Learn how Xref Engage Surveys helped gauge staff sentiment after a significant leadership change at Maitland City Council and provided insights to build a stronger workforce.
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After 25 years in the role, the General Manager of Maitland City Council retired in June 2023. Within this context, it was understandable that the workforce might be apprehensive about change.
Given the long tenure of both the former General Manager and a number of members of the Executive Leadership Team, Maitland City Council identified that a current state analysis grounded in leaders listening to the experience of team members was an effective way to explore areas where the organisation currently excels and areas where change may be required.
Recognising the need for a clear understanding of employee sentiment, Maitland City Council, in collaboration with Winton Consulting and Xref Engage, launched a comprehensive employee engagement survey in June 2023.
The goal? To measure a wide range of organisational practices that impact employee experience, engagement, culture, well-being, and overall perception of organisational performance.
The listening approach began with the implementation of the biannual employee engagement survey in June 2023, measuring a broad range of organisational practices that impact on employee experience, engagement, culture, wellbeing, and the perception of organisational performance.
This survey was undertaken with the support of Xref Engage (formerly Voice Project). Engagement was strong and on par with Council benchmark, and Council also showed remarkable resilience following Covid and other events impacting the LGA over the previous two years.
There were however some areas of focus that would enable Council to build a stronger workforce moving into the future. These results were presented by Xref to Council ELT in Aug 2023, serving as a baseline for the new General Manager.
Winton was engaged to assist the General Manager conduct a series of listening sessions with a cross sample of the workforce.
The listening sessions were carefully designed to address questions that all employees have at work along with two supplementary questions relating to customer-value and teamwork:
During the listening sessions participants engaged in an iterative process of capturing, collating and dissecting information and themes. The Executive Leadership Team supported the capture and collation of information from their teams at the same time as asking enquiring questions about the experiences of the workforce.
The survey results, while demonstrating Maitland City Council’s resilience and strength, also highlighted areas that needed attention to ensure the future success of the organisation. These include:
The overall findings provided the ELT with a clear picture of the current state of organisational culture and employee sentiment.
Following the listening sessions, debriefing workshops were facilitated with Executive Leadership Team to further dissect information and identify high leverage activities.
At the conclusion, a report was presented detailing findings regarding the current state of the organisational culture and recommendations for change.
Through this listening process, the incoming General Manager demonstrated a strong listening approach and became well-placed to develop an action plan for the future that reflects the true needs of the business and takes the organisation along on the change journey.
By leveraging the power of Xref Engage surveys, Maitland City Council has taken a significant step toward building a stronger, more resilient workforce.
This case study showcases the importance of listening to employees, especially during times of change, and using those insights to drive meaningful, long-lasting improvements. It also highlights the importance of follow-up listening sessions to drill down into action areas.
If you would like to conduct an employee engagement survey for your organisation, reach out to us for a free demo.
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