2018 Employee Engagement Summit - Official Survey Report

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT 2018

OFFICIAL SUMMIT SURVEY REPORT

FRIDAY 4 MAY, 2018 VICTORIA PARK PLAZA, LONDON

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EmployeeEngagementSummit.com @EngageEmployee #EngageSummits

ABAX AS • ACTION FOR CHILDREN • ACTIVE TAMESIDE • ADUR & WORTHING COUNCILS • ADVANCED • AIG • AIG EUROPE • AIR FRANCE KLM • AIRFLOW DEVELOPMENTS • ALBYN HOUSING SOCIETY LIMITED • ALBYN HOUSING SOCIETY LIMITED • ALLIANZ • ALTRAD SERVICES • ALZHEIMER'S SOCIETY • AMAZON • AMC NETWORKS • AMC NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL • AMERICAN EXPRESS • AMEY • AMIDO • AMRI • ANGLO AMERICAN • ANTIC LONDON • AOL INTERNATIONAL • ARCADIA GROUP • ARNOLD CLARK • ASPIRE • ASTER GROUP • ASTRAZENECA • ATOS • AUSTIN FRASER • AUTO TRADER • AVON • B&Q • BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL GROUP • BAE SYSTEMS • BANK OF ENGLAND • BARCLAYS • BARTLETT TREE EXPERTS • BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST • BATH UNIVERSITY • BBC • BELRON INTERNATIONAL • BENTLEY • BEYOND • BIG BUS TOURS • BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST • BLOOMBERG • BMG RESEARCH • BMW GROUP • BNP PARIBAS PERSONAL FINANCE • BOC LIMITED • BOI • BRAINFOOD CONSULTING • BRITISH AIRWAYS • BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO • BRUNSWICK GROUP LLP • BT • BUCHANAN • BUPA • BURBERRY • BUREAU VAN DIJK • BUSINESS STREAM • CABINER OFFICE • CAMELOTGROUP.CO.UK • CANADIAN AFFAIR • CARE QUALITY COMMISSION • CARMIGNAC • CATALYST HOUSING • CBRE • CENTRICA • CFBL LTD • CGI • CHECKATRADE • CHELSEA FC • CHESSINGTON WORLD OF ADVENTURES • CHIESI • CHRISTIAN DIOR • CHRISTIE AND CO • CIPD • CIRRUS LOGIC INTERNATIONAL UK LTD • CITI • CITI EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA • CJ RETAIL SOLUTIONS • CLAUDIA REES • CLEAR CHANNEL UK • CLINIGEN GROUP PLC • CLOSE BROTHERS • CMC PARTNERSHIP • COLORMINIUM (LONDON) LTD • COMMON PURPOSE • COMPASS GROUP PLC • CONIQ • CONTINUING HEALTHCARE NHS CLCH • CO-OP • D&AD • DELOITTE • DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS • DEPT • DESIGN COUNCIL • DHL EXPRESS • DIRECT LINE GROUP • DOMESTIC & GENERAL • DRAGON LEARNING • DSTL • DWP • EAST KENT MENCAP • ECONOMY ENERGY • EDELMAN • EDUSPOT • EDWARDIAN HOTELS LONDON • ELASTIC • ELYSIUM HEALTHCARE • ENGAGE FOR SUCCESS • ENGIE • ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS • EPAM SYSTEMS • ESCP EUROPE BUSINESS SCHOOL • ESET UK • ESG PLC • EULER HERMES • EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT • EXPEDIA GROUP • EXPERIAN • EXPLORE LEARNING • FAIR WAYS • FENLAND DISTRICT COUNCIL • FIDELITY • FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL • FIKE SAFETY TECHNOLOGY • FINANCIAL TIMES • FINDMYPAST • FIRSTCO • FIRSTGROUP • FITZROY • FLEXIWAGE • FMDQ OTC PLC • FOOT ANSTEY • FORTERRA PLC • FRANK HIRTH • FREEDOM FINANCE • FTD CONSULTING LTD • GEBERIT • GILLIAN HODGSON-WOOD • GJE LLP • GLOBALGIVING UK • GLOBALWEBINDEX • GREAT STATE • GRIFFITHS PR • GRUPO SALINAS • HAND PICKED HOTELS • HARBOUR & JONES • HEALTH & SAFETY EXECUTIVE • HEALTH EDUCATION ENGLAND • HEATHROW • HEATHROW AIRPORT • HEATHROW AIRPORT LIMITED • HEATHROW AIRPORT LTD • HELPERBEES • HER MAJESTY'S COURTS AND TRIBUNALS SERVICE • HILTON • HITACHI RAIL EUROPE • HM COURTS & TRIBUNALS SERVICE • HM COURTS AND TRIBUNAL SERVICE • HM LAND REGISTRY • HMPPS

