Closeness, trust and engagement: Workleap Officevibe wins hearts at Alithya

For the last 30 years, Alithya has been guiding countless clients in achieving their business goals with the help of their innovative approaches and use of digital transformation. Founded in Quebec City, the company continues to grow thanks to a number of international acquisitions, with employees in the United States, France, and Morocco.

Francesca Lévesque, Advisor of Employee Programs and Human Capital, joined Alithya in 2018. As she so aptly put it, her role consists in arming employees company-wide around the world with the programs and certifications they need to thrive at work. And she’s well-equipped for the task at hand, having relied on Workleap Officevibe since the very beginning.

We chatted with Francesca, an eternal advocate for putting people first, who uses Workleap Officevibe to help her company engage and retain its employees.

When did the Alithya Human Capital add Workleap Officevibe to its arsenal of resources?

When I started working here, Workleap Officevibe was being pilot tested. The President had heard about it and felt that it was well-aligned with Alithya’s values: communication, passion, integrity, and employee well-being. As time went on, it became clear that the tool was meeting our expectations, so the pilot project was extended to Montreal, then Quebec City, etc. It all happened gradually, in tandem with our different acquisitions, if you will.

Could you tell us more about how you use Workleap Officevibe?

Alithya went from being a private company of 750 people to a public company with more than 2,000 employees based in several countries. It’s crucial that we know how our people are doing, like really know, regardless of their location.

I do an in-depth analysis of the results and other metrics, and I share a report every three months with my Human Capital teammates and also with the leadership. I want them to know exactly what’s happening on their teams and in the company in general. With that insight we can quickly establish plans of action to solve any challenge. I also take the time to read the feedback we receive to see if our solutions were well-received or should be revisited.

What are some of the metrics you track?

In the last two years, with the pandemic, we observed that our wellness metric was dipping. Sure, we had potential initiatives in mind, but for us it was extremely important to find out what our employees really needed during that period.

Thanks to Workleap Officevibe, we were able to get to the bottom of it, take action, and implement a number of concrete measures: we changed our insurance policy, we created a health portal, we were awarded the bronze level Parity Certification by Women in Governance, we hosted a doctor who spoke to us at length about COVID-19, etc. And our wellness metric went up by 0.4 points.

Something else we’re proud of is our “relationship with peers” and “relationship with manager” metrics which are extremely strong —it means we’re doing a good job at the human level!

What would you say is Workleap Officevibe’s greatest added value?

The data collected from the platform is used to produce reports, which are then transformed into initiatives. Employees are encouraged to actively take part in surveys, and they’re able to see that we’re doing things.

Workleap Officevibe gives us the opportunity to quickly put concrete actions in place; we don’t have to wait months to change and improve things, as it is often the case elsewhere.

Francesca Lévesque

I take the time to analyze each response, by creating segments —age, place of residence, etc. —so that my reports are as accurate and as relevant as possible. We’re dealing with people here, with different wants and needs, and their voices matter.

What kind of impact has Workleap Officevibe had on employee engagement and retention at Alithya?

When you have a good relationship with your manager, when you know you can open up in confidence and engage in dialogue, that changes everything! We’re not numbers: our voices matter and we’re all in this together to find solutions. When an action is implemented, we monitor the feedback we receive to make sure the same mistake isn’t made again. It’s great for retention.

That’s what I love the most about Workleap Officevibe: it brings us that much closer to our people.

Francesca Lévesque

Also, we communicate everything we do, making sure to establish a clear link between Workleap Officevibe and the actions we’re implementing; it’s proof that employee activity on the platform can lead to great things.

How do you ensure your managers are making the most of the platform?

Our President is an excellent ambassador! For example, at the start of the pandemic, he created his own questionnaire to keep his finger on the pulse of our teams, to find out what our main concerns were, what questions we had… now that’s caring! But beyond that, I always explain to our managers during training that they can go on the platform whenever they want, to find out, for examples, what kind of consequences a certain action or decision had.

I observe the indicators very closely and I try to understand what motivates our managers to take action because I believe this allows us to address any challenges that may have repercussions across the company.

What do you appreciate the most about Workleap Officevibe?

The fact that communication is a two-way street, and that when used properly, we can achieve big things with high impact, very quickly. I believe that any employer who’s looking out for the well-being of their employees should use Workleap Officevibe. It helps on so many levels: trust, engagement, retention, alignment with the company’s vision… Our employees are in different countries, and in Canada we work remotely: with the distance, it’s crucial that we remain close to our employees and that we stay connected.

If you could describe Workleap Officevibe using one word, what would it be?

Personally, I would say that Officevibe is my baby [laughter]. More seriously, though, I would say “closeness.” We’re not much without our employees, and the platform allows us to get to know them better. We have conversations that matter. It’s that closeness that shows that our company is transparent and genuine.