Spot•On | Turning Talk into Action

This year, our group-wide employee engagement survey, sponsored by Gallup and known internally as "Spot•On," was conducted for the second time. The goal: to gather systematic feedback from employees and get things moving together. The survey results are in. This has taken us directly to the next phase: identifying opportunities. Optimizing things. This is precisely where it's worth taking a closer look. I spoke with my colleague Dr. Torben Hügens about his experience with the second survey and how the group and his team are benefiting from it.

Jochen: Hi Torben, before we talk about Spot•On – would you mind briefly introducing yourself? Who are you and what do you do at All for One?

Torben: With pleasure. I'm Dr. Torben Hügens, Vice President of Analytics & Insights Germany at All for One. I've been working in the analytics field for over 18 years – I started as a traditional SAP Business Warehouse (BW) consultant. Over time, I've developed both professionally and technologically and taken on increasing responsibility. For five years now, I've been responsible for analytics at All for One in Germany.

Jochen: How did you experience the second Spot•On survey overall?

Torben: For me, the survey was a valuable opportunity to get a sense of the mood within the company - especially compared to the previous year. The results show us where we're already strong, but also where there's still room for improvement. Especially given the many changes across the entire group last year, the survey was a good indicator of our employees' commitment. The fact that we were even able to improve slightly in the results was, to be honest, a pleasant surprise - and demonstrates how professionally and resiliently our team handles change.

Dr. Torben Hügens | Vice President Analytics & Insights Germany at All for One

Convert feedback into measurable results

Jochen:This year, in addition to employee satisfaction and leadership feedback, we also surveyed the Accountability Index for the first time. Was there a metric you looked at particularly closely?Torben: Yes, the Accountability Index was particularly interesting to me. It's new and gives us exciting insights into how strongly our teams take responsibility. The fact that the score is relatively high across the group shows that our employees take responsibility seriously – and want to translate feedback into concrete, visible results. Of course, we all know there's still room for improvement. But the willingness to move from "talking about it" to "doing it" is clearly palpable. And that's crucial – for our culture and our long-term success.Jochen:As Vice President, you're responsible for approximately 80 employees. Your team consists of five. How did your department or team perform? And have you already identified areas for action?Torben: Overall, we did well – but of course, there are still areas we want to work on. We've identified potential, particularly in the areas of internal communication and collaboration, which we're actively addressing.

Operative measures

Jochen:  How did you approach this?

Torben:We organized an in-person workshop in Heidelberg, where my team came together. Together with our Strategic People Business Partner Yvette, we intensively examined the results and derived concrete actions. In addition, my managers conducted their own workshops - both on-site and remote - with their teams to delve even deeper into their respective findings.

Jochen:  Were there also measures at management level?

Torben: Yes, definitely. A key issue was the uncertainty surrounding All for One's strategic direction. We in the management team took this very seriously and actively worked to create more clarity.

Measures at strategic level

Jochen: Can you give an example?

Torben: One concrete measure is our "One Plan," which was presented by the Executive Board in July. It clearly describes the direction All for One intends to take. The plan provides answers to key questions: Which markets do we want to serve? How do we further develop our portfolio? What prospects do we offer our employees? And how do we want to work together as an organization? All of this isn't abstract, but very concrete - and that provides direction.

Jochen:  What else has happened since the last survey? And what have you personally learned from it?

Torben: In my department, for example, we initiated measures related to our salary model. We realized that we depend on many other stakeholders – and couldn't implement everything as quickly as we would have liked. But the preparatory work is having an impact. Now the conditions are in place to adjust our salary model, for example. My personal lesson: We should focus even more on short-term, independent measures – to achieve noticeable changes more quickly.

Jochen:  The next Spot•On survey is coming up next year. Will you be participating again?

Torben: Absolutely. I hope this will give us even deeper insights into our employees' needs and help us identify trends. This will allow us to manage our efforts more effectively and measure the impact of our measures.

Jochen:  Torben, thank you for your insights!

Torben: With pleasure.

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