The customer
The challenge
When we spoke to Charlie about the key challenges that prompted Everybody Agency to engage with OpenBlend, he shared several issues the company was trying to solve.
Firstly, quarterly performance objectives lacked consistency across the company, and there was no system in place to track employee progress over time.
Secondly, 1:1 conversations were centered around short-term objectives, and therefore unable to support broader discussions around wellbeing, motivation, or continuous development. Lastly, these conversations were either not recorded at all or were done so manually using email.
“The business had been working to quarterly performance objectives for some time…as we settled into hybrid working, we recognised a need to expand the scope of 1:1 conversations, using them not just for short-term performance management, but as a tool to support employee wellbeing and motivation” Charlie Rowan, People Partner, Everybody Agency
The objectives
- Placing employee wellbeing at the top of the agenda by modernising the agency's approach to people and performance management
- Enable and encourage regular 1:1s to build connections in a hybrid work environment
- Develop the agency's future managers by providing junior employees with tools to build their management skills
"OpenBlend ticks the right boxes"
The team created a shortlist of potential technology partners but a meeting with OpenBlend’s Founder & CEO, Anna Rasmussen, made for a clear-cut decision.
Charlie recalls: “We really liked OpenBlend from the get-go. I’d come across the platform in a previous company and loved the fact that employees can use it to score their wellbeing and motivation to inform talking points.”
- Enables employees to talk about their wellbeing and motivation
- Provides relevant talking points that matter to the individual
- Facilities broad conversations that go beyond just performance
- Supports continuous people and performance management
- No mandate for cadence (employee-led)
- Lends a high degree of flexibility
- Provides holistic HR data as well as individual insights
A collaborative launch
OpenBlend was rolled out to all employees a few months later and received a positive reception all round: “The feedback we got in those first few weeks was that OpenBlend makes it easier to have regular 1:1s that extend beyond the parameters of goal-setting and performance measurement. The platform helps managers and employees to structure conversations around the issues that matter most, which is very unique” says Charlie.
The reaction from managers and employees...
In addition, and as part of the roll-out, OpenBlend provided the Everybody Agency team with expert advice and how-to guides to complement a series of demos and training sessions that were delivered by Chelsea and Charlie.
What do Everybody Agency's employees say?
During my time at Everybody, I've found the OpenBlend platform to be a useful tool for logging my objectives and actions before discussing with my manager regularly. In particular, I've found the motivators section is a great way to reflect on areas that I wouldn't normally think about. Returning from maternity leave at the beginning of the year, it was great to be able to log back in and see where i was in terms of progression and objectives. I was easily able to reactivate some of them and make some updates while creating new and relevant objectives.
Paid Media Analyst, Everybody Agency
OpenBlend provides me with the tools I need to have more meaningful conversations with my team. It not only offers structured ways to record progress against deliverables and create clear development paths, it also provides a framework to have open and honest conversations about people's overall wellbeing. As a people-focused company, its incredibly important that we balance our employee' general happiness with maximising their performance. OpenBlend has helped us achieve that by moving away from annual appraisals and "performance management" and replacing these concepts with continual coaching and high-quality conversations which encourage people to reach their full potential.
Senior SEO Director, Everybody Agency
The results
So we know that feedback was very positive, but how positive?
At the point of implementation, Everybody Agency’s eNPS score was 31. Three months after OpenBlend was rolled out this had risen to 50, and by the following quarter, eNPS had reached 58. That’s an uplift of 87% in the first six months.
“We saw a huge jump in eNPS during that time and OpenBlend played a major part in that alongside our flexibility-first and work from anywhere policies. Our people could see that we were investing in them and that’s been reflected in our eNPS scores."
What about the additional benefits?
- Improved ability to recognise people in the moment
- Consolidation of systems and cost-savings
- A marked improvement in the way probationary periods are managed
- A tangible tool to support recruitment marketing
What's next for the partnership?
Charlie explains that Everybody Agency will be doubling down on development over the next year and beyond:
Charlie explains “To support these plans, we’ve recently added OpenBlend’s Develop module, which will bring all aspects of development planning into one place - and in a way that tailors competencies, ensures clarity, and tracks progress. We’re very excited to see that come to fruition.”
To learn more about how OpenBlend transforms 1:1s to boost performance and develop people, get in touch with our team today.
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