From Day One

Why Being “Fiercely Authentic” Is Part of a Company’s New Set of Values

Marta Pateiro, head of organizational development, diversity, inclusion and culture at Pernod Ricard, cites her immigrant background as being instrumental in her approach to corporate culture. Her mother arrived in the U.S. from Spain with an infant Marta, just $200 in her pocket, and little understanding of the English language.“That cultural perspective and growing up with a family that struggled early on but did everything they could to live that American dream is what shaped me and how I think about culture – always appreciating people’s perspectives, where they come from, understanding who they are, how they were raised, and what’s important to them,” Pateiro said.Now, Pernod Ricard, a long-established company, is rolling out a new set of values to define its culture, based on employee feedback and its corporate evolution. During a fireside chat at From Day One’s September virtual conference, Pateiro spoke about how inclusion, connection, and a passion for challenge are being woven into the fabric of the organization.Seizing the Current Cultural MomentPateiro has always been drawn to companies that encourage authenticity. “I always think about aligning myself to organizations that give you that opportunity to show up as who you are, and that celebrate differences,” Pateiro said. But pre-pandemic, that was harder to achieve, she says. “We were living in a time where it was a very different mindset,” Pateiro said. During and after Covid, technological advances in corporate communications and connectivity have allowed employees to engage on a deeper level and access services that can be more personalized.Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton of the Denver Post spoke with Marta Pateiro of Pernod Ricard during the fireside chat (photo by From Day One)Corporate values are also becoming increasingly important to job candidates, especially younger generations. “We hope that drives more candidates to us,” she said. One way the organization brings its values to life is through videos on its career website to make sure it’s attracting the right talent.Launching Updated Corporate ValuesPernod Ricard recently launched its new set of corporate values, while also reminding the team that some of them are not actually so new, referring to them as “legacy values.” “They’re still tied to things that are important to the business, but they're updated to reflect where we are today in this global economy. It’s an evolution,” she said.Pateiro suggests that most companies review their values every five to ten years, just as Pernod Ricard did. It’s important to ask questions like, “Does this actually match up with what we’re doing today? Is this aligned to our business priorities? Do they align to our people?” she said.For the bottom-up approach, they collected employee feedback in a uniquely personal way. “They asked employees to send videos of a day in the life as a Pernod Ricard employee,” Pateiro said, citing videos that came from the factory floor, corporate offices, and work-from-home set ups. Over 3,000 videos came in, with employees citing how they feel about the company and what is most important to them.For the top-down approach, “the leadership team got together to say, ‘Where do we see ourselves in the next three to five years, from a business strategy standpoint? And so, in order to be successful, what does that look like?’” Pateiro said.After data collection and intense brainstorming and analytics, the company came up with four core values:Grounded in the real. “We are a business that has soul,” Pateiro said. The phrase also cleverly refers to how the liquor company literally makes its products, with plants that come from the ground. Fiercely authentic. “Everyone was proactive in sharing how important it was to feel like they could bring their whole selves to work. That was a key theme that came up in almost every video,” Pateiro said.Connected beyond borders. Employee videos came in from 770 locations around the world. “We are global, and that's important. We need to make sure that we are open to the world and open to understanding the different diversities and perspectives that come with that,” Pateiro said.Passion for challenge. “It is a different time coming out of Covid,” Pateiro said. “There are different socioeconomic changes that impact how we are doing business today.”Becoming “Fiercely Authentic”“What does it mean to be ‘fiercely authentic’ on the job?” asked moderator Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, neighborhoods reporter for The Denver Post. It doesn’t mean workers can just boldly say whatever they are thinking without consequence. Instead, “it just gives them the permission to feel psychologically safe,” said Pateiro. “We still have our integrity around respect for one another, understanding that we are still colleagues, and we still need to be professional, but making sure that they feel empowered.”The word choice for the values was carefully aligned to the language used by employees in the videos, reflecting the intention and emotion behind their feedback.Measuring the ImpactPateiro said Pernod Ricard is scheduling pulse checks over the next few years to monitor the success of the new value system. After launching the values at a town hall, a survey was immediately sent out to see if employees understood what was happening. “In the coming quarters [we’ll ask], ‘Is this living up to what you were expecting?’ How are you receiving it?’” Then a new category regarding culture will be added to the annual employee survey.Defining, launching, and monitoring values is not a communications department task, Pateiro says, but instead falls into the category of change management. “It’s [about] how you change mindsets and how you change your customers’ perspectives,” she said. “It’s living it through the products, the solutions, the things that you’re offering, as well as how you’re showing up in the marketplace.”Ultimately, Pateiro emphasizes, the values should be driven by the employees – whether you are working with a long-established corporation or a startup. “It’s your workforce that makes your culture,” she said. “The organizations that do the best are the ones that tie that cultural framework to every part of the ecosystem.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

