Driving Business Success through Strategic People Management at Echion Technologies

Aligning the people strategy with the business plan helped the team at Echion Technologies to deliver on commercial objectives as well as driving innovation and business growth.

Echion Technologies, a pioneering spin-out from the University of Cambridge Engineering Department, is on a mission to electrify heavy duty transport and industrial applications through access to safer, long-lasting and rapidly-charging batteries. It supplies niobium-based anode materials and is at the forefront of sustainable battery technology.

Reaching a critical point of growth with a rapidly growing team of around 50, Echion’s COO Sarah Stevenson, realised the business needed to optimise their approach to people planning to sustain its rapid growth and innovation and achieve its business objectives. Echion engaged People Puzzles in 2022 to strengthen its people strategy and development initiatives.

Objectives

Echion initially looked to People Puzzles to set up a people function suitable for a world-leading technology company, with 40 people.

Once pressing operational issues had been addressed, a seasoned strategist and portfolio People Director from People Puzzles, Clare Burles, joined Echion in 2023.

Clare immediately began to work with the business and help them shape their people offering, demonstrating how aligning the people strategy with the business plan could help the team to deliver on commercial objectives.

Clare worked with Echion’s leaders and wider team to understand both their business and aspirations. By getting stuck in and hearing directly from the management team and colleagues in the wider business, she was able to support the day to day operation and also build a strategic people plan. Clare explained, “My approach whenever I go into a new business is to understand the culture and colleagues working there. Echion’s office has a large kitchen area where everyone eats their lunch and so this provided a perfect opportunity to sit and talk to the team, understanding the challenges and bottlenecks, but also the opportunities for positive change.”

The timing was apt as Echion wanted to build a great place to work as well as navigating a critical phase of expansion, including opening a new office in China.

Process and Implementation

With insights gleaned from her conversations in the business and working closely with the COO, Clare devised a structured people plan along with key milestones and timelines.

This plan encompassed diverse initiatives, including:

Recruitment: working closely with the business to improve both the quality of new hires and also the overall candidate experience.
Team comms: co-designed an interactive day for the management team to launch the annual goals to get everyone on the same page
Engagement: introduced an employee survey, using the results to inform future goals and the People Plan
Full benefits review: conducted through an internal focus group and benchmarking data to ensure the offering was competitive and would help Echion stand out as a top employer
Supported the business setting up in China: led the people aspects of international expansion including employment terms, benefits and salary benchmarking
In-house resource: with the COO recruited people advisor to support day to day activity
Coaching: provided individual executive coaching to people managers within the business supporting them to grow and develop in their roles.
Management development training: delivered for Echion managers, in bite-sized modules, to ensure the business had the people skills needed for growth.

Outcomes and Impact

Today, Echion is firmly in control of its People agenda. There is growing confidence around the competence of their people managers, and there is clear alignment around the goals and strategy of the business. From working with Clare, Echion has witnessed tangible benefits, including streamlined processes and enhanced employee engagement. Notably, the introduction of a comprehensive benefits review has elevated Echion’s employer value proposition, positioning it as an employer of choice in the competitive battery sector landscape.

A C-Suite people expert has brought significant strategic acumen to the business, and Clare’s hands-on approach to coaching and development has empowered Echion’s leadership to navigate complex challenges with confidence.

Sarah Stevenson, Echion’s COO, said, “Clare has been fabulous. She is very measured and is the right fit for our senior management team, who respect her approach. She has been brilliant with coaching, with staff stepping into fairly new roles and line management for the first time, talking them through issues and challenges, giving them hints and tips.”

From strategic guidance to operational support, Clare’s contributions have been instrumental, allowing the leadership team to focus on driving innovation and growth.

Sarah explains further, “There is always lots to do. I used to do the HR myself and people asked why we needed specialist HR. Now People Puzzles is here, we wonder how we managed without them! All the extra things we are doing now – for example engagement, are so important for the team.”

Talk to us about how investing in people should always be a catalyst for business excellence.