The Catalyst IT Europe approach to autonomy and balance

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A quick insight

Catalyst IT Europe’s people-first culture shows that wellbeing, autonomy and high performance can strengthen each other when employees are trusted and listened to.

With a 96% engagement score, 100% participation and 95% of employees saying they can strike the right balance between work and home life, Catalyst’s results reflect a mature approach to employee listening. The organisation has built a culture where people feel able to contribute honestly, managers use feedback to shape decisions and employees can see that their voices lead to action.

Working with People Insight, Catalyst has used employee survey insight to understand what matters most to its people, track progress over time and prioritise action around autonomy, workload, wellbeing and communication. This approach helped the organisation earn recognition with People Insight’s Outstanding Workplace award.

Who are Catalyst IT Europe?

Catalyst IT Europe is a leading open-source technology company specialising in learning management systems, software development and digital transformation. With teams based across the UK and Europe, and sister companies in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, Catalyst supports clients in higher education, government and the private sector.

As a people-focused organisation, Catalyst believes its strength lies in the autonomy, creativity and balance of its employees. This philosophy underpins both its client delivery and internal culture, creating an environment where people are trusted to contribute, collaborate and grow.

That autonomy reflects more than a management style. It mirrors Catalyst’s open-source philosophy. Just as open-source projects thrive on transparency, collaboration and shared ownership, Catalyst’s teams are empowered to contribute ideas, make improvements and innovate freely.

Catalyst’s partnership with People Insight has helped the organisation measure and protect this culture as it grows. Through employee surveys, clear reporting and year-on-year insight, Catalyst can understand whether its values are being experienced consistently across the organisation, not just described in principle.

Listening, acting and achieving Outstanding Workplace status

Catalyst IT Europe’s results speak volumes. A 96% engagement rate and full participation reflect not only an exceptional culture, but also a high level of trust in the employee listening process.

That trust is one reason Catalyst earned recognition as one of People Insight’s Outstanding Workplaces, an accolade celebrating organisations that create meaningful change through employee listening.

Catalyst’s partnership with People Insight began with a shared belief that data only drives impact when it leads to action. Through employee surveys, transparent dashboards, benchmarking and expert support, Catalyst gained a clearer understanding of what matters most to employees and how those experiences were changing over time.

People Insight helped Catalyst move beyond survey scores alone. The platform gave leaders clear results and comparisons. Follow-up analysis helped identify priority areas. Expert guidance helped the organisation focus on actions that would make the biggest difference to wellbeing, autonomy and balance.

Creating the conditions for balance

Catalyst has built balance into the way it works. Not as an extra, but as a standard.

With People Insight’s support, survey data has helped leaders understand exactly how employees experience work-life balance and where flexibility is having the greatest impact. The result is a clear evidence base for protecting what works, refining support and making decisions that reflect employees’ lived experience.

Employees are actively encouraged to put home life first, with the understanding that balance creates better conditions for creativity, focus and sustainable performance.

That belief is backed by comprehensive benefits that protect wellbeing in every sense. From medical and dental cover to online GP access, menopause support, flexible working, life and income protection and enhanced parental pay, employees have access to resources that genuinely support life outside work.

People Insight’s survey platform helps make this visible. By tracking work-life balance, wellbeing and workload sentiment over time, Catalyst can see whether its culture of balance is being felt by employees and where more support may be needed.

Autonomy as a foundation for trust

Catalyst’s approach to autonomy is simple: give people the confidence, information and support to deliver. Then trust them to do it.

Working with People Insight, the organisation identified autonomy as one of its strongest engagement strengths. With a 92% autonomy score, 21 percentage points above the sector benchmark, Catalyst’s people have freedom to make decisions, backed by confidence in their leaders and peers.

This is where employee survey insight becomes valuable. The results did not simply confirm that autonomy mattered. They showed how strongly autonomy was being experienced and how it contributed to Catalyst’s wider engagement story.

Teams are empowered to liaise directly with clients on smaller projects, guided by clear quoting frameworks and budgets. Project Managers oversee timeframes, but individuals retain ownership of day-to-day decisions and know when to seek guidance.

Open communication and structured documentation create alignment without unnecessary oversight.

Regular knowledge-sharing sessions and retrospectives capture learnings, strengthening both autonomy and collaboration. These qualities were identified as key engagement strengths in the survey analysis, giving Catalyst a clearer view of what to protect and build on.

