The future's brITe
"Level performance is worse performance, we have to keep getting better! With brITe there is a real buzz in the business."
Mark Wilkinson, Head of Information Technology Services, LexisNexis Butterworths
The business challenge
To be or not to be (outsourced)?
LexisNexis Butterworths is the legal information division of Reed Elsevier - the world’s largest publishing company. Reed Elsevier is a global organisation employing 36,000 people and generating more than $1bn from the internet.
‘The Information Systems (IS) department is a cornerstone of the business, but as our
company becomes more global and the pace of change continues to accelerate, we have to keep up, or IT will simply be outsourced. In fact, as far as we are concerned level performance is worse performance! We have to keep getting better!’ comments Mark Wilkinson, Head of IT Services at LexisNexis Butterworths Tolley.
Attiva’s brief
Bring energy to the strategy and add value!
Mark had become convinced that in order to achieve the ever more demanding performance goals that were expected of the IS department, everyone had to be really engaged in the challenge.
‘Our Director Graham Fisher is a great exponent of our new service model which focuses on adding value. We developed an IS strategy which we wanted to communicate to the team. But, we needed to make it meaningful for everyone at a personal level!’
Mark took the challenge to his ‘Action Learning Group’. Here the idea was born to create a programme for the whole department, which would build a real sense of clarity about the strategy and the changes needed to implement it successfully. And not just clarity but ownership:
‘Creating strategy is 1/10 of the challenge; the rest is selling it to the department and getting each individual to take responsibility for making it happen.’
The solution
Focus and energy
Working with the IS management team, Attiva developed ‘the future’s brITe’
‘We wanted all of the important outputs of Attiva’s Team Energy approach - the strategic clarity and the enthusiasm & commitment of the team, but we also wanted to do something fun which would challenge the creative character of the team - it’s not a skill set IS people often get the chance to use. But innovation and creativity are increasingly important aspects of our work’.
It was decided that the team of 75 people would split into smaller groups and create a 2 minute video of their vision of 2006. Mark also agreed to involve customers in the process. ‘Attiva had to persuade me here. I was reticent at first and doubtful as to the value add.’
The process
Customers, communication and video tapes
The process was centred on a 2-day workshop, the first day focused on creating clarity & vision.
It involved the IS management team sharing their (simplified and sexed up) mission and goals (6 slides!) and a professional video producer giving some tips and coaching in creating videos with impact. These had to include the company values, four items of the strategy, and show the customer viewpoint, as well as indicate desired behaviour and culture for success in 2006.
The second day included real, live customers working with the teams to create better understanding and communication.
Four workshops culminated in a raucous event for the whole department as Mark writes in the in-house magazine: ‘Picture the scene and then lights, camera action! With music and lights provided by our very own DJ, the event kicked off with presentations by the newly formed brITe Action Groups. Then came the main event and it was something not to be missed! To everyone’s surprise and delight, Dominic Holland - veteran of the London comedy circuit was introduced as the compère. The videos were shown and then came the judging à la ‘Eurovision Song Contest’. The panel included our very own MD, Helen Mumford and the event sponsors (Microsoft, HP, SCC, CA, DGH, BT and Siebel). Helen commented: “It’s the soft stuff around behaviours and attitudes that turns good companies into great ones.”
Great fun was had by all - especially the team that won a crate of champagne!
Impact so far
BrITe behaviour rules, okay
The programme brought team members much closer to their customers. “The most energising piece was the customer’s involvement” admits Mark. The team generated lots of customer driven activity; team members decided to ‘date’ a customer each (have coffee, exchange e-mails, talk on the phone…) and spend one day every year with a customer.
“In fact, not just our team members, but everyone who touched the programme found it engaging, from the customers to our MD who has asked to be booked in for next year!”
The yearly Reed Elsevier ‘Employee Opinion Survey’ brought some recognition for all the effort that had been put in. The IS department had made a positive improvement of 16%. A superb result underpinned by brITe.
‘We still have a gap to close, but we are getting there. Now if something happens that is not in line with how we have agreed to work together, someone says: ‘That’s not brITe behaviour!’ and we try and get it right. We also have ‘being brITe awards’.
The energy is great in the department and we are looking forward to the challenges of next year and making our 2006 dream come true!’