Data-driven company culture in real time: Employer Branding Talks

“As long as you have solid data, there are concrete things to act on.”

A strong employer brand consists of two key parts: the strategically right internal company culture, and the ability to communicate it to relevant target groups.

Building a value-creating culture is about creating the right conditions for employees to feel good at work, which in turn makes them perform better. Sounds simple, right? It is not. But using a platform that shows in real time what it is actually like at the company is a good start. Together with Winningtemp, the platform that helps leaders measure and improve organisational wellbeing, we looked at which companies are leading the way in measurable positive results. At the top of the list were Löfbergs and HusmanHagberg. At our fifth Employer Branding Talks we had the honour of hearing from Sofia Svahn, Chief People and Culture Officer at Löfbergs, and Fredrik Kjell, CEO of HusmanHagberg. Watch the recording of the event here.

One step towards reaching your goals

One of HusmanHagberg’s strengths is its company culture, says CEO Fredrik Kjell: clear values firmly anchored among employees and franchisees. But when a company grows as much as HusmanHagberg has, it is hard to stay as close to the organisation. With 100 offices across Sweden and more than 400 employees, Fredrik wanted better insight into how each office is doing, and how each employee is feeling. Together with the board and management team, they decided to measure wellbeing in real time and follow up. How did you convince the board and management team to start using Winningtemp? A thriving employee is a high-performing employee. We need all kinds of tools to support leadership across the organisation, and this is one step towards reaching our goals. Getting it approved was no problem, but we wanted to test it first, which we did at our head office for three months. We discussed the data weekly and replaced performance reviews with “temp conversations”, where we went through responses on areas such as job satisfaction, leadership and workload. After the test, we rolled it out regionally and then across the whole organisation. Today we even have one person who works only with our real-time figures. That way we can quickly see which offices are struggling and act, with targeted efforts to improve wellbeing. What changes have you seen internally? We have gained an extra channel to our employees. We use all kinds of intranet platforms, but sometimes information gets stuck. The anonymous messages we receive through Winningtemp reduce the distance.

From an annual employee survey to real-time data

At Löfbergs the story is similar. A year earlier, Chief People and Culture Officer Sofia Svahn started looking at how to develop their employee surveys. The annual survey did not provide the support they wanted. It was a big job to analyse and turn into an action plan, and by the time the plan was in place, the data already felt outdated. Where did the journey towards becoming more data-driven start? We needed a new way to work continuously with wellbeing and challenges, especially at leadership level. How we measure wellbeing should not be too different from how we measure our financial results. A thriving employee is a performing employee who contributes to our strategic and financial goals; the two go hand in hand. Capturing input and development potential has been extremely important as we have grown from Karlstad to northern Europe. How do you use the tool? Much like HusmanHagberg. All markets are included, but the platform is mainly used by our leaders as a tool for working with their teams, through frequent “temperature meetings” where we look at development areas, strengths and how to act on the results.

The system does not solve everything

Measuring company wellbeing in real time is clearly a way to reach strategic goals without compromising on wellbeing. At the end of the event, Fredrik and Sofia each shared three recommendations for organisations considering automated employee surveys. Fredrik’s three recommendations:
  • Buying a system is easy; working with the results is harder. You have to work with the data and understand what it tells you about your organisation.
  • Explain the change. Some of our leaders initially worried it would become a surveillance system. Explain what the change means for everyone. With us, the concerns have faded and the platform is now seen as a communication channel to employees.
  • Work on leadership. Good leadership and wellbeing show on the bottom line.
Sofia’s three recommendations:
  • The system does not solve everything; it is what you do with the data that delivers results. It is easy to fall in love with the system, but you have to do the work too. Set aside time to understand the results.
  • Make sure leaders take ownership, because they are the ones who will develop wellbeing in the organisation.
  • Set goals, follow up and communicate. Link goals to the activities and changes you want to achieve, and you will see the benefits much more clearly.
Questions about recruitment or employer branding? Email us at hello@oddwork.se or read more about data-driven employer branding with KPIs.
About Fredrik Fredrik Kjell is CEO of HusmanHagberg and introduced real-time measurement of employee wellbeing during his time in the role. Connect with Fredrik here. About Sofia Sofia Svahn is Chief People and Culture Officer at the family-owned coffee company Löfbergs. Using real-time data, she has modernised Löfbergs’ approach to company culture and how the organisation works to keep employees healthy, satisfied and high-performing. Connect with Sofia here.