Engaging with employees
Tirlán’s recent employee engagement survey reflects a workforce that’s excited about our evolving culture
Over two weeks from the end of March into early April, Tirlán undertook a survey to measure and assess the motivation and engagement of employees, with the aim of creating an environment all colleagues are happy to work in and perform to the best of their abilities.
The last engagement survey was carried out in September 2021, a very different time for our organisation. “Back then, we were part of Glanbia plc, and we were also in the midst of Covid. We had a large population of people working on the frontline every day, while others were working from home for the first time in their lives. It was an extremely difficult, uncertain time,” said Mick O’Leary, Chief People, D&I & Org Development Officer at Tirlán.
Mick O’Leary, Chief People, D&I & Org Development Officer, Tirlán
As you might expect, findings from the two surveys were vastly different. In 2023, Tirlán is a totally independent co-op, fresh off the back of a successful rebrand. “We have a reshaped organisation and management team. Employees who were working remotely are back in the office, although most of our office-based colleagues are now operating in a blended work environment. Our rebrand is well underway and has proved popular with all stakeholders, from our board, management and employees to our customers and 5,000-strong supplier base. And our culture is evolving; we’ve got a new identity, a new purpose, vision and values and that positivity was reflected in employee comments in the survey.”
Our Purpose, Vision and Values will reshape our culture, but this isn’t something that happens overnight. “That kind of change happens slowly, over several years. We currently have a separate stream of work that’s working to embed our new purpose, vision and values and to ensure it is brought to life in a meaningful way for our employees, through everyday decisions, behaviours and actions. Our aspiration is to create a culture where people are comfortable being themselves at work, where they feel they belong, where they see our values in action– they’re the cornerstone of what guides performance and behaviours.”
Overall, Tirlán’s engagement score with the new survey was 73%, one point up from 2021. “While we have work to do in pushing that score even further, it’s definitely going in the right direction.
Employees see Tirlán as an authentic organisation. “That was something which came across strongly from the survey. Basically, feel comfortable being themselves at work, which is such a powerful statement. We were really happy to hear that.”
The vast majority of employees also feel safe at work which is, says Mick, testament to the hard work carried out by Tirlán’s health and safety in collaboration with site teams across production, quality, logistics and retail. “That was actually our best score.
Our survey data tells us that feeling cared about in the workplace is a significant driver of engagement employees in Tirlán. We have some work to do here and this spotlights the importance of programmes such as coaching and activating our purpose and values”.
One further area for development is around people not always feeling like they’re being listened to. “Some people felt their feedback wasn’t being acted upon. That’s something we’re very conscious of. We might be good at inviting feedback and input but acting on feedback is another thing.”
“Another area for development was about removing barriers to execution, cutting down on red tape and making it easier to get work done on a daily basis. That’s an area we need to focus on.” Ensuring people enjoy a healthy work/life balance is another area that needs some attention. “We’re doing a huge amount on the whole area of work/life balance, but there’s definitely room for improvement.”
Now that the survey results are in, it’s time to take action says Mick. Managers have access to the survey so over the next days and weeks, they will sit down with their teams to work through the feedback and prioritise actions. Teams are encouraged to select one or two action areas that will make a positive difference to the working lives of colleagues. “It’s not about boiling the ocean. If we were to try and change 10 things, we probably wouldn’t be successful. People engaged with the survey because they believed we would do something with the feedback and that’s what we intend to do.”
