Case Study

Building a talent retention strategy

An experiential workshop to involve managers and engineers in building a distinctive and engaging work experience

The workshop involved managers and engineers in a structured process of listening to needs and developing initiatives and projects aimed at increasing the company’s ability to retain talent.

Project carried out in collaboration with Niuko.

Settore Azienda

Energy Technologies

Servizi Amploom

Employee Experience Design
Employee Value Proposition Design

Persone Coinvolte

3 frontline managers, 6 engineers, 1 HR business partner

Initial Challenge

Analyzing the distinctive elements to retain talent within the company

EnerSys wanted to involve company management in identifying a concrete talent retention strategy (particularly for engineers) to support business development and growth

Initial Challenge: Analyzing the distinctive elements to retain talent within the company

Strategy

Co-design workshop for initiatives, involving managers and engineers

We developed a program that saw key management commitment in identifying the company's strengths as an employer (Employee Value Proposition) and actively listened to the engineer population as they shared their experiences and developed projects to reinforce the retention strategy

Strategy: Co-design workshop for initiatives, involving managers and engineers

Result

A detailed roadmap of projects and initiatives and a replicable work method

The project gave rise to a series of projects and initiatives, included in a detailed development roadmap, with timelines and priorities. Furthermore, the project provided participants with a replicable method and way of working.

Result: A detailed roadmap of projects and initiatives and a replicable work method

Initial Challenge

Analyzing the distinctive elements to retain talent within the company

Initial Challenge: Analyzing the distinctive elements to retain talent within the company

EnerSys Italy was facing the need to retain talent to support its future projects. In particular, the company’s engineer population (a highly sought-after professional category) and the full remote work mode for some of them, presented the company with the need to develop a clear and shared retention strategy. For this reason, the project saw strong commitment from key managers at the Italian level, who not only gave their imprimatur to the project but were personally involved in several sessions of the workshop. Furthermore, the project involved the active participation of engineers, which was necessary to reconstruct a snapshot of their perception of the company as an employer and to develop tailored solutions for the company.

Strategy

Co-design workshop for initiatives, involving managers and engineers

Strategy: Co-design workshop for initiatives, involving managers and engineers

The first phase of the workshop involved both key managers and a selected group of engineers of diverse ages and experiences. During this phase, the key steps of the Employee Experience were reviewed: hearing about the company, going through the recruiting phase, experiencing the onboarding phase, and building one’s growth and development path. We thus outlined the company’s Employee Value Proposition, which are the aspects of greatest motivation and interest in working at EnerSys. The analysis also highlighted the areas for improvement in the company’s offering as an employer, which led to the subsequent phase of solution development.

 

In the second phase of the workshop, managers and engineers were involved in designing initiatives that could address the challenges arising from the areas for improvement. An example was the creation of the role of “Angels”, collaborators tasked with dedicating a portion of their time to systematically support new hires outside of the hierarchical relationship.

 

Finally, in the third phase of the workshop, management was supported in developing a roadmap for the identified projects, including timelines and priorities.

Result

A detailed roadmap of projects and initiatives and a replicable work method

Result: A detailed roadmap of projects and initiatives and a replicable work method
+
4
identified retention initiatives
+
inclusion of employees as a retention element
1
work method transferred and replicable within the company

Thanks to the project, the following results were observed at EnerSys:

  1. the workshop generated a series of concrete initiatives to implement to improve the work experience of people at EnerSys and thus create effective retention mechanisms;
  2. the workshop was based on a process of circular learning. Hypotheses about the specific retention levers at EnerSys were compared with the most important “real-world data”: the direct feedback from new hires of diverse ages and experiences who participated in the workshop;
  3. The workshop itself served as a retention initiative: people felt heard and actively involved in building improvement initiatives, which strengthened their bond with the company;
  4. The people involved in the workshop experienced a design method and a collaborative work dynamic, which they continued to use even after the workshop concluded.

What's in Employee Experience Design?

What's in Employee Experience Design?

The workshop analyzed the employee experience at EnerSys and developed concrete improvement initiatives, thanks to the use of methods and tools from Employee Experience Design.

What about Employee Value Proposition Design?

What about Employee Value Proposition Design?

The workshop focused on EnerSys’s strengths as an employer, based on the perceptions of managers and engineers.

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