Successful development culture within the Evangelische Omroep.
With the belief that development is becoming increasingly important, Evangelische Omroep (EO) has facilitated the transition from traditional assessment culture to development culture. Through training sessions from GrowQu and the performance management tool from TruQu, the media company stimulates a growth mindset for each employee and they invest more in development and less in control. Employees are given control and are the starting point.
Evangelische Omroep contributes to the pluralism within the public system by telling stories about God and following Jesus. With content for different target groups, they make their own Christian sound.
One-way-traffic
EO’s professionals used to work with an assessment cycle that consisted of a planning interview, a progress interview and at the end an assessment interview. The characteristic of this cycle was that the manager was always the starting point. Only the manager had access to the system and filled in the result agreements. The employee review was one-way traffic.
There was a need for change. Freek van Slooten, head of HR, explains how this came about. “The main reason for this need is that we increasingly believe that everything around us is changing. The media landscape and technology. What doesn’t change? Continued development has become so relevant. You have to set up your system and your cycle accordingly. And, offer the right tools for this. Invest more in development, less in control.”
Culture Change
Evangelische Omroep decided to organize a kick-off with behavioral scientist and most requested speaker Ben Tiggelaar. “We wanted to do that to show our colleagues that by taking small steps, by asking for the right support and by organizing good feedback, you can get started with your own development,” says Freek. “To prepare everyone for this new way of working.”
The director also spoke during the kick-off and spoke from his own experience about the benefits of feedback and change in his own development process. In order to involve everyone in the change and to discover the new way of working, training courses from GrowQu were started immediately after the kick-off.
The trainings
GrowQu is a specialist in providing feedback training and shaping a development culture. As an implementation partner of TruQu, GrowQu uses the software of TruQu as a means to easily use feedback in organizations. During the training sessions, given by Martijn Lodder, employees receive their personal login details from TruQu in order to immediately discover the power of feedback.
According to Freek, the training courses are valuable for two main reasons. “The training courses are given to mixed groups. You see that all your colleagues, whatever their function, are all busy with their own development. Knowledge is also very valuable. How do you give good feedback? How does the system actually work? What does the new cycle look like? People go away with the idea that they now know how to get started.”
“The sessions with Ben Tiggelaar or with GrowQu help with the company culture change. They really show people how great it is to get started with setting smart goals and asking people around you what they think about your development or performance,” he continues.
The employees conclude with a ‘ten commandments’ list to make the feedback rules transparent to everyone. “Here you can see which rules we use with feedback. Such as: feedback must always be one-on-one. With feedback you always want to help someone else. You respond within two weeks and so on. Those are the agreements that we have made together.”
Natural Way
The new cycle has formed, employees are actively and enthusiastically working with TruQu’s performance management tool to chart their development, goals have been set and employees have become the starting point. The manager can still make adjustments, but the employees get more control within the media company. The cycle has been fully completed, thanks in part to the training sessions.
According to Freek, it is important to listen to where you stand as an organization at the moment and what is needed to reach your talents, employees and your potential even further. “In addition, you also have many people who would like it, but don’t dare. If you say that your organization is ready and you want to develop your talents and potential, then you should just do it. If you let go of control and give confidence, you will get a lot more in return.”
Pitfalls
“Do not use the tool as an approach route,” is what Freek says emphatically. “TruQu is not the goal, but the means. I hope that people will talk to each other and take control of their own development. That they get better and that you also make the organization better. That is the goal for me. It’s about the mindset you have. Martijn’s familiar words: the growth mindset.”
The second pitfall that Freek wants to protect other organizations from is not to make it an “HR thing”. “You have to make sure that it becomes something that you as an organization can say that you are ready for. You think this is important and you will organize this together. And, HR certainly helps in that, but it belongs to the organization. It should help managers make the conversation with their employees deeper and better. It must help employees take control of their own development and it must help management to set goals.”
“TruQu is not the goal, but the means. I hope that people will talk to each other and take control of their own development. That they get better and that you also make the organization better. That is the goal for me.”
Continuous process
Look at the future
The Evangelische Omroep experienced the training as valuable. Freek concludes: “It fits well with the organization. Martijn is enthusiastic, he believes in what he is doing and knows how to move easily in the organization and learn to speak the language of the organization.”