T I M M SU S E T A G E L E D

• HOGAN LOVELLS INTERNATIONAL LLP • HOME • HOME GROUP • HOMEBASE/BUNNINGS • HOOD GROUP LTD • HSBC • HSE • HSF HEALTH PLAN • HUDSON RPO LTD • HUNTRESS LTD • I ENGINEERING GROUP • IDEAL INDUSTRIES • IHG • IIED • IMAGINATION TECHNOLOGIES • IMPACT • IMPERIAL LONDON HOTELS • INDIGO PLANNING • INSPIRE ME • INSTITUTE OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION • INTERFLEX GROUP • INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS HOUSE • INTERSERVE • INVESCO • ISG • ISKCON • ISLINGTON COUNCIL • ITE GROUP • ITV • JACQUELINE HIGGIN • JAMES WALKER • JATO DYNAMICS LTD • JDX CONSULTING • JELF • JO SIMS LTD • JOHN LEWIS • JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP • JOHNSON MATTHEY • KAPTCHA • KFH • KING'S COLLEGE LONDON • KINGS PLACE • KINGSNET • KLEINWORT HAMBROS BANK LTD • KONICA MINOLTA • KUBOTA • KUBOTA UK LTD • L&Q • LADBROKES CORAL • LAING O'ROURKE • LANDOR • LANE4 • LASER QUANTUM LTD • LASTMINUTE.COM GROUP • LEASEWEB • LEEDS BUILDING SOCIETY • LEGOLAND WINDSOR RESORT • LEXISNEXIS • LEYF • LIBERTY MIND • LIFEARC • LINDA MBAGWU • LINDSTROM UK • LIPSY • LLOYDS BANKING GROUP • LONDON BLACK CHICKS NETWORK • LOOPME • LOVECRAFTS • LUKE GEORGE • LUTRON • LUX RESORTS MALDIVES • LV= • LYSIS FINANCIAL • M MOSER • M&S • MAD WORLD FORUM • MARKET HARBOROUGH BUILDING SOCIETY • MARKS AND SPENCER • MARSH • MARSTON'S PLC • MARSTON'S PLC • MAXIS GBN • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES • MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES/DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) • MENCAP • MERCEDES-BENZ • MERCEDES-BENZ CARS UK LTD • MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS • MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS (LEGOLAND) • METLIFE EUROPE • METRO BANK • MICROSOFT • MILLFIELD • MINISTRY OF JUSTICE • MISS • MISSGUIDED • MITIE • MOJ • MONEY ADVICE LIAISON GROUP • MONZO BANK • MORGAN SINDALL • MORRISONS • MOTHERCARE • MOTHERCARE PLC • MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS • MOTT MACDONALD • MR • MSD IT • NAKHEEL • NATIONAL CITIZEN SERVICE TRUST • NATIONWIDE • NATIONWIDE BUILDING SOCIETY • NESTLE • NESTLE PURINA • NESTLÉ’S UK AND IRELAND • NETWORK RAIL • NEXT PLC • NEXT RETAIL LTD • NFU MUTUAL • NHS • NOMAD FOODS EUROPE LIMITED • NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION • NORTH WEST ANGLIA FOUNDATION TRUST • NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HEALTHCARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST • NORTHUMBRIAN WATER • NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT • NSPCC • NTT EUROPE • NTTE • O2 • OCADO • OFFICE DEPOT • OFFICE FOR STUDENTS • OMW • ONESOURCE • OPERIS • ORDNANCE SURVEY • OSMAN RAFEEK • OVO ENERGY • OXFORD HEALTH NHS TRUST • PARKEON • PEABODY GROUP • PEARSON • PEARSON EDUCATION • PEGASUS • PENGUINS • PENNA • PENNON GROUP • PENNY JACKSON.CO.CUK • PEOPLEPLUS • PERFORM GROUP • PFP • PHOENIX GROUP • PHOTOBOX • PIKE TEXTILE DISPLAY LTD • PITMANS LAW • PIZZA