The Challenge
Atlas Financial's employee engagement scores had plateaued at 62 out of 100 for three consecutive years despite investing in perks, team events, and an employee recognition platform. The CEO suspected that the issue was deeper than surface-level engagement tactics. Mid-level managers, the crucial link between leadership strategy and frontline execution, reported feeling unsupported and caught between competing demands. This created a cascade effect where disengaged managers produced disengaged teams.
The Solution
- Piloted peer forums exclusively for mid-level managers across all departments
- Created cross-functional forum groups to break down departmental silos
- Focused early sessions on the specific challenges of middle management
- Used Forum@Work's analytics to identify engagement patterns and at-risk forums
- CEO personally endorsed the program in an all-hands meeting to signal leadership commitment
“Our managers finally had a safe space to be vulnerable and learn from each other. That changed everything downstream.”
-- CEO, Atlas Financial
Implementation Timeline
Month 1: Pilot with 4 forums covering 40 mid-level managers
Month 2-3: Managers began implementing forum-style communication with their own teams
Month 4-6: Pilot expanded to 12 forums; first engagement survey showed 15-point increase among participants
Month 6-12: Full rollout; engagement scores rose 23 points organization-wide
The Outcome
The engagement survey 12 months after launch showed a 23-point increase, from 62 to 85 out of 100. Among direct forum participants, the increase was even more dramatic at 31 points. Cross-departmental project initiations tripled as managers built relationships outside their silos. The Net Promoter Score for the forum program itself was 96%, meaning nearly every participant would recommend it to colleagues. Atlas Financial has since made forum participation a standard component of their management development track.