Driving Positive Cultural Change

P R E S E N T E D I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H T H E H R W O R L D WWW.THEHRWORLD.CO.UK

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7. DRIVING POSITIVE CULTURAL CHANGE A N R S G W H I T E PA P E R • W W W . R S G - P L C . C O M

CONTENTS 02 About RSG Plc

ABOUT RSG PLC

ABOUT THE HR WORLD

03 Contents 05 The HR World Introduction - What does change mean to you?

Originally founded in 1975, ResourceRSG’s Solutions Group HR Networking Forum

Based on over 40 years working in the senior executive

06 Foreword by Orlagh Hunt

or, as we are more commonly known, RSG, have grown

recruitment market, we have recognised HR professionals’

08 Cultural change: An overview

from a single recruitment company based in Bristol into

need to develop a visible profile within the HR market for

10 The questions of change

a multi-million pound, European-wide network of expert

invitation to events, to comment on newsworthy topics,

11 Where to start?

recruitment businesses.

and to promote and build their career. Networking is time

12 What should I change?

consuming so The HR World hosts a group of leaders and

13 How should we do it?

RSG comprises of a family of companies that work

decision makers from the strategic world of HR enabling

14 Investment

together to provide a full breadth of individually tailored

them to stay in contact with their peer group; growing their

15 Storytelling

and professional recruitment solutions to multi-nationals,

personal network as well as informing best practice.

17 Who? The driver

The HR World - Logotype

household names and SMEs. Primarily, our services

19 Who? The partner

are offered via Sanderson Recruitment or Resource

As the UK’s premier peer support group for the HR

20 When to co-pilot and when to navigate

Management where our customers receive fully integrated

profession, we want our members to shape the direction

21 Timescales of change: Patience vs Agility

services and solutions.

The HR World and HR profession takes by offering them

22 Conclusion

the opportunity to discuss the most pressing HR topics, contribute to publications such as our white papers and to

24 Guest Profiles

attend exclusive networking events.

29 Contact Information

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS RSG and The HR World would like to thank all debate participants for their valuable time and contributions. In particular, we would like to thank Orlagh Hunt, Ex Chief People Officer of AIB, for leading this debate.

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03

THE HR WORLD INTRODUCTION

WHAT DOES CHANGE

MEAN TO YOU? The ability to adapt to change can vary considerably between individuals. Taking time to reflect upon your own working life, it is quite possible to identify those who struggle with this. A seamless addition to one’s usual routine could be a total disruption to another’s comfortable Thus,

the

subject

of

‘change’

and

the

environment. challenge

of

introducing it, can prove itself to be a delicate and arduous task to implement for individuals and businesses alike.

So, how might a HR team set about

“

THE SUBJECT OF ‘CHANGE’ AND THE CHALLENGE OF INTRODUCING IT, CAN PROVE ITSELF TO BE A DELICATE AND ARDUOUS TASK TO IMPLEMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES ALIKE

contriving significant

change without disrupting the array of personalities within an organisation? In pursuit of an answer to this, The HR World invited a collection of senior HR professionals to a round table dinner in London for the discussion of driving cultural change in business and the challenges it can present.

To lead the discussion and share a unique experience on the topic, Orlagh Hunt, ex Chief People Officer at Allied Irish Banks, joined The HR World and its guests. Having endured and survived the challenging economic crash of 2008, Orlagh’s experience at AIB during this time is both an insightful and thought provoking

XXXXX

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lesson for businesses, leaders and employees.

A GROWING ORGANISATION OFTEN REQUIRES A CULTURAL CHANGE OF DIRECTION TO EVOLVE SUCCESSFULLY

05

D RO

ER W

FO

U N T TO R H GH IREC A L R HR D O

BY O U P GR AIB

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT THROUGH LEADERS

WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY

Insurance,

In terms of employee engagement, we worked hard to get

HR at AIB is now in a very different position from when we started

Walkers and AXA), and with the backing of our CEO, I

the Leadership Team and the senior leader population to see

this journey back in 2012. The business has seen the tangible

galvanised the HR team around three key people priorities:

the tangible business benefits, and in June 2013 we ran our

value we’ve added compared to back then, when it felt like we

first engagement survey since 2006, partnering with Gallup.

were swimming upstream by pushing a people agenda onto

While these things were important, we needed more to help AIB to viability and be seen as an attractive proposition for investors.

Based on the experience and insight I’d gained from my

•

previous

organisations

(including

RSA

performance management and internal communications

We held our managers accountable for driving engagement

For example, we are in the process of overhauling how we do

•

Significantly improving levels of employee engagement

at a team level, as we know that what gets measured gets

performance management to incorporate our brand values and

•

Building leadership capability

done. We provided them with a range of tools to help them

we are co-designing and co-piloting this with business leaders.

build their capability in this area and to action plan with

Whilst collaboration with the business means we deliver a

These were ambitious things to pursue, given that the HR

their teams. We also took action at a company wide level.

better product with greater ownership (and more change

function I inherited had significant challenges of its own; we were

While we’re now doing a lot to embed engagement through

of driving sustainable benefits), we know that it takes

in fact five HR functions which needed to be one cohesive unit,

an annual survey and the action planning process, we also

longer to do and also means that we are less in control

we had to reduce the cost of running the HR function by €35

have our eye on a much bigger prize; applying the principles

of the outcomes. However, we believe the trade-off is

million over five years, and cut our headcount by almost 50%.

of engagement to how we go about running our business.

worth it, as it leads to something much more sustainable.

