"People are our most important asset. They make the difference," says Peter Stulp, COO of the IT service provider which now has 1,350 employees. "Fellowmind has elaborated its principles and identity in a brand culture book. “The foundation is about our people: people are central to everything we do: people at heart.” Enthusiasm is key to this. A KPI has even been formulated, so that the subject is on the agenda at all levels.
Why engagement? Stulp: "Many organizations still focus on satisfaction and employee satisfaction surveys are done. But there are many more aspects to perception of work than satisfaction. Using talent, meaningful work, challenge. We are convinced of the business case for enthusiasm. If you look after your people well, they will look after your customers. They then exceed expectations, and you get satisfied customers."
“With the Engagement Survey we make the subject objectively measurable. In that way we determine how things are going overall”.
Besides personal attention, a positive working climate is necessary to stimulate engagement. "We must create the conditions for our people to be able to use their talents, be constantly challenged and to experience meaning in their work. Can I do what I do well? What do I enjoy? Do I contribute to anything? And: is my workload challenging enough and not too high?"
An inspiring vision, but in a company that is growing so fast this is obviously a challenge. Particularly in a multinational company where you have multiple cultures. How do you keep everyone on the same page when it comes to the engagement of employees? And how do you monitor engagement?
The Engagement Survey helps us understand the situation better and we can identify improvement points.
Stulp: "That starts with the choice of acquisitions. Is there match in terms of culture and the core values of the company? By their nature, all our companies already have a lot of attention for people." In addition, the leadership in Fellowmind plays an important role in stimulating engagement. The subject is on the agenda right up to top management as part of the three ESG pillars (Environmental, Social & Governance). "We also have an organization-wide leadership program which includes enthusiasm," says Stulp. "It is part of our leadership model. That shared vision is important. Our top talents in our future leadership program are also trained in that."
"With the Engagement Survey, we make the subject objectively measurable. In this way, we can establish how things are going across the board."
With the Engagement Survey, we understand that better, we see trends and developments, and we identify improvement points. When you're in the middle of it, you don't always see them. The Engagement Survey provides insights and signals that you might otherwise miss."