National Grid recognised that if it was going to instil an effective service culture in its business it needed to do more to help staff understand what was expected of them: brand understanding could be a key tool in this work.

We were asked to look at the Powerpoint presentations used for staff induction, and ways of making the induction sessions more engaging. We saw quickly that this wasn't about designing better Powerpoint slides. 

The company agreed and gave us the freedom to go back to first principles.

The established induction day was long and intense. There was a lot of information to absorb, ranging from basic HR issues through business ethics to health and safety. The topics were presented by managers from the relevant disciplines or departments and for the most part they enjoyed the experience as little as the audience.

That audience was diverse, ranging from 16 year old apprentices to corporate lawyers. Engaging and sustaining their interest was never going to be easy.

One immediate goal was to reduce the length of the sessions, so they could be easily held more often, in turn allowing the size of the groups to be reduced. That meant working closely with the content owners, determining what information had to stay in place, and what could be dealt with post induction.

It's well understood that most people absorb information far better if it's presented in an experiential way so we designed the whole day to keep energy levels high. 

We created a soundscape made up of snippets of conversations about energy from newsreel clips and internal films - this plays when people first arrive for coffee and helps to bond the group. We used fun props and quick quizzes to explain mundane but important ideas and procedures. We created high quality interactive displays for people to 'play with' so that they reached their own conclusions about the type of company they're working for and what's expected of them. 

The new approach to induction reflects (and will help drive forward) a radical and profound change in the organisation - from an internally-focused engineering-led business to one where the impact on and perception of the customer is paramount. 

National Grid remains an engineering business, but it's as much about people and communities as it is about pylons and pipes. We've helped place the brand and all it stands for as an influential force in the transformation of the business.