In 2020, The Stepstone Group introduced Workday Peakon Employee Voice at the organization as a group-wide employee listening tool.
For Amelie Schlicht, Director Leadership and Talent Management at The Stepstone Group, these regular surveys represent a strategic commitment to continuous improvement and employee empowerment. “We aim to learn more about our employees’ expectations and needs, as this enables us to continuously improve as an employer, foster stronger relationships between employees and managers, and ensures that every individual is engaged and can thrive in their role.”
Over 3 years, The Stepstone Group has been able to maintain high participation rates and receives thousands of comments on each survey round.
Schlicht believes these regular surveys are successful because they are interlinked with the company’s larger people projects, the results are used to measure the success of their initiatives, and they extensively invest in the enablement of managers.
Investing in manager enablement.
“At The Stepstone Group, we believe that investing in manager enablement is a cornerstone of our organizational success,” states Schlicht. “One of the most significant benefits of this investment is its impact on fostering a strengthened feedback culture that empowers both managers and employees.”
Sophie Lenz, employee engagement Specialist at The Stepstone Group, adds, “As part of our commitment to empowering our managers, we create our own materials, allowing us to tailor resources that precisely match their unique needs and challenges. Our comprehensive range of resources, including FAQs, one-pagers, and online onboarding sessions, serve as a valuable toolkit to equip our managers with the knowledge and skills they need to lead effectively.”
As Schlicht explains, “We understand that different managerial levels require specific training to get the most out of the tool, which is why we have implemented a needs-based approach. By offering targeted training initiatives, we ensure that the resources we offer match the specific requirements of the respective target group.”
Measuring behavioral change.
Regarding measuring behavioral change, the regularly conducted engagement surveys serve as a powerful means to evaluate development within the organization.
By identifying trends and patterns in the data, The Stepstone Group assesses the effectiveness of initiatives and tracks progress towards concrete drivers and subdrivers, such as growth, recognition, and Strategy.
For example, the success of Stepstone’s Leadership Development Programs was tracked by closely monitoring the management support driver in Workday Peakon Employee Voice, which assesses the level of support and guidance employees believe they receive from their immediate managers.
“After the rollout of our Leadership Development Programs, we observed a significant improvement of 0.3 points in the score. This positive change indicates that our programs have effectively enhanced managerial skills and strengthened the support system within our organization, leading to higher employee satisfaction and engagement levels,” Schlicht says.
Overall, the tool’s data-driven insights empower The Stepstone Group to make informed decisions and take proactive measures to support the development of their workforce, ensuring that they remain a forward-thinking and employee-centric organization.
Echoing strategic relevant topics and immediately deriving measures.
“At The Stepstone Group, we recognize the significance of echoing strategic relevant topics and swiftly translating them into actionable measures,” Schlicht points out. “Our employee surveys play a pivotal role in this process, as they allow us to include specific questions that directly address current hot topics within our organization.”
For instance, when The Stepstone Group recently introduced its new corporate brand, the survey was used to gauge the initial reception and identify areas where additional support was needed to strengthen employee alignment with the brand.
“Moreover, we also employed the survey to assess the efficiency of our internal decision-making processes, aiming to identify potential improvements,” Lenz says. “This empowers us to obtain timely and valuable data, enabling us to make informed decisions and implement data-based measures promptly.”
As Schlicht concludes, “By leveraging these insights, we can proactively address challenges and seize opportunities, fostering a more engaged and productive workforce.”