1

Turning Employee OpinionsInto Business SuccessA Case Study for the Colorado SHRM “Season of Change” Conference

Track E – 1:15 – 2:45 September 6, 2007

2

Facilitator Introductions

Casey Mulqueen, PhDDirector Research, TRACOM Group

Bob SchwietermanVice President Performance Consulting, TRACOM Group

3

Once Upon a Time…

When a large multi-national company was conducting its bi-annual ritual, an employee opinion survey, it decided to take a different and unique approach…

Rather than using the survey results topinpoint the problems, the company used

the results to pinpoint the solutions.

And to their surprise, they foundmany “Great Places to Work”right within their own company.

4

What You Will Take-Away From This Session

• Importance of focusing on and appreciating what is working well in the organization.

• The essential steps for utilizing an employee opinion survey to identify areas of strength in the organization and replicating those across the enterprise.

• Exercises and templates for running this process back on-the-job.

5

The Approach

We will present a case study from a large multi-national organization where Employee Opinion Survey (EOS) data uncovered departments rated by employees as “Great Places to Work”, and as operationally high performing.

The company used Appreciative Inquiry interviews to uncover best practices within these departments. Some practices were unique to specific locations, while others lent themselves toward implementation throughout the organization.

The company communicated the best practices and shared them across the organization. This stimulated change and improvements in organization-wide effectiveness.

6

The Situation The organization consisted of two global business units.

It employed more than 35,000 staff and had operations in over 65 countries.

The company possessed market leading brands yet it was undervalued in the stock exchanges.

By most opinions, the company performed sub-optimally.

Employee retention was an emerging and costly issue.

The company did not have a common culture and employees and the market viewed it as a holding company.

Change Required!!

7

Getting the Change StartedA new Chairman and CEO were hiredto install a unitary management structure.

A new strategy was created to move from a holdingcompany to an enterprise.

For the new strategy to be successful, change was needed:

Global enterprise culture Common values Engaged employees Innovative thinking Skillful leaders

8

“The Journey”

“Being considered a great place to work by employees, customers and communities doesn’t happen overnight. Companies that look for a quick fix on becoming a great workplace fail quickly. Those that genuinely aspire to being viewed as a truly great place to work accept the organizational change, commitment, and principles required – and they step up to the challenge.”

As with any successful change effort, a set of core principles were needed to be embraced and a roadmap to navigate the change was required.

9

Great Workplaces Require Great Leaders

Creating great workplaces in our units, divisions and departments is a key responsibility of our leaders and one we take very seriously.

Our leaders carry out this responsibility by exemplifying the character traits of leaders in great workplaces.

Leaders need to assess themselves against these traits, acknowledge strengths and address limitations.

Senior leaders need to unequivocally demonstrate that this is a key priority. They demonstrate this priority by providing support to managers and holding leaders accountable.

The HR function has a key role to play by partnering with operating leaders to help create positive, fair, energizing, and high-performing organizations.

10

Why do you choose to work

for your company?

11

A Great Place to Work (GPTW)

• Ability to be oneself• Socially friendly and welcoming atmosphere• Sense of “family” or “team”

How it Plays Out in the WorkplaceHow it Plays Out in the Workplace• Communications are open and accessible• Competence in coordinating human and material

resources• Integrity in carrying out vision with consistency

• Support professional development & show appreciation• Collaborate with employees in relevant decisions• Care for employees as individuals with personal lives

• In personal job, individual contributions• In work produced by one’s team or work group• In the organization’s products and standing in the

community

• Equity—balanced treatment for all in terms of rewards• Impartiality—absence of favoritism in hiring and

promotions• Justice—lack of discrimination, process for appeals

DimensionDimension

CredibilityCredibility

RespectRespect

PridePride

FairnessFairness

TT

RR

UU

SS

TT

CamaraderieCamaraderie

Source: The Great Place to Work® Institute. *The Great Place to Work® Institute selects the “100 best companies to work for” for Fortune Magazine and has studied employee experience in the workplace for nearly 25 years.

12

SOURCE:

Russell Investment Group, 2006

Source: The Great Place to Work® Institute

Great Places to Work Out Perform the Market

13

The ProcessGather the Data:

•Link EOS to GPTW•Analyze Departments•Select Best Performing

Find the Great Places to Work:

•Interview Best Performing Departments

•Benchmark External “Great” Companies

Replicate Them

• Select organization-wide best practices

• Take action

14

The ProcessGather the Data:

• Link EOS to GPTW• Analyze Departments• Select Best Performing

15

Link EOS to Great Places to Work

Step 1Used the EOS to find questions that measure attributes of a Great Place to Work.

Step 2Reviewed all EOS questions to find alignment with Great Places to Work principles.

Step 3Conducted statistical analysis to verify (and discover) questions that factored together.

Final set of questions was based on correlations to one another and comprehensive coverage of the Great Places to Work.

16

The Question Set – How does your company rate?

1. I am satisfied with my opportunities for personal growth and development

2. How do you rate the ability of top management of the company?3. I have trust and confidence in the overall job being done by my

immediate manager/supervisor4. The amount of work I am expected to do is reasonable5. How would you rate the senior leadership team of your company on:

genuinely valuing people?6. I am permitted to make the decisions necessary to do my job

effectively7. In my part of the company, we work effectively as a team8. At this company, my job makes good use of my skills and abilities9. In general, policies and programmes help employees balance work and

personal life10. I would recommend this company to others as a good place to work11. How would you rate this company as a place to work, compared to

other companies that you know about?12. Everything considered, how would you rate your overall satisfaction

working here?

17

Analyze Departments 148 departments analyzed across the

organization, representing all divisions.

50 to 100 employees per department.

Departments rank-ordered by average score across all 12 GPTW items.