HUT (UK) LTD • PJB MIDLANDS LTD • PRAN-RFL GROUP, BANGLADESH • PRIMESIGHT • PRIORY GROUP • PRODUCTION RESOURCE GROUP • PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND • PURPLE SURGICAL • PWC • QD STORES LTD • RAVENSBOURNE • REC • RED KITE COMMUNITY HOUSING • REDEFINE BDL HOTELS • REED SMITH LLP • REGENT'S UNIVERSITY LONDON • RELIANCE HIGH TECH • REVIVAL AESTHETICS • RIVER ISLAND • RLSS • ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE • ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS • ROYAL MAIL • RPC LONDON • RUDER FINN • RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION • S&P GLOBAL RATINGS • SAINSBURYS • SAMWORTH BROTHERS LTD • SANTANDER • SATCOL • SCOBIE MCINTOSH • SEASALT LTD • SECOTOOLS • SEDER GROUP • SERVEST LTD. • SHAW HEALTHCARE • SHENTONGROUP • SHOPIFY • SILVERBEAN • SKY • SKY UK • SKYLINE WHITESPACE • SNC-LAVALIN / ATKINS • SOLENT NHS TRUST • SOPHOS • SOVEREIGN • SPLIT THE BILLS • SPONGE UK • SPORTPURSUIT • SPOTIFY • SPRINGBOARD CHARITY • SSI SCHAEFER LTD • ST ERMIN'S HOTEL • STARTCRE8IVE • STEAD SUPPLY CHAIN • STRATIVITY • STROKE ASSOCIATION • SUNRISE SENIOR LIVING LIMITED • SUSSEX CRICKET • TALKTALK • TAMARA KODIKARA • TAP'D SOLUTIONS LIMITED • TATE • TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP • TAYLOR VINTERS • TAYLOR VINTERS LLP • TESCO • TFL • TGCG • THAMES HOSPICE • THE AA • THE BIG ISSUE FOUNDATION • THE BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION • THE CHALLENGE • THE CO-OP • THE GOOD CARE GROUP • THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT • THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL NHS TRUST • THE REVIVAL GROUP • THE STARS GROUP • THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER • THESCOTTS UK LTD • THIRTEEN • THIRTEEN GROUP • THMSON REUTERS • THOMSON REUTERS • THWAITES • TMG • TRANSFORMATIVE HR LTD (NORTHGATE) • TRAVELEX • TRAVELEX • TRIDENT SOCIAL INVESTMENT GROUP • TRINITY LABAN CONSERVATOIRE OF MUSIC AND DANCE • TRINITY MIRROR • TSB • TUI • TUNSTALL HEALTHCARE LIMITED • UCL • UCO • UHR (UNIVERSITIES HR) • UK VALUES ALLIANCE • UNDERTONE • UNILEVER • UNIPART • UNIPART LOGISTICS • UNIPART RAIL • UNISON • UNIVERSAL ENTERPRISES PVT LTD • UNIVERSAL GROUP • UNIVERSITTECHNOLOGI MALAYSIA (UTM) AZMAN HASHIM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL • UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE • USER VOICE • VEOLIA • VIP SUCCESS CLUB • VIRGIN MONEY • VIRGIN TRAINS • VISIONS TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT • VISTAJET • VITALITY • VMWARE • VODAFONE • VODAFONE GROUP • WAITROSE • WARMUP PLC • WELL PHARMACY • WELLCOME TRUST • WESLEYAN • WEST FERRY PRINTERS • WESTERN UNION • WHISTL • WILLIAMS ADVANCED ENGINEERING • WILLIAMS GRAND PRIX ENGINEERING LTD • WIPRO LTD • WISER • WISER GRADUATES • WNDIRECT • WONGA • WOOD MACKENZIE • YMCA ST PAUL'S GROUP • YORKTEST LABORATORIES • YOUGOV • ZAYO GROUP UK LIMITED • ZONE • ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF EAST ANGLIA • ZURICH INSURANCE

