Our Work
Here is a taste of how we work with our clients and the results we achieve.
Encouraging employee wellbeing within a government department
The Challenge:
Engaging the workforce to improve employee wellbeing post pandemic
The Department had worked hard and grown considerably during the two-year global pandemic. Employee wellbeing is seen as fundamental to the Department and the challenge now was to understand how the teams could be better supported moving forward.
The Project:
Designing a Wellbeing Survey with high response rate
- Gather information on the wellbeing concerns of employees;
- Gauge the effectiveness of the current support mechanisms in place; and
- Identify further areas to support and encourage employee wellbeing.
The client wanted input to the project from as many employees as possible to build an accurate and full understanding of how it could move forward; completion rate was important. The Wellbeing Group, made up of employees from across the Department, helped to shape the survey and develop the roll-out and communications plan.
The Outcome and Next Steps:
Co-creating and committing to action
Response to the survey was strong with 69% of employees responding – at the high end of the industry average.
Once we had analysed the results, the key findings were presented through a series of employee focus groups. The output from these groups was important. A presentation, report and, importantly, co-created recommendations were prepared for discussion by the Wellbeing Group and the leadership team. This is employee voice in action.
Their discussion and recommendations led to:
- Immediate action. Activities and initiatives were identified which could be implemented quickly and easily across the department. These would support improved communication but also encourage greater wellbeing through regular conversations and more physical activity.
- Commitment to ongoing measurement and support of employee wellbeing. A shorter pulse survey was to be implemented within six months to evaluate progress made and to identify any further issues which impacts employee wellbeing.
- A long-term, strategic view of employee engagement. Immediate action is essential – but it needs to be underpinned by a strategic intent. Themes emerging from the focus groups highlighted the need for a more strategic approach to creating a flexible, responsive, and engaged workforce, looking specifically at work design, collaboration, and critical skills.
- Recognition that pace and transparency was important. The survey and focus groups brought employees together. They welcomed the opportunity to discuss the results and raise issues in a safe environment with those with an openness to listen. Action needed to be timely.
- Clear communication across the Department. The comms plan developed included the agreed recommendations and actions and we shared this right across Department and with other stakeholders.
- A newly designed programme of activity focused on wellbeing. Implementation is ongoing and brings together individual wellbeing and issues such as external engagement, planning and work design. Immediate action is essential – but it needs to be underpinned by a strategic intent. Themes emerging from the focus groups highlighted the need for a more strategic approach to creating a flexible, responsive, and engaged workforce, looking specifically at work design, collaboration, and critical skills.
Embedding values across HR practice within a travel company
The Challenge:
Ensuring company values are understood and acted upon
Candidate attraction and customer attraction are driven in part by the values that an organisation holds – and demonstrates. These are built into the employee proposition.
But a lack of clarity in this can discourage applicants, confuse current employees and dissatisfy customers as employees are seen to be not working together.
We were engaged to develop – and embed into talent practices – an employee proposition that reflected the client’s values.
The Project:
A programme to define the employee proposition
There were three fundamental outcomes required.
- Employees would understand the firm’s desired values and what it expected of them.
- Employees would feel enabled to build stronger and more supportive relationships with each other as well as developing their own skills and understanding.
- New talent would be attracted, hired and retained even in the competitive jobs market.
Our approach is always one of co-creation. In this case the whole employee team was fully involved in the design and delivery the new employee proposition. Over five months, all employees attended three workshops, and worked together in peer groups on specific projects agreed at the outset.
Commitment to this project from the senior team was strong; the client ringfenced time for employees to work on the peer group projects and technology was made available so all employees could participate in our facilitated peer group sessions.
The aim of the peer group projects was to implement a new Employee Passport across the organisation. This passport would be the backbone to talent activities. It considered:
- Recruitment and Induction/Onboarding
- Performance Reviews
- Recognition and Career Opportunities
- Communication
- Learning and Development
The employees were actively involved in generating and testing ideas to make the business better. Through their involvement they were able to find new and effective ways of working with each other and a new recognition of each other’s perspectives. Processes and practice improved through employees driving the change and working collaboratively.
The Outcome and Next Steps:
Practical action to reinforce the desired values and culture
The programme delivered a framework to continue the firm’s growth and success. The team has a greater confidence in understanding what is needed, and how they need to work. This has led to greater collaboration and an improved customer experience.
The programme provided the opportunity for employee engagement and resulted in a set of clear and defined actions. It means that company values and the desired culture is now understood and embraced by new and current employees.
- A standardised induction programme that had been trialled and approved. All new joiners would gain a clearer grounding in the company, its values and its expectations.
- A simplified employee handbook. This reinforced the company values and desired culture.
- A performance review process. This ensures that performance objectives are now aligned to business strategy and the values of the organisation.
- The introduction of personal development plans. All employees now have a clear plan of their areas needing development to perform at a higher level.
- Employee recognition of values. A new approach to recognising those demonstrating the company values has been introduced into weekly team meetings.
- New technologies introduced to help manage internal communications. This would help ensure employees worked more collaboratively, living the values of the organisation.
- A weekly meeting structure to improve communication and encourage input from everyone. Employee engagement is key to ensuring the values and culture are developed.
- Opportunities to improve conversational skills. The client recognised the importance of ongoing, open and regular conversations across the organisation so that all employees could understand how to support the firm’s values.
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