Knowledge Café

How can we keep our employees engaged in their work, in the current economic climate?

Alex Wilson - BTSharon Darwent - BTDave Snowden – Cognitive EdgeDavid Gurteen – Gurteen Knowledge

“How can we keep our employees engaged in their work, in the current economic climate?”

We’re here to consider the question…….

By discussing, debating, sharing experience, learning…….

There are 90 people here today all with varied backgrounds, experience and perspectives

• Emphasis on debate, learning, sharing experience

• Building relationships across industries and companies – mutual support, ideas and learning

• Not a session for us to TELL you how BT does engagement

• Although, we will seed the discussion with ideas, examples and engagement practices

>100 years of experience in the room…

Welcome, introductions, agenda

12:00 Buffet lunch

13:00 Welcome & Introduction Alex Wilson

13:15 Engaging your Employees - Dave Snowden

14:00 The Knowledge Cafe by David Gurteen

14:30 Speed Networking

14:45 Knowledge Café – discuss, share learning

16:00 Close

Introduction Employee Engagement at BT

Alex Wilson – BT Group HRD

What employee engagement means to BT

Creating a climate where BT people are committed to the company’s success. Where they value, believe in and enjoy the work they do to help the company be successful.

An engaged person brings creativity, passion and energy to the job; they proactively drive change, deliver business results and infect others with their enthusiasm. They are achieving their full potential.

Why it’s important..

Engaged Employees• Generate 43% more revenue (Hay Group)• Disengaged workers costs the UK £44Bn a year (IES) and the

US $270 Bn - $343Bn (Gallup) in lost productivity • Have 2.7 sick days per year, rather than the 6.2 disengaged

employees take (Gallup)• Are 87% less likely to leave (Corporate Leadership Council)• 67% advocate their organisations; only 3% of the disengaged

do (Gallup)• 9 out of 10 of key barriers to successful change, people related

(PWC)• 59% of EE say “work brings out their most creative ideas” –

only 3% of disengaged agree (Gallup)

Engaged Employees

ImprovedPerformance

SatisfiedCustomers

BusinessResults

The global economic downturn is affecting people’s engagement

For most companies…• Rising concern about job security• Losing confidence and trust in senior leadership• Less clarity about future of the company• Less reward, less people, more stress• Productivity, morale declining• Pressure on middle management – making tough decisions• Could be a deferred retention issue (people leave when things

get better)

• In a recent survey 88% of BT people expressed concern about the economic climate

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Agree

Companies are taking swift action to respond to the downturn

*2009 study by Hewitt and Associates covering 53 organisations, employing a total of 3.5 million people

How Companies are Responding to the Downturn

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Reviewing compensation and benefitprogrammes & long term incentives - pensions

Combining these interventions with growthmeasures - opportunitistic hiring of top talent,

targeted leadership development and new

Finding productivity gains and closing downinterim work

Scaling down production capacity and reducingcost of overall headcount

A slowdown in the economy will have asignificant impact on the business results

Re

sp

on

se

Percentage Respondants

Challenges

• Retain and motivate best people • Need for focussed execution• Improved capability – change mgt,

leadership and talent, employee engagement

• Industrial action and disputes• Market perception – reputation and

brand. Need to sustain values when making hard choices

• Compliance with employment legislation

• Continue investing in the future

Leadership style is key

Great leaders strive in challenging times

• They make tough decisions with courage and speed • They adapt quickly, listening and learning from

feedback• They are confident, honest delivering clear and

consistent messages• They do what they say they will; make commitments

public and keep to them• They act as one team, speak with one voice• and have a relentless drive for execution

People Engagement is key

My Job

My Team

My Manager

Senior Leaders

Engaged Employee

Clear expectations of role Opportunities to learn, develop and

growHave the tools and skills I need

Authority to make decisionsCollaborate with others

Motivated to do my best work

Ideas and opinions countCommitted to do quality work

Learn from and respect others Support each other

Speed up and simplify the way we work

Helps me be the best I can beCares about me and gives

feedbackRecognises my best work and

contribution to the customer

A role model for collaboration

Clear sense of direction Confident about the futureCommunicate openly about

progress I’m involved in delivering the

strategy

Proud to work here Want to stay, satisfied

Advocate of the company

The Compan

y

How we’re improving engagement at BT

• More regular frequent feedback – New quarterly survey informs business strategy– Embedding engagement into business planning cycle – holistic – More comments and conversations

• Monitoring impact of change programmes more proactively– Better planning and line of sight– Change impact for key populations

• Leader led engagement programmes – Clarity around future direction– Building confidence and trust in leadership– Making leaders visible, accessible, public commitments– Developing leaders

• Next..– Enhancing the employee experience at key touchpoints –

recruitment, induction, transition etc.

Backup

The Global Economy is slowing down

World Economic Forum Feb 09

“The message from the Annual Meeting is that leaders must continue to develop a swift and coordinated policy response to the most serious global recession since the 1930s: global challenges demand global solutions”

BT like all companieshas been affectedby the financial crisis

Getting more for less

De-layering

Clear objectives and performance management

Modifyemploymentpolicies

Policy implementationTax and

pensions

Peformanceincentives

Headcount reduction

Dave SnowdenEngaging Employees