Understanding an evolving organisational culture to drive performance
The Leeds United Foundation is the official charity for Leeds United Football Club. Part of the Leeds family, the charity aims to use the power of sport to educate, motivate, inspire and support people throughout the local Leeds community, acting as a catalyst to improve peoples’ lives.
How it all began
Our team has a deep understanding of the Leeds United Foundation and the different personalities within it, which is something we’re proud of. We started working with the Foundation in 2010, when we were initially asked to draft employment contracts and a staff handbook by the former CEO.
Understanding the team
When the Foundation’s current CEO assumed his role in 2017, he wanted to gain a better understanding of the Foundation’s culture by providing employees with a voice and the chance to provide feedback.
This feedback was important to enable the Foundation to set objectives in the knowledge that the entire team was on board.
So, he asked for our support in helping to conduct a culture survey for the Foundation. We conducted the survey, allowing employees to comment anonymously on different aspects of the Foundation and their work.
We also met with the team to conduct a HR audit, to better understand the types of issues they face, review existing documentation to ensure it was legally compliant and view the bigger picture of where the charity wanted to get to.
Helping create a culture
The culture survey was very well-received by the team, as it helped them feel valued and provided a chance to share their thoughts. Following the survey, we helped to evaluate the feedback and results.
Feedback from the survey has helped the Foundation’s senior leadership team to develop and implement an on-going program of performance management alongside Howarths. This will up-skill the managers, ensuring they feel more confident and able to provide feedback, measure performance and set objectives.
Preparing for the future
The culture survey has allowed the Foundation to implement a proactive and continuous performance management structure, ensuring they are in a strong position to constantly develop and improve individual and organisational performance through realistic objectives and regular feedback.
The culture survey also helped to highlight key areas where the Foundation can enhance overall performance by strengthening the relationship with employees, providing them with an opportunity to offer feedback and getting them to actively contribute to improving the overall success of the organisation.
Add to this ongoing reactive support through our unlimited HR and employment law service, and the Foundation is in a strong position to grow its team safe in the knowledge that the best HR foundations are in place.
In the client’s words
“The Leeds United Foundation is a not for profit grass roots charity with a wide ranging portfolio of intervention programmes aimed at improving the life chances for people across the city. With 24 full time staff and a part time cohort of around 40, HR is a high priority for the senior management team, ensuring the business is both effective in delivering programmes and financially stable. Howarths have been a tremendous help in developing our performance management and appraisal systems and this in turn has given all staff ownership allowing them to contribute positively to programme design and delivery.
The benefits we gain from a close association with Howarths mean that we can focus on our core business with confidence. We know that we have the best advice and guidance on hand and that the team at Howarths appreciate our needs and are in tune with our purpose and values.”
Alan Scorfield. Chief Executive Officer
The Leeds United Foundation
