9x Employee Engagement at Elektro Gorenjska
Challenge
Elektro Gorenjska is one of the leading electricity distribution companies in Slovenia. Back in 2016 they faced significant challenges in the strategic part of their operations. Their response times needed improvement, both for customer-facing interactions and internal processes. Additionally, they recognized the need to develop market-facing services to generate additional revenue.
Cross-department collaboration was weak, people came to do the job – and not much more. The leadership team realized that increasing the number of employees passionately working together towards new ambitious goals was the only way forward.
Their request was: “Help us measure employee engagement.”
Instead, we helped them build a thriving organization which catapulted them among 10% best electricity distribution companies in Europe.
What we did
We designed a bespoke EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT initiative, which over the years led to PEOPLE-FIRST CULTURE and LEADERSHIP.
Year 1: MEASURE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT WITH GALLUP Q12 AND BUILD PROGRESS.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.
- First we facilitated management team workshops to align everyone around the next level goals of both performance and ideal behaviors. Facilitated the org-wide Gallup Q12 employee engagement analysis. They were the starting point of individual strengths-based employee-engagement focused coaching sessions with top 30 company leaders.
- After people started sensing the difference in leadership, 80% of employees went through a series of team coaching sessions, focused on removing most common obstacles in the way people worked together.
Year 2 – 7 : PROGRESSIVELY FOCUS ON PEOPLE-FIRST LEADERSHIP AND WORKPLACE
YEARLY Q12 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ANALYSIS
Yearly, we helped facilitate the prep-communication, the engagement-strategy alignment, the roll-out of Q12 analysis, the results debrief, and action planning session for all the leaders.
THRIVING LEADERS
Every second year, all leaders went through a series of leadership coaching sessions, to polish their strengths-based, engagement-focused leadership skills.
CLIFTONSTRENGTHS PROFILING OF ALL EMPLOYEES
To drive focus on strengths.
THRIVING TEAMS
We helped teams establish new routines that lead to belonging, clarity, smooth collaboration inside and outside their teams, and established a recognition culture.
VALUES
Corporate values progressively became more and more people oriented, simple, and lived. What was once “set in stone” by the HR is now collectively discovered and updated with all the employees every 2-4 years, depending on the need to revise strategic direction.
COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT.
Supported the change initiative and helped HR, PR and the Board craft the open and transparent communication to ensure alignment, buy-in and reinforcement of the culture change.
#impact
Continuous dedication and persistent interventions led to steady workplace and outcomes improvement.
We measured:
increase in Share of Actively Engaged vs. Actively Disengaged over 7 years
increase of Actively Engaged [40th Percentile according to Gallup]
100% success rate in realization of strategic projects
+ Top 10% Electricity Distribution Companies in Europe
+ Growth in Utility Reliability (SAIFI, SAIDI)
+ Customer Experience (Net Promoter Score)
Elektro Gorenjska now also experiences:
+ Higher clarity of expectations
+ Higher feeling of being valued
+ Higher level of trust
+ Higher level of belonging and interdependence
+ Deeper alignment with the company vision
– Less frustrations and conflict
”“This is the first program that brought concrete changes in relationships, behaviors and a permanent change in leadership. Support, constructive conflict, working towards a common goal, rebuilt sense of unity and belonging, these are just some of the effects we see across the organization. We have 9x increased the ratio of actively engaged vs. disengaged employees.”
dr. Mateja Nadižar SvetChief HR Officer