Rob Smyth from Silva talks to Coaching Culture Magazine about how coaching sits at the heart of business transformation - even during a pandemic...

This is an article taken from Issue #8 of Coaching Culture Magazine: The COVID-19 Special Edition. Get your FREE subscription and access to all back issues when you join our Coaching Culture community - for FREE - at www.coachingculture.com

Rob Smyth is Executive Director (People, Digital & Change) at Silva Homes, and is a transformation and change specialist, experienced in working across different sectors and business areas. At Silva he has strategic responsibility for HR, IT and transformation.  

Silva - facts & figures:

• Silva is an independent, not-for-profit housing association 
• It’s responsible for 6500 rented properties,1000 homeowners and 2500 garages across South East England 
• Its rent, leasehold, shared ownership, independent living and extra care homes provide around 14,000 people with affordable accommodation 

Since 2018, Silva has been on a journey. It is reinventing itself, going from a traditional approach to service delivery to one that positively embraces new ideas, technologies and ways of working.  

Its transformation ambition focuses on housing and housing services delivery, but also on understanding and responding to the customer and colleague experience. Underpinning all of this is a commitment to getting the most out of digital technology. On the people side, Silva has been building on positive aspects of its existing culture, and using that to go even further. The goal is to create a cultural environment focused on greater accountability, more creativity and better colleague engagement. 

The sudden lockdown presented challenges – but also unexpected opportunities...

Inevitably the lockdown created significant issues. Service provision was affected and Silva was worried about the physical and mental wellbeing of its customers and colleagues. The drive for change and the momentum it had gained was also impacted.   

But amongst all the challenges and difficulties, there was an unexpected positive for the business. The digital transformation that had already taken place meant equipment and systems needed to work remotely were ready and raring to go. Company communication tools had been introduced. The learning and development platform was online. Silva could operate as a virtual business more or less within 24 hours. Suddenly every employee was working with digital technology - and finding it far easier and more responsive than they’d anticipated. Core service provision, that might otherwise have stopped, continued for those who needed support.   

The fundamentals of coaching work for everything…

Pre-pandemic, Silva knew that coaching was central to its transformation. The importance of good quality conversations cannot be underestimated and their power is felt across every area of the business. As Rob says, the fundamentals of coaching - asking good questions then listening and responding positively - work for everything you want to do. 

From the coaching culture work already done Silva knew there was passion in the business, and during this crisis it’s made itself even more apparent. Employees going above and beyond: volunteering for shopping drop-offs and calling isolated customers for instance. Rob explains, “The tools and techniques from coaching brought out the best in people. It harnessed what was already there and took it to that next level. I'm incredibly proud of them.” 

What will a ‘return to the workplace’ actually look like? 

Since then, Silva’s worked hard to reintroduce more of the services that had to be temporarily suspended. People are also returning to the office, although this is in a limited way and only where it adds value – for example, if there's a clear business need or the home environment isn’t suitable. 

There are also questions about the office’s longer-term role. Face-to-face is no longer regarded as the only effective way to properly communicate and learn: digital’s been normalised. As Rob points out, we shouldn’t forget the climate crisis either and the potentially beneficial impact remote working could have on that. He predicts people increasingly embracing a flexible approach, mixing remote working and office working for more collaborative projects.  

“If we’d taken a traditional approach, we wouldn’t be coaching. We’d be saying we can't do anything because we can't get together face-to-face. Actually, we don't need to. With Coaching Culture, we had all these brilliant videos and lessons, the mindset platform, which are all getting fantastic feedback. People are realising learning digitally works.” 

Another reason for returning to the office is if it supports wellbeing. The company’s acutely aware of taking care of employees, recognising the pandemic’s impacted people differently. Some will find it hard to deal with this new existence. Some will want to be with colleagues. Others will be anxious about being in the office. Silva’s intent not just on helping employees cope but thrive too, and has put a number of support mechanisms in place accordingly. 

Thriving in the new normal...

What will help the transformational journey while also providing employees with the right support, tools and resources to deal with immediate-term issues? Rob suggests these are some of the behaviours that served Silva well during the pandemic and need nurturing to keep moving forward: 

• Adaptability and determination: There’s been an incredible amount of adaptation and determination to “just get on with it”. People have proved themselves willing to buy into more radical change than anticipated. The company’s looking at how to help employees embrace this mindset. The pandemic means working differently, but it’s important it’s still seen as part of the transformation to sustain change momentum and build greater business resilience.  
• Shared purpose and understanding: There’s a risk people working remotely could feel isolated. They need to feel part of something bigger. Goodwill helped build a mutual sense of mission; there’s a strong sense of shared purpose and understanding about how meaningful their work is. As Rob comments, “There's a spirit of pulling together, recognition we need to help each other. That's one element underpinning the culture we want - we are a single team.” 
• Communication: The pandemic made Silva more inventive, creative and flexible in how and what it communicated - it had to think differently. It also became more open with people. Rob acknowledges as a corporate business there are often fears about putting information out in case it upsets or unsettles people. Yet employees have been really positive, engaging willingly and sharing thoughts about what's going well, but equally happy to identify where improvements need making.  For Silva that’s created valuable learning about innovating, transforming and building trust. 

 Some final thoughts… 

• Be open, be authentic 
• Don't get overwhelmed -  but do have a clear plan 
• Don't be afraid to make changes. Be willing to listen, then do things differently.

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