Scottish Football Association
“Open Arena worked closely with the Scottish FA to develop a Performance Management Framework centred around its core values. Their approach was adaptable, flexing their style to suit the specific needs of the Association. They designed and delivered a suite of courses for Managers to develop their competency in coaching skills and managing performance. The training was extremely successful and throughout we have received very positive feedback.”
Interim Head of HR
Their Challenge
Scottish Football Association recognised an opportunity to develop their cultural values to represent “the way we do things around here”. There was a realisation the values needed to be aligned with the company ambitions and drive the right behaviours and decisions. To bring them to life required advocacy and role modelling from senior management and everyone else within SFA, connecting with them, speaking a language they understand and could relate to.
Having these new values required them to be part of a new simplified performance management system which Open Arena would also develop. This would act a a lever for change, and underpin the culture needed to enable SFA to achieve key goals and also team and individual goals. Whilst clearly communicating what’s important - the way people are managed, rewarded, recognised, appraised, selected, promoted.
The Solution
Open Arena developed in collaboration with Scottish FA new values and behaviours and a new performance management framework that inspired and engaged everyone by the ease, simplicity of its design and the clarity of the values and behaviours.
All staff attended a scene setter to communicate the values story. Managers attended workshops over a year to bring to life the values and embed role modelling the behaviours in their daily interactions with their team. The training and action learning included Game Ready, Winning Conversations, Maximising Potential workshops.
The Outcome
Open Arena worked with Scottish FA over 3 years where we continued to develop communication, masterclasses and coach managers to embed the values and behaviours. This approach truly took the values off the page and built advocacy and accountability around knowing what good looks like.
Managers started to have ‘different’ and ‘great conversations’ with their people. There was a noticeable difference in the clarity of goals and expectations and an increased understanding of what motivated team members. Feedback and coaching increased with people feeling their contributions were being recognised and their skills were being developed. All of which produced more positive results in the Employee Engagement Survey.