holly McCormick, Vice President Talent Office
Solution
ADVISA helped Groendyke turn employee experience work into a repeatable leadership process. Through survey insights, behavioral data, coaching, and leadership development, leaders gained tools to better understand their people, interpret feedback, and apply what they learned in day-to-day conversations.
“Activate” driver
Build commitment from the top.
ADVISA worked with the executive team to clarify priorities, reinforce the importance of employee experience, and connect culture work to the realities of a frontline, safety-sensitive business.
Services included:
- Executive team consulting
- Senior leadership alignment
- Culture and employee experience strategy
“Target” driver
Establish desired future state.
Groendyke wanted leaders and employees aligned around more than tasks and transactions. The organization needed a shared understanding of what great leadership looked like in the business — especially when connecting with drivers and frontline employees.
ADVISA helped Groendyke translate employee feedback and leadership priorities into a clearer target for leader behavior, communication, and connection.
Services included:
- Employee experience survey strategy
- Leadership alignment conversations
- Culture priorities and action planning
“Lead” driver
Develop confidence and capability.
Groendyke leaders received training, coaching, and development experiences designed to help them lead with greater self-awareness, consistency, and confidence. The work helped leaders better understand themselves, their teams, and the behaviors needed to build stronger relationships with employees.
Services included:
- Leadership development through ADVISA Leadership Academy, Leadership Fundamentals, and Leadership Accelerator
- Predictive Index training and behavioral insight
- EQi coaching, 360 reviews, and employee experience coaching
- Team development
- Custom workshops based on Groendyke’s needs
“Apply” driver
Improve performance with people data.
Groendyke did not want employee feedback to sit in a report. The company wanted leaders to understand the data, talk about it, and use it to improve the employee experience.
ADVISA helped leaders interpret employee experience survey results and translate those insights into practical next steps. Leaders were equipped to ask better questions, identify patterns, and connect feedback to day-to-day leadership behavior.
Services included:
- Predictive Index behavioral data
- Employee experience survey insights
- Leadership coaching tied to employee feedback
- Practical action planning
“Scale” driver
Enable behavior change.
To sustain the work, Groendyke used tools and processes that helped reinforce leader self-awareness, team understanding, and consistent application over time. The Predictive Index platform gave leaders a common language for behavioral drives, communication, and team dynamics.
Services included:
- The Predictive Index platform
- Behavioral data tools
- Ongoing workshops and coaching
- Repeatable leadership development processes
Results
Through its partnership with ADVISA, Groendyke moved employee experience from a survey exercise to a more practical leadership discipline.
With support from ADVISA, Groendyke leaders gained tools to better understand what employees were experiencing, interpret feedback, and turn insight into action. Leaders used behavioral data, coaching, and employee experience insights to improve conversations with drivers, frontline employees, and teams across the organization.
During the partnership, Groendyke has continued to achieve notable business milestones.
In 2024, the company earned its record ninth NTTC North American Safety Champion Award, also known as the Heil Trophy. The award recognizes the tank truck carrier with the best overall safety record and program in its division. Groendyke is the only nine-time winner of the award.
Groendyke has also continued to grow.
In 2024, the company completed its acquisition of the tank truck assets of Linden Bulk Transportation, expanding its footprint into Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey and giving Groendyke terminals in 18 states.
For Groendyke, frontline connection is not a soft culture initiative. It is part of how leaders support professionalism, safety, and performance in a distributed, high-stakes business.
As the business grows and the work remains complex, Groendyke’s leaders need more than good intentions. They need repeatable ways to listen, interpret feedback, and keep employees connected to the company’s purpose and standards.
Continued Partnership
Groendyke’s partnership with ADVISA has continued because frontline connection requires ongoing reinforcement. In a distributed business, culture is shaped through repeated leadership behaviors, practical tools, and everyday conversations.
ADVISA continues to support Groendyke with leadership development, behavioral insight, employee experience coaching, and custom workshops that help leaders turn data into action.
Discover the advantage of Leader-Led Culture™
To learn how ADVISA can help transform YOUR organization, request a free consultation today.