30th September 2022 4 MIN READ •Talos Engage •Employee Value Proposition •Resources
- Industry – SaaS Technology
- Number of Employees – 120
- Project Owner – Lyndsay Chapman, Head of People
Introduction
To maintain its people-centric approach to business, in November 2021 Talos appointed Lyndsay Chapman to lead the People Function at Talos360. One of the key strategic aims was to make Talos360 an ‘even better’ place to work.
1- The Challenge
Talos360 already had a core culture which was like no other. However, as there had been a period of change, with the introduction of a new CEO, Janette Martin in June 2021 and a new management team, change can often have an impact on engagement levels.
Coupled with a period of sustained growth, thanks to the business’s innovative technology platforms, and with an anticipated headcount increase of 25%, the challenge for leadership was to try and ensure Talos360 retained its cultural uniqueness and levels of engagement.
With full support from Janette Martin and the Leadership Team, Lyndsay set out to deliver task at hand.
2- The Process
To meet this challenge, Lyndsay needed to ascertain engagement levels and fully understand how people felt about the levels of change. It was important to gain authentic feedback on the key areas which would impact and influence high engagement levels.
Using Talos360’s unique gamification engagement platform, Talos Engage, Lyndsay launched a data-led People Survey.
Within this gamified survey, Lyndsay devised a series of questions under the following headings:
- Our Company
- Communication
- Our Values
- My Role
- My Line Manager
- My Leadership Team
- My Development
- My Rewards
- My Wellbeing
- Engagement
- Your Feedback
Using Talos Engage and maximising its gamified interface, Lyndsay’s initial survey received 100% response rate within the organisation.
3- The Data
By carrying out the People Survey, Lyndsay could see how our key stakeholders, our people, viewed Talos360 from the inside.
The response data returned into the Talos Engage results dashboard gave Lyndsay the perfect picture of Talos360’s current engagement and how leadership could improve it, with invaluable actionable insights.
Talos Engage highlighted the three key areas that Lyndsay and the Leadership Team needed to focus on to meet the key strategic objective, these were:
- Wellbeing
- Overall Engagement
- Improving Workplace Benefits
4- Further Analysis into Workplace Benefits
To effectively improve Workplace Benefits, Lyndsay wanted to understand what would have the biggest impact and be most appreciated by the team.
Having collated the initial feedback, Lyndsay and leadership designed a follow-up survey to determine what changes and workplace benefits people most wanted. After compiling a list of over 40 benefits, including a range of wellbeing and engagement initiatives, each suggestion was graded by level of individual importance using the gamified interface of Talos Engage.
The results of the benefits survey equipped Lyndsay with a list of the top 15 benefits our people wanted, so this could be incorporated into the action plan.
5- Communication
With the process and results communicated openly and transparently at each stage of the process, thanks to Talos Engage, our people felt they had a voice. With feedback fully taken onboard, the whole process gave people a sense of inclusion. And thanks to the quality of data provided by Talos Engage, Lyndsay now had a clear and actionable plan.
6- Implementation
Following the insights from Talos Engage, including the verbatim feedback, and with the backing of management, Lyndsay was able to introduce the following:
Workplace Benefits
From the 15 preferred benefits, Talos360 has implemented 13, with the other two under consideration for the next financial year. Examples of the benefits Talos360 have introduced this year includes:
- Enhanced Annual Leave
- Additional Holidays for Long Service
- Introduction of Early Summer Friday Finishes
- Introduction of Zip Taps on all Floors
- Further enhancement of the Talos360 Company Sick Pay Scheme
- Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay
- Paid Bereavement Leave
Wellbeing
Various wellbeing improvements have been implemented too, including:
- Introduction of a Mental Health Policy which includes Wellness Action Plans
- Creation of Talos360’s Top 10 Tips to Help you to Switch Off
- 5 x Wellbeing Workshops – focusing on; How to Switch off from Work, Nutrition, Managing Stress and Anxiety in the Workplace, Financial Wellbeing and Emotional Wellbeing
- Introduction of 5 Mental Health First Aiders
- Celebration of National Fitness Day – including organised walks and step challenges
- Regular Promotion of our Employee Assistance Programme
Overall Engagement
In addition, overall engagement has improved thanks to:
- Creation of the Social Team – a group of like-minded people with a passion for creating a social, collaborative, and engaged workplace – events have included Talos360 Pub Quiz, Valentines Celebrations, Charity Events, Water Cooler Event and much-loved Nights Out
- Introduction of the Talos360 Excellence Awards – quarterly awards which celebrate our people who go above and beyond and exemplify living and breathing our values collaboration, simplification, success, and creativity
- Holding career pathways sessions – to support our people on their development journey
- The introduction of Personal Development Plans
- Training and Development session for all our people managers, to equip them with the skills they need to look after our people and lead engaged and motivated teams.
Results & Recognition
In June 2022, our people at Talos360 were asked the following question as part of the Great Place to Work UK accreditation process:
‘Is Talos360 a great place to work?‘
97% of our people said ‘Yes’. As a result, we were duly accredited as ‘A Great Place to Work’ in July 2022. And in September 2022, Talos360 was named the 5th best workplace in tech (medium category) – a further testament to the impact of Lyndsay’s brilliantly orchestrated EVP campaign.
In addition, Talos360 has also been shortlisted for the following prestigious awards:
- IHR – Employer Brand Category
- Engage Awards – Great Place to Work
- Engage Awards – Best Customer Service Team
In summary
Talos Engage has been pivotal in helping Lyndsay and the leadership team deliver increased levels of engagement that are clearly measurable by increased business productivity.
Our CEO, Janette Martin and Lyndsay Chapman, our Head of People, and the wider leadership team have worked hard to ensure our people are looked after, as demonstrable by the revitalised company EVP. Thanks to Talos Engage, the Talos360 culture can now be defined by the commitment to its four core values of create, collaboration, simplify and success: Its impact clearly measurable by increased business productivity. In this inclusive culture curated by Lyndsay, our people can excel at everything they do, whether it’s creating brilliant products or delivering best-in-class service to our customers.
Indeed, Talos360’s sustained business growth and national recognition in recent award wins and certifications bear witness to this brilliant workplace culture that transcends the typical hierarchical workplace structures.
And it’s thanks to Talos Engage that all 120 employees have had their say, making Talos360 what it is: A Great Place to Work.
About Talos360
Since 2009, Talos360 has provided over 700 businesses with a better way to attract, recruit, and retain talent, thanks to their award-winning recruitment and engagement platforms. But the beating heart of Talos360’s success is its people. Thriving on Talos360’s core values of collaboration, simplification, success and creativity, its people have made Talos360 what it is today: The UK’s fastest-growing talent management provider.