Initially, some of our ideas were met with resistance by

When companies do that, they unlock something quite special

By the end of 2014, AIB had posted a profit in excess of €1

the business. One of the many questions our puzzled

– transformational engagement. An example of how we are

billion. Our customers are starting to say great things about

leaders asked us was “Why would we need to measure

pursuing transformational engagement is the way we are

us again. In terms of our people, we’ve halved the number

engagement now when we know how bad things are?”

supporting the business change agenda. Many companies with

of disengaged staff and trebled the number of actively

big change programmes tend to focus their energies on the

engaged staff in just twelve months. Employee understanding

But, thanks to the support from our CEO and the courage

areas of change design and change implementation. They tend

of the strategy increased dramatically, and we achieved

of our convictions, we stood our ground and for a period

not to focus too much on the psychology of change, on the

a significant increase of people feeling their objectives

it no longer felt like we were salmon swimming upstream.

part that deals with people and how you bring them with you on

are strategically aligned. The capability of our leaders has

the journey. And yet, we know from all the research out there

vastly improved too, thanks in part to our investment in our

that this part of the equation is critically important to delivering

world-class

sustainable benefits. So in HR, we’re making this a priority.

We’ve still got a way to go, but we’re definitely making

When I joined AIB back in 2012, the bank was bailed out to the tune of €21 billion and as a result, became 99.8% state owned. Customers, employees and the media had turned

the business. Now, we are working much more in partnership.

Driving organisational alignment through improved

STRATEGY ALIGNMENT THROUGH LEADERS

learning

and

development

platform,

iLearn.

Through a two-part workshop we have created, we are helping

progress. Our next challenge is to help channel the energy

In terms of alignment, we went back to basics. We got all our

leaders to see change more optimistically themselves and in turn,

and engagement we are unlocking across the business

AIB had clear plans to turn the business around, but it would

people leaders together, set out our expectations and then ran

be better equipped to lead their people through it. And we have

towards delivering better customer experiences. We know that

have been impossible to implement them without the right people

skill-building workshops so they could set SMART, outcome-

also created a web portal called ‘The Well’, which employees can

companies who focus on employee and customer engagement

agenda. John Stumpf, the Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo,

focussed personal objectives with their teams which aligned

use to improve their levels of energy, wellbeing and resilience.

together can unleash something magical. We want AIB to

once said “we could leave our strategic plan on an airplane,

to the overall strategy. This meant that people were given

somebody could pick it up, and it wouldn’t matter. It’s all about

better quality objectives and each knew the part they played

the execution” . At AIB, we wanted to take care of the people

in delivering it. Our aim was for the leaders to no longer view

who handled the execution. Turnaround plans alone were not

performance management as a painful HR process, and

going to be enough; we needed our people to be fired up and

instead, see it as a key enabler for them to deliver on strategy.

We’ve made a huge investment in leadership at AIB over

pulling in the same direction if we were to resuscitate AIB and

We also harnessed the power of storytelling to engage people

the past three years, as we see it as such a key enabler of

build a bank our customers and employees could believe in.

in the company vision. We wanted to achieve more than just

changing the culture and delivering on our strategy. We’ve

In just three years, we have streamlined and unified the HR

their understanding; we wanted to create a deeper emotional

worked out the type of leadership skills we need to support

function, and our model continues to evolve. We have played a

Back then, the business leaders at AIB typically looked to

connection, which is where storytelling really helped. We

the business now and in the future, we’ve assessed our

key role in supporting the business agenda and we’ve re-aligned

HR to help manage headcount reductions, deliver a voluntary

are now sharing lots of stories and testimonials internally to

current capability to see where we have areas of strength and

and re-engaged the workforce following the impact of the financial

severance programme and take care of industrial relations.

demonstrate how our people make our strategy happen.

gaps we need to fill, we’ve articulated what we expect from

crisis. We’ve taken bold decisions and demonstrated our ability

our people leaders and we’ve invested heavily in building

to act strategically. We are now working more collaboratively with

capability through a programme of development that targets

the business and are excited by the part we can play in helping

different segments of leaders. We have also invested in our

AIB become a bank our staff and customers can truly believe in.

against us. This was a business badly in need of transformation.

1

be the bank that doesn’t just talk about putting customers

INVESTMENT IN LEADERSHIP

first, but who actually does it consistently and brilliantly.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

leaders as human beings by providing energy workshops to help them build their resilience and focus on their wellbeing.

1. Your Corporate Strategy: It Just Doesn’t Matter, Shaun Spearmon/John Kotter, 17 December 2012, Forbes

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NB. At the time of the debate Orlagh was working for the AIB but has since moved on.

