Reflection -  Storytelling   by Bomkazi Bezuidenhout – 27 October 2019    Challenge     Working for a large organization that has recently gone through a change in Senior Leadership and the  implementation of a new software application has caused an impact on employee’s morale, productivity and an  increase in absenteeism.     Our challenge/task as the Human Resource team was to help gain insight into how employees are truly feeling and  look at ways in which we can improve not only the company’s culture and engagement, but ensure that employees  feel valued and appreciated.     Selection and Application    In collaboration with the company’s in - house marketing and digital department, we decided to put together a video  that told a very simplistic story of the company’s strategy, vision and importance of digital transformation.      The purpose of creating a video was to create consistency for all line managers by ensuring that every line manager  delivered the same story when engaging with their staff.    This powerful video was used as a story-telling tool to initiate monthly engagement / café conversation sessions with  their respective teams in order to collectively rebuild/transform the company’s DNA.    At every engagement session held, the following was noted.

1)  Concern(s)/theme

2)  Agreed action

3)  Execution

After 4 months of running these engagement sessions, HR conducted a very brief ADKAR assessment (Awareness,  Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement) with staff and line managers to assess and diagnose any gaps.    Insight and Approach    Out of the 3000 employees who have been engaged: -     65% of employees welcomed the video. They had a better understanding as to the business need in preparing the  workforce for the upcoming digital transformation era and felt very excited and positive about the future and the  possible new opportunities that would exist within the company.      Albeit having a better understanding, there was a great need to invest in the development of people across the  organization.  Focused development for each individual is currently being put in place and there is a huge drive for  continuous learning across the organization being implemented.    15% of the employees engaged, felt it important to have a home/ work life balance. They felt burnt out as a result of  their perceived need to put in extra hours in fear of losing their jobs.  Various social / connect sessions have been put  in place across teams for social interactions over lunch time and to encourage celebrating internal victories in order  to boost team morale.    20% of employees felt it important to introduce flexible working hours.  Some departments are already practicing this  within their respective teams. Other departments, however, are currently putting frameworks in place to find ways of  implementing the concept of flexible work across all teams.    The feedback received from the engagement session worked really well.  It provided great insights in implementing  targeted initiatives for the employees. (as mentioned above)    What has not worked very well is the inconsistent application of flexible working hours across the organization.  This has  created a sense of unfairness across teams. To address this concern, the Human Resource Department and the  Industrial Relations Department is currently putting together an official company “flexible work from home policy”.  (Currently being developed)      I’m very new to the world of Innovation and this course has really opened up my mind in approaching things  differently. WOW… I had no idea how powerful storytelling could be!  By applying storytelling in our organization, it  allowed management to really connect with their staff.  Employees felt heard, they felt engaged and they realized  that management themselves were going through the same mixed emotions as they were.  One of the line managers  said to this to his team “Team, we are all “Explorers” … so let’s explore together”, He gave each of his staff members  an “Explorer hat” as a token to remind them that they were all on this change journey together.


Reflection - Storytelling by Bomkazi Bezuidenhout – 27 October 2019 Challenge Working for a large organization that has recently gone through a change in Senior Leadership and the implementation of a new software application has caused an impact on employee ’s morale , productivity and an increase in absenteeism . Our challenge / task as the Human Resource team was to help gain insight into how employees are truly feeling and look at ways in which we can improve not only the company ’s culture and engagement , but ensure that employees feel valued and appreciated . Selection and Application In collaboration with the company ’s in - house marketing and digital department , we decided to put together a video that told a very simplistic story of the company ’s strategy , vision and importance of digital transformation . The purpose of creating a video was to create consistency for all line managers by ensuring that every line manager delivered the same story when engaging with their staff . This powerful video was used as a story - telling tool to initiate monthly engagement / café conversation sessions with their respective teams in order to collectively rebuild / transform the company ’s DNA . At every engagement session held , the following was noted . 1 ) Concern(s)/theme 2 ) Agreed action 3 ) Execution After 4 months of running these engagement sessions , HR conducted a very brief ADKAR assessment ( Awareness , Desire , Knowledge , Ability and Reinforcement ) with staff and line managers to assess and diagnose any gaps . Insight and Approach Out of the 3000 employees who have been engaged : - 65 % of employees welcomed the video . They had a better understanding as to the business need in preparing the workforce for the upcoming digital transformation era and felt very excited and positive about the future and the possible new opportunities that would exist within the company . Albeit having a better understanding , there was a great need to invest in the development of people across the organization . Focused development for each individual is currently being put in place and there is a huge drive for continuous learning across the organization being implemented . 15 % of the employees engaged , felt it important to have a home/ work life balance . They felt burnt out as a result of their perceived need to put in extra hours in fear of losing their jobs . Various social / connect sessions have been put in place across teams for social interactions over lunch time and to encourage celebrating internal victories in order to boost team morale . 20 % of employees felt it important to introduce flexible working hours . Some departments are already practicing this within their respective teams . Other departments , however , are currently putting frameworks in place to find ways of implementing the concept of flexible work across all teams . The feedback received from the engagement session worked really well . It provided great insights in implementing targeted initiatives for the employees . ( as mentioned above ) What has not worked very well is the inconsistent application of flexible working hours across the organization . This has created a sense of unfairness across teams . To address this concern , the Human Resource Department and the Industrial Relations Department is currently putting together an official company “ flexible work from home policy ” . ( Currently being developed ) I ’m very new to the world of Innovation and this course has really opened up my mind in approaching things differently . WOW … I had no idea how powerful storytelling could be ! By applying storytelling in our organization , it allowed management to really connect with their staff . Employees felt heard , they felt engaged and they realized that management themselves were going through the same mixed emotions as they were . One of the line managers said to this to his team “ Team , we are all “ Explorers ” … so let ’s explore together ” , He gave each of his staff members an “ Explorer hat ” as a token to remind them that they were all on this change journey together .