This document outlines a project to improve employee engagement in the Distribution Department. The project was created in response to low engagement scores on a recent survey. Key activities will include educating managers, conducting additional surveys to establish a baseline, identifying engagement drivers, and holding managers accountable for engagement results. The project aims to create sustainable engagement practices and realize benefits like higher performance, lower turnover, and improved customer satisfaction. Challenges include gaining buy-in during a time of change and providing support given constraints, but opportunities exist to clarify expectations and priorities.

1. Distribution Department
Employee Engagement Project
Statement of Work
Prepared and presented by Cindy Joice
Director of Training and Development | Project Manager
October 2005

2. Contents
Distribution Department Employee Engagement Project
Purpose Statement ................................................... .................... 3
Vision Statement...................................................... .................... 3
Expected Outcomes ................................................. .................... 3
Background ............................................................. .................... 4
Challenges, Opportunities, and Risks...................... .................... 5 - 6
Scope:......... ............................................................. .................... 7
• Stakeholders
• Project Constraints
• Assumptions
• Deliverables / Key Activities
• Strategies
Project Team ............................................................ .................... 8
Benefits ...... ............................................................. .................... 9
Note:
The definition of an engaged employee as the term is used in this
document is someone who:
• is 100% psychologically committed to their role
• relishes the challenge of their work every day
• is in a role that uses their talents
• knows the scope of their job
• is always looking for new and different ways of achieving the
outcomes of their role
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3. Purpose, Vision, and Expected
Outcomes
Distribution Department Employee Engagement Project
Purpose
 Create a sustainable process for the Corporate Distribution Department to
continuously improve employee engagement.
 Higher levels of employee engagement result in higher profitability, increased
productivity, reduced employee turnover, and more satisfied customers.
 An employee engagement survey conducted in September 2004 showed low levels of
engagement. Home Office Distribution scores were lower than the company average.
Vision
 The culture of the Home Office Distribution department will be one that strives to
engage employees to ultimately benefit our customers and produce better business
results.
Outcomes
 Managers in the Home Office Distribution organization will understand the elements
of employee engagement and accept responsibility for increasing engagement
measures.
 Managers will have the tools and resources they need to increase their engagement
scores.
 Home Office Distribution will have a cost effective way to measure and report
employee engagement at Manager level.
 Employee engagement measures will be understood by Management and will be used
in their annual performance appraisals to hold them accountable for results.
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4. Background
Distribution Department Employee Engagement Project
This project was created to implement the recommendations
of the 2004 Work Based Learning Project Team
Key learnings from that team were as follows:
 Higher levels of employee engagement result in higher profitability, increased
productivity, reduced employee turnover, and more satisfied customers.
 Employees don’t leave companies, they leave Managers.
 Managers are the most important communicators at SUPERVALU.
 Employee engagement should be consistently measured and managers held accountable
for improving scores.
 Many of the teams recommendations stem from research done by the Gallup
Organization. The Gallup Q12 was the best measure of Employee Engagement found
because it is specific, scientific, and targeted actions can be taken to correct problems.
About the research:
o Two studies over the last 25 years
– What do the most talented employees need from their workplace?
» Over 1 Million employees surveyed
» 2500 business units
» 24 companies
– How do the worlds greatest managers find, focus, and keep talented
employees?
» Results compared with company sales, profits, customer satisfaction
scores, employee turnover figures, employee opinion data, and 360
feedback forms
» Over 80,000 1.5 hour interviews have been conducted, tape
recorded, and transcribed over the last 25 years.
o Key learnings from the Gallup studies:
– Employee focused initiatives are not unimportant, but immediate managers
are more important. They define and pervade the work environment.
» If a Manager sets clear expectations, know their employees, trust
them and invest in them, then employees will forgive the company
its lack of other benefits.
– Talented Employees need great Managers.
» They may join a company for its great leaders or benefits, but how
long they stay and how productive they are while there is determined
by their relationship with their immediate supervisor.
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5. Challenges, Opportunities, & Risks
Distribution Department Employee Engagement Project
Home Office Distribution is unique in many ways that will
make it challenging to increase our levels of employee engagement.
Our challenges and opportunities are to …
 Gain the buy-in and support of Management to engage our employees when
their levels of engagement may also be low.
 Set clear expectations of employees in an ambiguous and ever changing
environment.
 Understand what issues our employees feel are priority for Management to be
working on first.
 Provide tools and support to our Managers when needs will vary by the
individual and specific departmental challenges.
Within the current environments that may include …
 Minimal resources
 Increasing responsibilities
 24 x 7 shifts in Computer Aided Routing group
 Heavy travel schedules
 Frequent priority changes
 Operational Vs. Staff demands
Risks…
 Management may not accept responsibility or buy-in to solutions that may
require them to change
 Implementing a process that will later be overridden by a corporate process
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6. Project Scope
Distribution Department Employee Engagement Project
Stakeholders (names removed for internet posting)
 Project Sponsor – Sr. VP of Distribution
 Distribution Senior Management
 Human Resources
 H.O. Distribution Management
 Employees
 Key Customers (DC and Region personnel)
Project Constraints
 Current organization culture
 Time
 Resources (Financial & Time for training)
 Must work with existing employees and managers
Assumptions
 The project manager will have support from the project sponsor and senior
management to complete the project as outlined in the statement of work.
 Resources will be made available as needed to achieve project outcomes.
 Project will be complete in FY06.
Deliverables & Key Activities
 Define statement of work and project plan
 Educate and get support from Distribution Management
 Complete a project team and employee prioritization process to create an
IMPACT Plan
 Create a baseline of current employee engagement level
 Identify how ongoing measurement and reporting of employee engagement will occur
Strategies
 Each Manager will meet with their employees to discuss survey results and establish
an action plan.
 The Project team will determine best practices and methods to gain employee
feedback.
Change Control:
 Changes to the project scope must be approved by the Project Sponsor before
implementing
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7. Project Team
Distribution Department Employee Engagement Project
Project Team Leader
 Cindy Joice
o Project Team Leader Role …
– Complete the statement of work and get project sponsor approval
– Build a project team to help build and execute the project plan
– Guide the overall process by making sure timelines and goals are met
Project Team -
One management and one non management employee from each department
in Distribution.
Project Team Member Role …
 Help build project plan and set timelines
 Generate recommendations to increase employee engagement scores
 Implement
 Evaluate and improve
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8. Benefits
Distribution Department Employee Engagement Project
Tangible Benefits
 Performance Improvements
 Reduced employee turnover
 Higher Levels of Customer Service
Intangible Benefits
 Improved Employee morale
 Ability to attract quality employees into department
 Increased Manager/Employee trust levels
 Increased awareness of employee needs, wants & thoughts via feedback tool.
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