MEET THE TEAM Steve Hurst Editorial Director steve.hurst@ebm.media T: 01932 506 304 Nick Rust Sales Director nick.rust@ebm.media T: 01932 506 301 Katie Donaldson Senior Marketing Executive katie.donaldson@ebm.media T: 01932 506 302 James Cottee Senior Sponsorship Sales james.cottee@ebm.media T: 01932 506 309 James Major Sponsorship Sales james.major@ebm.media T: 01932 302 110 Alex Webb Sponsorship Sales alex.webb@ebm.media T: 01932 506 303 Kimberly Bishop Sponsorship Sales kim.bishop@ebm.media T: 01932 506 308 Dan Skinner Membership Sales dan.skinner@ebm.media T: 01932 506 307 Dan Keen Membership Sales dan.keen@ebm.media T: 01932 506 306 Hannah Mulea Marketing Executive hannah.mulea@ebm.media T: 01932 302 112 Sabrina Clarke Finance Department finance@ebm.media T: 01932 500 103

SUMMIT SURVEY REPORT Our fourth Employee Engagement Summit held in London in May 2018 under the overarching theme of ‘our people come first’ was the biggest and best so far and has been lauded as a world class success by delegates, speakers and sponsors alike.

Delegates at the Summit heard case study presentations from organisations as diverse as Spotify, Monzo Bank, The European Commission, Sky, Waitrose, Citi, Nestle, Vodafone, Missguided, Travelex, OVO Energy, Heathrow, NHS, The Big Issue, Nationwide, Public Health England and many more.

The Summit focussed firmly on the key issues, challenges and opportunities around engaging our people and includes world class case studies, expert opinion and analysis, round table focus group sessions and high level interactive networking technology.

In addition to the mouth-watering line up of case study presentations there was an opening keynote from world best- selling author and academic Prof Isaac Getz from ESCP Europe Business School and new research on the Cost of Engagement from Prof Bruce A. Rayton from Bath University A whole body of new research in the past year points to major changes ahead in the world of work driven by advances in technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics. While up to a third of existing jobs could face automation by the early 2030s, new AI technologies could boost production and generate more jobs.

Of course the evidence for the business benefits of properly engaged and directed employees working a positive cultural environment is plain for all to see. The improved performance and market capitalisation of organisations who deliver great service through their people is now a given – and even those who improve their service from low to average see benefits go straight to their bottom line.

The signs are that businesses are moving in the right direction, and those who do are enjoying a clear competitive advantage. Our Employee Engagement Summit shone a spotlight on those organisations who are getting their employee engagement strategies right.

Steve Hurst, Editorial Director

EmployeeEngagementSummit.com @EngageEmployee #EngageSummits

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SURVEY RESULTS

SOME VERY INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS AND IDEAS WERE SHARED FROM A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES – CROWNE PLAZA LONDON DOCKLANDS

PLEASE RATE THE STREAMS YOU ATTENDED RATED EXCELLENT/GOOD PLENARY EMPLOYEE & CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, LINKS TO PERFORMANCE & PROFITABILITY - PART 1

96% 95%

TRANSFORMATION & CHANGE MANAGEMENT

75%

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND VOICE OF THE EMPLOYEE - PART 1

94%

REWARD AND WELLBEING

83%

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

100%

FUTURE OF WORKPLACE

100%

EMPLOYEE & CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, LINKS TO PERFORMANCE & PROFITABILITY - PART 2 STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP

90% 100%

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND VOICE OF THE EMPLOYEE - PART 2

85%

EVOLUTION OF WORKFORCE

71%

2

SURVEY RESULTS

I THOUGHT THE DAY WENT EXTREMELY WELL WITH LOTS OF INTERESTING CASE STUDIES, IT GAVE ME LOTS OF IDEAS TO TAKE BACK TO MY TEAM – MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE ORGANISATION OF THE DAY?

