CYBG case study:

Question: How do you help 700 people leaders emotionally connect to a new performance management process?

 

We are moving away from the classic challenges of individual scorecards, distribution curves, annual, and backwards looking reviews, with alphanumeric ratings, to a forward focused approach which is fundamentally based on helping people to operate at their best and keep improving.
We are replacing individual scorecards with team goals, directly linked to our organisational goals - because no one succeeds on their own.
We are introducing short term personal improvement goals, linked to our values, to focus on personal growth - because teams get better when team members improve.
We are introducing system enabled, constructive feedback, linked to our values - because you can't learn without feedback.
We are introducing quarterly check-ins to encourage people to stop, reflect, refresh and get going again. 
We are really excited about this - it removes the biggest barrier to engagement and performance that we have, and replaces it with an approach that delivers on strategy and culture in equal measure.  
There is a long way to go to break the habits of 15 years of old performance management, but this is a big step forward.
Francis Lake
(Head of Organisation
Development at CYBG plc)

Answer: The new Performance Management process is simple to use and it concentrates on moving the organisation forward rather than justifying one’s existence. We wanted to help people leaders experience what the new process should feel like, while resisting the temptation to create a 100-page slide deck which shows them what buttons to press, and when to press them.

Uncountable would love to take the credit for the creation of the Performance Management process, but that would not be fair. Instead we have worked with CYBG to create the “Experiencing Our Performance” event. Described as the lovechild of Challenge Annika and The Crystal Maze, we co-created an immersive event which took 700 people leaders through a performance quarter in 60 minutes (the whole experience took 4 hours).

Everyone experienced the new system, “Our Performance” as a person being people led, and also as a people leader.

The aims:

  • If I know what it feels like to get frequent feedback I am more likely to model this.
  • If I am part of setting our team’s direction with team goals, I am more engaged and motivated to help the team succeed.
  • If I see the positive impact coaching and developing people can have, I will look for ways to develop my team that reflects the behaviours and values of our organisation.

Results: a selection captured by the CYBG team and kindly shared with us.

“I have to say I really enjoyed it. Fair to say it's probably not what I expected in terms of format. I found the morning was very interactive and gave me a great opportunity for a dummy run through the quarterly reviews and check-ins.” 

“I'm already seeing the positive impact of sharing in the moment feedback and ideas for getting things even better next time.”

“I love it, it adds real structure and I look forward to receiving and giving feedback. Thank you for the change, [it’s] making a real difference.”

"I thought the session was excellent and a breath of fresh air."

"I thoroughly enjoyed the session and it was very refreshing to go through this approach to learning and training. Loved it."

“I thought it was excellent and the immersive way it was delivered really was engaging and thought provoking. Well done to the team who made it happen.”

“What I particularly liked was how the content designer(s) very cleverly fused together Our Performance with the hot topic of colleague advocacy. It made sure that we had some great conversations, around not only Our Performance but also on our fantastic product range. It was a great opportunity for me and others to meet colleagues from around the business who perhaps aren't as close to some of the staff incentives we offer across our range. As a result of today's session, I've not only come away with a good idea of how Our Performance will look, but I have made a couple of new connections, who have agreed to allow me and some of my team to visit their teams with some detail around our mortgage, protection and Home Insurance range.  All in all, a fun, motivational morning.”

 

And for the number junkies

75.5% of the 315 respondents scored the event seven (or more) out of 10 in terms of how likely they are to recommend the event to a colleague.  (2.2% scored it 0 out of 10 = seven people)

84% know what they now need to do with their teams as a result of the event

87% fully understand team goals

90% fully understand personal goals

96% fully understand feedback

97% fully understand quarterly check-ins

80% are confident to set team goals

78% are confident to link team goals to the group goals

89% are confident to help their people to develop their own personal goals

95% are confident to deliver feedback, 89% are confident to seek feedback

 

Learning: Ensuring that any challenge you set for colleagues to work on together is a real one and has benefit to the wider organisation. This creates huge buy in and very useful outputs.

Bringing together mixed teams with colleagues from differing levels of seniority, and from different business units, does wonders for breaking down silos.

 

And finally:

Some people prefer to listen to learn, rather than to experience a fast-paced immersive experience, and that’s ok! Everyone has different learning styles, especially when you are addressing and changing processes which are emotive.