The Results of Appreciative Management by a Corporate Manager

By Daniel Saint

Beginning in 2005, the Michigan office of a global consulting firm began using Appreciative Inquiry when a new managing director (MD) joined the team. Appreciative Inquiry was first used by the MD as an intentional way to enter the organizational system. The MD, working closely with the director of human resources, set out to meet each of the nearly three hundred employees and approximately forty clients.

They asked the employees to tell of their peak experiences since joining the firm and what the employees valued most about themselves and the firm. The MD and HR director also asked employees to imagine what a best possible future would look like for the office. The leadership team asked clients to tell of the best experiences working with the firm and to imagine what the ideal relationship with the firm would look like.

The initial inquiry was designed to uncover a positive core upon which to build, to identify and amplify what was already working well within the system, and to begin consciously to co-construct a positive future as members of the team.

In 2006 the leadership team used Appreciative Inquiry to develop their annual operating plan and update their strategic plan. Through a series of group meetings culminating in a summit, the entire team of consultants was able to contribute. Some excellent ideas emerged, but more importantly, there was a positive flow of energy and engagement. Everyone in the organization had some degree of ownership and pride in the future direction of the firm locally. Dissemination and implementation had begun simultaneously with the research and planning phases of the planning process. Appreciative Inquiry allowed the organization to tap the wisdom and passion of all employees.

Over the three-year study, the Michigan Office more than doubled in size to become the firm’s largest and most profitable office. Employee retention improved from an annual employee turnover rate of 32 percent at the beginning of 2005 to a low of 7 percent in 2007, moving the office from sixth place in the firm to first place. As you can see from Table 3.1, Employee engagement (measured by a global survey) and client satisfaction (measured by a survey after each engagement) also improved similarly. Michigan moved from twelfth place to first place in producing income and from eighth place to first place in generating revenue.

Table 3.1. Change in Position Within Firm: Relative Rank in Firm of Michigan Office (Thirty Operation Centers Globally)

Client satisfaction, employee retention, an employee engagement as measured in a global survey also significantly improved. The results show the positive impact of creating sustainable value by leveraging social and economic considerations within strategy.