Navigating through data - Where HR can really shine

Employee engagement surveys are becoming more sophisticated, with the ability to provide huge amounts of data. The volume of data alone can be overwhelming, and then add to this trying to interpret what the various scores and movements year-on-year are telling you.

Julie Stephens, HR Director of People at Bupa Care Services, found herself in a dilemma. Her survey results seemed to show conflicting messages with colleagues. They were engaged, but not actively promoting the brand. The Engagement Coach was asked to come in and help better understand how colleagues were feeling and, more importantly, what Julie and her team could do about it.

We found there were a number of common issues: lack of colleagues, pay and hard work. Yet, through qualitative and quantitative analysis of how highly engaged and highly disengaged colleagues were feeling, we found deeper insights that told a different story.

It turned out that there was an underlying issue: colleagues didn’t feel performance management was being carried out consistently, meaning sickness wasn’t being addressed in some areas. This was leading to everyone else having to work that much harder and, ultimately, them saying: “I’m not being paid enough for this.” A colleague summarised this: “When everyone is in, it works like a dream.”