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CULTURAL CHANGE: AN OVERVIEW •

Maintaining optimism over what is possible for employees to achieve and adapt to

•

Narrowing focus on the impact cultural levers will have on the change strategy

•

Sharing with all colleagues the data which backs up the choices for change

As highlighted in the AIB case study, organisations now

•

Uniting teams to the same goal

realise that sustainable changes to business strategy must

•

Bringing in external experts at key moments to show them

be supported by complimentary cultural shifts. Company ‘culture is deeply embedded in the values, assumptions,

what ‘great’ looks like in other organisations •

behaviours, and attitudes’2 of its’ staff and leaders, so despite the fact that constructing any kind of change to these may

organisation so that change filters all the way through •

be essential, the process is unlikely to be simple. Business development may be the end goal of such transformations but

Building strong relationships with leaders within the Influencing key individuals before trying to launch proposals to the rest of the company

•

Keeping the HR team centred on the vision for the future,

there are no fast tracks. This challenge is best suited to the

encouraging them to be brave with the business and to

talents and expertise of HR professionals who can implement

recognise the impact they are having

such changes in a way that brings staff on board with the new environment. The guests of the Round Table Debate are

In this white paper we’ll aim to answer the questions which link

experts in these processes having worked across a number of

inextricably with these points of action. Questions like: what

organisations and industries in senior HR roles. It was agreed

specifically needs changing, where to start, and how to go

amongst them that the following points should be observed

about it, all must receive attention before results can be seen.

when implementing change:

2. http://www.torbenrick.eu/blog/culture/changing-organizational-culture-is-daunting/

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1. WHERE TO START? Any cultural change programme must start with a clear

•

“Do you understand the company’s mission?”

understanding of the outcomes the organisation wants to

•

“Do you feel like you believe in it?”

achieve. Leaders originally questioned why an employee

•

“Do you feel like you could influence it?”

engagement survey was necessary when they already knew

•

“Do you feel that your work has any impact on it?”

the results would be poor. However Orlagh concluded, ‘like

•

“Do you feel an emotional connection with us?”5

with checking your bank balance, it is vital that you know exactly what you’re dealing with – only then can you choose

Whilst you may feel the outcome of these questions is

the best stratagem ’, and the results were indeed valuable and

predictable, it is important to ask. The act of seeking

insightful.

employee engagement shows a distinct effort on behalf of the

3

company to reach out to employees and make improvements

THE QUESTIONS OF CHANGE

There is little to be achieved when embarking on significant

to their advantage. ‘Employee engagement can look like a

change if clear objectives haven’t been established. Cultural

random effort to keep workers happy’, but it is actually ‘about

change, according to Martin Cook of HR Magazine, ‘is best

delivering a slew of eclectic activities’6. A Gallup study found

set against a very clear shared understanding by senior

the UK had the highest rate of employment disengagement

people of the outcomes and objectives of change and what

in Western Europe at 26%. Gallup concluded that eliminating

kind of culture will achieve them. ’ Debate guests agreed that

active disengagement would add more than £50 billion to the

a shared understanding of the specific problems and issues

UK economy. Gallup research also shows that companies

affecting staff was the only way to begin seeking solutions.

with the highest levels of engagement have higher customer

When assessing engagement for a journey of cultural change,

advocacy, productivity and profitability. They predict that,

it is important to qualify metrics which could be used to

by utilising employee engagement methods effectively,

evaluate your employees’ sense of purpose and associations

companies can experience up to 41% fewer quality defects,

with the company and its goals. The following questions could

28% less shrinkage and as much as 37% less absenteeism.7

4

be useful: Gallup’s research notes that ‘a highly engaged workforce means the difference between a company that thrives and

TO TRANSFORM A LARGE ORGANISATION TAKES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME, A HUGE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES AND A CROSSFUNCTIONAL SET OF BUSINESS SKILLS, HOW CAN WE PLAN FOR SUCH A MAMMOTH MISSION? 3.

4.

5.

6 7 8

one that struggles. When employees are engaged, they are passionate, creative, and entrepreneurial, and their enthusiasm fuels growth. These employees are emotionally connected to the mission and purpose of their work.’8

Orlagh Hunt, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/10-tips-for-changing-organisational-culture Chip Conley: Measuring what makes life worthwhile (TEDTalk) http://www.fastcompany.com/3045432/hit-the-ground-running/5-ways-how-leaders-achieve-genuine-employee-engagement?linkId=13850641 http://www.gallup.com/services/169328/q12-employee-engagement.aspx http://www.gallup.com/services/169328/q12-employee-engagement.aspx

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2. WHAT SHOULD I CHANGE?

3. HOW SHOULD WE DO IT?

Where do you begin making changes? The organisational culture

The Iceberg Theory describes this as the ‘visible and invisible

Understandably, a leadership team may not necessarily be

Martin Cook notes that “changing a culture requires a new

within a business can be complex.

aspects of organisational culture’. An ‘organisation’s culture

receptive to the idea of overhauling an existing work culture

model of involvement and engagement. This is best framed

comprises an interlocking set of goals, roles, processes,

when this coincides with an already hectic workload. Such

around a wide-ranging, ongoing conversation about how

To begin understanding the complexities involved we must look

values, communication practices, attitudes and assumptions,’

changes require significant time and energy, investment which

the organisation can achieve its corporate objectives. Start

firstly to the obvious and identifiable aspects of an organisation’s

which are important and often undervalued, ‘these cultural

doesn’t always tailor itself well to the busy schedule of those

with the very senior people and progressively open up the

culture and then to the implicit processes and rules which are

elements fit together as a mutually reinforcing system and

managing the day-to-day running of a business. In turn, it

conversation.”10 Therefore in order for change to begin at the

engrained within a business but not necessarily spoken of.

