High employee engagement gives a home entertainment company the competitive edge
Increased employee engagement has been a contributing factor to the positive competitive performance of this company relative to the market, where they have outperformed major competitors across a range of key performance indicators, including revenue and conversion rate-the percentage of box office generated by home entertainment.
Following a 2008 employee survey, our client identified a need to improve employee engagement in a key territory. We were retained to improve engagement in this critically important country. Our first step was to deploy an updated and enhanced survey that provided a deeper and more accurate understanding of the issues and challenges that needed to be addressed to improve the organizational dynamic. Based on these findings we implemented a formal communication program, built a leadership development program and developed Work Streams (employee-led teams empowered to identify issues and lead change) that overcame many traditional and bureaucratic obstacles while involving all staff in the solution. We also created Personal Action Plans for key managers that reshaped thinking and ensured accountability.
Based on the success of this assignment, the Company retained Engagement Strategies to develop a revitalized and improved Employee Engagement Approach for the entire global enterprise. We designed and deployed a much-improved Employee Engagement Survey, resulting in statistically relevant and dependable data including true engagement indexes. Due to reinventing their survey approach, we were able to provide counsel and actionable reporting on areas for improvement by region, country, department and team. We were also able to demonstrate the strong correlation between employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
The survey established a baseline against which to compare the success of new initiatives and programs that were launched in response to the input provided by all employees. Global Work Streams were deployed focusing on key strategic areas. In tandem, Engagement Strategies facilitated the development of country and department-specific Work Streams to address areas of concern raised by those employees. Additionally, we worked with individual teams and their managers, providing a prescription for specific action geared to mobilize and motivate employees to reach goals faster. Key results included:
- Retention, Extra Effort, Advocacy and Passion scores all improved vs. 2008.
- An 18% increase in overall engagement to a level significantly higher than the average U.S. company.
- A 25% decrease in the number of disengaged employees.
Increasing engagement, even in good times, let alone within the context of current global economic conditions and recent changes implemented across the company, is usually a long process with small year-to-year increases typical for most. These improvements are significant achievements of which our client is deservedly proud. It was also encouraging to see meaningful increases in key focus areas the client identified as organizational strategies for their organization, including:
- “#1 With Customers” increasing by 16%.
- “Best Place to Work” increasing by 12%.
Company employees are also more aligned around vision, trust their leaders explicitly and are more collaborative than ever before.
