Inspiring HR business partners

BT was at the vanguard when it came to measuring how its employees felt; but over the years more questions had been bolted on to its employee survey, and it had lost its focus. Managers were drowning in data, and progress on engagement had slowed.

As part of its integration with EE, BT launched a new set of values and modernised its employee engagement programme (Your Say). A more focused survey was built, based on six factors that could make or break an employee’s working life.

Enter HR

To shift the new engagement programme into high gear, HR business partners were equipped to coach leaders and managers in understanding and improving their engagement results. One HR business partner captured the spirit of the sessions: “Your Say wasn’t high on my list of priorities for the year. Today has changed my mind.”

• The company’s 150 top leaders were made aware of their disproportionate impact on people’s engagement.
• Virtual calls were held with thousands of managers to explain the new survey approach.
• Engagement coaching sessions went into overdrive all over the company.
• A how-to guide for managers was released on BT’s intranet, with hints and tips on ways to tackle each survey item.

In just six months, 18 of BT’s 20 engagement driver measures improved meaningfully. HR had started to turn the oil tanker.

What people are saying

“Brain hurts. Content really helpful. Thinking how can I share in my unit, how will I upskill. Plan to change mind-sets about Your Say.”

HR Business Partner, London

“Fabulous opportunity. Deeper insight and we can use it to make a difference. Lots of additional tools and have a chance to make a change.”

HR Business Partner, London

“Made me pause. How we coach, different views and how we upskill. The bigger picture. Can make a change, not just jump to more analysis.”

HR Business Partner, London

“Brilliant and thought-provoking session. Need to be able to sell convincingly that engagement underpins everything and that we can help on this! How can we make this more important? Yay coaching!”

Continuous Improvement Coach, Leeds