Appendix 3: PowerPoint Slides

Evidence for the business case - a company presentation-How to use this presentation

This presentation is given as a guide only, to use at your discretion.

• Consider the specific issues that face your organisation and select the information that will support you in presenting the best case for action.

• I have put together some ideas on how to set out information about your own company - again as a guide. No one knows your company the way you do, so read this with the knowledge in mind and trust your judgement.

• Remember the great company culture connects to heart as well as mind. Take into consideration the emotional elements in your present company culture and find ways to speak to those.

• Most important of all - your behaviour and demeanour will have greatest impact on those you speak to. This presentation must a be strong reflection of what you believe, and should represent what you think is most important for the company. If you present with passion as well as calm rationale, you will have most chance of creating followers for your concerns.

  
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Commentary for slide 1

The purpose of this slide is to make a straight statement about the present reality and set the context for your input on the company culture.

• Sit back and take a long hard look at the present state of your team/company. How effective is the business?

• Always balance your comment between what is going well and what isn't - every organisation or team has its good points and it is important to acknowledge these. After all, if you are advocating being a great company, you have to start right now with appropriate behaviour and that means celebrating success and valuing effort.

  
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Commentary for slide 2

If you want to align senior leaders to your cause, it is important to show sound business reasons for developing a great company culture.

Evidence from the Sunday Times list shows that great companies outperform the FTSE All Share, which is a very compelling argument. In my experience, if you put this slide up first, you will have their attention for the ‘softer' elements of the process.

If you believe your company could do better and you have access to the results, you could set the two alongside which will increase the power of your argument.

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Commentary for slide 3

This graph shows the results of the quoted companies from the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list 2003, produced by the Frank Russell Company.

Great company culture makes sense from a business perspective. People working to their potential are a major asset. After all, a business is just people working together - if you provide the environment that supports them to do their best work, the organisation will thrive.

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Commentary for slide 4

Staff turnover is a significant measure of how strongly people feel about a workplace. Talk with your HR department or use the figures from your own part of the business to build a case for action. If you are regularly losing people - and particularly those who have been in the company for a while - this may be a sign that all is not well with your culture. It is certainly something to look at, given that recruitment costs up to twice annual salary.

The main point is that on-going recruitment cost the company ina number of ways:

• money and time - to recruit new people

• loss of expertise to company, that may go to competitors

• loss of customer relationships

One other factor to take into account when considering staff turnover is the level of employee engagement. There are companies that have a very low turnover rate because people have become demoralised and don't believe they don't enjoy.

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Commentary for slide 5

These turnover rates are extremely good. The variables are to do with industry sector. For example travel is usually very high, a good 10 to 15% above Flight Centre. Retail and publishing are also normally high.

It has not been possible to find reliable industry averages. Choose the company closest to your own business and compare that to your own turnover rate. Alternatively, look in the latest Sunday Times list which gives turnover rates for all the companies in the list. For information on how to access this, look in Appendix Two.

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Commentary for slide 6

If you believe you are in a low trust culture, be very careful how you address this. Make sure you act with integrity - people need to see that you are trustworthy. Assume that anything you say will cause waves and make sure you are not going to ‘drop anyone in it'.

To determine whether you are in an appropriate person to address this issue in a such a presentation, think honestly about your own behaviour - how trustworthy have you been in the past? Check your perception with a colleague/friend who will be honest. If the response is positive, there is a chance your view will be respected.

If the answer is negative, consider whether you are willing to be open about it. If so, the best way forward is probably to acknowledge that you are not the ideal advocate, but that you want to improve and would like the company to join you in making the change.

If you are not willing to change, then great company culture is not the way forward for you.

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Commentary for slide 7

This research dates back to 1993, but since there is nothing more up to date that supersedes it, it is worth including. It is based on a study of 262 construction projects, involving all interested parties. Results show there is a direct correlation between trust and cost.

This is a very useful chart to show to finance directors who are concerned about the costs of change. Use it to demonstrate that direct cost savings will be made when a high trust culture is developed.

