As a recruitment company, Personec has a long tradition of conducting employee feedback surveys. These have traditionally been conducted individually through online platforms. However, Personec wanted to get more qualitative data from the survey that would allow for comparison over time, moving more towards a quantitative method. Additionally, the company wanted to create a system that improved engagement among employees.
Personec (now SD Worx) is a Nordic recruitment and staffing company that supplies solutions and personnel to small and large companies.
Specifique wanted to strengthen the quantitative methodology by qualifying and exemplifying the assessments that employees make of the work environment. Standardised statements are often interpreted and understood differently, and are sometimes not viewed as comprehensive descriptions of actual situations. Nevertheless, they do provide direction for dicsussion and follow-up.
In collaboration with Personec, we developed a hybrid solution with an analogue Dialogue Mat and a digital platform. The Dialogue Mat was based on five to seven statements covering 12 areas relevant to the work environment.
In groups of four, employees evaluate various statements on a scale of 1-7. Through discussion of the statements, a high degree of common understanding was created, while each individual’s perspectives and opinions were still considered. If there was disagreement within the group, or if a low score was given, this had to be exemplified. As a result, the dialogue mat captured concrete challenges for the organisation to work on.
As a final touch on the dialogue mat, each group made a prioritised list of which areas was most critical to improve. Although all groups went through a standardised process, we were able to tailor the follow-up process to each unit, based on the groups’ priorities.
The results from the group work was gathered through the digital solution. The digital format gave a managers a better overview of the employees’ experience and opinions on the current work environment, as well as suggestions for future improvement. Overall, this data gave Personec a detailed outline of focus areas, as well as concrete actionplans.
Because the system combines quantitative methodology with qualitative evaluations, results can be compared over time. Therefore, the Dialogue Mats could be used several times to assess progress.
The employees experienced this way of working with and evaluation work environment as a far more constructive and concrete approach compared to the traditional survey format. The groups got to know each other, which further provided a better basis for dealing with conflicts and challenges. The dialogue and joint reflections created an overall better understand of colleagues’ views and needs.
