Look below for the straight numbers. First, our comments on the results:
What We Learned
The ‘Mission and Purpose’ section of our recent employee survey was fascinating. Respondents were overwhelmingly positive about their pride at working for IMG and their optimism for the future of both their careers and the company. However, the question, “I am familiar with the strategic goals of IMG,” had very low scores. We hear it loud and clear: communication and training have not been our strong suit – we need to improve.
The sections on ‘Teamwork’, ‘Personal Expression’ and ‘Community Relations’ echoed a similar theme. In each section, our current performance was rated average at best. However, amazingly, our people indicated that they are intrinsically motivated to do the right thing – whether to “practice teamwork” or “share their ideas” or “benefit broader society”. In other words, if we get out of the way – you will do it. That is humbling; and exciting!
Some Things That Made Us Smile
- The ‘Management’ section received very good scores – way to go managers!
- 110 people want advancement opportunities but only 11 think they can do a better job than their manager. The 11 – call me … how can we get the rest of you in that group?
- Why did you choose to work at IMG?
- “The non-big corporation attitude”
- “It was a mistake”
- “Many of my core values were common to the core values of the company.”
- When asked, “Why IMG?”: 52% of people mentioned values/integrity/culture… wow!
The Numbers
Participants were asked to rate each statement on a scale of 0-10. The green bar represents the number of respondents who answered 9 or 10 (“strongly agree”). The blue bar represents those who answered 7 or 8 (“neutral”). The red bar represents those who answered between 0 and 6 (“strongly disagree” to “politely disagree”).
You indicated amazing optimism and a positive vibe. Communication of our strategy and position need to improve... hopefully this blog is a start.
People flourish when they have the opportunity to align their work with their unique talents and gifting. We have recently started using some new tools to help understand and make room for people's natural strengths - these tools include the Pro.file Performance System and Strengths Finder 2.0.
Teamwork and collaboration are central to our new "Platform for Growth" strategy. While much of this evolution affirms our long-standing values, the emphasis on working together across silos will be the most significant shift in our existing culture. Fortunately, the results above seem to indicate that you are ready to lead that curve!
Patrick Lencioni (who we've been reading a lot lately) advocates that the best ideas in business come from productive dialogue (he even calls it "conflict") based on a foundation of trust. We need your voice in the conversation - so, please, raise your hand, send us an email, let us buy you lunch and be heard!
These results probably surprised me the most. 'Giving to others' is absolutely the 'why' at the core of our business. Obviously, we haven't been practicing it in a way that connects with our employees or contractors. Expect to see this evolve in 2012.