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Commentary for slide 8

TD Industries has an interesting history which again links good people practice to profit. This statement and the following graph demonstrate the link between Servant Leadership and bottom line results. They found that when the TD partners (employees) worked in an environment of trust and service, where they had responsibility for the wellbeing of the company, the bottom line scored.

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Commentary for slide 9

The dip in the chart in 1990/91 corresponds to a major downturn in the construction industry in Texas. The company weathered this because their people pulled together, giving them the edge over many competitors who went out of business.

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Commentary for slide 13

At time of writing these results were true and growing. The fast, successful growth of this company in extremely difficult times is a testament to their culture.

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Commentary for slide 16

These are the responses to the internal survey carried out by Richer Sounds. If you have an internal survey, find comparable questions and compare your results to the results here to show the impact of a great company culture.

If you are leading a team, use the relevant questions as a discussion point in a team meeting or team building event. How does the team compare to these high standards? Even if you are in a very different sector, these questions hold true. Make sure you leave time for a thorough discussion and look for action points at the end.

Be conscious of trust levels in the team as you ask questions. If there is low trust, don't expect to get a direct answer. Consider carefully what is said, looking more deeply than you would normally - the true answer may well be hidden. If this is difficult for you to do, ask for help from an outsider to the team or work on building trust, then ask again.

Never hold a discussion like this and not act. Don't raise expectations if you are going to ignore the outcomes.

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Commentary for slide 17

Look to the areas of excellence in your business sector. How many of them are held by your company?

If few, make a list of your competitors who hold the records and then align it to this list. The question to ask is: How much more could we do if we had a great people culture?

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Innovation is something that slips very easily in the pressurised world of work. In great companies, people are interested and excited about work, so they look for how to make things better.

Consider how innovative your workplace is. Would the company benefit from colleagues who are looking for the next idea and interested in taking the business forward? Use the Honda information to show how their attitude to people leads them to constant innovation, so they remain ahead of the field.

• Use them in discussion with direct reports. Ask for honest feedback and talk through how you can improve the responses for more effective team working.

The information gathered is useful as straw pole, indicating how people feel about the present culture. It can be used to stimulate a discussion about next steps.

To find out about using the full survey to gain a strong, statistically sound assessment of your company culture, look in the Useful Information section at the back of the book.

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Commentary for slide 19

This is a sample of questions from the Best Companies™ Employee Survey which forms the basis of the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list. You can use them to:

• See how a random sample of people respond. NB: make sure there is no way of identifying those who have answered.

• Put the questions to your senior leaders and ask them how many people they think would answer the questions positively.

• Use it as a talking point with your peers or change champions to see what you all think would be the most likely response from the people you know.

• Use them in discussion with direct reports. Ask for honest feedback and talk through how you can improve the responses for more effective team working.

To use the full survey in your company see the Useful Information section at the back of the book.

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Commentary for slide 20

When new applicants mention the list with such regularity, it demonstrates that they are keen to work in a positive people culture. Graduates want to make the most of their hard work, so seek out companies that will help further their career. The best companies are known for doing this, so will be targeted by ambitious and committed people.

Improving your work culture and becoming known as an employer of choice will increase job applications, allowing you to choose the highest calibre people. This will have a direct impact on the bottom line.

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Commentary for slide 21

This slide speaks for itself. Being able to choose the right people to work in your company has a big impact on the bottom line.

Being known as a great company has enabled Timpson to double their profit in three years.

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Commentary for slide 22

Claridges have made the shift from a ‘dusty old British institution' to a dynamic, exciting concern. They did this by including their staff in the workings of the business.

How well do you include your people in the workings of the team? many of the actions above can be practiced, even if you are not a senior leader in the organisation. Present the story of Claridges to your team, including the results in the next slide, and see if they are interested in working with you in developing the team culture.

In a presentation to senior management, use this as an example of turning round a long established, entrenched business. A common response to a call for great company culture is that ‘we are different, we have special needs, our business is so long established, we can't change now.' There can be few more entrenched organisations than Claridges which has 100 years and a lot of tradition behind it, yet they have achieved amazing results.

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