combine to prevent any attempt to change it.’ Thus, the first

top and filter it’s way through the business, a solution must be

step in creating a plan for change is to identify precisely the

found for uniting leaders to spearhead the change in the first

obvious negative issues, like inefficient structures and policies

place. Furthering this, debate guests noted the impact HR can

for instance, and those implicit issues like unwritten norms

have on helping leaders who aren’t experienced in instigating

and rules which impact poorly upon organisational culture.

these types of changes. The process can be improved for

VISIBLE ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Vision Strategy

those experiencing it as leaders through training and guidance

“The way we say we get things done”

Several implicit issues were discussed at the debate such as

ensuring they are better equipped and more confident in their

poor methods of communicating bad news to staff, segregating

endeavours.

offices and disengaging communication between departments

Shared Values

which can have a negative impact on the environment socially

Goals

Policies Structures

THE ICEBERG

Beliefs

that sinks organisational change.

GET THE LEADERSHIP ON BOARD

and upon business development. HR professionals are no

Procedures

Shared Assumptions Tradition Values Norms Unwritten Rules

“The way we really get things done”

9

Stories Feelings

stranger to unpinning office cultures and social traditions which can be detrimental to the business. Longstanding

change was a challenge for Sony Electronics (SEL). Whilst

needing modernising, and it is the role of the HR department to identity those which aren’t achieving what they should so

can also be the case that some leaders are not necessarily

that they can be reworked to provide greater benefits to the

equipped or specialised to help their teams through such large

employees they affect.

levels of change. Whilst on the whole, leaders have reached senior positions as a result of experience and expertise, in

Conducting an employee engagement survey, as in the

instances where leaders have been in line for promotion or

previous section, will indicate areas which require attention.

promoted due to their technical abilities, they may not have

Hunt’s survey on people management acquired responses

the specific skills required. This, again, requires the influence

such as, ‘I know my manager has no idea what experience

of a HR team who understand the varying expertise of those

I have, how long I’ve worked in the bank and what roles

leading the majority.

undergoing a period of change they realised that transformation hinged on two critical components: building alignment among leaders based upon the company strategy and empowering front-line leaders to be change leaders. By taking a top level approach, SEL encouraged 600 leaders to take part in a learning programme, from C-suite executives to business unit heads to front-line leaders, the message was clear. “We’re in this together and we’ll get through this together.”11

I’ve had.’ Feedback like this gives a clear message that employer and management beliefs, procedures and values require significant improvement. Alongside this, running an analytical eye over the day-to-day running of the business and processes which exist ‘just because’ is the best way to

INVISIBLE ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

Getting senior leadership involved and engaged with cultural

policies and unwritten rules can go unquestioned despite

find any hindrances. Whilst an overhaul of everything may be too extreme, it is beneficial to address whether the way you do things is constructive or outdated. If a policy, norm or structure doesn’t have a clear positive objective it may be due a renovation. By asking ‘what should change?’, ‘what should

THIS IS BEST FRAMED AROUND A WIDE-RANGING, ONGOING CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW THE ORGANISATION CAN ACHIEVE ITS CORPORATE OBJECTIVES. START WITH THE VERY SENIOR PEOPLE AND PROGRESSIVELY OPEN UP THE CONVERSATION.

go?’ and ‘what is missing?’ you can identify the key barriers to

9 http://www.torbenrick.eu/blog/change-management/iceberg-that-sinks-organizational-change/

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10 www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/10-tips-for-changing-organisational-culture 11 http://www.bts.com/docs/case-studies/bts-sony-frontline-leaders

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INVESTMENT& Making sure that you are in a position to help others is vital when instigating business change, but if the leadership team feel as if they themselves haven’t been invested in, then asking them to have the energy and motivation to implement big cultural changes can be too large an expectation.

‘PLEASE ATTEND TO YOUR OWN FLIGHT MASK FIRST’

STORYTELLING One of the hardest aspects of business change is convincing your colleagues that it will be worth it. One particular method which worked well for AIB was storytelling to positively spread a message. ‘Corporate culture is communicated and reinforced through the use of storytelling’15, which is an effective accompaniment to a refreshed company vision and strategy.

According to Hunt, you “need to invest a lot of time and energy in leaders as a population to build their capability and confidence. It’s hard to be there for your team if you’re in deficit”, emotionally, physically or mentally. Her advice? Do whatever it is you need to do to help yourself feel on top of things; “whilst it may feel indulgent to go to the gym at lunchtime, you need to fulfil yourself, so that you can fulfil others. Try to get people to see that it is a necessity”.12 There are lots of studies which demonstrate business benefits of well being; you will see valuable improved employee engagement once your staff are looking after themselves. Having staff learn what personally motivates and refreshes them is the best insight they can gain for improving work life. “For me”, said Hunt, “I’m motivated by learning and growing; I need to know what’s going on and what’s interesting, I need to go to events and keep my brain ticking over. Hopefully what that means for the business is I can craft smarter things.”

To apply Hunt’s advice to your own change initiative, you could run a focus group or project to discuss and explore ways to keep staff energised. AIB used Energy Project, a company specialising in employee motivation and engagement boosting.

The Energy Project believe that we are all at our best when we move between expending energy and intermittently renewing our four core energy needs: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual and that when a company supplies fuel or enables refueling in each dimension of energy, you will create happier, more engaged employees that will affect your organization’s success.13 Whilst this may feel like you’re offering information that everyone already knows, debate guests agreed putting it into practice is another matter. Actually “creating those positive habits” makes people feel their employer is investing in “me and my whole life, not just me at work.”14 As a starting point HR might consider, what more can we add to

Using thoughtful, honest communication to paint the whole picture can help to make sure that employees understand the business’ challenges, achievements and direction (and their part in it) from beginning, to middle, to end. The power of stories shouldn’t be underestimated in its’ role when building emotional connections for people, helping staff to feel positive about the future and connecting them with the business strategy.

Jim Devine surmised that “Often we expect people to agree with change, but if you’re losing your job, why would you agree with it? The realistic aspiration is to understand it, so that everyone in the business has some degree of business acumen”. Achieving agreement on the topic of change can be a serious challenge, however storytelling can help to explain the need for it and as Devine notes, “I’ve never been anywhere that had no emotional capacity for change”.16

the day-to-day lives of employees to improve their well-being?

BUILD PRIDE Organisations today are highly receptive to the power of storytelling. Most leaders are now upskilled in the art of using it effectively to spark action, communicate values and engage employees with a future vision.17 However, when it comes to culture change the stories told are just the beginning.

Successful storytelling should result in stories filtering across the organisation and positively translating through word of mouth. The effect of this, debate guests agreed, can result in a far more powerful and lasting message overall. Staff who have positive things to say about the business will play a major part in cultivating a happy work environment and as a consequence will carry this positive message with them into their lives outside of work.

When you’re trying to build pride in an organisation, you often have to coax success stories out of people initially to try and regain some sense of positive morale. Hunt surmised that “people need to hear success stories and that breeds more success and more hope. You need to build a sense that you are credible as an organisation”18. Within an organisation, leadership can often seem removed and distant from the greater workforce.

How can we increase fulfilment? And, in what ways can we

What is needed, debate guests agreed, is raw interaction so

boost positivity in the work place?

that story telling can occur and leaders show themselves to be relatable.

12 Orlagh Hunt, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London 13 http://theenergyproject.com/ 14 Orlagh Hunt, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London

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15 16 17 18

Storytelling – A Powerful Learning Tool, HR.com Jim Devine, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London http://www.lane4performance.com/insight/blog/culture-change-the-waves-of-storytelling/ Orlagh Hunt, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London

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WHO? HR’s role is transitional between ‘driver’ and ‘partner of change’.

Knowing when to drive and when to navigate is a vital part of guiding a company through a period of change as departments and leaders have their own needs, decisions and issues to contend with during the process.

It was agreed by debate guests that HR professionals should be involved in all areas of steering change and key members to the board of change leadership. It was noted that in some organisations HR are not always afforded the level of influence they deserve, however guests were in agreement that HR Directors in general have no problem with steering change and that HR should be confidently counted amongst leadership as the results are distinctly better when this happens. “Instinctively” a guest shared “as HR practitioners we know what’s best for people, it is absolutely right for HR to take the driver’s seat, when the seat is empty, and when it’s not, use that instinct and experience

to encourage, guide and help the driver/

the board”. Jonathan Edge pointed out that, “For some HR professionals, there is a fear of doing nothing” when no one is in the driver’s seat. But, as the guests concluded, there is as much empowerment in lending a helping hand as there is in leading the way; “HR aren’t shrinking violets, we deal with conflict and challenges all the time”.19 It seems that HR has “grown up with the need to seek permission to do things,”20 as if every non-transactional action is stepping on someone’s toes. However, as Andrea Cartwright commented “you don’t need to set the world on fire, just light little fires”21, and embrace your ability to both lead and guide.

19 Jonathan Edge, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London 20 Andrea Cartwright, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London 21 Andrea Cartwright, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London

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17

HR is not the only function within an organisation

Martin

that can offer radical change. Orlagh Hunt

change needs to be communicated effectively

Cook

of

HR

Magazine

states

that

commented on how different departments can

and “like never before…it’s about creating a

work together to achieve the same ends: “Bring

campaigning dialogue around the organisation.”

two streams of work together – then you have a

And communication doesn’t just mean with your

real chance of changing the DNA of a company.”22

employees, linking the customer into the change

So which function should HR align with? The

process is vital. Cook recommends “work[ing] with

answer could well lie within the marketing

customers to get feedback and input into what can

department – strong ties here could secure the

and needs to change.”24

chance to overhaul strategy. Mike Beesley, CEO of RSG, noted that: “The power of that vehicle

So how do you deal with the media whilst driving

from a business development perspective and a

a new strategy through cultural change? Guests

staff engagement perspective has been huge.”23

agreed, “you have to be 100% honest – it’s the

One Debate guest pointed out that “you have to

only way. Share the profit, share the pain. No

forge strong, mutually beneficial links, but not to

dressing it up, you have to stand in front of people

the extent that one dominates the other; it has to

and tell the truth”. One guest advised that “positive

be on a common agenda.”

use of an intranet is important, as all can share community comms.”

Many

organisations

make

a

deliberate

and

conscious effort to work with a pre-engagement

In an increasingly digital world of media, it is

group and the internal comms team during

becoming harder to keep on top of external

change, so that the narrative comes back to

comms – whether positive or negative. Harnessing

employee engagement. Working with Marketing

the power of the media to your advantage is a real

(internal comms) and using their knowledge of the

challenge for HR drivers of change – especially

organisation and skills to help write a consistent

when they work alongside the Marketing and

story for the whole company to identify with

PR departments to promote and encourage this

is imperative in cohesive cultural change. The

change. Guests noted that a huge percentage of

alignment of internal comms and HR is a complete

the workforce is now Gen Y/Z and social media

given, stated a debate guest.

tools are inextricably linked to them, so how do you leverage that? In their minds, there’s no

The alignment of internal and external comms is

difference and HR is a bit old fashioned for thinking

also important - they must correlate, especially in

that the office environment is not a social set up

a brand dominated business. Unskillfully handled

for them. For some, there’s no difference between

however, it can become a bit of a balancing act.

work social media and personal social media. A

“I was always trying to use (comms/marketing) for

workplace’s culture is public information now, so

insight and resources, but their view of how you

how do you control this? Emerging platforms such

market externally was the same as they’d market

as ‘Glassdoor’ have the potential to pose a social

internally. Sometimes, internally, you need to say

media threat to a company’s reputation. Whilst

what you’re not good at. How you market your

digital technology and external comms can have

brand internally should be the same as externally

their advantages when it comes to implementing

and HR should use marketing as an ally so that

change, it needs to be remembered that the term

they’re both singing off the same song sheet”

‘comms’ now has a much broader definition – it

noted Jim Devine.

encompasses not only professional but also personal opinions of the workplace.

22 Orlagh Hunt, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London 23 Mike Beesley, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London 24 http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/10-tips-for-changing-organisational-culture

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WHEN TO

CO-PILOT NAVIGATE

TIMESCALES OF CHANGE:

PATIENCE AGILITY

AND WHEN TO

VS

Whilst it may be exciting to hear about the successes at AIB and

Another example of an agile culture where change is in the DNA

other similar organisations in terms of organisational development

was shared by Andrea Cartwright from Supergroup PLC, “we

and change, it is worth noting the struggle that HR strategists

are changing all the time; that’s the point. It’s not that there’s

can face in larger organisations. Using the analogy of an oil

no change - we just don’t think of it as that big scary word;

tanker to represent a large corporation – where manoeuvring

it’s just what we do”28 At places like Google, change is in the

in any direction is both hard, slow and requires a lot of team

younger workforce’s nature, but for those who have been at the

work – Debate guests questioned, ‘is bigger actually better?’

same desk for 20 years, in mature organisations, they might be more resistant to change and driving cultural change could be

Andrea Cartwright commented “You end up with these oil

a challenge.

tankers (organisations) which are just so hard to do anything One of the greatest challenges HR can

Finding the perfect balance between

Once

face is holding onto driving strategy

collaborating with strategy, dictating it

assessment

create

with and slow down the growth. We’ve always thought big is

Debate guests noted that in any change programme whatever

processes,

beautiful, and that’s how you will survive, but in the long term

after the big changes have taken place.

and simply being effective at delivering

the economic circumstances, HR has to pay attention to the

you’ve helped create the benchmark.

There was a general view amongst The

will that come back and bite you?”

The fact remains that the

psychological aspects of change on employees as businesses

change will naturally be dependant upon

Finding the balance between driving

bigger the organisation, the more difficult the change. The

often do not realise the impact - particularly in a depressed

HR World Debate guests that HR was

the situation you started with. While it

change and being a co-pilot for HR

bigger the oil tanker, the more it needs to be aware of the non

economy when employees can be stressed and on red alert. It

seen as vital to forward planning during

may be tempting to say ‘but HR knows

can be a challenge and debate guests

visible aspects of change that need to be influenced, those

can take up to two years for an employee to adapt fully to the

the times of dramatic staff change

best’, there is a need to get a deeper

noted that it can force HR to slow down

below the waterline.

impacts of change, so if it isn’t well handled, it could become

and employee tensions but once the

level of ownership across the executive

on some aspects of change. The pace

business started to prosper, holding

team. At AIB, the HR team moved into

of the recovery can become a bit stop-

It is now a recognised fact that the world moves faster,

the business. Thus, the importance of handling the instigation of

onto the reins proved a tough task. Hunt

a sponsorship model, encouraging the

start as you involve more people and

economies change quicker and news is instantaneous and

change appropriately, empathetically, and strategically is entirely

agreed “As these things began working

leadership to sponsor the next stage

you have to be more flexible about what

global which has in turn led to the life cycle of companies and

fundamental.

and AIB started to make money again,

of the development, trying to focus on

the solutions look like; in essence, HR

products shrinking. But what also needs to be recognised is

there was a feeling from the leadership

‘what’ and ‘how’ more actively and

needed to pilot, and then become co-

that culture also has a life cycle and that it too is getting shorter.

that they should dictate the pace, not

getting them involved in a Leadership

pilot. This should not limit HR but rather,

GE has once again adapted creating a new culture ‘the GE

HR, a feeling that HR are “telling us what

Development Review.

be viewed as part of the successful HR

Beliefs’27 which reflect a renewed emphasis on acceleration,

journey. In situations which can often

agility and customer focus and these beliefs were for the first

provoke initial resistance, the transition

time crowd sourced from employees, in an attempt to drive a

from HR leading this to co-piloting the

culture employees wanted. GE has also moved away from an

change is a sign of vast improvement

annual life cycle of strategic planning and people review to a

and achievement.

more agile and responsive continuous real time approach.

to do”.25

“ 20

ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES HR CAN FACE IS HOLDING ONTO DRIVING STRATEGY AFTER THE BIG CHANGES HAVE TAKEN PLACE

you

have and

helped review

26

a recurring issue of unnecessary and prolonged disturbance to

25 26 27 28

Orlagh Hunt, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London Andrea Cartwright, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London https://hbr.org/2015/01/ges-culture-challenge-after-welch-and-immelt Andrea Cartwright, The HR World Debate, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London

“

HR HAS TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHANGE ON EMPLOYEES - PARTICULARLY IN A DEPRESSED ECONOMY WHEN EMPLOYEES CAN BE STRESSED AND ON RED ALERT 21

CONCLUSION

BY MIKE BEESLEY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RESOURCE SOLUTIONS GROUP

“

RISKS ARE NECESSARY. IF YOU GUARD AGAINST EVERY POTENTIAL DOWNFALL, YOU’LL DO NOTHING.

‘True culture change requires radical behaviour shifts over a period of several months or years. The new behaviours have to be ingrained in the culture so that most of your leaders and employees are demonstrating them readily and consistently.’29 Risks are necessary. If you guard against every potential downfall, you’ll do nothing. But we can minimise those risks by using the vast range of capabilities open to us in terms of data, employee engagement and collaboration with other departments to master this.

HR cannot wait to be asked to sort everything that needs sorting; often, you have to set the mandate or change agenda yourself. A HR team’s confidence may have to be built from scratch, especially in the face of major change.

Is your goal to start to get back to normal? Then you need to create hope, first by sending the message that ‘we are one’, secondly by making leaders more confident, so that their optimism permeates down through the ranks. Even your willingness to undertake this demonstrates, and so encourages, confidence.

Either way it’s important to embrace change positively. It is ever-present and isn’t going away. To ignore it would almost certainly result in the downfall of any career.

29 https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/ways-to-measure-change-in-company-culture/

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GUEST PROFILES

SAMANTHA BLACKIE, PEOPLE & CORPORATE AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, ROYAL LONDON GROUP Sam joined Royal London Group in January 2012 as the Group People & Corporate Affairs Director. Previously, Sam held a number of roles at Lloyds Banking Group where she developed wide ranging experience in a number of senior HR and Communications roles, including in the IT division, Life & Pensions, Asset Finance and General Insurance businesses. Sam has a wealth of experience in HR and communications management, including working with AXA Sun Life, Arcadia Group, WH Smith and ASDA.

CHRIS BUCKINGHAM, HEAD OF RPO & IMPLEMENTATION, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

DEBATE LEAD

After graduating in Psychology, Chris has spent over 14 years in the recruitment industry, the majority of which have been spent specialising in outsourced managed services (RPO and MSP). Chris is currently responsible for designing and implementing RPO for

ORLAGH HUNT, EX GROUP HR DIRECTOR, AIB (ALLIED IRISH BANKS)

Resource Management (part of the RSG group) with a particular focus on service delivery, technology and innovation. He has been MCIPD qualified since 2006 and is an experienced Psychometric Testing and PRINCE2 Project Management Practitioner. Chris is also a

Orlagh is a highly accomplished and progressive Group HR Director who has worked in a number of industry sectors including Retail,

volunteer for the CIPD Steps Ahead Mentoring Programme specifically aimed at helping young people gain employment.

FMCG and Financial Services. At the time of publication she was transforming the organisation to help it reach its goals through a focus on great people leadership, employee engagement and strategy alignment. As well as being named one of Ireland’s most powerful women by WXN in 2014, Orlagh, as the youngest female HR Director working for a FTSE 100 company, revolutionised the culture of

ANDREA CARTWRIGHT, GROUP HR DIRECTOR, SUPERGROUP PLC

RSA, one of the world’s leading insurers. Under her leadership, the firm achieved world class levels of engagement and reached Number 6 in the Times Top 100 best companies to work for all in just three years. Orlagh’s particular strengths are in employee engagement,

Andrea has gained a wealth of experience as an HR professional having worked for renowned companies including Tesco, AXA, Barclays

capability building and talent management.

and Nationwide. Andrea is a recognised leader in the field of employee engagement and was a keynote speaker on Next Generation HR at the 2009 CIPD annual conference. Most recently appointed as SuperGroup’s first ever HR Director, Andrea is dedicated to creating a first class HR team for the company.

DEBATE CHAIR

JIM DEVINE, GROUP HR DIRECTOR, SPIRAX SARCO ENGINEERING PLC

MIKE BEESLEY, CEO, RESOURCE SOLUTIONS GROUP

Jim is a Group HR Director who has worked across a range of sectors and geographies. He has recently worked with Enterprise Ireland,

With more than three decades in the recruitment industry, Mike is Chief Executive of national recruitment organisation Resource Solutions

mentoring a number of HR Software start ups looking to move into the European market, and prior to this was the Group HR Director

Group (RSG). With a strong belief in the power of relationships and business insight, he considers one of his greatest achievements to be

at Chemring Plc, an FTSE 250 business in the Defence and Aerospace sector with operations in Europe, the US and Australia. Before

still working alongside many of his clients for more than a decade, successfully helping them meet their goals. Mike’s main aim in hosting

this, Jim spent 7 years at Centrica Plc, first as HR Director for British Gas Services division and then in a role for Centrica group as HR

a series of RSG thought-leadership debates is to uncover examples of best practice and innovative approaches to a number of topical

Director, Corporate Centre and HR Shared Services. Jim started his career in HR in the Civil Aviation division of BAE Systems. He then

issues and further the knowledge of how RSG can assist its clients in achieving their business objectives.

spent 10 years at Ford of Europe where he progressed through a range of HR roles in European Financial Services, Supply Chain, Ford of Europe HQ and finally as Head of HR for the manufacturing operations at Dagenham.

