Tungco Turns Anonymous Feedback into Action with PerformYard

An Anonymous Voice for Employee Experience

Tungco Incorporated, a global leader in the recycling of secondary raw materials for tungsten, needed a trustworthy, data-driven system to move beyond anecdotal employee feedback and drive measurable organizational change.

Prior to implementing PerformYard, Tungco did not have a routine engagement survey cadence. While the company was actively working to improve its employee experience, leadership recognized a critical need to gather anonymous, trustworthy feedback. Staff members struggled with trusting that an internal survey would truly be anonymous.

Vickie Murphy, Chief of Staff, explained that without proper metrics, addressing perceived issues was difficult, especially when presenting to the executive committee. She needed a system that could provide unarguable data to support the need for organizational change, connecting day-to-day employee sentiment with their existing performance process.

From Feedback to Focused Action

Tungco followed a structured process to ensure the anonymous feedback gathered in the engagement survey led directly to organizational change:

Phase 1: Deployment & Data Collection

1. Survey Rollout: The anonymous engagement survey was deployed through PerformYard. The ease of use, due to employees' prior familiarity with the platform for performance reviews, contributed to the high participation rate.

1. Cohort Analysis: Tungco used PerformYard to categorize responses by departmental cohorts, specifically separating data for administrative and production staff. This segmentation allowed them to determine if issues were universal or isolated to a specific group.

1. Initial Review: The Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer saw the initial results. They then shared the results internally with the employee experience committee and the executive committee.

Phase 2: Analysis & Prioritization

1. Metric Identification: The team identified the top three areas where the company scored high and, more importantly, the bottom three areas where they did not do well.

1. Data Validation: The metric provided a data-backed narrative that confirmed some existing perceptions but also highlighted surprises for the leadership. Vickie noted that having the number made the need for action "unarguable" to the executive level.

1. Focus Area: The immediate focus was placed squarely on the bottom three areas to improve those numbers for the next survey.

Phase 3: Action & Measurement

1. Executive Buy-in and Action: The clear data, particularly the low score in "accountability for fellow employees" , prompted the Director of Operations and Managing Director to quickly develop a new and improved accountability plan.

1. Continuous Feedback Loop: The action plan was rolled out, and the staff's feedback was incorporated to make it stronger. Other smaller actions, such as implementing a pay scale change and new signage, were also forced into execution.

1. Remapping: For the subsequent survey, Tungco kept all questions exactly the same to measure whether they were improving, maintaining, or if they had dropped the ball on something else while focusing on the prioritized areas.

Data-Driven Action and Accountability

The integration of the engagement data with performance management provided the metrics Tungco's leadership needed to drive meaningful, measurable action.

A Game Changer for Accountability

The survey results revealed a critical, company-wide concern: accountability for fellow employees when there's an infraction. This insight, which had previously only been "rumblings," became an undeniable fact when presented with the data.

Vickie Murphy noted, "When you actually have a metric in front of you and you present that to your executive committee... there's no arguing with that. That it was a game changer for us, a game changer."

The data prompted the Director of Operations to work with the Managing Director to develop and roll out a new, improved accountability plan. Employees even provided feedback during the rollout that they wanted the plan to be "even tighter," which was a surprise to leadership, demonstrating their desire for greater accountability.

Continuous Improvement

The centralized, data-backed approach fostered a culture of continuous improvement:

• Proactive Change: The company realized they needed to execute on the feedback quickly to improve their numbers for the next survey, forcing leaders to "not put it off, but to execute" on action items like the accountability plan and adjustments to the pay scale.

• Listening and Trust: The process showed the staff that the company was "really listing, we're implementing things," further building trust.

• Measuring Progress: Tungco opted to keep the custom questions exactly the same for their subsequent survey to accurately measure if they were maintaining, improving, or dropping the ball in the focus areas.

By implementing PerformYard's unified platform for both Performance Management (reviews and goals) and Employee Engagement Surveys, Tungco established a crucial feedback loop. This integration provided leadership with unarguable metrics on employee sentiment, leading directly to the successful implementation of major initiatives, including a new company-wide accountability plan, and transforming the company's approach to accountability and continuous improvement.

In summary, PerformYard provided Tungco with the single source of truth necessary to transform perceptions into metrics, successfully linking employee sentiment to concrete organizational action and driving a clear, data-backed narrative to the executive level.