Employee Engagement best practice examples Premier Inn Sun Microsystems BSkyB L&Q Kings Lynn & Norfolk Borough Council J Sainsbury Centrica Timberland SouthWest Airlines Nationwide Camelot KPMG W L Gore & Associates AXA Premier Inn Premier Inn has a firm belief that people hold the key to its success and there is focus on employees right across the organisation. The WINcard, its scorecard business performance measurement tool, targets three key stakeholders, people, guests and investors and performance targets are set and monitored; also employees are rewarded and incentivised against these. Reward and recognition of employees takes place as part of a recognition scheme which includes an annual conference with award presentations based on team, hotel and individual achievements. Employee engagement is monitored as part of the WINcard. An engagement survey is held annually, with a summary of the results circulated to every employee. From individual plans, a company action plan is circulated to all employees. The company believes it provides employees with great places to work in and a great product to work with. Premier Inn aims to provide a positive, flexible working environment to help employees combine work and family responsibilities. A dedicated Talent Planning team aims to support and develop individuals from within. Sun Microsystems Managers of virtual high tech teams face particular engagement challenges. Fostering employee engagement needs special attention in a dispersed global environment with flexible working practices, which potentially can cause disconnection, isolation and disengagement. At Sun Microsystems, now part of Oracle, the CEO interacts with employees through a forum on the intranet, which helps employees keep in touch with the corporate goals and direction where feedback and opinions can be expressed to the top team. Technology directions are debated through a blog. Business Unit Heads and Executive Vice presidents hold regular town hall meetings with employees. Various forums, communication media and events maintain information and dialogue including contact with employees families.
BSkyB At BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster has taken steps to encourage involvement and discussion. Sky Forum, an elected body of about 70 employees, puts forward staff views and ideas at regular meetings with the chief executive. A "Joining In" scheme encourages employees to volunteer for community or arts work. The company promotes well being through a programme fostering a healthy lifestyle, called "Keeping Karma". An annual survey of employees keeps in touch with key employee issues. London and Quadrant Housing Association (L&Q) London and Quadrant Housing Association (known as L&Q) has had to devise business strategies to deal with the harsh realities of reduced rents, increased interest rates and very significantly reduced government grant. Leadership and culture change was recognised as a major factor in organisational delivery. To develop leadership at all levels in the organisation and to encourage collaborative learning and working was seen as a core element in meeting L&Q s strategic vision. Based on the principles of collaborative learning, an L & Q Leadership Academy provided an opportunity for leaders to work together to develop the leadership capacity to deliver the 5 Year Corporate Plan and key future strategic initiatives, and to increasingly build a culture of shared leadership. By taking part in the L & Q Leadership Academy, participants have been able to develop their own skills in learning and develop their capacity to lead the learning of others both in formal collaborative learning groups and in their day to day leadership roles. The Executive group collectively summed up their learning process: The outcome of our journey so far has been very significant, described as shifting tectonic plates, a fundamental change.
King s Lynn and Norfolk Borough Council King s Lynn and Norfolk Borough Council ran a campaign to address poor morale, which was reflected in low scores in its staff survey, and overhaul the poor reputation of the council internally and externally. A staff led programme of change was instituted, founded on two way feedback. The initiative involved setting up focus groups to get to the root of the issues, devising an online question and answer forum fronted by the senior management team, weekly team management updates alongside staff briefing notes and face to face core briefings and team meetings, a re launched staff newsletter with an editorial board involving service areas and staff, plus an annual 'It s All About You' staff recognition event, with a revamped induction involving the chief executive. The campaign achieved a significant uplift in scores from the 2007 staff survey 85 per cent agreed they were proud to work for the council. This was also mirrored in dramatically improved resident s satisfaction ratings. J Sainsbury J Sainsbury puts a priority on employee communication. CEO Justin King writes a monthly letter to employees on progress and business plans. It has an active suggestion scheme process to date there have been 30,000 suggestions. Weekly visits by executives to the shop floor, listening to colleagues and finding ways to put their ideas into practice are examples of a listening approach. To track ongoing colleague engagement, the business uses its rolling annual survey 'Talk back' combined with a monthly online survey, the 'Colleague Panel'. In parallel, engagement with customers is a priority through monthly surveys, regular feedback from its loyalty card customer base and weekly checks for what s on the customer s mind. Since 2010 it also publishes quarterly reports on social issues. Centrica Centica tracks customer and employee feedback regularly and takes action on the results. Customer 'net promoter' scores come in weekly or monthly, letting each team see customers' opinions on service they provide. Employees receive feedback through a formal half yearly appraisal which links to performance bonuses. Centrica runs an annual company wide employee survey. An engagement team follows up particular employee issues. For example, feedback was given that there were few thank you s for a job well done. Actions were taken and the score a year later showed substantial improvements. There is now a longer term strategy for integrating employee engagement into the customer focus of the organisation, thereby putting a business value on employee engagement.
