2021 – a year in review
As we storm into 2022, it’s easy to forget the good stuff we did and the great people we worked with in 2021. So here are just a few of our highlights.
1/ Fuller’s: Reward and benefits brand
We created the brand and campaign for Fuller’s new reward and benefits platform, working alongside Head of Talent Mark Peters and team, and the rewards platform provider iCOM Reward Works.
Why we liked it: It is great to see an employer work hand-in-hand with their people to understand what really matters to them when it comes to benefits…and then provide it. What’s better still, the entire benefits proposition dovetails neatly with Fuller’s employee value proposition and people vision. This is joined-up thinking at its best.
What Fuller’s said: “What’s the most important thing when launching a new benefits offer? We weren't sure. That’s why we went to speak to our people. It’s their brilliant ideas and honest reflections that have enabled us to build My Fuller’s – the place that says thanks for being part of our family. Together with our partners iCOM Reward Works and Fathom XP, we’ve now launched My Fuller’s, a single destination that brings together all the tailored and rewarding benefits that our teams have access to. It’s all about caring for, connecting with and celebrating our amazing people.”
2/ Crown Worldwide Group: Purpose discovery and activation
Sometimes we do work we love. Sometimes we do work that has an impact. Ideally we do both. And, sometimes, we get a bucketload of recognition for it. And that’s just what happened last year for the purpose discovery and activation work we did with Crown Worldwide Group. We won three awards, including the Grand Prix, at the 2021 Internal Communication and Engagement Awards. We also scooped the prize for Leading with Purpose for Business Culture at the Business Culture Awards 2021. Find out more about how we did it.
Why we liked it: We had a fabulous experience working with Sam Knowles from Insight Agents on the discovery work. And a great time getting to know more about this family-owned and led global business. Plus, Crown’s brilliant use of data to evaluate the impact of purpose on customers, employees and the business was truly groundbreaking.
What Crown Worldwide said: “Crown has never been through such a period of transformation. Purpose has been at the heart of that – enabling us to connect better with our teams, opening up new conversations and reducing complexity to help decision making. We can already measure the impact it is having on engagement and customer experience. Purpose will continue to be pivotal to how we learn and adapt as a business,” Norah Franchetti, Group Vice President Marketing.
3/ Engineering business: Define the employee experience to drive attraction and retention
Our first live workshops after lockdown were in April. Back to doing what we love in a room of people. In this case we were exploring and defining the employee experience for engineers in an internet service provider business. That’s just the beginning. Since then we’ve been working with HR, business leaders and operations to realise the ideal EX on a day-to-day basis.
Why we liked it: Joined-up thinking at its best. The business didn’t start with what they thought a great EX looked like, they went to their people to find out. They then scrutinised all aspects of their HR, comms, operations and more to find out how to make it real. Nothing was off limits. A big problem (a competitive market for engineering talent) needs a big solution. And that’s just what they committed to discovering.
4/ Employee experience: New book
Belinda’s new book was published in March – Employee Experience by Design – How to Create a Compelling EX for Competitive Advantage, co-written with our partner Emma Bridger at PeopleLab. What a lockdown achievement. You can get 20% off with AHR20 code here.
5/ Global FMCG client: Experiential learning design and facilitation
Working with the brilliant people at Leo Learning, we transformed a two-week residential sales and marketing leadership programme into a virtual two-week experience for a global FMCG business.
Why we liked it: We loved the ambition and experimental ethos of this project. The question on the table was: To what extent can you transform a highly-experiential and much-valued leadership retreat into a virtual programme? More to come on the answer, but, the headline: Focus on what really matters – human connection and collaborative exploration. Don’t pack your programme with content. Instead, design for people.
6/ EX maturity path
We worked with a group of employee experience pioneers from around the world to develop a new employee experience maturity model. A bit like a mini innovation lab, the Employee Experience Design Club (EXDC) is a group of curious, creative people who come together to explore new ideas around employee experience. Rather than just a talking shop, the EXDC decided to create something that would be useful for other people trying to make sense of EX and improve the experience of their people. The first artefact is the EX maturity path. Download the EX maturity path.
Why we liked it: We got to work with some brilliant minds and true innovators to create something genuinely useful.
What they said: “It’s been great collaborating with the EXDC to create something that people are finding really helpful in understanding what they can do next to improve the employee experience in their organisations,” EX lead in a large pharmaceutical business.
