In this customer focus, we were fortunate enough to speak with Alisa Hocking, Talent & Capability Lead, at RAC WA. We discuss engagement, people and culture strategies and more.
Hello Alisa, for those who aren’t aware, what is the RAC, and what does the organisation do?
RAC WA is a membership organisation with just over one million members in the WA community.
Whether we’re advocating for safer roads, investing in sustainable travel options like the RAC Electric Highway or sponsoring the RAC Rescue helicopters, our vision is to be the most valued organisation to Western Australians by 2020.
We aim to protect and enhance the lifestyle of our members through providing products and services such as insurance, roadside assistance, car servicing, tyre and battery replacement, finance, travel offerings, and parks and resorts throughout WA, just to name a few.
We are 100% Western Australian local and we cover the largest geographical area of any automotive club in the world.
Because we are a membership organisation, we’re able to reinvest our profits to serve our one million members and the wider WA community.
“…we cover the largest geographical area of any automotive club in the world.”
– Alisa Hocking
How many people work at RAC, and from how many locations?
We have approximately 1500 employees within RAC, working at locations across Western Australia, from Perth to Coral Bay to Kalgoorlie to Albany.
What does your role (Talent & Capability Lead) entail? Where does it fit with the overall organisation?
Alisa Hocking, RAC (Supplied)
I work in the Insurance division, which comprises approximately 400 employees.
We provide personal insurance via a range of products including but not limited to motor, home, pet, life, and health.
I am in the Insurance HR team and in my role, I am responsible for leading a team who design and implement capability, culture, leadership, talent and engagement initiatives to support the delivery of the RAC Insurance Strategy, in collaboration with key HR and business stakeholders.
How did you end up in this role? Have you always had an interest in this area?
I studied Commerce and Human Resource Management and started at RAC 7 years ago as a HR Graduate. I then developed my skills and progressed in various HR generalist/IR roles until I became a HR Business Partner.
I was then offered an opportunity to expand my skillset into Organisational Development (OD) as a Business Partner, and was then given the opportunity to lead the OD function within Insurance in my current role.
How important do you feel employee engagement is to an organisation?
I feel it is extremely important – in my mind, an organisation’s success starts with having engaged people who understand how what they do on a daily basis contributes to delivery of business strategy.
Engaged and passionate people also create a healthy organisational culture and go above and beyond to take an organisation from ‘good’ to ‘great’.
What do you recommend people do, to measure their engagement?
I think the best way to measure engagement is to check in with people on a regular basis; it shouldn’t be an annual ‘tick box’ activity. I also think it is critical to take action on feedback received – if people see their feedback isn’t being actioned, this can create disengagement.
Ideally, check ins would occur, action plans would be created to address feedback and progress against those action plans would be assessed, with tweaks or changes to the plans as required; it should be an ongoing, iterative process.
How do you plan out internal team activities? Is it ad hoc, or do you plan the next 12 months in advance?
We have a People & Culture Strategy which is derived from and enables the overall business strategy.
The P&C strategy is revised every year in line with changes to business strategy, so all of our team’s activity aims to boost the capability of the business to deliver.
RAC WA Building (Supplied)
What is the one feature in 6Q that you find invaluable?
The reports are easy to interpret and provide useful information in a good format.
How have you found using 6Q?
I have loved it – it is so user friendly and resonates with people at all organisational levels.
The concept is clear and simple and it is nice and quick to complete, so we can still obtain valuable feedback without affecting our ability to service our members.
Any tips for new 6Q users?
My only advice would be to make sure you’re clear on what it is you’re trying to measure or gain feedback on – for instance, the first time you use it you may have a specific set of questions, but I think it’s important to follow up on areas that came back as low scoring, then pivot those questions to track whether there’s been any progress or to delve further into the issue.
There’s no use asking the same questions, getting the same responses and doing nothing with the feedback; people will feel like they are being heard if you’re adjusting what you’re asking based on what they’ve told you previously.
