What challenges were you facing when you began your engagement with Energage?

 

I had worked with Energage at a different company. So, when CM Group started adding brands and their employees, we needed insights into what actually drives engagement.

I resonate with the philosophy of not measuring happiness and satisfaction. To have data-informed insights that are actually based on measures of organizational health versus happiness is really important to me and to (my CEO.)

 

We use those insights to make decisions about programs and initiatives to invest in.

 

How did the organization respond to the survey?

 

I don't think the leadership team expected the diagnostics to be as sophisticated as they are. We have a couple brands who had never done an employee survey. The leaders of those brands certainly didn't expect this level of data insight. 

 

The brands who had done something before, their surveys had focused more on satisfaction and happiness. They were blown away by the AI insights, the number of cuts of data that you can have, the level of sophistication of how different elements in the survey are leading or lagging indicators. I think they were actually surprised by that. They respect the validity of the survey and of the data analysis.

 

 

What insights did your consultant provide? 

 

One of the things I appreciate most is your insights get to the bottom line. There can be a lot of noise in the data; you can literally drown in the amount of data that is available through your survey.

 

I think the single greatest value is that you take the time to understand the business so you can cull through the noise and get to the key nuggets to focus on. And that is the difference from just doing the survey and looking at the results ourselves, versus why you want to pay for this diagnostic. 

 

Finally, you're based in reality. It's not ‘pie in the sky.’ It's not you're going to turn the ship by tomorrow. But it won’t take you five years, either. You talk about it in a way that is consumable; bite-sized chunks and that we can absorb. And there is always an action.

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What actions did you implement based on lessons you learned in Lead People; Manage Work?

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The four major things were:

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1.) The framework for how we share survey results and then focusing on removing barriers.

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2.) Our performance management process is now a series of short, manageable conversations. 

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3.) Our use of OKRs and the importance of the measurable vision of success.

 

4.) Manager role and vocabulary as chief barrier remover.

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It started with us not just sharing for sharing’s sake but crafting a structured meeting that gave each team an issue to focus on. So basically, the survey sharing moved seamlessly into a rapid change process. That's the biggest piece because since we have 650 employees across multiple countries, time zones and brands.

 

What results did you achieve as a result of your work with Energage?

 

20% engagement improvement year over year while we were still doing acquisition. That's pretty cool. That seems to me the most impactful.

 

I think we're also building trust. The number of times this year that I've already heard that – even from the groups where the raw data may not be as positive, the reaction to sharing it has been positive. It is being shared in the open and people are having grown-up conversations about it.

 

What impact did your consultant have on your organization?

 

One word: Transformational. 

 

There's a reason that we keep working with you. It's because we all learn from you.