Top scoring departments verified by senior leadership, i.e. GPTW departments had good reputations and were financially strong.

18

Select Best Performing

20 top-scoring departments.

Represented each major division and international location (U.S., U.K., Europe, Asia).

19

The Process

Find the Great Places to Work:

• Interview Best Performing Departments

• Benchmark External “Great” Companies

20

Bright Ideas Come From Within!

21

Interview Best Performing Departments

“Listening Tour” was launched.

Appreciative Inquiry interview protocol developed to understand workplace behaviors and processes that lead to a great workplace.

HR teamed with key business leaders to conduct group interviews.

22

Interview Best Performing - Outcomes Common themes were found across

departments, regardless of division or culture.

High correspondence between interview themes and EOS analysis.

Themes corresponded with GPTW themes, but were made unique by the client.

23

What Did It All Come Down To???

24

Great Workplaces Require Great Leaders Transformational Leadership:

If you allow people to explore without fear, they find the freedom to innovate. You have to move people out of the silos that you have created for them. Our Advertising is a prime example of this. They are constantly innovating. They are obviously in an environment where they feel safe and can extend their thinking.

Humility:

All our leaders are approachable, no hierarchy is defined. You can speak to anyone if you have a problem. They are authentic in their approach to us and we respect that.

25

High Standards:

Many departments do their own mini surveys on customer satisfaction. We've seen a huge difference in customer satisfaction. We are closer to the customers, and have introduced new services to them (e.g., concierge services). We take care of them.

Clear Communication:

Our unit shares its vision so we're always clear on our mission, and leadership truly wants each individual to succeed.

Great Workplaces Require Great Leaders

26

Opportunities for Development:

I moved from [department A} to the [department b]. This said to me that the company believes that I can do it. I have grown enormously out of this opportunity. It has allowed me to see and experience the other side of the business.

Camaraderie:

The air conditioning broke in our call center, customers depend on us…our manager brought in an ice cream truck and made sure everyone had a constant supply of ice water… no one left because we felt she was in there supporting us all the way.

Great Workplaces Require Great Leaders

27

Shared Purpose and Support:

There is a flexibility here that allows you to balance your life. But you are still held accountable for delivery in every sense.

Great Workplaces Require Great Leaders

28

Benchmark External “Great” Companies

Analyzed and visited 20 of the world’s highest rated ‘Great Places to Work’

What’s making the difference …. What are they doing?

29

OutsideAt

companies studied

Transformational Leaders Leadership tends to be transformational and described

as open, reliable and credible.

Humility Leaders are humble and grateful to employees for their commitment and talents. They genuinely care about and respect employees, are not arrogant, actively seek out ideas, and are approachable by everyone.

High StandardsLeaders set high and fair standards for their groups and hold people accountable, while providing them with the resources and information needed to succeed.

Clear CommunicationLeaders are crystal clear and transparent. They tell it like it is, are candid and honest, and as a result are viewed as highly trustworthy by employees.

Opportunities for DevelopmentLeaders care more about the success of others than their own, and actively support the development of employees.

CamaraderieThe cultures are friendly. People care about others and camaraderie is high.

Shared Purpose and SupportThe team members are committed to a common purpose and proud to say they work there.

InsideAt top-scoring

locations

The Themes were the Same

30

The Process

Replicate Them

• Select organization-wide best practices

• Take action

31

Select Organization-wide Best Practices

Develop Recommendations

Gain Support from Senior LeadershipConference of the top 200 leaders across

the organizationGreat Places to Work research and

recommendations presentedLeaders provided ideas and are being held

accountable to implement

32

WHAT Making the company a high-performing, great place to work

HOW Committing to this journey and taking the first steps

WHO Everyone has a role

Throughout this toolkit, actions for each group to take will be shown with the corresponding icon.

Watch for the toolbox to find tools and resources to help.

Take Action

33

• Communicate! Start a dialogue with employees.

• Use these tools for discussion:

• Bright Ideas booklet - describes the research done internally and externally on great workplaces and the key leadership traits identified

• TopDog Learnings booklet - illustrates creative and innovative ways leaders at other high-performing companies are creating great workplaces

• Share your leadership development plan and the results of your organizational assessment.

Download copies from the website

Let employees know that we are working to create an even better workplace, and why. Solicit their input and participation.

Take Action

34

How are you doing as a leader?

Complete the 360° leadership assessment. What behaviors and beliefs do you exhibit that help make a great workplace for your team? In what ways can you improve?

How is your organization (department or area) doing?

Complete the organizational assessment. How well does your organization reflect the characteristics of a great workplace? What improvements can be made?

Take Action

35

To help you… Use…

Find the right people Recruiting Tools and Job Board

Welcome new employees and bring them on board

Demonstrate how we care for employees and the communities we serve

Get off on the right foot with teams

The New Manager Assimilation Process

Help employees develop and grow

The Job BoardThe Personal Development Process (PDP) and toolsThe One-to-One Coaching Program

On-boarding Tools

Highlights of benefit programs

36

• Leaders complete self-assessments and action plans.• Build action plans into KPOs.• Top Dog Tour completed for selected leaders.

• CEO-reviews of assessments and actions• Updates from HR Center of Excellence teams

• Conduct Employee Opinion Survey.• Repeat process - identifying best sites and conduct listening tour.• Results compared and improvement plans developed.

Current Status

Creating a Shared Need: Focus on developing tools and training Summer 07

Mobilizing Commitment: Focus on reflection & action planning Fall 07

Making it Real: Focus on senior leader reviews First Half 2008

• Hold HR Summit to review Manager toolkit and prepare them to coach managers.• Form HR Center of Excellence Teams that address the necessary changes to

support goal of being a Great Place to Work.

Driving Sustainability: Focus on measurement and analysis Second Half 20 08

37

Questions?