openSAP Sustainability and Business Innovation WEEK 5, UNIT 1 00:00:15 Hello and welcome to week 5. 00:00:17 In the last week, we discussed sustainable business processes, the 2nd part, all the way from environmental and social accounting to Green IT. 00:00:27 Now this week, it's all about stakeholder engagement. It's the who, why, and how you're getting into conversations, and most importantly: how to trigger action? 00:00:38 In this first unit, we'll talk about engaging with line-of-business leaders. 00:00:43 And that is not an easy engagement to make because the first thing you'll run into when engaging with line-of-business leaders is you'll have to manage some objections. 00:00:53 And, I've chosen this picture here very deliberately cause they send you in circles for a while. And I'd like to help you a little bit understand 00:01:00 what usually is the kind of sequence through which people are going because in the most rare cases, will you be able to get that endorsement of what you're trying to do in the first meeting. 00:01:13 So I've heard the following things: The first thing is “Oh, you know, that's not really relevant for us, this whole green thing. You know, I know no other leader in my field who has even considered it”. 00:01:25 “And by the way, you know, we're not going to spend more money on this. We're not going to miss our goals because of sustainability.” 00:01:32 In essence, people coming in saying, “What we do in finance and profit has nothing to do with what you want to do in people and planets, so leave me alone.” 00:01:44 The second type of objection that I've heard quite a lot was, “Well in principle, that's not a bad idea but it's not our strategy.” 00:01:54 “So while I personally might be interested, it is not in my strategy. So if you want me to do anything, you'll need to talk to my boss.” 00:02:02 So in essence, it's a deflection strategy. So they send you around in circles, and you're not going to get very far. 00:02:09 Sometimes I even heard, “I'm not paid to do this.”, which is a very pitiful statement in my opinion. 00:02:15 But hey, that's the world. So that's the second kind. So people understand kind of the importance, but their excuse is, “Not my decision to make. There's some bigger forces at work that need to be convinced.” 00:02:26 “So even though the CEO might be all about sustainability, that same person by the way also told me to increase revenues by 10%, and to drive our margin up in the same time frame. So hey, I have no time for this.” 00:02:40 So you'll hear that too. 00:02:43 Then there is another type of objection, which is a little bit more promising, cause that's when
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
openSAP Sustainability and Business Innovation
WEEK 5, UNIT 1
00:00:15 Hello and welcome to week 5.
00:00:17 In the last week, we discussed sustainable business processes, the 2nd part, all the way from
environmental and social accounting to Green IT.
00:00:27 Now this week, it's all about stakeholder engagement. It's the who, why, and how you're
getting into conversations, and most importantly: how to trigger action?
00:00:38 In this first unit, we'll talk about engaging with line-of-business leaders.
00:00:43 And that is not an easy engagement to make because the first thing you'll run into when
engaging with line-of-business leaders is you'll have to manage some objections.
00:00:53 And, I've chosen this picture here very deliberately cause they send you in circles for a while.
And I'd like to help you a little bit understand
00:01:00 what usually is the kind of sequence through which people are going because in the most rare
cases, will you be able to get that endorsement of what you're trying to do in the first meeting.
00:01:13 So I've heard the following things: The first thing is “Oh, you know, that's not really relevant for
us, this whole green thing. You know, I know no other leader in my field who has even
considered it”.
00:01:25 “And by the way, you know, we're not going to spend more money on this. We're not going to
miss our goals because of sustainability.”
00:01:32 In essence, people coming in saying, “What we do in finance and profit has nothing to do with
what you want to do in people and planets, so leave me alone.”
00:01:44 The second type of objection that I've heard quite a lot was, “Well in principle, that's not a bad
idea but it's not our strategy.”
00:01:54 “So while I personally might be interested, it is not in my strategy. So if you want me to do
anything, you'll need to talk to my boss.”
00:02:02 So in essence, it's a deflection strategy. So they send you around in circles, and you're not
going to get very far.
00:02:09 Sometimes I even heard, “I'm not paid to do this.”, which is a very pitiful statement in my
opinion.
00:02:15 But hey, that's the world. So that's the second kind. So people understand kind of the
importance, but their excuse is, “Not my decision to make. There's some bigger forces at work
that need to be convinced.”
00:02:26 “So even though the CEO might be all about sustainability, that same person by the way also
told me to increase revenues by 10%, and to drive our margin up in the same time frame. So
hey, I have no time for this.”
00:02:40 So you'll hear that too.
00:02:43 Then there is another type of objection, which is a little bit more promising, cause that's when
2
people are pushing it towards urgency.
00:02:51 “So I understand that's important. I also acknowledge it has to do with our strategy. So I kind of
follow your train of thought.
