Engaging employees in closing the strategy execution gap across cultures

Identifying and sharing best practice

The Strategy Group Part of the Cross Cultures Group, Engage for Success

February 2016http://engageforsuccess.org/

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1. Tell your story2. Why is this project important?3. Mind the gap4. The team who will tell your story5. About Engage for Success6. Frequently Asked Questions7. How to find out more

In this document

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We’d like to share what you’ve achieved and learned:• We’ve heard about some of the great

things you’ve done to engage stakeholders in developing and implementing strategy across different cultures.

• We want to share your story with others – so we can help them too.

• We just need an hour or so of your time.

1. Tell your story

• Please read on and let us know if you would like to be part of this great Engage for Success, UK Government-backed initiative.

How will you benefit?• We will share your story and success, you will be associated with

Engage for Success and you’ll receive the full research findings and insights.

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We will:

• Draw on tried and tested approaches, the insights and the learning from organisations.

• Develop an accessible ‘resource bank’ for use by the wider community.

• Provide tools for leaders, managers and employees to help close the strategy execution gap to enhance employee engagement and communication.

“64% of business leaders lack confidence in their organisation’s ability to close the gap between strategy and execution.” OnPoint’s Strategy Execution Gap Study

Strategic plans are developed but are not actually being fully delivered. This strategy execution gap presents an opportunity cost for many organisations. The challenge is greater when trying to do this across cultures*.

Through truly engaging employees in strategy development and delivery, we can help to close this gap and create value. We also know that engaged employees are more efficient and effective, are more customer focused, are more creative at work, take less time off sick, care about the future of their organisation and put in greater effort to meet its objectives.

2. Why is this project important?

* Across cultures is defined as across international boundaries and countries.

3. Mind the gap

Developed by Donnie MacNicol through discussions with Karen Dempster. 5

Traditional HQ develops strategy and passes down the line to deliver.

Traditional McKinsey world of developing strategy. In government

this is Policy Creation.

Delivery via programmes and

projects

Strategy ExecutionGap

- new and fast developingdiscipline

Strategy conception and

articulation

Growing area of interest / knowledge: Bodies/orgs being set up to ensure effective translation. Emerging role of SE Director or

similar in orgs. Middle ranking consultancies typically focus here.

PMI / UK based Association of Project Management professional bodies sit

here. Considerable body of knowledge.Biggest issue: Are we doing the right

projects / programmes at the right time for the right reason?

How to involve people in conceiving and devising an

effective organisational strategy.In addition how to do this in a

multicultural context.

Key focus for the Strategy Group is how we can communicate and

engage with people more effectively to close this gap.A secondary focus is on the multicultural aspect of this.

How to powerfully involve those in the delivery process to improve

effectiveness . In addition how to do this in a multicultural context.

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4. The team who will share your story (1 of 3)

Sara Wilbourne – Strategy Group Lead

Former Director of Strategic Communications for Amnesty International, Sara led the development of the global identity for the organization during a period of global transition. She is a communications specialist, and writer with over thirty years of international publishing and communications experience at her back. Currently Director with a small communications agency Becoming Us Sara specializes in brand development for mission-driven SMEs.

Karen Dempster – Strategy Group Member

A Communications practitioner (and professional photographer) with nearly 20 years’ experience who recently set up Fit2Communicate working with clients on fast-paced, global transformation programmes, developing ways to improve communication in education and introducing a robust approach to employee health and performance. Previously she worked for Zurich Financial Services in UK, European and global roles, and also at The Natural History Museum, The Wellcome Trust and PPP Lifetime Care. She is passionate about translating strategy into ‘what’s in it for me’ for employees.

Stephen Spencer – Practitioner

Stephen has seen many developments and approaches in employee engagement over 20 years operating at divisional level HRD level. He has operated in many manufacturing business environments (mainly automotive supply, chemical and textiles) and varied cultures (world-wide operations, different management styles). Currently he is working at GKN plc (£7.5bn sales, 51,400 people, 33 countries) as HRD with a focus on Group special projects. Stephen believes that the ‘engagement mission’ combines the ever present drive for sustainable business improvement with doing things the right way for people and the+F29 E4S activity will generate academically rigorous research, from which will come an internationally deliverable expertise which will enhance business performance and the experience of those involved.

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4. The team who will share your story (2 of 3)

Nicole Utzinger – Strategy Group Member

Nicole has been working internationally as change communications professional, executive coach and facilitator for over 20 years. As part of the initial start–up team of the Dubai International Financial Centre, she was responsible for the design and creation of DIFC’s organisational culture and employee engagement initiative.As director at EMEA Communications Consulting she now focuses her attention on cross-cultural employee engagement & change programmes as well as designing and delivering high-profile organisational development projects across Europe and the Middle East.