Managing workload through feedback and connection

Catalyst’s survey data also revealed high favourability around workload management, with 90% of employees saying they can comfortably cope with their workload. This is 22 points above the benchmark.

That result reflects both strong systems and a culture of open communication. Daily stand-ups, monthly check-ins, annual appraisals and informal catchups give employees regular opportunities to discuss priorities, progress and capacity.

People Insight’s employee survey reporting gives Catalyst another important layer of visibility. It helps leaders spot whether workload is being experienced consistently across the organisation and whether pressure points are emerging.

Managers can then use the survey findings to open better conversations, rebalance work where needed and respond before workload becomes a bigger engagement or wellbeing issue.

This is one of the strengths of combining regular feedback with clear reporting. It gives leaders confidence that they are not relying on assumption. They can use employee voice to understand what is working, where pressure may be building and what action should come next.

Communication across continents

Catalyst’s people work across the UK, Europe and beyond, so clear, consistent communication is vital.

The company uses regular video meetings, chat tools and detailed documentation to keep everyone connected. Survey insight helps Catalyst understand whether that communication is landing well and where improvements may be needed.

People Insight’s reporting and employee sentiment analysis helped Catalyst understand the nuances of remote collaboration across teams, locations and time zones. This is particularly important for distributed organisations, where communication can easily become fragmented or inconsistent.

The results show that Catalyst has built a culture that is transparent, inclusive and closely connected, even when people are thousands of miles apart.

By using survey data alongside regular conversations, Catalyst can keep communication under review and make sure employees continue to feel informed, included and aligned.

Acting on feedback, year after year

Catalyst’s leadership team treats every survey as a commitment to act.

Since the initial survey with People Insight, work-life balance and workload scores have both improved, supported by expanded flexibility, improved team communication and evolving benefits.

People Insight’s follow-up analysis helped Catalyst identify and prioritise the actions that would have the greatest impact. Rather than trying to respond to every piece of feedback at once, Catalyst could focus on the areas most likely to strengthen employee experience.

By tracking improvements year on year, the organisation has maintained momentum and ensured that employee voice continues to shape decisions at every level.

This is what makes the listening process credible. Employees can see that feedback is not disappearing into a report. It is being reviewed, discussed and used to guide practical changes.

Building transparency and shared purpose

Catalyst’s commitment to openness is evident in its transparency scores. 93% of employees say they understand how the company is performing, 18 points above the sector benchmark.

Through quarterly briefings, onboarding sessions and strategic updates, employees see how their work links directly to organisational goals.

People Insight’s analytics and reporting tools support this by providing clear data visualisations that leaders can use to share progress across teams. This helps make survey findings easier to understand and gives leaders a stronger basis for communicating what is changing, why it matters and where the organisation is heading.

Transparency is not only about sharing information. It is about helping employees understand the bigger picture and their role within it.

Catalyst’s results show the value of connecting employee listening with ongoing communication. When people understand how the business is performing and how their feedback is shaping decisions, trust becomes easier to sustain.

Looking ahead

Catalyst continues to invest in its people and culture. Plans include expanding training and development programmes, enhancing benefits and strengthening sustainability commitments, all informed by ongoing survey insights.

The company’s approach demonstrates that autonomy and balance do not just drive engagement. They sustain long-term success.

As a People Insight Outstanding Workplace, Catalyst stands out as an example of what happens when feedback is heard, trusted and acted upon.

Looking ahead, People Insight will continue to support Catalyst with the insight, reporting and expert guidance needed to keep employee voice central to decision-making. By tracking progress over time and continuing to act on feedback, Catalyst can protect the culture it has built while identifying new opportunities to improve.

Begin listening to your people today

Catalyst IT Europe’s story shows that trust, balance and listening create workplaces where people genuinely want to contribute.

People Insight helps organisations design employee surveys, understand what drives engagement and turn feedback into meaningful action. Our platform gives leaders clear reporting, dashboards and benchmarks. Our consultants help interpret results, identify priorities and support action planning. Our tools help organisations track progress over time, so listening becomes part of how work gets better.

We can support you with:

• Employee surveys
• Employee engagement surveys
• Pulse surveys
• Survey reporting and dashboards
• Benchmarking
• Prism-supported analysis
• Action planning
• Employee listening strategy
• Survey communications
• Consultancy and expert guidance

Ready to turn employee feedback into focused, meaningful action? Explore employee surveys with expert support and see how People Insight can help you listen with confidence and act with clarity.