00:02:57 But we first have to solve this much bigger and more important problem before we can start
talking sustainability.”
00:03:06 So again, you know, at least they're willing to engage. They kind of give you the agreement
that it is important and that it is in line with the strategy, but they're not ready to do anything.
00:03:19 Now, the other way that I've seen this play out is people who say, “Well I understand it's
urgent, it's important, and it's in line with the strategy, BUT: I'd love to help, but
00:03:29 I don't have the people, I'm sorry. Everyone's so busy doing more, you know, other things.
Right now, I don't have the skills and if you can get me like three more people into my group,
we would happily look after this topic.”
00:03:41 “In essence, again I'm not compromised a little bit, even a little bit, on the way how I've set up
my team. I have defined my goals because of this. And even though it might be a great story,
I'm not ready to act.”
00:03:53 So these are some of the common objections.
00:03:55 And the question is how do you really get this done? And I have made the best experience in
starting engagement from the very very top, which is why in the first week we talked about
engaging the CEO.
00:04:08 And in parallel, starting engagement from all around the organization from the bottom with
employee engagement – and we'll look into that in a later unit during this week.
00:04:19 So that this kind of trend comes at them from both ways, but middle management line-of-
business leaders are...
00:04:26 as heard that many many times from different sustainability officers: they're the toughest to get
engaged.
00:04:33 Now, some of the things we've done successfully at SAP, and we've tried many things that
didn't work. But this is what created some traction.
00:04:42 Some of the engagement tactics we used are as follows:
00:04:47 The first is to come in and to clearly connect sustainable business cases to the existing KPIs of
an organization.
00:04:56 So if that organization has a KPI around margin or about new products revenues and things
like that, or using new types of technologies,
00:05:04 then you can come and say, “You know look, this is what we're doing sustainability. Just forget
about this whole conversation about environmental and social.”
00:05:12 “This is how it helps you easier achieve your objective.”
00:05:17 And then, that connection needs to be built, so you make it relevant in their frame of mind.
00:05:23 It also it helps to highlight relevant moves from within your industry or from within your
competitors, things that other people are doing.
00:05:32 And that kind of raises a little bit of the paranoia that they might miss on something that's really
important. And so that has helped us as well.
3
00:05:41 We also internally promoted wins with very forward-looking organizations in front of all the
other business leaders.
00:05:50 So if your IT department is jumping on right away and creates fabulous savings, or if your
facilities organization creates fabulous savings, or
00:05:58 if you win a lot of recognition for what you do with your supply chain, let's say, then that needs
to be celebrated.
00:06:05 And these leaders need to be celebrated because they had the vision and the stamina to go
for sustainability and that again creates pressure on those who are more laggards.
00:06:18 Sometimes, we even created a compelling event. So we invited some line-of-business leaders
to speak at industry events on behalf of SAP,
00:06:27 but the topic, you know – so be it – was related to sustainability. It forced those leaders to
actually learn about the triple bottom line and how to make the business case.
00:06:39 And trust me, it was a completely different conversation after they had been out there
discussing with the public. So creating these events yourself, I think, is quite masterful so I
highly recommend that tactic.
00:06:53 You can also engage peers, direct reports, grassroot teams around those line-of-business
leaders, so they're not only hearing it from you. They actually are going to hear it from a variety
of people.
00:07:05 And you want to educate them if you can create some type of workshops, strategy workshops,
where you kind of highlight the longer-term perspectives.
00:07:13 And you're not only discussing financial long-term, you're also discussing environmental and
social long-term impacts. That's also a great way to engage.
00:07:22 But for me, the most powerful one was the first one on the top: connected to their existing
KPIs.
00:07:30 To have a little bit of an overview of how are we engaging whom and with what topic,
00:07:38 we created our own little engagement map. And this engagement map has a variety of levels,
so
00:07:45 we're talking about what are the things we want to engage Executive Management around.
What are the things we want to engage Finance and Administration,
00:07:53 and Sales, and Development, and Human Resources, IT, all the way to Communication and
Marketing? What do we want from them? What are the most pressing issues?
00:08:02 And we put little harvey balls to each and every one of those boxes to discussing the level of
engagement we have achieved.
00:08:09 So, this little overview is extremely helpful, and you might want to create your own or a
derivate thereof. So feel free to steal with pride.
00:08:19 That engagement map helped us a lot to understand who are they key players, who are the
peers, what are the conversations we want to drive, and how do we get people engaged.
00:08:31 So, that engagement map. Now, when it comes to the actual engagement, I want to give an
example of aligning your engagement with the core KPIs of the line-of-business leader.
00:08:41 And because of the strategic importance of the CFO, I thought it would be a good repetition
here to go through the things that make the CFO move.
