towerswatson.com The Power of People EDF Energy drives employee engagement and high performance

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1 towerswatson.com The Power of People EDF Energy drives employee engagement and high performance

2 The Power of People EDF Energy drives employee engagement and high performance By Lucie P. Lawrence There s no question that EDF Energy has experienced significant change in the past few years. First there were the mergers of three large energy companies between 1998 and 2002 that created EDF Energy. Then came the acquisition of British Energy in 2009, which formed one of the United Kingdom s biggest energy corporations and the country s largest producer of electricity. With that monumental merger came a new mission: We bring affordable, low-carbon energy solutions home to everyone. To that end, EDF Energy is focused on achieving a zero-harm safety record, being customers first choice, leading the way in nuclear generation, delivering strong financial performance, being a leader in sustainability and having high-performing people. Measuring high performance Leaders knew that for the new company to be successful, they would need to strengthen and deepen the employer-employee relationship. We needed to engage employees in the newest set of challenges the company faced, explains Andrew Edgoose, director of HR shared services at EDF Energy. In addition to the acquisition of British Energy which increased our U.K. employee base by 50% and doubled the value of the company we faced a major reengineering project in our business-to-consumer division. We also were laying the foundation for building new nuclear power sources in the U.K. He adds, These changes would ultimately affect a very large number of employees and create huge challenges across the business landscape. Our people needed to understand all of these issues and be engaged to help the company make things happen. The approach was to measure employee engagement and use employee feedback in a more strategic way. We wanted to create a scientifically based mechanism that would lead employees and leaders to trust the survey results, says Edgoose. At the same time, we needed to assess employee opinion across a range of topics, benchmark the results against those of a variety of companies and industries, and create a high-performing index to ensure we were on track. To achieve these goals, EDF Energy entered into a five-year partnership with Towers Watson to design and administer an annual employee engagement survey, and to consult on boosting engagement across the business. EDF Energy had been conducting an employee survey each year, using a very traditional tool, says Stephen Young, director of organizational surveys and insights at Towers Watson. HR leaders recognized the need to redesign it to better align with the company s strategic goals. 2 towerswatson.com

3 EDF Energy at a Glance Established in 2003 A wholly owned subsidiary of the EDF Group, one of Europe s largest energy groups The largest producer of lowcarbon electricity in the U.K. Supplies electricity and gas to about 5.5 million residential and business customers Approximately 15,000 employees Andrew Edgoose, director of HR shared services, EDF Energy

4 EDF Energy s Andrew Edgoose (standing) with (left to right) Stephen Young, director of organizational surveys and insights, Towers Watson; Helen Beedham, Towers Watson senior change management and communication consultant; and Christabel Mensah, employee engagement and change management consultant at EDF Energy Building a survey As a first step, Towers Watson consultants worked closely with senior executives and the employee engagement team to determine what would be needed for the company to meet its 2012 goals. Together they crafted a new employee survey, including several questions from EDF Energy s previous study to help employees make the transition from the traditional survey of the past. They designed the new survey to specifically measure engagement and performance. Using employees responses to a number of questions, HR would be able to create an engagement index, which would later evolve into a high-performingpeople index. The engagement index would show what employees thought of the company, explains Young. The high-performing-people index would reflect employees perception of company leadership, communication and direction, as well as performance/talent management, environment, image and customer focus. Using the indexes, leaders would be able to track specific behaviors related to high performance and engagement. 4 towerswatson.com

5 Lessons Learned Andrew Edgoose and Christabel Mensah of EDF Energy offer advice on administering an employee engagement survey: The survey ran in 2009 and was well received. The response rate was 78%, with more than 15,000 employees sharing their views. We were happy with the initial response rate, and it has improved each year, says Helen Beedham, senior consultant in the Change Management and Communication practice at Towers Watson. The responses painted a clear picture of how employees believe the company is doing in a range of areas. Think through what you re trying to achieve. What business challenges will the survey help you meet? Choose the right partner to advise you throughout the process. Consider the long-term results. Set a fiveyear goal, and plan to track your progress each year. Benchmark your results against a range of companies and industries. This will demonstrate what good really looks like and will help you put your own data into perspective. Use similar survey questions year after year so you can track underlying themes. Act on the survey results. Strategy at Work 5

6 Springing Into Action In response to employee engagement survey findings, EDF Energy: Strengthened employees perception of senior leadership effectiveness Executive leadership visibility program: informal walk-arounds at work sites and question-and-answer sessions Leadership development programs Helped employees understand the vision and direction of the company (post-merger) Business unit road shows The Our Compelling Story program Built a strong change management capability across the business The EDF Energy Way of managing people through change, including a practical toolkit Change management training for HR and business managers Taught line managers how to enhance engagement on their teams Leadership development programs at the first line-leader level Our Compelling Story sessions for individual teams Taking action With survey results in hand, the employee engagement team worked with the HR directors to explain the results to the business executive teams and the chief executive officer. HR also used external benchmarking data to compare EDF Energy to other high-performing organizations. As part of the action planning phase, the team developed short-term recommendations for raising engagement levels within 12 months. In addition, the team presented a long-term plan for building employee engagement and increasing employees commitment to helping the business units address specific priorities. This phase is critical to the success of the survey because we need to act on employee feedback, says Edgoose. It s essential to have a mix of corporate responses to the feedback as well as local responses. We give the business units the flexibility to develop plans that meet the needs of employees in their areas. To increase employees confidence in top-level management, the action plan includes steps to help senior executives further develop their leadership skills and be more visible as leaders. The plan also outlines ways to improve the support and guidance provided for managers. And it calls for the launch of an e-learning program on sustainability that would educate employees about the company s role as a leading provider of low-carbon energy. The final action step involves explaining the company s vision, mission and direction to employees through Our Compelling Story, a series of interactive sessions. The survey results supported the development of this program, says Christabel Mensah, employee engagement and change consultant at EDF Energy. Our 2010 survey results showed that employees who attended one of the sessions responded more favorably to our survey questions than those who didn t attend. It highlights the importance of listening to employees and responding to what they re telling you. A continuous journey With the help of Towers Watson, we ve made progress toward achieving our high-performingpeople goal, says Edgoose. Towers Watson understands the energy sector, and we ve been fortunate to work with the same team of consultants for several years. This has enabled them to get under the skin of EDF Energy and get to know us very well. Overall, EDF Energy s HR team is pleased with the survey scores. After taking action to address specific factors the company s strategic 6 towerswatson.com

7 Helen Beedham and Christabel Mensah in EDF Energy s London headquarters What Does Engagement Look Like? Engagement means employees know what their business is trying to achieve, understand their role in that effort and feel motivated to play a part in the company s success. Employee engagement creates and harnesses the discretionary effort employees put into doing things better and more effectively, leading to stronger business results. Engagement has three components: Rational. Do employees understand the company s ambitions and values and how they fit in? Emotional. Do employees feel a sense of belonging and pride? Do they feel valued by the organization and committed to its goals? Do they advocate for the business? Motivational. Do employees get involved in company programs? Are they willing to go the extra mile? Do they make plans for their future with the company? direction, vision, leadership, internal communication, and workforce health and safety leaders have seen significant progress in those areas. Our survey results show we re improving, says Mensah. For example, last year we saw an increase in favorable scores across each of our 14 categories. We are moving in the right direction; however, in some areas, such as customer focus, we re lagging behind many high-performing companies. We still have work to do. Strategy at Work 7

8 About Towers Watson Towers Watson is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. With 14,000 associates around the world, we offer solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. Copyright 2011 Towers Watson. All rights reserved. NA towerswatson.com