We now recognise that measuring resilience is as important (if not more) as measuring engagement.”
– Treesan Boonma, Regional HR Manager
Background and Business Drivers
A year into the pandemic, it was clear that employees were struggling to cope with the ongoing stress of the constant change, uncertainty and challenging environment. After receiving feedback that emotional exhaustion, negativity, and reduced self-efficacy were becoming common challenges for individuals and managers, Booking.com knew they needed to take action. By addressing these issues, they aimed to improve the overall wellbeing of employees and support their continued success in achieving commercial performance goals.
When they asked their people in the APAC region what support they wish they had in tough moments, they were told that employees wanted more relevant, practical and fun solutions. Relevant meant tailored to each of their 17 market needs and maturities, practical meant actionable and fun was around the fact that managers felt wellbeing was becoming something they should do rather than what they want to do – a tick box exercise.
Solution
The Beating Burnout at Booking.com programme was launched as a preventative and systemic approach to increase resilience at 3 levels:
‘I’: Employees completed the AURA personal resilience assessment to build awareness of current resilience level and warning signs to keep in check. This is supported by personalised action tips and access to a learning library of resilience tools and resources.
‘We’: Team & Business Group reports based on anonymised aggregated data provided a platform for developing focused action plans aligned to the unique challenges in each area. Teams committed to new rituals and small changes to ways of working to create healthier working environments.
Us’: Senior Management reviewed aggregated data across the region to inform a focused organisational resilience action plan to address the root causes of stress and create a workplace where people can thrive.
Behaviours supporting resilience and wellbeing were embedded in the day to day through fun activities such as a team ‘Bingo Challenge’ and the recent ‘Good Habits Movement Challenge’.
The programme was repeated in 2022 to monitor changes in resilience levels across different pillars and refine action plans. The participation rate in the programme also increased significantly compared to the previous year, underscoring the success and utility of the programme.
Impact
Booking.com saw tangible outcomes from the programme – some of these are captured below:
“AURA was invaluable in helping to build early awareness of burnout signs enabling employees, teams and management to focus on actions that would have the greatest impact on increasing resilience. We were impressed with the level of support we received working with Rachel, the usefulness of AURA’s reporting and resources. The data and tools provided by AURA were particularly valuable in helping us to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions in our efforts to promote wellbeing and resilience.
– Treesan Boonma, Regional HR Manager