• Stakeholder (i.e. employee and customer surveys)

• Line 2 assurance of control testing outcome

• Engagement with Line 3 (internal audit) to provide independent review of previous quantified and qualified data

The three staged approach would identify common themes, as well as gaps that may not be identified through one method only. Ie an employee survey would not necessarily identify control testing weakness.

Data is able to identify and quantify trends in ways that may not be easily recognizable. Where there is a gap / outlier, further investigation can be undertaken to truly understand the root cause, rather than fixing a potential assumed cause.

Performance data can also be used to challenge benchmarks - for example, if the benchmark of customer engagement is 70% 78% is concisely being achieved, it may be worthwhile increasing the benchmark to 80%. This would foster innovation and challenging of the status quo. Conversely, if a metric is consistently not achieved, it would warrant 1) review if the metric is possible to be achieved and 2) barriers impacting achievement.

Data also allows the business to determine where effort / investment is required

1.      Staff engagement surveys to understand the level of employee engagement and to allow staff to provide reasons for the way they feel. Utilising the outcomes from these surveys to have discussions at different levels of the business on ways to improve on the areas identified as less favourable and take action to address this and enhance engagement. These staff engagement surveys and the following discussions can help identify areas of operational inefficiencies such as resourcing or technology issues.

2.      To assess operational efficiencies Sonic Ltd should employ as part of their compliance and risk management frameworks a system to supervise and monitor for operational efficiencies such as internal or external assurance. Third party systems should be assessed to ensure that they are designed and operationally effective. Benchmarking against other similar businesses can also assist in assessing operational effectiveness.

Discuss how performance data can be used to identify gaps and drive continuous improvement.

Performance data can be used by Sonic Ltd to identify gaps and drive continuous improvement because it can demonstrate things such as KPIs and SLAs not being adhered to that may indicate the need for better technology or more resourcing or training.

For operational inefficiencies

1. Conduct a operational review of the business using external auditors

2. Conduct feasibility and impact assessment on proposed remedial activities

3. Conduct risk and compliance assessment to ensure that the proposed actions are within risk appetite and do no compromise compliance with regulatory, legal, or contractual obligations

4. Manage change in accordance with operational priorities and ensure appropriate and relevant training is delivered

5. Define, document, and implement KRIs to monitor uptake and track operational improvements

6. Maintain Board oversight during a define hypercare period.

For Staff Engagement

1. Work with People & Culture and potentially external consultants to determine key indicators of successful engagement

2. Conduct anonymous engagement survey which help determine the drivers of the disengagement

3. If the drivers are due to systems, resourcing, or process ineffectiveness - these can be resolved during the operational efficiency review. If the drivers are culture, pay, or benefit related, establish a working group to develop a staff engagement program which aligns staff needs with business strategic priorities.

4. Ensure people leaders are effectively trained in good management practice.

5. Ensure conduct risk issues are escalated and managed appropriately.