73%

92%

RATED EXCELLENT/ GOOD

HOW USEFUL TO YOUR COMPANY WAS THE INFORMATION PRESENTED AT THE EVENT?

EXTREMELY / VERY USEFUL

24%

MODERATELY USEFUL

3

I GOT HUGE VALUE FROM THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT THROUGH NEW CONNECTIONS AND INTERESTING TALKS, IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR THE CASE STUDIES ABOUT WHAT OTHER COMPANIES ARE DOING TO ENGAGE THEIR EMPLOYEES

SURVEY RESULTS

– HARRODS

68% IT WAS BETTER THAN I EXPECTED

HOW DID THE EVENT COMPARE TO WHAT YOU EXPECTED?

17%

MET MY EXPECTATIONS

WOULD YOU ATTEND THE SUMMIT AGAIN NEXT YEAR?

97%

YES/MAYBE 4

YOUR FAVOURITE SPEAKERS

Stephen Robertson

Glenn Grayson

Professor Isaac Getz

The Big Issue Foundation

Missguided

ESCP Europe Business School

Rick Jackson

Gary Adey

Prof Bruce A. Rayton

DHL Express

Vodafone

University of Bath

Joanne Carlin

Catherine Garrod

Veronica Harth

Thwaites

Sky

Spotify

Gorkan Ahmetoglu

Kim Atherton

Beth Toms

UCL

OVO Energy

Monzo Bank

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EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT 2019 FRIDAY 10 MAY, 2019 VICTORIA PARK PLAZA, LONDON

10TH MAY CONFIRMED FOR 2019 - REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THE FIFTH EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT Putting the employee at the heart of the organisation and focusing on key issues, challenges and opportunities around engaging our people.

Contact: tickets@ebm.media Ticket hotline: 01932 506 300 (Press 1) EngageEmployeeSummit.com 6

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS

SPONSOR HIGHLIGHTS

7

CHAIR REPORT

VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

CATHY BROWN It was a pleasure once more to be working with the EBM team and chairing the 2018 Employee Engagement Summit. A great start with a packed room and people standing at the back – not bad for a very sunny Friday at the start of a bank holiday weekend!

Our keynote sessions started with Professor Isaac Getz – we started the day thinking about hens laying golden eggs and how we treat them! Some great points about basic principles of engagement – being fair, keeping our promises, encouraging curiosity and respecting the individual.

Professor Getz also pointed out that if we are gardeners, and things don’t grow in our gardens, it must be to day with the environment we are creating.

Victoria Lewis-Stephens & Mavis Boniface from Instinctif telling us how Bacardi reclaimed their brand mojo through an employee driven campaign around social connection with customers, in the service of three great values – Fearless, Founders, Family. Then a very different home grown UK story from Thwaites showing that the basics of engagement, involving people, listening and celebrating can drive support for change throughout an organisation over time.

Creating and nurturing a respectful, happy and positive environment and culture was also the main theme for our second keynote – Rick Jackson at DHL Express. Rick was very much making the point that engagement is a way of working, rather than a destination reached.

After lunch we picked up with Internal Communications and the Voice of the Employee. Charlotte Mummery (from Nestle) and Nick Lynn (from Willis Towers Watson) shared with us the story of taking Nestle employees through culture change and how they had intelligently used data and analytics to listen and understand better, and to cast aside big assumptions they had been making based on demographics. Catherine Garrod from Sky was up next – once again a really powerful case study around how releasing the voice of the individual can strengthen the whole. Finally, we went techie at Travelex with a case study on sales performance improvement through gamification from Becca Riley and Elvin Eldic, with a great piece of insight – you can’t keep expecting people to get better – there has to be an end point, a rest and regroup stage!

We then had an alternative point of view from Professor Bruce Rayton from the University of Bath, reminding us that people are at the heart of all efforts and we need to have better conversations around the cost of engagement on our physical and mental wellbeing (the research from my own organisation, Engage for Success, shows that this can be a particular issue in the charitable and not for profit sector where people engage with a cause to the point of burn out).

