Introduction

Employee Engagement at BT
Alex Wilson BT Group HRD
What employee engagement means to BT

Creating a climate where BT people are

committed to the companys success.
Where they value, believe in and enjoy
the work they do to help the company be
successful.

An engaged person brings creativity, passion and

energy to the job; they proactively drive change,
deliver business results and infect others with their
enthusiasm. They are achieving their full potential.
Why its important

Engaged Improved Satisfied Business

Employees Performance Customers Results

Engaged Employees
Generate 43% more revenue (Hay Group)
Disengaged workers costs the UK 44Bn a year (IES) and the US $270
Bn - $343Bn (Gallup) in lost productivity
Have 2.7 sick days per year, rather than the 6.2 disengaged employees
take (Gallup)
Are 87% less likely to leave (Corporate Leadership Council)
67% advocate their organisations; only 3% of the disengaged do (Gallup)
9 out of 10 of key barriers to successful change, people related (PWC)
59% of EE say work brings out their most creative ideas only 3% of
disengaged agree (Gallup)
The global economic downturn is affecting
peoples engagement

For most companies

Rising concern about job security
Losing confidence and trust in senior leadership
Less clarity about future of the company
Less reward, less people, more stress
Productivity, morale declining
Pressure on middle management - making tough decisions
Could be a deferred retention issue (people leave when things get better)
In a recent survey 88% of BT people expressed concern about the
economic climate
Neutral

I am concerned about the 2% 2% 2% 36% 52%

general economic climate Strongly Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree
Companies are taking swift action to respond to
the downturn

How companies are responding to the downturn

A slowdown in the economy will have a
significant impact on the business results

Scaling down production capacity and

reducing cost of overall headcount
Response

Finding productivity gains and closing down

interim work

Combining these interventions with growth measures

- opportunistic hiring of top talent, targeted leadership
development and new acquisitions

Reviewing compensation and benefit programmes

and long term incentives - pensions

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percentage respondents

*2009 study by Hewitt and Associates covering 53 organisations, employing a total of 3.5 million people
Challenges

Retain and motivate best people

Need for focussed execution
Improved capability - change mgt,
leadership and talent, employee
engagement
Industrial action and disputes
Market perception - reputation and
brand. Need to sustain values when
making hard choices
Compliance with employment
legislation
Continue investing in the future
Leadership style is the key

Great leaders strive in challenging times

They make tough decisions with courage and speed
They adapt quickly, listening and learning from feedback
They are confident, honest delivering clear and
consistent messages
They do what they say they will; make commitments public
and keep to them
They act as one team, speak with one voice
and have a relentless drive for execution
People Engagement is the key
Clear sense of direction
Confident about the future
Communicate openly about progress
Im involved in delivering the strategy
Senior Leaders
Engaged Employee
Helps me be the best I can be
Cares about me and gives feedback
Recognises my best work and
contribution to the customer
A role model for collaboration
Clear expectations of role
My Job Opportunities to learn, develop and grow
Have the tools and skills I need
Authority to make decisions
Collaborate with others
Motivated to do my best work
The Company
Proud to work here
Want to stay, satisfied
Advocate of the company
My Team
Ideas and opinions count
Committed to do quality work
My Manager Learn from and respect others
Support each other
Speed up and simplify the way
we work
How were improving engagement at BT

More regular frequent feedback

New quarterly survey informs business strategy
Embedding engagement into business planning cycle holistic
More comments and conversations
Monitoring impact of change programmes more proactively
Better planning and line of sight
Change impact for key populations
Leader led engagement programmes
Clarity around future direction
Building confidence and trust in leadership
Making leaders visible, accessible, public commitments
Developing leaders
Next..
Enhancing the employee experience at key touchpoints recruitment,
induction, transition etc.