4
00:08:49 Stock price, so you're engaging around sustainability reporting, about socially responsible
investor relations.
00:08:59 You're talking about margin, and you're making the business case for specific initiatives over
and over again.
00:09:04 Also, how you can optimize your supply chain by using environmental footprints as a proxy for
process inefficiency (we've talked about those things in the past).
00:09:16 You can engage around risk and operational efficiency and transformation. These are all
things important to the CFO: existing KPIs. And if you can build the bridge between what you
do what they do, that's really the way to go.
00:09:29 So I wanted just to kind of throw that in as a little example.
00:09:34 The last slide in this unit is all about how you can sense that your engagement has been
successful.
00:09:41 Cause essentially, sustainability and CSO's job is essentially to kind of hand over the baton.
00:09:49 It's like a relay race. You want them, you know, to catch that baton and to keep running with it
and to start to create even more change going forward.
00:10:01 So, good signs are that the sustainability is seen as a strategic priority.
00:10:08 Essentially, people start to look at the sustainable impact of what they do. So they look broader
than just the financial impact.
00:10:16 It's also that sustainability is analyzed and broken into specific actions for a team. I've seen
that being done very very effectively in some organizations of SAP, for example, in Facilities,
00:10:27 who when they heard that we have a carbon emission goal immediately started to cascade
that,
00:10:34 to execute really by putting it into the MBOs and to really cascade that and pay for
sustainability performance in their own team.
00:10:44 And the process started to become more frequently inspected, mostly also because suddenly it
was on everybody's paycheck, if you will.
00:10:53 On the compensation side, that's a little bit tricky. I see many sustainability organizations who
carry a lot of sustainability KPIs, and then nobody else around them carries any sustainability
KPIs. And that obviously doesn't make life easier.
00:11:06 Most of the conversation is about the compensation of Executives and whether or not
sustainability has made inroads in, let's say a Management Board's pay.
00:11:18 And usually, they're being compensated through the stock price development, cause they
usually get a lot of stock revenue and margin. So they have a lot of things that are kind of
backward-looking.
00:11:30 Now, the question is how can you create more forward-looking goals around sustainability
issues like employee engagement, customer satisfaction, environmental performance, and,
and, and...
00:11:42 And the communication is also a good sign. If the line-of-business leaders start to embrace
sustainability as part of the way how they discuss with their teams and how they promote it
internally/externally
00:11:54 without being triggered by you, that's also a good sign.
5
00:11:57 And once these things happen, if you see a couple of those, then you usually are well-advised
to take your focus to kind of keep an eye on them but not engage as proactively and drive
engagement with other groups who are a little bit further behind.
00:12:12 That's the way how you can create that engagement and create that change but make sure
you're absolutely in line with the KPIs that they have.
00:12:20 And the good news is that in sustainability that business case is strong enough to get that
engagement going.
00:12:28 This is the end of unit 1 in week 5 “Engaging Line-of-Business Leaders”. In the next unit, we'll
talk about engaging employees. And until then, be the change!
6
WEEK 5, UNIT 2
00:00:14 Hello and welcome back. It's great to have you with us. We are now in week 5, unit 2:
Engaging Employees.
00:00:22 In the previous unit, we discussed how to engage line-of-business leaders.
00:00:27 And we were going through initial objections, we discussed the engagement map, and how
you can actually see that you're making some traction with those folks.
00:00:36 In terms of how to hand over the baton, if you will, to ensure that they're driving sustainability
and multiply the sustainability course further into the organization.
00:00:48 So this unit: Engaging Employees. And that is so difficult!
00:00:53 The definition that Wikipedia has on this topic defines an engaged employee as one that is
enthusiastic about their work
00:01:02 and takes positive action to further the company’s success.
00:01:06 So engagement is actually something you can observe through the actions that people take.
00:01:12 And that's how we are also defining engagement in sustainability terms:
00:01:17 An engaged employee in sustainability consistently practices and promotes sustainable
actions in work and in life.
00:01:26 I find it quite interesting. Many of the people that I know in SAP who are extremely engaged in
sustainability,
00:01:32 they don't really differentiate between their attitude at work and at home.
00:01:38 It's a continuous, if you will, drive that they have to further sustainability no matter where they
are.
00:01:45 And they're extremely happy that the company provides them this platform.
00:01:48 In fact, I do believe there is quite a good connection between engagement overall and how it
can be furthered with sustainability.
00:01:56 And on the other hand, if you do not have an engaged workforce, it is hard to engage it with
sustainability alone.
00:02:07 Let's take a look at employees and obviously, they come in all different shapes and forms—we
discussed diversity before, but not only this.