Last but not least in our run of thought provoking keynote speakers was Stephen Robertson, CEO at the Big Issue. I think for myself, and for many of the audience, it was the first time we had thought of Big Issue vendors as running their own businesses, against the hardest of backgrounds.

Truly eye-opening.

After a welcome break, refreshment and a trip to the Expo Hall, we were back in Hall 1, exploring Employee & Customer Engagement, Links to Profitability and Performance. Two great case studies in this session, from Gary Adey at Vodafone and Glenn Grayson at Missguided – two really different cultures but with some really original ideas. Stand out insights for me were Vodafone’s emphasis on individual identity, and Missguided’s great use of language (think vibes, not values). We also heard from Peter Clarke at Qlearsite, again very insightful about language and meaning. I especially liked the example of changing the very dry and perhaps hard to answer, very subjective question of ‘do you have a ‘best friend’ at work’ to the much more human and accessible ‘work is the kind of place I feel I could make friends’.

Moving on to Reward and Wellbeing, Debbie BennettJackson and Gemma Lines from Citi took us through their #BeMore campaign, leaving us with the realisation that you can’t bore (or scare) people to change. Jill King at Virgin Pulse gave us a wealth of insight into practical. implementable wellbeing strategies, and Dom Holmes from Taylor Vintners gave us another great, real world example of classic engagement activities updated, thought through and working well. In this case the good, old fashioned suggestion box turned into the ‘Pitch Up’ campaign!

Our final session (and many thanks to the hardy souls who stayed with us until 5.30 on a sunny bank holiday Friday!)

Isabelle Krauss and Dace Kalnina from the European Commission shared their story of IT change, with a particular emphasis on their subsequent sharing of best practice. Lou Banks of Rising Vibe did the impossible at that point in the day and re-energised us all with the point that engagement is our own responsibility – it’s not something done to us! And we finished on a high, with Chris Newstead from the Wellcome Trust. Chris very sensibly made us laugh, a lot. A great end to a super day.

We then switched tracks to Transformation and Change Management – hearing from another great brand, Spotify, with Veronica Harth sharing with us how radical transparency had transformed their R&D culture, and

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CHAIR REPORT

VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

KATE JONES It’s rare that I don’t have music playing – in the car, at home, through my headphones if I need to focus at work. All my favourite films are musicals, and I’ll tell anyone the woes of life as a tenor in a choir (read The Alto’s Lament and that’s basically it, but lower…). I love the way songs tell stories and how music sparks an emotional response. I’ve sung in a choir for five years and find it both uplifting and a perfect way to detach from any stresses of the day job and use my brain in a completely different way.

So I sat straight up when I heard how DHL have used to songs to help bring their culture to life, during a nine-year employee engagement programme that’s seen engagement scores rise up by 20 points.

When I came to write my chair blog I was inspired by DHL’s Rick Jackson, so here’s my Top of the Pops style reflections on the great content covered in my hall across the day.

Lean On Me – Bill Withers We started with a brave and honest presentation from Beth Toms who told us how Monzo Bank has placed employee wellbeing at its centre during a period of staggering growth.

Work/life harmony is crucial to the employee experience – a challenge for the bank, which is as much a tech start-up as it is a financial institution and which has identified the long hours and ‘burn out’ culture associated with start ups as a real risk. Beth outlined the support she, personally, has received from the bank via a number of initiatives from mental health first-aiders to an innovative approach to people management: each colleague has both a manager and team lead, The team lead’s role is focused not on tasks, objectives and performance but on understanding more about what’s happening in someone’s life, how they’re feeling and where they might benefit from support.

This concern for the employee was echoed by David Callaghan of Centralus. Centralus have a new approach to delivering engagement which struck me as a one-stop-shop for defining what drives engagement within your business, delivering solutions to improve the employee experience, and measure success in one joined-up way. David reminded us that a holistic approach to employee experience was nothing new, with organisations such as Cadbury and Clarks investing in education, accommodation and recreation for their employees as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries.

