Spot•On  |  IT Process Services

Last year, All for One conducted a group-wide employee engagement survey by Gallup for the first time. Within the company it´s better known as ‘Spot•On’. On the one hand, the aim was to capture a picture of the mood, and on the other, of course, to work with the results. I spoke to Benjamin Lay, Director of the IT Process Services team, about what happened in his team after the survey and how he experienced Spot•On in general.

Jochen: Before we get into the topic, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?

Benni: I'm Benjamin ‘Benni’ Lay, and I've been working at All for One since January 2014. I started in SAP Consulting as a consultant and project manager. After working in sector and industry management, I joined the Corporate Functions in the IT Process and Project Services department. There I am responsible for the IT Process Services team.

Jochen: The first Employee Engagement Survey by Gallup was conducted about a year ago. How did you personally experience the survey?

Benni: After the announcement, I was curious to see what was in store for us and for me as a manager. Spot-On could be heard and seen every day via all Spot-On channels and I was excited to see how the survey would be conducted. I had expected something completely ‘new’, but this wish did not come true. In the end, it was just questions that we could rate on a scale.

Jochen: Apart from the methodology, which was not very new, were the right things asked from your point of view? 

Benni: Definitely. As I had just about the right number of employees for my own team result, I motivated all my employees to take part. That worked out well. And looking back, I can say that we were able to work very well with the feedback from certain questions.

TEAM-INTERNAL LEARNINGS

Jochen: Let's take a closer look. What surprised you most about the results for your team? 

Benni: For example, when it came to recognising our own performance, we realised that we find it difficult to clearly communicate our own role and task within the company. We have worked on this by defining our service offering more clearly and making it available to everyone on SharePoint. 

The next survey has already been scheduled. Spot-On 2025 starts on 12.02.2025

Jochen: How exactly did you realise this?

Benni: Firstly, we looked at the results together and shared our thoughts on the results as a team. Then I reflected on everything again for myself and we held the workshop together, which was organised by People & Culture. I was allowed to moderate it using the relevant templates. We then identified our construction sites and developed specific measures, which we have now finalised.

Jochen: Has this already made a difference?

Benni: Not much has formally changed in terms of teamwork. We were all very satisfied with the way we worked together as a team and the associated formats and procedures. However, we are all more aware of how important the regular points of contact between our scattered teams are and these are now even more of a priority for everyone than before. We have also explained our own professional identity much better to the outside. This helps with challenging projects and our day-to-day tasks in the context of internal services and Group-wide processes.

EMPLOYEE RETENTION SURVEYS - PROS & CONS

Jochen: Let's come back to Spot•On in general. Not everyone finds the survey useful. What do you think?

Benni: I understand that some people were sceptical. Everyone has to complete their tasks and achieve their goals. At the same time, we are involved in the changes to the organisation. This is simply an additional task. What's more, if you take it seriously, it takes a lot of time. If you only know the entire survey procedure in theory, it can of course create additional tension. But overall, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Everyone has the chance to take part and share their views on the topics in the survey. That definitely makes sense, because this feedback ultimately helps to improve things. And the second round will certainly be even more interesting than the first. Last year was more or less an assessment of the current situation. This year we will see how the answers develop.

Jochen: If you had one wish in relation to the survey, what would it be? 

Benni: Perhaps I would like to see a little less drum roll around the survey, but instead a high level of participation so that almost every team gets its own result.

Jochen: The next Spot•On survey starts on 12 February. Are you taking part? And if so, what do you expect from it?  

Benni:  Ich werde auf jeden Fall teilnehmen und hoffe auf hohe Teilnahmequote. In meinem Team gab es zwar nur kleine Änderungen, aber ich freue mich auf die ersten Tendenzen in den Antworten und den Austausch im Anschluss dazu.

Jochen: Thank you very much for taking the time, Benni.

Benni: With pleasure ;-)

NETWORK WITH BENNI

Do you have questions for Benni or want to expand your business network? Then simply network with him on LinkedIn ;-)