00:02:15 They also have very different motivations why they are looking in sustainability. And if you're
engaging employees,
00:02:22 it is important that you understand what the triggers are:
00:02:27 Is it altruistic? Are they doing this to serve a bigger purpose? Is it idealistic or maybe is it
because they've become a parent or a grandparent?
00:02:36 Often triggers that make people want to engage in altruistic fashions.
00:02:41 Other people are much more motivated by innovation and competition. They want to win, they
want to win for their personal benefit.
00:02:48 Others are more opportunity-driven, financial opportunity-driven or just by opportunity to make
business.
7
00:02:55 So, there are very different drivers. And when you engage employees, you need to be aware
that you need to be
00:03:03 precise and you need to continue to repeat the same messages so that they have a chance to
sink in.
00:03:10 And while you're doing that, the employees that you're talking to are going through a variety of
phases—
00:03:16 from awareness, to being enabled, to being engaged, and then to have changed, which is what
you can witness through their behavior.
00:03:25 So at the beginning, it's all about even hearing your voice and understanding what you're trying
to say so that they can become aware.
00:03:33 That's often hard enough in a large organization where many people are communicating,
00:03:38 which is why you want to enlist the help of the CFO
00:03:42 or widely regarded line-of-business leaders in the company to engage the employees in the
first place.
00:03:48 Then it's also about believing. So, you know, I hear you but do I believe that you have a point?
00:03:55 So you need to create an environment where you have the factual underpinnings to make your
case.
00:04:00 Then it's about acting. And often, the first action is triggered externally so that they're really
now getting engaged, they have done something different because of this engagement.
00:04:12 But what you want to have happen is that they continuously and repetitively start to show an
adjusted behavior.
00:04:20 And that's when they have truly changed, and that's obviously where you want to get them.
00:04:24 But it will take time to go through all these phases.
00:04:30 You also want to make sure that there is different potential for contribution, depending on
people's local conditions,
00:04:38 on the roles and the content of work that they have.
00:04:40 And it's important that you engage people not just in a more generic way, on a global scale.
00:04:47 For example, we run engagement campaigns in specific countries, in specific cultural
backgrounds. And the way how we communicate and the kind of values we use to get people
to act and to act repetitively are different by region.
00:05:04 The framework we're using to engage employees is the McKinsey Engagement framework.
00:05:09 And I want to kind of quickly go through this and show you an overview and then we'll go into
each and every one of those four a little bit more specifically using an example.
00:05:17 So this framework here is helping to manage organizational, process-related, people, and
individual change aspects.
00:05:25 And the first is the structure. So what is the governance, what are the formal mechanisms,
what are the targets that you're really trying to put in place.
00:05:33 That is one big element of the framework.
8
00:05:37 And the theory says that you need to have all four, by the way, to get people to act repetitively
and to truly embrace change.
00:05:46 The second element is processes and tools. So these are the best practices, the skills
development, the IT support that you create,
00:05:54 the process changes you implement that should really drive that change.
00:05:56 And then communication is all about the change story. What is the way how you communicate
that effectively with your target audience?
00:06:09 What are the actions, what are the visible wins that everyone can see and then simulate,
emulate, in order to go forward?
00:06:16 And then finally, role models and incentives are really key.
00:06:21 So your leadership needs to be enlisted. They need to start behaving differently first.
00:06:26 And the incentives you create, they can be non-financial, they can be financial. But they need
to be there and they need to be understood.
00:06:34 And most importantly, they need to have an immediate benefit. We'll talk about that a little bit.
00:06:41 But if you say you can help the planet in 50 years, that is only marginally as effective as an
incentive as, let's say, I can help you save money tomorrow.
00:06:51 And by the way, you're also helping the environment.
00:06:54 Okay, so let's take a deeper look.
00:06:57 From a structures perspective, you really want to get your governance organized.
00:07:01 The organizational structure needs to be clear. We discussed different ways of line
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG (or an SAP affiliate company) in Germany and other countries. Please see http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx#trademark for additional trademark information and notices. Some software products marketed by SAP AG and its distributors contain proprietary software components of other software vendors.
National product specifications may vary.
These materials are provided by SAP AG or an SAP affiliate company for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind, and SAP AG or its affiliated companies shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP AG or SAP affiliate company products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. In particular, SAP AG or its affiliated companies have no obligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this document or any related presentation, or to develop or release any functionality mentioned therein. This document, or any related presentation, and SAP AG’s or its affiliated companies’ strategy and possible future developments, products, and/or platform directions and functionality are all subject to change and may be changed by SAP AG or its affiliated companies at any time for any reason without notice. The information in this document is not a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates, and they should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions.