Building a
consensus for change
In order to meet their business
objectives, senior managers in many organisations want to reduce
costs, drive up productivity and improve service levels.
Most employees want to work in a modern and dynamic
organisation, as well as lead a balanced life. All are
aware that better use of technology is the key to success.
Yet so often innovation and
change projects - especially those that require a change to
working methods - breed conflict between managers and staff,
even though their aims should converge.
HOP's online staff consultation
tool has already been used in many public and private sector
organisations to build this consensus.
How the online
tool works
In the first instance, the online
staff consultation tool collects information on the organisation
and its people: how the organisation is structured the types of
jobs people do and the roles they undertake where people are
based for their work. It also allows a degree of customisation
to the survey: the organisation's name and logo, a cut-off date
for responses, introductory pages and contact details for
further information.
Expectation from working 1-2
days per week at home
(sample simplified graphical analysis)
Users are invited to register
anonymously for the survey and steps are taken to prevent
individual respondents being identified by analysis. The survey
is divided into eight sections, which do not all need to be
completed at one time:
- section 1 - personal
circumstances
- section 2 - attitudes to
various forms of flexible working
- section 3 - working away from
the office
- section 4 - how and where
working time is spent, travel-to-work
- section 5 - how work is
undertaken and what is important
- section 6 - the working
environment and attitudes to changes
- section 7 - communications,
information and storage
- section 8 - the impact of new
ways of working and opportunities for improvement
Analysis of responses is also
carried out online, with a filter allowing segmentation of the
results by a variety of parameters, for example location, job
function, role, department, gender, caring responsibilities and
so on. Results can be exported to Microsoft Excel or a similar
application for graphical analysis.
What can be achieved?
Apart from the obvious benefits
of consulting and involving staff, the main value of the tool is
to provide empirical evidence for change. Even the most
stubborn middle managers find it hard to resist for example 85%
of staff indicating:
"I would
achieve greater output if I could work more flexibly"
Please see the panel
on the right to access an online demonstration of the tool.
For more information on
HR issues, please see the seven-part
Flexibility
tutorial article on
Organisations and People
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