Timberland Leisure wear company Timberland believes Making a Difference is Our Job. According to its website, it has a mission to equip people to make a difference in their world. It sees working at Timberland is really about bringing four simple ideas alive: People. It s about carving your own path. And leaving your own footprint. Values. Humanity. Humility. Integrity. Excellence. These are the four core values that we inject into everything we do, every day. Purpose. Creating positive change in our company, community and environment. Any way you can. Passion. Being relentless and driven. And without boundaries. Its People Philosophy is that Timberland is only as good as the people who work here. Whether we re creating a new product, opening a store, or serving the community, we do it better when we do it together. If one person can make a difference, together we can change the world and that s a great return on our investment. It sees that employees can expect opportunities to learn and engage. And a work environment that s positive, inclusive and inspiring. Each and every day. In return it expects commitment to apply your passion and talents, while making a positive impact on the Company, the community, and yourself. The Timberland Company gives its employees paid leave to work as volunteers for a national youth community service organization. SouthWest Airlines Often quoted as a pinnacle of great customer service, SouthWest Airlines is an organisation that puts the employee at the heart of its organisation. Stringent recruitment and selection processes mean that involve the customer mean that it recruits people with the right attitude and approach who take pride in serving the customer. SouthWest s values of family and fun put great emphasis on involving their employees and creating a stimulating place to work. This pays off in the commitment and dedication of its staff. SouthWest is continually voted number one for customer service in US.
Nationwide An organisation noted for its high levels of customer service, Nationwide has created an initiative called Pride, to promote engagement. Of his employees the Managing Director comments I want them to feel proud and committed to working for this organisation. "In getting that right, the passion for Nationwide is shared with our customers. They like us for doing that and are then advocates for the organisation and do more business with us, and our results improve." People initiatives are a key part of a five 'Ps' strategy products, processes, people, pride and performance. If you can get the first four right, you don't have to worry about performance, he says. "And the people equation is the vital, vital ingredient in that mix." Nationwide has developed an effective way of allowing senior managers to listen to the concerns of its employees. On a regular basis large groups of staff come together with a panel of two to four senior managers. The session, called Talkback, encourages employees to talk and debate with their managers on current issues and future plans. There is no agenda and everyone is encouraged to speak out and freely air their views. Camelot Lottery organiser Camelot has measurably improved its customer satisfaction; and engaging and consulting with its people has been an important element of that. Consultation contributes to strategic decisions and influences the development of work programmes. Engagement mechanisms include: A weekly cascade of business information Intranet and company wide email A confidential annual staff survey Staff Consultative Forum Feedback has led to senior manager road shows to improve contact with employees around the UK and regular 'speakeasies' where staff can raise issues confidentially with directors.
KPMG KPMG measures and acts upon engagement levels. "For us, employee engagement is what it's all about," said Nicola Greenway, senior manager, UK people management at KPMG. "It's the link between our people strategy and retention of top talent." WL Gore & Associates WL Gore & Associates (Gore Tex) has become a regular three times winner of the Sunday Times' Best Companies to Work For' award. It takes a very positive, employee centred view of company performance. Employees are all termed associates, and teamwork is so important that colleagues' rating of each other is a contributor to pay. A senior manager highlighted the unique company culture: "It's belief in the individual. We try to let people do things they are good at as opposed to forcing them into things they are not good at. A lot of why we have been successful is down to the way we treat people and how people react to that. It works for us and makes us a good place to work, and a very productive place to work." AXA Insurer AXA sought to rebrand itself with a new strap line "Redefining standards". The company aimed to remove the impression which market research told the company, that it was seen as cold and impersonal, that it needed to become an insurer of choice and tackle the general decline in trust in financial institutions that had been arisen from the financial crisis. A traditional approach would have been simply to spend money on marketing and advertising, and indeed a substantial sum 4million, was allocated to do so. However, importantly, changes went on within the company which meant that the process was much more effective. AXA set up a branding task force made up of functions right across the business and not just marketing, canvassing executives, customers and employees. Three attributes emerged, that the company must be available, attentive and reliable. The next step was the identification of exactly what behaviours and competencies were needed to achieve these, both from managers and from people dealing with the customer on front line. The resulting high levels of engagement were much more effective because it led to increased levels of commitment and understanding. One of the implications that came out was the employee expectation that managers needed to be role models of the new values. A lot of time and effort has therefore gone into leadership programmes and also into performance management, action plans and monitoring based around new competencies. The customer is noticing an improvement, according to customer satisfaction ratings.