Whistl is the UK’s leading logistics company, handling 4.6 billion parcels every year.
Its fast growth and acquisition strategy had made employee feedback a more complex challenge – and one its previous supplier couldn’t meet – but using WorkBuzz has taken its engagement strategy to the next level, and helped get Whistl closer than ever to its deskless employees
Whistl, previously known as TNT, was bought-out in 2014. This gave its HR team the opportunity to take direct control of employee engagement strategy for the first time, having previously had such initiatives handed down by its parent company.
However, by 2021, the business had outgrown its employee survey supplier. As Whistl’s Learning & Development Manager Danielle McArthur puts it: “We were spending far too long putting together reports – it was a very manual process using spreadsheets and putting them all into a Word document for each team to use.”
Having grown significantly, and adding layers of complexity by acquiring other businesses, Whistl’s existing solution was no longer fit for purpose.
“We were looking for a people management dashboard, for managers to log on and download reports and results themselves,” says Danielle. “We wanted to be able to survey more frequently at no extra cost, because other suppliers will charge extra per survey.”
The answer, of course, was WorkBuzz. We’ve been working together to get actionable employee data into Whistl managers’ hands ever since.
Danielle adds: “We also chose WorkBuzz because we wanted to start gathering feedback from new starters, and for our exit surveys to become more data driven. Before, we had HRBPs and HR admins conducting exit surveys on an ad hoc basis, but we didn’t have the resources to survey every single person who left the business.”
Moving to WorkBuzz did require further financial investment, however, Danielle could show the cost would be offset by the sheer number of hours of admin time saved when putting reports together and how the platform would help to move our employee engagement agenda forward.
Since implementing WorkBuzz, Danielle and her team have found new ways to engage team members – and especially ‘deskless’ employees working in the field.
“We’ve managed to improve things by giving our deskless employees two different ways to complete surveys,” says Danielle. “They can do so at work using a kiosk code, but we’ve also sent a link to their personal email address if we have it, so they can complete it at home, on their lunch break, on their phone – or however suits them best.”
Some employees had previously given feedback that managers were asking them to sit and complete surveys under supervision, but these changes have helped – and around half of employees are now completing surveys through their personal email address. Danielle adds: “I think people feel like they can be more honest now. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for our deskless workforce.”
After its first year with WorkBuzz, Whistl held focus groups – covering leadership, reward and recognition, under-35s, and acquired businesses – to see how the data gathered could help them better meet employees’ needs.
One thing that become clear from the reward and recognition focus group, for example, was that many employees weren’t aware of all the benefits already on offer. “People were suggesting things we already had in place,” says Danielle. “So we embarked on a company wide communications push to make sure more people knew about the benefits we provide.”
When asking employees to complete surveys, Whistl also promotes the positive outcomes that have been achieved thanks to previous ones:
It’s safe to say the switch to WorkBuzz has been a popular one for Whistl. “If I meet anyone from WorkBuzz, they’re all so engaging and passionate about what they do,” says Danielle. “Working together just works.”