Deborah Goodall – Strategy Group Member

As a former Director of Communications for Merck , a multinational pharmaceuticals company, Deborah has led communications and change programmes in culturally and technically complex environments. In the last ten years she has continued to work internationally as a trained communications coach and change facilitator. She has a particular interest in the impact of language , storytelling, narrative and organisational and relationships systems at work . Now a Director at Fruitful Conversations, she helps organisations develop the skills of productive and worthwhile dialogue.

Donnie MacNicol – Strategy Group Member

Donnie leads consultancy, training, facilitation and mentoring assignments for Team Animation. He specializes in developing an organization’s project leadership capability. Widely recognized as contributing to the ‘people and organizational side’ of project management thinking, he is in much demand as a speaker and writer. He is passionate about delivering value by incorporating the latest behavioural, organisational, cultural and human resources thinking. Donnie’s book, Project Leadership (with Sarah Coleman), will soon be followed by a second on Organisational Project Management, which is primarily focused on closing the Strategy Execution Gap.

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5. The team who will share your story (3 of 3)

Céline Berger – Strategy Group Member

Director and founder of RécréAction For 15 years, Céline has been passionate about:• Facilitating communication across large organisations.• Empowering individuals to achieve their goals.• Getting the best out of people using creative, collaborative and fun approaches.• Inspiring them to feel, think and act differently.• Making organisations happier and more effective.This is all she cares about!

Cinthya Quijano, Thought & Action Group Chair

Cinthya is an Organisation Development practitioner with over 10 years of experience within the field both as an external and internal consultant. She has had a multicultural life, having lived in 5 countries and working in 2. Her experience expands change projects in multinationals and SMEs to working in the Higher Education sector. She is currently the Chair of the Engage for Success Cross Cultures Thought & Action Group and Director of Change Differently Ltd which focuses on inclusive change and inspiring sustainable success for organisation through their people.

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5. AboutAnd the Cross Cultures Group

The Cross Cultures Group launched in February 2013 with the aspiration to become the go-to source of practical advice and guidance about how to increase engagement internationally.

We have practitioners with extensive experience of working with global companies to do this, and are developing a larger network of people passionate about this topic and actively working with it. We are especially interested in linking up with people outside the UK who are working to increase engagement.

Our vision• That growing British business through international expansion is

a critical part of strengthening the British economy• That there are better and smarter ways to work across

international boundaries, countries and multi-cultural businesses• A happy and motivated workforce releases more of the capability

and potential of people at work both here in the UK and abroad, which serves to unlock the potential of business and international markets – and that there is an undeniable business case to support this

Who are Engage for Success?We are a growing, dynamic, voluntary and UK Government-backed movement promoting employee engagement as a better way to work that benefits individual employees, teams, and whole organisations.

Our vision: We want everyone working in the UK to want, and be able, to give their best each day, so that each day is a great day at work, and that workplaces in the UK are thriving, growing and developing through the commitment, energy, and creativity of the people that work in them.

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6. Frequently asked questions (1 of 2)

1. What types of organisations are you looking for?Organisations that operate across international cultures, who have rolled out strategy within the last five years. We would like representation across many different sectors from not-for-profit to corporate.

2. Can I be part of this work but remain anonymous?Ideally we would like to share the organisations who have taken part but if this is a problem then you can remain anonymous and we would refer to ‘an organisation from x sector’ instead.

3. How will you make the ‘resource bank’ available to the wider community?We’ll share the best practice, dos and don’ts and more on the Engage for Success website: http://engageforsuccess.org/

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6. Frequently asked questions (2 of 2)

4. What areas are you particularly interested in?We are interested in areas such as how you have engaged employees in the development and delivery of strategy, including the role of language, interesting methods and approaches, the leadership approach, the burning platform to take an engaging approach and how you measured success.

5. How will you carry out the discussions?We will share questions for discussion at least three working days beforehand a pre arranged meeting. This can be face-to-face or by Skype or similar.

6. How will organisations benefit who take part?We will share your story and success, you will be associated with Engage for Success and you’ll receive the full research findings and insights.

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7. How to find out more

• Email: sarawilbourne1@me.com karendempsteruk@yahoo.co.uk

• Telephone: Sara Wilbourne on xxxKaren Dempster: +44(0) 7920 752192

• LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sara-wilbourne-6756912 https://uk.linkedin.com/in/karen-dempster-82523a1

• Find out more about Engage for Success here