Best Companies - results of 2015, delivering in 2016, building for 2017 Leader’s Briefing
Everything you’ll need all in one place
Contents 1. Introduction - thank you 2. As a leader, what we need you to do 3. Engaging your Managers with the engagement plan 4. Draft template 5. Once you’ve drafted the plan, what happens next ? 6. The support available for you 7. Key dates
Introduction - Thank You As an Aldermore leader and manager we want to thank you for the difference you make. The direct and positive influence you have on our staff at all levels has a corresponding direct and positive on our customers and on all that we do. We’ve made some real progress in improving the level of our staff engagement, something we should all be really proud of. The results the 2015 survey are clear evidence of this. Thank you again and well done. The work isn’t over however, we’re still on our journey and we want to continue to improve as a business, as a management team and as a great place to work. And it’s great that we can do this from a position of strength, with some real momentum and a good story to tell. Which is where where you come in as we coominucate the survey results and construct our plans for 2016.
As a leader, what we need you to do As always, it starts with you understanding your responsibilities and fulfilling them in your actions. You have been given the overall company results and those of your own area. We need you to review them, understand what the data is telling us and, with your management team. From that point you will be expected to develop your own cohesive and practical BestCo plan for your area. It’s an inclusive process. That means that the good ideas and the responsibility for leadership and execution lies with everyone in your team, not just you. In addition to developing the plan for your area we want you to cascade the overall company results and those of your area to your staff during the month of February either week commencing 15th or 22nd.
Engaging your managers with the engagement plan Your BestCo plan for your area could be one of the most important things you do as a management team this year. It therefore requires careful thought as to how you can provide leadership in the best way and how you can ensure the managers full participation in the best way. It’s not something that’s business as usual or tacked on to a team meeting as ‘Any Other Business’. It needs careful planning, honest and forthright discussion and a true consensus on the best way forwards. To do this you may want to take them out of the office either overnight or for an offsite all day meeting, but if not then for half a day at least. Within the invitation be sure to impress on them how important the meeting is, the preparation you’d like them to do and what the expected outputs are - not just of the meeting but the expectation on ownership and implementation throughout the year. You and they, as leaders, will be front and central in making sure implementation is the best it can be.
Key things that will help you focus the discussion are; What is the data telling us? What is pleasing, what is concerning? Remember, whether we think the staff are right or wrong, this is how they feel and that’s what we have to deal with. Are there any surprises? What do we need to do better, more of, less of, stop doing, start doing? How do we ensure that ‘we’re in the game’ and that our direct reports ‘are in the game’ too? You can’t improve what you don’t accurately measure so how we ensure we’re on track throughout the year? How can we ensure the implementation happens - and happens in the right way? As a leadership team, what do we stand for? How do we want to be viewed by our teams, our peers and the wider business?
Draft template We have provide you with a template so you can turn the outputs from your discussions in to an action plan.
Once you’ve drafted the plan what happens next? Once you’ve drafted the plan with your team, the hard work isn’t over, you’re just getting started. We’d like you to share your plan with your HRBP and this needs to be done by the end of February so that we’re ready to feedback and then implement straight away. During the last week of February we aim to have a Best Companies day in each office. Some Companies see this as a ‘celebration’ (that they are a great place to work) and while ours will recognise our progress in this respect it will also be about thanking staff for the valuable feedback they gave and the contribution they make. We’re humble enough to acknowledge that we participate in Best Companies to Work For not because we are (quite yet) but because we want to be.
The support available to you Whilst we want you and your teams to take responsibility for the conception and execution of your plan, you’re not on your own. There’s all the support you need available to you. Attached is a template to help you construct your plan. Feel free to use it, tweak it or use your own instead. Your HRBP will sit in on your discussions with your managers if required and is available at any time for advice and ad hoc support. We will be circulating a Company wide infographic with the full results to set the scene as well as distributing a thank you to all staff in the last week of February. The REDStars formal recognition scheme will be refreshed. Wellbeing will remain a focus - we’re running Mind, Body and Soul at the moment and we intend to supplement this with further Wellbeing programmes later in the year. The People Update and other key comms tools will feature regularly throughout the year. However, we shouldn’t think that communication and engagement are the same thing and, to that end, the Managers’ Toolkits distributed in the last couple of years are full of great ideas to help you improve engagement and managers’ practice on a day to day basis.
Key dates w/c 1st February Distribution of Leader’s Briefing and dates set for Leader/Managers’ meetings 10th February Distribution of company wide infographic , cascade of results to all staff w/c 22nd February ‘Best Companies day’, completion and submission of your plans.
Thank you So, there you have it. Thank you again for taking responsibility for this. With the plans in place in February and leadership role you and your teams will take both now and over the course of the year we feel that we can face the future with real confidence. Engagement is good business. We know it’s good for our people, it’s good for our customers and it’s good for our bottom line. Thank you