Situation: ANCA Insurance Brokers
Issues/Pain or Opportunity: Partners in organisation perceived growth of the organisation may have created a need for different management approaches or company structure to retain staff and continue successful business development.
Reasons: ANCA had grown in both staff size and scope with the acquisition of offices in Northern Tasmania. One partner acted as the ‘go to’ for all operational issues and perceived that either he or the organisation may need to adjust approaches to continue.
Capabilities needed: Employee engagement survey to identify the key areas of staff satisfaction and performance as well as benchmark the current status of the organisation; a transparent process to report back to staff what actions would be taken by the company to improve key areas; recommendations from the survey on management approaches.
We provided: After reviews with the Partners, we developed a draft Employee Engagement Survey that was again reviewed before finalisation; We provided support to management in the drafting of a memo to all staff to launch the survey; distributed surveys to return to our organisation. We analysed the results, developed and presented a report and recommended actions to the Partners.
Result: Issues were raised by the staff about the organisation and management in the initial survey; these were communicated to all staff by memo and action plans organised by the Partners including the addition of a General Manager to the practice. Performance in the organisation, satisfaction and engagement are at much higher levels. New ideas were offered by staff and assessed by the Partners. Action steps provided confidence to the Partners that they had addressed staff concerns and invested properly in the long term growth of the business.
Situation: Dorset Council
Issues/Pain or Opportunity: Council needs to benchmark employee satisfaction to focus on continual improvement and has no current measures. Also, employee feedback is informal and Council needs a mechanism for obtaining genuine feedback from staff about current performance and opportunities for improvement.
Reasons: Council has both a Customer Service Charter and an internal Employee Customer commitment that needs to be measured and pro-actively addressed to continuously improve. A commitment to both the staff and community demands Council identify issues as part of risk management and address as part of action plans proactively.
Capabilities needed: Employee engagement survey to identify the key areas of staff satisfaction and performance as well as benchmark the current status of the Council; a transparent process to report back to staff what actions would be taken by Council to improve key areas; recommendations from the survey on management approaches.
We provided: After reviews with the Senior management team, we developed a draft Employee Engagement Survey that was again reviewed before finalisation; We provided support to management in the drafting of a memo to all staff to launch the survey and then distributed surveys with envelopes to return to our organisation. We analysed the results, developed and presented a report and recommended actions to the Senior Management Team. We have returned each year for 2 years to re-survey the staff and report again.
Result: Issues were raised by the staff about the Council and management in the initial survey; these were communicated to all staff and actions communicated in the Council Business Plan. The second report a year later demonstrated dramatic improvements in staff attitude and perceptions about Council and management. Performance in the organisation, satisfaction and engagement are now at higher levels. The third year showed only a slight improvement on the prior year in scoring and demonstrates a continued commitment of Council to retain the positive actions. Each year, new ideas are offered by staff.
Situation: Quadrant Superannuation
Issues/Pain or Opportunity: Senior management team concerned about rapid growth of organisation causing “silo” mentality in staff and negative feedback/attitudes across teams. Performance, internal service and staff retention issues.
Reasons: Quadrant grown rapidly and successfully in recent years from a handful of staff lead by CEO to a senior management team and department orientation. Management team focusing on department priorities and not focusing on communicating the overall objectives of Quadrant to staff on a regular basis.
Capabilities needed: Employee engagement survey to identify the key areas of staff satisfaction and performance as well as benchmark the current status of the organisation; a transparent process to report back to staff what actions would be taken by management to improve key areas; recommendations from the survey on management approaches; re-measurement in the future to identify shifts in perceptions and engagement.
We provided: After reviews with the Senior management team, we developed a draft Employee Engagement Survey that was again reviewed before finalisation; We provided support to management in the drafting of a memo to all staff and attending a staff meeting to launch the survey; distributed surveys to return to our organisation. We analysed the results, developed and presented a report and recommended actions to the Senior Management Team. Returned 14 months later to re-survey and report.
Result: Issues were raised by the staff about the organisation and management in the initial survey; these were communicated to all staff by memo and another staff meeting and action plans organised by management team and staff (through a facilitated session). The second report a year later demonstrated dramatic improvements in staff attitude and perceptions about Quadrant and management. Performance in the organisation, satisfaction and engagement at much higher levels. Each year, new ideas were offered by staff and assessed by management and internal staff group.
Situation: MS Society
Issues/Pain or Opportunity: While the organisation and CEO had moved from strength to strength in the past few years, the desire was to challenge the organisation to identify where it could improve. Staff input in communication workshops supported the idea of a survey to gain more ideas and opinions from their team.
Reasons: MS Society is challenged by no government funding, changing legislation and client demands. MS Society is an award winning and leading organisation that recognises staffs perceptions and opinions greatly impact on service delivery and overall organisational success. The CEO is committed to continuous improvement and supporting a positive staff culture.
Capabilities needed: Employee engagement survey to identify the key areas of staff satisfaction and performance as well as benchmark the current status of the organisation for the future. Confidentiality to encourage genuine comments from all staff. Effective survey analysis and de-briefing to focus management on areas of opportunity for continual improvement in engagement.
We provided: A benchmark section of the Engagement Survey for future years plus a series of other statements linked to current questions and potential issues of the organisation. A tailored survey delivered to staff and confidential by their return to High Performance. Detailed report analysis coupled with face to face de-brief of findings to develop action plans going forward. Follow up advice and support to keep the topic alive in the organisation.
Result: High response rate from staff due to briefing and confidentiality. Excellent feedback to management on the strengths of the organisation. While engaged, the survey demonstrated several opportunities for the organisation to focus upon in the coming year in response to staff perceptions and concerns. Commitment to continued staff and management development sessions in the areas directed by the survey.
