SIGNAL IDUNA: A Look at Human Resources

Big Pictury: How do you now use the completed Big Picture when communicating with your internal customers? Tobias Vögele: After personally introducing the Big Picture at numerous events, we distributed posters featuring the Big Picture at all our locations. When our teams communicate internally, the posters feature sections of the Big Picture. This way, customers always know exactly which part of the organization is responsible for a given initiative. In addition, the Big Picture appears on the intranet’s Human Resources homepage. There, users can click on the sections representing individual teams to view a more detailed description of their missions and contact them directly.

Big Pictury: How did you experience the image development process? Tobias Vögele: The collaboration was outstanding and a real pleasure. From the very beginning, we had a dedicated point of contact who understood and implemented our goals, wishes, and constraints. She was available on short notice to promptly address any questions that arose and proactively made suggestions that enriched our internal discussions. Nevertheless, excellent ideas often emerge only through joint discussion, which is why an iterative approach is recommended. The joint review cycles were always helpful in this regard, and the meetings were efficient without exception. We were also impressed by the pragmatic approach maintained right up to the end. By the way: Even the journey toward the Big Picture can be a source of added value for an organization, because translating one’s own activities into a meaningful visual representation is often difficult in practice. What exactly are our core tasks, and what aren’t? This aspect, too, was crucial to our decision-making. Big Pictury: What were the particular challenges of this project? Tobias Vögele: We wanted to involve HR staff across all teams, so we designed the process to allow everyone to contribute. The results gathered in this way then had to be consolidated and integrated into a single Big Picture. In addition, the content had to be interwoven in such a way that viewers could also understand how we collaborate internally. We had to avoid misleading representations and unintended messages. This required a significant amount of effort, but it was more than worth it. Despite these challenges, it was always easy to get the team excited about contributing to the Big Picture because everyone was curious to see the result. Big Pictury: What was the employees’ response to the Big Picture? Tobias Vögele: The release of the Big Picture detailing the contact structure and service portfolio of the Human Resources department received nothing but positive feedback within the HR organization as well as from our internal clients. Our own employees are pleased to see their roles reflected in the presentation and feel even more like part of a strong HR community. It’s helping to break down the hesitation internal clients have about reaching out to HR regarding their own concerns and making it easier to find the right internal contacts. In some cases, the Big Picture is used at internal events—for example, as part of the onboarding process for new employees—or incorporated, either in full or in part, into presentations. Big Pictury: Our clients often ask about measurable successes—have you been able to achieve any yet? Tobias Vögele: We’re receiving noticeably fewer inquiries from our clients that first have to be referred internally to the appropriate departments (so-called “misdirected inquiries”). Awareness of Employee Support as the first point of contact for SIGNAL IDUNA Group employees has increased by an estimated 30%. Big Pictury: Great ! Thank you very much for your feedback and insights!