CASE STUDY - 1 CREATING A CULTURE OF FEEDBACK AT CHG HEALTHCARE

Founded in 1979, CHG Healthcare Services is one of the nations oldest and largest
healthcare staffing firms. Through its trusted brands CompHealth, Weatherby Healthcare,
RNnetwork and Foundation Medical Staffing the company provides temporary and
permanent placement of physicians, allied health professionals and nurses to healthcare
facilities across America. CHG prides itself on having a values-driven culture that focuses on
Putting People First. To learn more about CHGs award-winning culture, visit CHG Pulse.
Back in 2002, CHG Healthcare Services was average. Growth rates were average. Sales and
revenue figures were average. Employee turnover rate was, well, average. But the executive
team had no interest in simply being average. CHG wanted to be the largest and best
healthcare staffing company in the country.
The Obstacle
As a staffing company, CHG employs teams who work with hospitals, doctors, and nurses to
fill placement needs all over the country. However, CHGs moderately engaged corporate
culture was restricting growth and its turnover rate of 48 percent (the industry average) made
it virtually impossible to hire and train employees fast enough to grow at an accelerated pace.
The Culture Then
In 2002, CHGs culture was similar to most companies. Communication was mostly topdown; divisional cultures were disparate and defined by the local leader; HR focused on
general administrative practices. This resulted in an environment that was a good place to
work. But without an engaging atmosphere, it was difficult to retain talent and difficult for
employeesand the companyto grow.
The Intervention
CHGs transformation started as an initiative to reduce turnover by seeking to understand the
issues that caused a significant portion of strong workers to leave each year. Company leaders
chose to focus on the value of their people, and out of that idea came their Putting People
First program. Among other related initiatives, they determined they needed to collect
feedback from their employees to find out what was really going on. They partnered with

DecisionWise to implement an annual employee engagement survey. The feedback from

employees was sometimes painful for the executive team to hear, but it provided many
opportunities to identify and make improvements.
One of the most frequently mentioned themes from the employee engagement survey
centered on leadership. Some leaders who were promoted over the years were the best
doers. While they were excellent in their prior roles, most had minimal leadership
experience. Thanks, in part, to feedback, CHG realized it needed to focus on solid and strong
leadership to drive an effective, healthy culture. This led to the development of leadership
competencies and the roll-out of 360-degree feedback and coaching for all leaders in the
organization.
Gradually, CHG built a culture of feedback. Accountability and trust improved. Changes
were made and employees knew that their feedback was heard and acted upon. This led to
additional initiatives, including regular focus groups, leadership training, and comprehensive
performance appraisals that further bolstered the strength of this now-thriving workplace
culture.
The Culture Now
CHG knows that their employees are their most important asset. Putting People First is
their defining core value and influences every decision. Effective leadership is a staple of the
companys culture. Employees rave about how much they love their jobs. Most important,
CHG is now a great place to work.
The Results
CHG is at the top of our list of engaged organizations, with an incredible engagement score
that consistently exceeds 90 percent (that means 90 percent of survey question responses are
favorable). They have ranked as high as No. 3 on Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work
For list, in the same league as titans like Google and SAS. They are the most profitable
company in the healthcare staffing industry. Turnover is less than half the industry average,
and CHG even managed to grow revenue and profits during the 20082011 recession while
their industry peers saw profitability plummet. Not only is CHG a great place to work, but
their business results have skyrocketed.

CHG continues to conduct annual employee engagement surveys, administer 360-degree

feedback assessments for all leaders, and provide leadership training to maintain its
momentum and adjust company priorities.
CASE STUDY 2 ASSESSING AND DEVELOPING LEADERS AT QUALCOMM IN
COMPLEX GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
Qualcomm, a global leader in innovative wireless telecommunications, is renowned for its
best-practice leadership development programs and learning culture. As a Fortune 500
company with more than 17,000 employees worldwide, Qualcomm consistently appears on
lists identifying companies that are considered best places to work and that are best managed.
With a strong focus on leadership development and promoting from within, Qualcomm also
ranked number eight on Chief Learning Officer magazines list of Learning Elite companies.
Leadership Strategy

Core to Qualcomms leadership development strategy is to assess an individuals

development needs, and then create a personal development plan. Qualcomm partnered with
DecisionWise to develop a series of 360-degree feedback surveys based on the organizations
leadership competencies. DecisionWise survey consultants analyzed the unique Qualcomm
competencies, and created survey items that would accurately measure each while providing
actionable feedback to the participant. 360-degree surveys were created by the DecisionWise
survey design team to be used for Executives, Managers, Project Leads, and Individual
Contributors.
Worldwide Application

Today, a DecisionWise team of assessment advisor administers the complex process of

providing online 360 surveys to leaders all around the world. The surveys are conducted adhoc for individuals, or as part of learning programs for larger groups. A DecisionWise
assessment advisor tracks participation, and ensures the results are delivered on time for the
different initiatives at Qualcomm.
Coaching Training

360-degree feedback at Qualcomm is used for development, and each participant receives
individual coaching on the results. DecisionWise trains Qualcomm HR partners on how to
coach and debrief the results from the 360 feedback surveys, allowing the organization to
build capacity internally to develop its leaders.
Outcomes

Leaders at Qualcomm recognize 360-degree feedback as a key component of their career

progression. They also know that the process is conducted confidentially and they can trust
the results. Because of its success, the 360 feedback process is seen as a privilege.
Individuals appreciate the opportunity to understand their positive contributions, receive
coaching, and explore additional development opportunities. DecisionWise acts as a true
partner to deliver customized and flexible solutions that meets Qualcomms complex needs.
CASE STUDY 3 ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE SURVEY FEEDBACK TO BUILD
TEAM CULTURE IN A COMPANY
The Vice Chairman of a company observed that in spite of his repeated efforts to build them
as a team the various unit heads of his conglomerate are not Seeing Eye to eye and are
working in various directions. His monthly management team meetings have resulted in show
down by some of his Directors, and discussion of small matters like dress code, tea breaks
etc, rather than substantial business matters. It was felt that units with various cultures need to
collaborate, work like a team, think together and align with each other as there are a lot of
business synergies between them.
A climate survey to bring out similarities and differences among the various units and using it
for discussion may result in more working together. The consultant was introduced as a HRD
consultant to survey the organization climate and give feedback of the survey. The consultant
went round meeting various heads and their managers. The consultant had meetings with
cross section of managers to discuss areas of concern to be included in the survey. A hundred
item questionnaires was developed and finalized with the help of the top team. The survey
was administered to all employees and anonymous data were conducted surveying their
perceptions of the organization climate. The data were presented in two day top management
meet which aimed at examining the data and preparing action plans to improve the status.
The workshop resulted in their thinking together, discovering common issues, and preparing

action plans to improve. The workshop also resulted in a series of role negotiation exercises
and more structuring of the future meetings.
Subsequent to the team building workshop some structural changes were initiated and the
meetings were redesigned. The consultant withdrew after the team building workshop.
The intervention lasted across six months. Many changes were made to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of the team working and various other HR issues. The CEO used
the survey data to initiate many changes in the system. The CEO went round presenting the
data along with his top team and used it to initiate changes. (Consultant: T. V. Rao)
Critically analyze the above three cases stating the essential steps involved in implementation
of an OD program in the organization.