Customer interview with the NewPlacement Academy

We are delighted that Ms. Lina Bitzer, Managing Director and HR Manager of NewPlacement Academy GmbH, is here to answer our questions about her experiences with our employee surveys.

Why did you originally decide to conduct an employee survey?

• We decided to conduct an employee survey 4.5 years ago because we were undergoing a major upheaval and the working atmosphere was not so great due to a number of factors. We wanted to know what was going on and where we could start to get a grip on the challenges.

When was that?

• We made our decision in late spring/early summer 2018 and then conducted the first employee survey in fall 2018.

What was your experience of the first employee survey?

• We on the Management Board were unanimously in favor of it and also experienced a high level of acceptance and willingness among the employees. On the contrary, the employees really appreciated it and felt that they were taken seriously. They actually gave us honest feedback and we knew afterwards that we still had a lot of work to do. The most important thing we learned from this was that we should have done this earlier. We received very precise information about our "construction sites" and were able to tackle the challenges and initiate optimizations in a very situational, i.e. location- and team-specific manner.

How did the process continue and what made it successful in your eyes?

• There were a lot of changes, both planned and unplanned. On the one hand, we had a few changes in management personnel and we introduced a new, agile organizational structure with more personal responsibility in the team. We have also spread the responsibilities and duties over several shoulders, which has also been relieving and stimulating. In addition, we have set up completely new teams in some cases as a result of winning or losing submissions, which has also created a new dynamic. We have also been able to take our employees' wishes into account much better when it comes to staff scheduling, which has improved the work-life balance. We have also optimized substitutions in the event of absences due to illness, giving employees more peace of mind and planning security. And last but not least, Corona has helped us to introduce home office. We switched to online coaching and online courses very quickly during the pandemic. Our employees received intensive training and we were able to maintain all workplaces. We now have blended learning in almost all programs, which means that almost all employees can now work from home around 50% of the time. And without any loss of quality or emotional distance from the team.

You repeated the survey in 2022 and were able to significantly improve employee motivation and the working atmosphere. We were able to present you with our Excellence@Work Award and congratulate you once again on this accolade. Looking back, what were the most important success factors?

• As already mentioned above, many factors were involved. It certainly also helped that we had a very lively exchange within the team during the pandemic and the long period in home office and that we communicated very regularly and transparently from the management about what was going on and what was pending. This gave us a sense of security and a feeling of belonging. Our team spirit is very strong, which was also reflected in the employee survey. The meaningful work under improved framework conditions, optimized communication and a clear focus even in times of crisis have certainly helped to convey appreciation, orientation and security within the team. Our family atmosphere and the attitude of a learning organization are also highly valued. We are currently undergoing the certification process for the MSBO (Management System for Educational Organizations) DIN ISO standard 21001. This intensive process has led to us scrutinizing, optimizing and documenting all processes and procedures and to an overall professionalization of the entire company.

Which instruments and tools are helpful for you?

• The very differentiated evaluation as an overall picture, but also distributed to the individual teams and roles, was very helpful in order to develop tailor-made and very individual measures with the relevant participants. The level of detail of the statements, but also the breadth and depth of the topics addressed and their answers is really impressive and very, very helpful. We received ready-to-use presentations from ValueQuest and were able to quickly inform the teams with these various evaluations and presentations. At the same time, the high and lowlights are summarized very clearly, allowing us to develop individual measures. In addition, compared to 2018, the results are all stored electronically on a SharePoint and are much easier to view, distribute and discuss. There are now even prepared documents that can be used to record the appropriate measures, which is very practical.

What arguments would you use to recommend an employee survey to other companies?

• A company must certainly recognize the need for it. If someone wants a differentiated and up-to-date picture of the state of mind in their own company, then such an employee survey with ValueQuest is definitely worthwhile. As a manager, you sometimes have a "feeling" that cannot be substantiated. With an employee survey, you have clear, very differentiated and up-to-date answers to important questions such as employee satisfaction, the number of "ambassadors" in the company or an indication of possible fluctuation. This is all very helpful and interesting to know.

How would you describe the collaboration with ValueQuest?

• Very professional! We were lucky enough to work with Ms. Andrea Schön as project manager on both employee surveys, which we can only recommend. Ms. Schön was very professional, extremely friendly and reliable throughout the entire process. We also had to select the questions for the first survey, had many questions about the process ourselves and received very good advice and support in every phase of the project. The many templates for internal communication, deadlines and the employee structure were also very useful. Ms. Schön first showed us the results at management level and then very happily surprised us with the award the second time! As part of the MSBO, we will be conducting another employee survey with ValueQuest in three years' time, and we recommend them unreservedly as a very reputable, professional company.

Thank you very much for your interesting answers. We look forward to continuing to support you in this exciting process in the future.