Talkin’ Bout a Revolution – Tracy Chapman Organisations who are finding new solutions to old problems included Imperial London Hotels, where a new approach has taken the grief out of grievances; OVO Energy – bringing start-up thinking to the energy sector; and new ways to engage frontline workers at Nationwide Building Society. What struck me about all three case studies was the passion and vision of the presenters – Gemma Todd, Kim Atherton and Heather Mustafa are great examples of how one person with a great idea and the tenacity to back it up can influence to improve their businesses for the benefit of colleagues and customers alike.

Human – Rag ‘n’ Bone Man Rag ‘n’ Bone Man’s 2017 hit was playing in my mind when I heard about the benefits of treating people as individuals and valuing their contribution. Storytelling is not a new

concept to many engagement practitioners and it’s still working to great effect to bring organisational values to life or demonstrate delivery against strategic goals. I think it’s also linked to trust, as we’re wired to respond to a shared experience which sparks an emotional response, and organisations can really benefit from the power of employee voice to bring credibility to their strategic narrative both inside and outside.

Employee voice is being used to great effect at Waitrose, where Stuart Eames showed how technology has replaced the dusty old suggestion box in the corner of the office.

Waitrose partners are actively sharing ideas, with strong visible response from senior leaders. He showed us several examples where little ideas have led to big savings – as simple as reformatting the text on till receipts to make them shorter and massively reduce paper use across all stores.

Employees are rewarded through gamification tricks and, of course, seeing their ideas taken up by leaders and put quickly into action.

We’re in the Money An honourable mention for all comms pros who offered up silent thanks that they didn’t have to deal with the Sainsbury’s CEO’s “unguarded moment” during coverage of the supermarket’s plans to merge with ASDA… A non mover! Connected – Stereo MCs In my chair blog last year, I reflected on how connection is a shared quality among so many of the comms people I meet at events and on a 121 basis.

I usually use this to mean two things: our role in ‘being the glue’ for our organisations and our willingness to share ideas with others in our field. This year’s summit showed me a new aspect of connection – an ever-clearer realisation that no employee is an island and employers must consider the whole employee experience; that internal versus external comms is becoming even less distinct; and that while managerial hierarchies are not going away any time soon, leaders at all levels and in all sectors must forge genuine two-way dialogue to build trust and drive performance.

Perhaps music and communication aren’t so different and engagement practitioners are both arrangers and conductors – helping everyone find their voice and sing from the same songsheet.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day and found each 20-minute case study packed with practical ideas and food for thought, which I will take with me back to my day job and into my role as board chair for the Institute of Internal Communications. Many thanks to Steve, Katie and the team for another brilliant event.

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THE DAY IN PICTURES

10

THE DAY IN PICTURES

11

MONDAY 12TH NOVEMBER 2018

WESTMINSTER PARK PLAZA, LONDON

The 2018 Engage Awards boast 20 categories, providing more opportunities than ever for organisations and individuals to showcase their achievements relating to employee and customer engagement.

Entries Close on 16th July

EngageAwards.co.uk

EBM GROUP EVENTS REGISTER NOW:

Online Orders: tickets@ebm.media Ticket Hotline: 01932 506 300 (press 1)

12

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT TRANSFORMATION CONFERENCE

20

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE

20

EVOLUTION OF WORK CONFERENCE

01

FUTURE OF MARKETING

12

ENGAGE AWARDS 2018

NOV 2018

MONDAY 12TH NOVEMBER 2018

JUL 2018

SEP 2018

THURSDAY 12TH JULY 2018

THURSDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2018

12/13 NOV 2018

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT

MONDAY 12TH & TUESDAY 13TH NOVEMBER 2018

SEP 2018

OCT 2018

THURSDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2018

MONDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2018

28

ENGAGE FOCUS GROUPS

30

CUSTOMER ROBOTICS AND AI DIRECTORS FORUM

13

FUTURE OF THE CONTACT CENTRE CONFERENCE

10

ENGAGE EMPLOYEE SUMMIT 2019

NOV 2018

FEB 2019

WEDNESDAY 28TH NOVEMBER 2018

WEDNESDAY 13TH FEBRUARY 2019

www.ebm.media Live events proudly organised by Engage Business Media Ltd

NOV 2018

MAY 2019

FRIDAY 30TH NOVEMBER 2018

FRIDAY 10TH MAY 2019