Reflecting before the new normal starts
March at last. For many of us it’s getting to the end of the financial year. On the 20th March it’s the Spring Equinox when night and day finally reach the same length. This year, the change is marked too by the easing of lockdown with many of us counting the days until we are able to see 6 friends or relatives in our gardens.
Articles are beginning to appear in the media about how we will adapt to life post lockdown. Some people are on tenterhooks waiting for the new normal to start. Others are anxious about leaving what has, for them, become a comfort. And that leaves the rest of us in all the places between.
I’m taking a moment, now, whilst I’m feeling a bit slow and weary from the year and before I get immersed in the work challenges of the next financial year to reflect. A burst of energy always seems to come with the longer days and that combined with the sudden shift in how I might spend my time with that easing of lockdown, means it's time to pause and collect a bit of evidence (rather than my own sometimes distorted self-perception) about how I and the rest of the Indigo Associates having been doing since March last year.
You see, for Network Homes, we were fast off the mark and translated every last piece of work to virtual in Spring last year. Our leadership, talent and mentoring programmes are now delivered through a mix of Zoom workshops, coaching and surgeries plus podcasts, workbooks, on-line resources and even a dedicated Teams channel. And we’re about to roll out a new programme for them where alumni of the BAME talent programme mentor the Executive. We’re proud that those 186 hours of coaching, 108 hours of virtual workshops and 3 hours of podcasts, for instance, have helped them not just survive but really thrive during the past 12 months.
So what does the evidence say?
Well, here’s some stunning statistics that Tracey Webb, their Director of People and Culture gave us at the beginning of March 2021 about how our work had contributed to their success.
In 2017/18 sickness absence was an average of 7.5 days. Now it’s an average of 3 days. This is a productivity saving of approx. £600k (average cost of absence running at £170.62 per day in 2020/21).
In the Best Companies Survey Network Homes have gone from being a ‘ones to watch’ organisation with an engagement score of 611.7 (out of 900 i.e. 67.9%) to a 2-star organisation with an engagement score of 722.2 (80%) - classified as ‘outstanding levels of engagement’.
The introduction of pulse surveys found, in the first survey in December 2020, that 97% felt they were being supported well or fairly well by their line manager.
And there was more, but the thing that really made our hearts sing, and what I want to showcase is the feedback we’ve had from delegates in the past year. You can read below what the actual people who experienced our work said about how it made a difference.
Remember to give me a call to talk about how our work can support you reach your organisational goals.
“The programme & coaching has impacted me by providing me with the tools to aid in my development and alter my strands of thinking, in various new ways. To look at situations and how I have more ability, than before, to confidently approach matters and things within my control, provides a more thorough understanding of oneself and the footprints I lay out for my journey. It has been an experience that I can reflect on following the programme to help obtain results I aspire for.”
“The programme triggered a positive step change in the way I approach my work, and the management of my staff. Sarah’s coaching style was innovative and inspiring, and encouraged me to flex my approach in order to resolve challenges and answer difficult questions. I continue to use her methods long after our sessions have ended which is testament to how much I benefitted from her time and attention”
“The programme has been fantastic, for me it has helped me enormously with my confidence and helped me in my leadership skills during an incredible difficult year. Through this process with the help of my coach (Kish) I have been able to make my strengths even stronger and work on my weakness’s. She has helped me look at things differently and make me a better manager and helped improve my own skills for future development. I would recommend this opportunity to anyone, Sarah and her team are fantastic.”