LCP: Developing the employee voice

With a mission to create a financially better future for society, Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP) are renowned as a market-leading consultancy across various sectors, including pensions, financial services, energy, health analytics, and more.

The company, comprising over 1,200 employees, values transparency and continuous improvement, demonstrating a strong commitment to employee engagement. The “LCP Voice Survey,” as it is known within the company, serves as a vital tool in measuring the sentiments of a diverse workforce and driving meaningful organisational change.

In 2019, LCP took a significant step to enhance its employee engagement strategy by partnering with People Insight. This collaboration aimed to provide a more structured, objective, and comprehensive approach to understanding and improving the employee experience at LCP.

Previously, staff surveys were conducted internally through HR. While effective at the time, LCP recognised that evolving their approach with the help of an expert partner was a necessary next step. Beyond People Insight’s benchmarking, intuitive dashboard, and competitive pricing, what truly solidified the connection between LCP and People Insight was a shared “people-first” attitude and mindset.

The initial survey conducted with People Insight in 2019 established a strong foundation for LCP’s employee engagement strategy. This survey resulted in an 87% engagement score, providing a clear benchmark for future comparisons.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a wellbeing-focused check-in survey was launched in 2020, with the next comprehensive survey scheduled for 2022. This three-year gap, following the initial 2019 survey, coincided with significant global shifts, including the pandemic, remote work adoption, and economic challenges.

Despite these obstacles, LCP maintained its impressive 87% engagement score and an 84% response rate, demonstrating the resilience and effectiveness of their engagement strategy. Additionally, this achievement earned LCP the Outstanding Workplace Award (OWA) from People Insight, recognising their top-quartile engagement performance. However, this wouldn’t be the only time they qualified….

The 2023 pulse survey marked a notable achievement for LCP, with the following key results:

• Engagement Score: The pulse survey recorded an impressive engagement score of 88%, reflecting a highly engaged and motivated workforce. This score not only surpassed the industry benchmark but also showed an improvement from previous years.
• Response Rate: The survey achieved an 88% response rate, demonstrating the effectiveness of LCP’s communication strategies and the high level of trust employees place in the survey process. This robust participation ensures that the feedback is representative and comprehensive.
• Positive Trends: The survey revealed positive trends in several key areas, including leadership effectiveness, communication, and work-life balance. Notably, questions that had previously highlighted areas for improvement showed marked progress, validating the effectiveness of the action plans implemented in response to earlier feedback.
• Outstanding Workplace Award: For a 2nd year on the run, LCP’s survey results qualified them for People Insight’s OWA ?

From the outset, LCP made it clear that the employee survey was more than just a periodic exercise; it was a core component of their strategy to enhance employee engagement. Here’s how they achieved this integration:

Embedding the survey into organisational practices

Inductions: New employees at LCP are introduced to the survey as part of their induction process. This early preview underscores the importance of the survey and encourages new hires to actively participate.

Pre-Survey Communication: Before the survey launch, LCP undertakes a comprehensive communication campaign. This includes custom videos, posters, reminders, and updates on their intranet. The goal is to create awareness and excitement about the survey, ensuring that employees understand its significance and are motivated to participate.

Ongoing Communication: Throughout the year, LCP weaves survey discussions into various forums. For example, survey results are recapped in team meetings and referenced during discussions about implementing changes. This continual reference to the survey helps keep it top of mind for employees and reinforces its importance.

Survey execution

Survey Design: LCP is mindful of maintaining engagement, so they ensure that the survey is concise, yet comprehensive, including a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions. This balance helps in gathering meaningful insights without overwhelming employees.

Regular Cadence: Historically, LCP conducted surveys every three years. However, they’ve now transitioned to an annual cadence with the help of People Insight, alternating between full surveys and pulse surveys. This approach ensures a consistent flow of feedback while providing ample time to implement and measure the impact of changes.

Post-survey process

Once the survey closes, LCP follows a structured process to analyse and act on the results:

• Dashboard Analysis: The first step is to look at the survey dashboard provided by People Insight. This dashboard offers a detailed breakdown of the results, highlighting key themes and areas for improvement.
• Consultancy Support: For the full surveys, LCP leverages People Insight’s consultancy services to delve deeper into the data. This external perspective helps in identifying nuanced insights and developing targeted action plans.
• Departmental Action Plans: Carla Lakey (Head of People), Andrew Fortescue (Staff Partner and Head of Training & Development), and the HR team play pivotal roles in disseminating the results to department heads. Each department head is responsible for discussing the results with their teams and formulating action plans tailored to their specific areas. This decentralised approach ensures that the action plans are relevant and practical.
• Firmwide Communication: Firmwide results are communicated through a short video summary and an intranet page, typically released within a few weeks of receiving the survey data. This transparency helps build trust and shows employees that their feedback is valued and acted upon.
• Follow-up and Accountability: To ensure accountability, the HR team check in with department heads 3 to 6 months after the survey to review progress on the action plans. This follow-up helps in keeping the momentum going and prepares the organisation for the next survey cycle.

Building on recent survey successes, LCP is dedicated to continuous improvement in employee engagement. The organisation has identified key initiatives aimed at sustaining and enhancing their achievements:

1. Question Consistency: LCP aims to maintain consistency in survey questions for effective year-on-year comparisons, while also being flexible enough to incorporate relevant new topics as needed.
2. Demographic Analysis: Currently, survey data is primarily segmented by departments with a firm-wide overview. In the future, LCP intends to utilise our dashboard’s ability to analyse additional demographic data, identifying any existing trends that require attention.
3. Ongoing Collaboration with People Insight: LCP plans to maintain their strong partnership with People Insight, leveraging our expertise to refine survey methodologies, interpret results accurately, and develop impactful action plans.