The 2023 Personnel Today Employee Experience Award went to Zopa for its comprehensive approach to employee engagement through feedback, mentoring, learning and supportive benefits.
One judge described its approach as an “end to end mastery of how to win hearts and minds of its people”. Here, we take a closer look at Zopa’s entry, as well as those from the other finalists in this category.
WINNER
Zopa
Zopa is a digital bank with rapid growth year on year. Employees need to thrive to offer the best customer service, and Zopa’s aim is to provide a people-centred approach from the applicant’s first encounter with the bank then throughout their career. This includes a positive candidate experience, support for new starters through a welcome pack managers can use to communicate, and a complete overhaul of its benefits. Attrition has reduced from 23.5% in 2022 to 14.3% in 2023 since renewing its onboarding experience.
Career progression and personal growth is a high priority, with a range of learning options available through the company intranet and a monthly round-up of what is on offer. A bi-annual mentoring programme has increased participants from 23 in 2022 to 36 in 2023. There is also a four-month leadership academy that explores leadership styles and provides practical insights. Weekly company meetings feature talks from guest speakers spotlighting their areas of specialism, with some dedicated to non-business-related topics to enhance a feeling of belonging.
Data from Zopa’s employee engagement survey shows increased participation and engagement scores have remained high for the past 12 months at 73%. In February 2023 the company secured £75 million in funding from existing investors, showing the tangible value of a positive workplace culture.
RUNNERS-UP
Avalere Health in partnership with Culture Amp
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A few years ago, Avalere Health (formerly Fishawack) was struggling with disengagement and high staff turnover. The business is an amalgamation of 19 smaller agencies and employs 1,600 people, but did not have a people strategy in place. In 2021 a change in leadership led to a listening strategy focused on improving employee experience. This revealed that staff were unhappy about resource allocation and lacked a sense of belonging. They also craved more learning and career opportunities, and better communication.
A deep-dive survey with Culture Amp showed areas to prioritise, and Avalere Health subsequently amended its onboarding process to make it more welcoming, setting out the company’s values and mobility policy. New starters are made aware of opportunities to pivot their career internally.
Avalere Health also introduced a belonging workshop where employees described how it felt to belong, and launched a number of new inclusion groups. A peer-to-peer recognition programme was introduced after employee recognition had initially scored poorly, and new benefits included support with fertility.
After 18 months, engagement leapt from 74% to 81% for new starters; employees who would recommend it as a good place to work went up from 63% to 73%; approval for L&D programmes soared from 10% to 74% and belonging was up by seven percentage points to 69%. Participation in the surveys also increased as employees could see their input was having a real impact. A later question about burnout showed this was high, so measures were taken to reduce the length and amount of meetings, giving employees time to focus on other things.
iPSL in partnership with Benefex
In 2018, cheque processing company iPSL began a business transformation programme, which included moving paper-based processes online. It worked with Benefex to digitise its benefits platform, Choices, and move its flexible benefits online with a host of new ones. However, despite an increase in employees using the site, many hadn’t logged in and chosen their benefits.
So in 2022 it decided to overhaul its digital benefits programme again, first gathering feedback from the company on what could be improved. Many employees were at the lower end of the earning scale and could not afford to take up certain benefits, so it was crucial to review all internal policies, including wellbeing, parental leave and pay. One benefit that was not well known among colleagues was its death-in-service benefit yet this was costing the company a lot of money each year. iPSL decided to amend the level of core benefit and reinvest the money into a £300 flex fund for each colleague.
The target was to increase engagement by a modest 5%. A bold, year-round marketing campaign showed how the company was putting colleagues first, and the new platform was called YOU+. Business champions were recruited to spread the word and develop the brand. The money saved in reviewing the offer meant the company could increase pay in lower-level positions and introduce new perks such as income protection. Active users on the platform increased to 96%, well above the target of 77%, and those submitting a benefit increased to 92% from just 35% before. Seventy-eight percent of colleagues said benefits enrolment had improved, and attrition is down from 13% to 7.73%.
iQ Student Accommodation
iQ Student Accommodation provides housing for more than 30,000 students across 77 sites in the UK, employing around 600 employees. It launched a new employer value proposition – ‘It’s an IQ thing’ – focusing on enhanced family-friendly policies such as maternity and paternity, as well as providing a long-service benefit and electric car scheme. A new employee forum was launched called Voice It where teams can have their say, alongside a new engagement survey with Culture Amp.
In February 2023 the business launched a set of new values alongside the new EVP: Doing it right, Owning it, Building it together, Exploring it and Reimagining it. Participation in the engagement survey increased from 86% to 94% and efforts are made to show how the company is listening to employee feedback. Monthly newsletters help boost communication with a dispersed workforce alongside a weekly managers’ bulletin. iQ ‘roadies’ attend sites to check in at busy times of the year to ensure teams are getting the support they need. A new programme called iQ Thrive was launched to focus on areas such as social mobility, student wellbeing and sustainability. This includes supporting 40 students across the UK through a three-year programme including mentoring, work experience, internship and free accommodation.
The company has increased its strategic focus on inclusion, with a steering group of senior leaders who hold themselves to account for the D&I plan in the business. A uniQue working group brings together volunteers from site teams across the business and runs events for Pride, International Women’s Day and National Carers Week. Reward and recognition is fully inclusive, with role-based awards given out across the year for those who go above and beyond to deliver for customers and colleagues.
South Kesteven District Council
Eighteen months ago, South Kesteven District Council was experiencing low levels of employee engagement. Staff were tired after the pandemic, many were still working from home, new starters had not met colleagues face to face and when they did come into the office often had to be segregated. The council needed to build a strong organisational culture that aligned with its values and brought people together.
In 2022 it set up an employee representative group called the People Panel, which meets regularly and is the main mechanism for employee voice. In January 2023, the council moved into new offices with pods and breakout areas that foster collaboration. It also refreshed its corporate values after seeking feedback from more than 200 employees. TeamSK is the new recognition strategy and since its launch it has attracted more than 500 nominations from colleagues thanking co-workers for their efforts. All nominations are published and winners get an extra day’s annual leave. The council also designed thank you cards for senior leaders and councillors to show their appreciation to employees personally. Other initiatives include wellbeing challenges, a parents’ forum, mental health first aid and a menopause cafe.
Compliance standards were previously at 0, and this has since improved to 6 (out of 8). Customer calls answered have increased from 55% of calls to 93.4%. Average time of complaints being open was 77 days in April 2022, and in March 2023, average days of complaints being open was 9. The number of colleagues who said they would recommend working for the council has increased by more than 18%.
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