MyF+G: Terms of Engagement

Faithful+Gould brings its corporate identity into focus for employees worldwide with MyF+G. A lesson for global firms.



Rarely in corporate culture is there an opportunity for employees to self engage on the level that Faithful+Gould has made possible for its global roster of 2,000 employees — including those in more than 20 U.S. offices. Simply dubbed MyF+G, it’s designed as a grassroots engagement program that allows employees to express their views in a comfortable forum and suggest ways the company may improve.

The program was born out of Faithful+Gould’s five-year corporate planning structure and was rolled out in summer 2008 with six sessions focusing on the big picture of the new corporate identity, “Constructive Expertise,” and what that identity conveys in terms of Faithful+Gould’s people and services.

The goals of MyF+G are threefold. First, understanding the corporate identity of Constructive Expertise is a logical beginning step in engagement. Second, making sure every employee sees the impact he or she has on the business. Third, growing the talents and capabilities of Faithful+Gould’s employees.

Using a toolkit that includes a USB flash drive, employees are encouraged to adapt more sustainable business practices to lessen individual carbon footprints. One USB flash drive, used judiciously, can save reams of paper (and trees).

Here’s how a typical session works.

All managers are invited to conduct sessions with their teams on a regular basis. Each session is designed to last 30 to 45 minutes and managers are given permission to interrupt the workday to conduct sessions. In addition to a step-by-step engagement guide and the flash drive, materials such as juggling balls, foam cubes and other “toys” encourage teamwork.

“It’s a ‘do with,’ not a ‘done to’ philosophy,” said Caron Waddington, training and MyF+G project manager. “It’s all about how we involve employees to create change and improvement. What works? What should we being doing? What should we stop doing?” (Waddington’s work is overseen by a steering group and spinoff groups. She manages the MyF+G process for worldwide business.)

Waddington cited a key piece of feedback from the first session.

“Employees wanted to know how to advance at Faithful+Gould. This told us that we needed more defined career paths, including quantifying education and experience, as well as what behaviors are required for long-term success,” she said. “It made us realize the value of people with a collaborative mindset and the commitment to making sure, from a corporate standpoint, that Faithful+Gould has the training to support collaborative behavior.”

Taking that philosophy a step further, the company has augmented its job descriptions with a series of role profiles that include personal skills and characteristics.

“The first key is awareness,” Waddington said. “MyF+G heightens the awareness that behavior and personal skills matter greatly in how we provide our services.”

Faithful+Gould’s emphasis on collaboration begins at the top with Richard Hall, CEO of worldwide operations. In his seasonal message he said he was particularly gratified to note that the annual employee Viewpoint Survey reflected the progress of MyF+G with improved scores for employee engagement and feeling valued. “I’m absolutely convinced that Faithful+Gould people care a great deal about this business, our reputation, and the colleagues they work with,” Hall said.

On the heels of the first six successful sessions, the next series, called “Excellence,” rolled out in early spring 2010. Designed in two parts, Excellence will introduce “The Business Scorecard,” which emphasizes three characteristics: positive, professional and collaborative. Employees will participate in sessions that define how to deliver Constructive Expertise using The Business Scorecard and on how that delivery translates into greater success in the upcoming business quarter.

But enough theory. The employees have their own way of stating their commitment to MyF+G and the results they’re seeing.

Matthew Owens is an estimator in the Washington, D.C., office of Faithful+Gould.

“The MyF+G sessions to date have made me feel more connected to the message of what the company is trying to project to its clients, and also involved with the direction in which the company is heading. I believe it’s had a positive effect on staff by creating a greater collaborative culture in which all staff — whether they are technical or administrative — feel a part of and have a voice which can be heard,” Owens said. “These sessions have also made me appreciate that although Faithful+Gould has a responsibility and desire to help me develop professionally, I in turn have more of a responsibility in making this happen.”

Faithful+Gould Director Stuart Flaxton, who facilitates MyF+G sessions from the London office, said employees were learning they could have a real impact on the path the company takes, despite the company’s great size.

“From my experience the key success factor in the MyF+G program has been the level of staff engagement; people have seen it as a means of having influence on the direction the company is taking and a vehicle for sharing their own views and, more importantly, their ideas. With a company of our size that’s pretty rare,” Flaxton said. “And people have grabbed the opportunity with both hands, which has been incredibly important as once someone feels that they have the ability to foster change, then they are far more likely to contribute to making this happen.

“Far too often I work with companies who put great stock in composing detailed ‘Mission Statements,’ which you can’t help but feel have been produced simply because they believe they should have one and which are more of a case of being ‘seen to be written’ rather than ‘written to be seen,’” Flaxton said.

“MyF+G is fundamentally different to this as it is based on sharing what our values are and agreeing how we can best present these to our clients and colleagues,” he said. “The proof is in the pudding — if you ask people from many other large organizations what the values of their company are, I suspect they would struggle to respond; if you ask someone from Faithful+Gould to explain ‘Constructive Expertise’ I doubt you will be able to stop them talking and, what’s more, you would hear the word ‘I’ an awful lot as well.” •