Case Study
Elevating Individual Strengths to Bolster Team Belonging
Deliverables
Introduction to Strengths Team Workshop
1:1 Coaching for Team Members
Strengths Clinics monthly
The Customer: HubSpot for Startups
HubSpot is a CRM platform that offers marketing solutions for companies connecting inbound marketing, sales and customer service, providing a streamlined and delightful customer experience. HubSpot has grown to over 7,000 employees across 11 global offices, serving 150,000 customers worldwide.
The HubSpot for Startups team under the leadership of Gary Corcoran, Head of International at HubSpot for Startups based in Dublin, Ireland, has an international hybrid team setup, with team members spread across Europe and Asia-Pacific.
The Challenge: Managing Change and Uncertainty
Like many hybrid teams in tech, the HubSpot for Startups team finds themselves in a fast-paced eco-system, with a growing need to stay flexible in times of change and uncertainty. While the team performs well under pressure thanks to a high level of psychological safety, team members report feeling more disconnected since the pandemic. Covering opposing time zones and large workloads, it is increasingly difficult to maintain a sense of togetherness and belonging as a team, and also to HubSpot as a company. Additionally, some team members have expressed feeling stressed and worried, a trend that has been elevated for many people in tech in a turbulent year.
Gary Corcoran | Head of International HubSpot for Startups | EMEA & APAC
“I want the team to feel a stronger sense of togetherness and encourage greater collaboration across time zones. I know some members’ wellbeing is not as good as it was. I want to give them a safe space for personal reflection through coaching.”
L&D Programme Design
Together, we designed an interactive workshop series for the twelve members of the team, creating a shared learning experience for everyone to come together once a month. The team workshops were complimented with individual coaching sessions for each team member. The coaching sessions created a safe space for each team member to focus on an area of personal development important to them.
The wellbeing initiative run over the course of one quarter and was delivered through online workshops and online coaching sessions.
The Outcomes
High engagement across the team
Boosting employee confidence
Fostering meaningful connections globally
Creating a positive environment focused on individual strengths
The workshops introduced the team to the concept of strengths-based approaches to work. Utilising the StrengthProfile by Cappfinity, each team member learned about their realised and unrealised strengths and how they are a source of energy, motivation and engagement at work. In small groups, the team explored how to use their strengths to optimise their time management, working processes and collaboration with each other as well as external and internal stakeholders. This approach gave the team a much deeper understanding of their own strengths and the strengths of their peers.
Gary on the effectiveness of the team workshops:
“The workshops were a great reflection time for the team to take a step back and evaluate where they invest their time and energy every day. It was great to see how this new learning kicked off better collaboration among the group, with everyone focusing on each other’s strengths, rather than weaknesses.”
Bolstering high employee engagement through strengths-based coaching
The 1:1 strengths-based coaching was designed to activate internal motivation and engagement on an individual level. Applying positive psychology coaching methodologies inspires intrinsic motivation and engagement, promoting positive behavioural change. The result is often seen in improved employee performance through higher engagement and a positive outlook on work and life. Each team member set personal meaningful goals in their 1:1 coaching sessions, aligned to their own career goals and development plans.
Measuring success beyond numbers
To measure the impact of the programme, the team completed a wellbeing and confidence assessment in the beginning and after completion of the learning and development initiative. To make success measurable beyond numbers, the PERMA workplace profiler and a self-efficacy scale were administered, both evidence-based measures that capture wellbeing and confidence in the workplace.
Some of the results were quite remarkable.
High engagement across the team.
In a year where everyone talked about quiet quitting, a phenomenon describing the sharp drop in employee engagement levels to as low as 21%, the HubSpot for Startups team could maintain their high engagement levels with the help of the workshop and coaching programme. All participants reported an increase in their positive relationships - a dimension measuring how connected and supported team members feel within the team - being the highest-rated factors across the team, achieving the envisioned business outcome of greater connectedness and collaboration.
Programme Results
Boosting employee confidence.
With up to 80% of people in tech reporting to struggle with imposter feelings, building employee confidence is an effective strategy to mitigate the negative effects of self-doubt. The HubSpot for Startups team attains an impressive self-reported confidence score above the 75th percentile. With higher confidence directly connected to productivity and business results, driving employee self-efficacy is a desirable outcome for any L&D initiative.
Meaningful connections drive stronger collaboration across global locations.
The workshops promoted meaningful connections and a supportive working environment. With an effective mix of educational content of the science behind working from strengths and reflective small workout sessions, team members discovered new ways of working individually and as a group. Two strengths clinics were offered, inviting the team to take a deep dive into their time management. Participants explored how a more mindful approach to energy management offers new ways to organise their day and bring stress levels down. In the second strengths clinic, the team was encouraged to reflect on how to utilise their strengths to manage change and uncertainty with confidence. As a result, team members found new ways to relate to each other and actively started to leverage their strengths in their day to day.
“There is a much better collaboration among the group. Everyone took positive action individually. But what really stood out to me is that they now leverage their strengths to kick off new initiatives that benefit the team, or our partners. It’s great to see how much more together the team feels and acts!”
— Gary summarises the benefits of the strengths workshops and team coaching
