Stickychange

Vessel

A utility company within the top FTSE 100

The Charterer

The Chief Executive

Departing from

The initiative began as a result of the decision of the CEO to focus on changing the culture of the organisation. Whilst there was one share price, the seven divisions had become increasingly autonomous, occasionally giving rise to a relatively unhealthy competitive relationship between them. Led by Fiona Cameron, a small group was tasked with taking this forward. The culture change programme was born. Its driving factor was the introduction of a new set of Values, developed by the organisation’s Executive Leadership Team.

Destination

To facilitate an openness to change and create a common language.

The initial thinking was to unlock the minds of the employees, so they were more receptive to change. Over 50 internal facilitators were trained to deliver two day awareness workshops. In total around 8,000 people experienced these workshops, over an 18 month period, including delegates in Estonia, Bulgaria and Australia. Many of the concepts have become fundamental to the company and two years later, you still hear people using the language. It enabled a working culture to develop in which giving and receiving feedback – and help - is much more acceptable.

To bring the Values to life

At the same time, Core Value task teams were set up, with representatives from all divisions and all levels, to identify what was needed to bring the new Values to life. Acting on their findings, 11 projects were initiated. Examples of some of the projects were:

• Cross divisional management training aimed at improving the ‘people management’ skills of the managers, with training in subjects such as Influencing, Coaching and Stress Management.
• Implementing one company wide Employee Opinion Survey (EOS) – previously there were six EOSs. Facilitating the agreement to have one cross business one was a huge political task in its own right! The company now has a view of employee opinion across the totality of the business and the capability to identify areas of best practice.
• Developing the coaching skills of 60 managers across the business, so they could provide 1:1 coaching to managers – usually in other divisions, to enable them to be more effective in how they do their jobs.
• Identifying teams across business boundaries that did not work together very effectively, and holding workshops to enable them to identify and tackle the issues.

Skipper's comments

Measurement of the impact of the work was through a working climate survey used three times over the 18 month period (later replaced by the one EOS). In that time, the response rate increased each time and the results for every question improved. We are delighted with the response to the initiative and the impact it has had.

The more intangible evidence of an improved culture is when you attend Senior Management Team meetings. Some 100 managers from all divisions attend these sessions. Previously, these were awkward, tense events which people did not want to attend, and where the participants only talked to those in their own divisions. Now people want to actively take part; the atmosphere is relaxed and cross divisional discussions are the norm. This allows for more creative and informed solutions. At senior levels, there is increased movement of staff across divisions, people now see opportunities for their future within the overall organisation, allowing for the retention of talent. There is significantly more cross divisional liaison and sharing of best practices.

Guests’ comments about workshops

• “I found out an awful lot about myself – how selfish I was, for example. I was wrapped up in my own world and didn’t think too much about other people, it was a real eye opener.”
• “The workshop more than fulfilled my expectations. It was good to take time away from day-to-day pressures, and just to sit back and think.”
• “I found it very refreshing. Sometimes we forget how to treat other people, plus it also helped us to see what we needed to do work-wise and how to do it.”
• “Within our team, there were doubts about the value of the workshop. However, everyone joined in, even those who usually keep themselves to themselves. The facilitators created a relaxed environment and the team responded by being open and honest. There is much more collaboration now and the geographical barriers are breaking down.”

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