DEBATE GUESTS

JONATHON EDGE, HR DIRECTOR, UK & IRELAND, IDEAL STANDARD INTERNATIONAL BVBA Head of HR UK, Imperial Tobacco, at time of debate.

CAROLINE BEER, BUSINESS MANAGER, THE HR WORLD

Jon is an internationally experienced Divisional HR Director, with extensive commercial knowledge of the FMCG space for major global Caroline joined RSG to establish and grow The HR World - an exclusive community providing senior HR professionals with the opportunity

corporates. Jon had a multi-disciplined background encompassing L&D, OD & Talent before moving into a HR Director role for Imperial

to participate in thought leadership forums, network and share experiences with an extended peer group. With over 20 years of global

Tobacco. Jon has significant knowledge and experience of driving organisational change, performance management and engagement

experience in the resourcing industry in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Caroline has worked in executive search, attraction

activities within commercial organisations.

strategy, RPO, outplacement, diversity and as a resourcing consultant. Her cross-sector executive search expertise has covered corporate functions such as HR, IT, Marketing, Sales and Finance; clients have included Sainsbury’s, Accenture, L’Oreal and GE.

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ALISON FORWARD, VPLHR EMEA, ASSA ABLOY

SARAH PULLIN, HR DIRECTOR, TLT

Head of HR Corporate Structuring, HSBC, at time of debate Sarah is an operational HR specialist with a results-focused track record and a wealth of experience across the range of HR disciplines.

Alison is currently leading the People strategy and implementation of the Bank Reform Act (2013) for HSBC. Having held roles as Head

Sarah joined TLT from Capita, where she was progressed from Head of Operations to the Head of People Proposition, and previously

of HR for Global Insurance and Head of HR for the Global Retail Bank, Alison led the global initiative to fundamentally change global

spent 8 years at AXA in various roles including HR Business Partner and Head of HR where she led key business transformation projects

incentive schemes in the retail bank. She has held senior roles in National Air Traffic Services, Environment Agency, AXA and Prudential,

from departmental start ups to virtual centralised shared services and organisational design initiatives to improve operational effectiveness.

concentrating on business and strategic operational and cultural change programmes. Alison is experienced in global disposals, joint

Sarah joined TLT as HR Director in 2012; during that time the firm has grown from 3 to 7 offices across all 3 legal jurisdictions. Her focus

ventures, transformations and re-structuring businesses in key global markets.

and specialisms include leading and driving through change, Performance improvement and Leadership development. Prior to AXA Sarah worked for PwC and The Walt Disney Company.

JONNY HILES, CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Jonny has run outsourced recruitment services for corporate businesses including Friends Life, AXA UK plc, Zurich Financial Services and Royal & Sun Alliance during his 17 year career. In his current role, Jonny is responsible for relationship management and service delivery to RSG’s corporate customer base and drives the outsourced services – RPO and MSP.

OONAGH JOHNSTON, EX-INTERIM HEAD OF HRBP DELIVERY, UNUM Oonagh began her career as one of the youngest building society managers at Woolwich, aged just 21. Since then she has progressed with incredible speed, most recently working as Global HR Director for a niche pharmaceutical company. From Construction to Graphic Design, Financial and Insurance Services to Telecommunications, Oonagh has taken a strategic approach in helping business leaders maintain motivation and momentum, reaching extraordinary goals by embracing progressive people practices. Oonagh has also set up her own consultancy helping organisations to flourish and individuals to expect more, and currently works with SMEs and large organisations as a change consultant, helping them innovate and simplify their organisational structures.

ALAN MELLOR, HEAD OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, PENTLAND BRANDS Alan has held HR generalist roles across the Construction and Market Research sectors and was most recently an HR Business Partner with Lacoste Footwear at Pentland Brands. He was recently appointed to the role of Head of Employee Engagement for Pentland Brands globally where his role is to help employees become personally involved with the success of the organisation.

HAZEL MONAGHAN, MARKETING EXECUTIVE, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT After graduating with a first-class degree in English Literature, Hazel has brought her linguistic expertise and copywriting skills to the Resource Management team, developing and implementing successful marketing and social media strategies. Hazel’s role as a marketer included assisting in the early development of The HR World.

JYOTI PARMAR, INTERIM HR DIRECTOR Jyoti is a senior HR and Business Change professional with considerable organisational, process and cultural change management expertise resulting in a history of successful performance at both strategic and operational levels. In her most recent role at Towergate Insurance, Jyoti successfully delivered a major integration programme within challenging timescales. Prior to this, Jyoti held senior HR roles at Lastminute.com, Airwave, BAA – Heathrow Express and Kellogg’s.

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CONTACT THE HR WORLD

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