Rolls-Royce plc is a world-leading provider of integrated power systems and services for use on land, sea and air, with a strong global position in civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.
Situation
Rolls-Royce has ambitious growth plans and must attract and retain the best work force. They needed to understand the core values and complex needs of both current and potential future employees in order to develop a new global Employment Value Proposition (EVP). This research needed to provide a 360 degree view of the internal work force and external graduates, as well as head-hunters, and cover all the main locations of Rolls-Royce globally.
Solution
To address the objectives and varied target audiences, a hybrid approach with quantitative and qualitative research, as well as phone interviews and online research was applied:
- 850 computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) with the potential candidates: a mix of technical and commercial, all levels of seniority, across seven countries worldwide. Based on a standardized questionnaire and run centrally from the UK, but conducted in local language by native speakers.
- 36 web-based telephone depth interviews with senior managers and head-hunters: phone interviews around the globe allowed for the most flexible timing to accommodate busy and tight schedules of respondents while connecting in person when showing the stimulus on a secure site.
- 11 online bulletin boards with 221 employees: this provided the highest degree of anonymity and allowed employees of different levels, from blue collar to middle management, to open up and be honest. The asynchronous bulletin board allowed for flexible attendance even with tight schedules, as well as permitting participation from any location when travelling. It also meant no travel for the team.
This research covered seven countries: UK, USA, Canada, China, Malaysia, India and Germany. While most high-level managers and head-hunters could be interviewed in English, for graduates and employees the native language was applied: Chinese and German.
Benefits
Working with trusted, globally spread colleagues it was possible to utilize 24-hour days and overcome public holidays and the challenges of time zones. A quantitative analysis and report was done on the CATI interviews and the results were integrated into the overall report of the findings of the research.
Having been personally involved in all stages of the project, the project team then led a two-day workshop with the extended team of stakeholders with focused brainstorming around the findings to generate ideas and to narrow in and refine key areas offering the greatest potential. This was followed up with a short validation stage and another workshop with the core team of stakeholders to collectively decide which route to follow and how to optimize that route.
The resulting EVP is now used as framework for all communications: externally to prospective recruits for the graduate program and for experienced hires and internally for retention programs.