Background and Objectives
We were contacted by the senior management team of Reason Global Insurance Brokers who recognised that expectations and ways of working had changed significantly during the pandemic. They saw this as a great opportunity to take stock of how the company was working together and to create a shared understanding of what everyone wanted for the company culture going forwards.
Our Solution
We worked with the whole team over two interactive workshops:
– The first exploring what behaviours everyone wanted to sign up to in terms of internal interaction and communication
– The second looking at a range of “challenging” scenarios that might typically come up in a team environment – especially in the context of a more hybrid way of working – and how to address these – creating a united approach across the business.
The SLT took part in both workshops and we also worked with them in their own workshop to help them lead from the front in terms of role modelling the right behaviours.
We asked for volunteers to lead on the creation of a Team charter/set of values which have had input from the whole company.
Outcomes
The workshops have generated real enthusiasm for shaping the Reason Global culture.
• The volunteer group have presented a draft set of values to the rest of the company
• This is being finalised and will be built into all touch points with teams – from onboarding new people to one to ones and team meetings
• They have suggested a monthly award linked to the values
• People are communicating much more “in person” or by phone rather than relying on email
• Teams are enthused about coming into the office environment for face to face contact regularly
• Company meetings have been restructured to involve input from more people
The whole company were a joy to work with as everyone was so open to looking at what could change. The SLT were also very open to admitting workplace behaviours can be tricky to navigate – especially when a pandemic throws us all a curve ball.
Malcolm Pearson MD commented:
“We knew we needed to support everyone to bring some clarity to how we all wanted to work together and “be” with each other. It is vital to get the internal culture right and ensure there is good team working if we are to provide the highest standards of service to our clients. Focal Point understand the nuances of workplace behaviour. They helped us get down to the detail of what respectful and collaborative working look like and the team have enjoyed being part of that.
We really appreciated how they took time to understand who we are as a business, our existing culture and what we were looking to try and achieve through the workshops and beyond….
They have helped us to understand the important role all team members play in developing a positive and inclusive culture that motivates and enthuses people to feel involved and that everyone has a voice…..
We have seen as a result a real growth in the team ethic and a genuine belief that we are all striving for something that creates inclusivity for all and the opportunity for everyone to flourish in our roles delivering for our clients…..”
Tracey Rowland Executive Assistant commented:
“It was exciting to see the whole team get involved, both at the workshops and after. The whole team is enthused to make the best use of the training. Working together with Focal Point Training has been a very positive experience.”