IBM Kenexa Exit has a Silver Lining
Last month one of the world’s leading employee engagement survey companies, IBM Kenexa, announced they would exit New Zealand in June. It must have been a shock for their customers to hear that they would no longer be supported, effectively leaving them looking around for what comes next.
The situation is actually good news for the companies concerned. It means they can move on from old fashioned employee engagement surveys towards a more progressive system that will allow them a richer and deeper interaction with their employees.
The latest employee survey systems have moved beyond engagement into the realm of performance improvement. It’s now accepted that measuring engagement is just the beginning of a meaningful interaction between managers and their workforce. We also know that measuring engagement without initiating any corresponding action plan, is a wasted opportunity that can actually push engagement scores backwards.
Systems like Kiwi-developed AskYourTeam have transformed the old engagement survey into what they call a Continuous Involvement System. Their system measures engagement and also collects insights from employees about where performance improvements would be made across 13 areas of an organisation’s operations. It will tell you where inside your organisation you have the biggest pain points, issues, or the biggest fans, and it will help you design an action plan to fix any issues and make genuine and measurable improvements.
Another name for this kind of system is 'action-based engagement'. AskYourTeam allows managers to involve their teams in developing performance improvement plans. When these are implemented by the team, it’s an act of employee empowerment that is likely to further boost employee engagement.
A flexible continuous involvement system like AskYourTeam can be tailored to an organisation’s specific needs. At the same time as it collects data on the areas that impact performance in every organisation, it can be customised to collect data on specific areas of concern for a specific organisation. This is a great feature for organisations undergoing change through merger or restructure.
Like all challenges, the IBM Kenexa exit from New Zealand is a grey cloud with a silver lining. It can be made into an opportunity to transform the way managers and workforce interact in your organisation. And the icing on the cake is that AskYourTeam is as committed to this market as you are.
ODI is a partner advisor with AskYourTeam. If you'd like to know more, contact Kyran or Nicky – 03 943 2373 or info@odi.org.nz.