Full-Cycle Recruiting: How to Hire Top Talent With a Holistic Approach

The U.S. labor market has trailed expectations this year. The number of open jobs has been sinking since the beginning of 2024, and it’s getting harder to find a job, applicants say. Job seekers are frustrated not only because there are fewer open roles, but because hiring processes are so poor. LinkedIn is full of users writing about their terrible job-seeking experiences with confusing or unusually protracted hiring processes, fake job postings, and ghosting recruiters.Kim Stevens is the manager of talent acquisition at Lever, an applicant tracking system. She’s spent a decade in talent acquisition, working across industries, and at both B2B and B2C companies. She says it doesn’t have to be this way, and employers have an obligation to do better–by their recruiters and their applicants.“Full-cycle recruiting is a holistic approach,” Stevens said during a From Day One webinar on how full-cycle recruiting can help employers hire top talent. “Instead of passing candidates from one recruiter to the next to move them through the process, there is a single recruiter managing the process from the initial job requisition all the way to how new hires are integrated into the company.”Many companies have already adopted a full-cycle process, but some are still stuck on old models, like a sourcing-led path where one recruiter brings in the talent then candidates are passed among the team; very early on, the hiring experience is interrupted. For job candidates, full-cycle recruiting should be unnoticeable. “Having one person manage all of it does create a more seamless transition for the candidate and one point of contact. If it’s done well, it’s very good as far as the candidate experience goes.”Kim Stevens of Lever by Employ led the webinar (photo courtesy of Stevens)A full-cycle approach is important now because the labor market is so tight, she said. “We have so many [job seekers] in the market, and we can empathize with that and embed that in our thought process when we’re creating processes within our [applicant tracking system] to not only manage the volume, but to focus on all of the different parts of the process. We should ask ‘How can they work for us, and how can they work for the candidate?’ And you really have to do that with automation.”Stevens spent a year on the job market as a candidate herself and saw how brutal the process can be for job seekers. “It made me think about all the times where I could have done my job better; I owed it to candidates to give them a better experience. I needed to reset and really value what my job is and the impact that it can make on people, their lives, and their livelihood.”She also felt the importance of having a single point of contact at the hiring company. “I saw the good and the bad and the ugly when it came to the candidate experience.” Whether it was being passed around among a recruiting team or having to create a username and password for every application (even if it was at the same company).“Being in the job market is stressful enough. If we can mitigate some of those steps and automate and customize, it’s such an important way to create that seamless experience for the company and for the candidate. There are so many different layers within your ATS that you can customize, like candidate communications, ensuring that they’re not only getting followed up with after they apply but that they’re getting updates about where we are in the process.”Full-cycle recruiting teams, juggling multiple activities and multiple candidates at once, have to be really good at time management. New adopters may require training before they’re ready to fly solo. A good applicant tracking system, and maybe even a little artificial intelligence, can help with multitasking, but “technology should be viewed as an enhancement, not a replacement for that human interaction,” Stevens said.For instance, full-cycle can be enhanced by some smart, time-saving changes. “It was ingrained into me by a previous leader of mine, that if you’re having to do something more than once and it’s the same task: Automate it,” she said. “If you’re getting the same questions about–let’s say, benefits–then create something that’s automated, where you can just reply with a signature.”The recruiting process is often the first impression a company will make on job seekers. And if it’s a bad one, the relationship can sour–or solidify–as soon as it begins. A good ATS doesn’t solve all problems. Other factors, like a company’s employer brand will make it easier–or harder–to recruit the workforce you need. Stevens recalled working in university recruiting for a past employer whose employer brand was so strong that when she walked onto the University of Texas at Austin campus, she felt like a celebrity. Students wanted to see what the company would do next, they wanted to talk to recruiters. Of course, recruiting is a huge part of that reputation.Every step of the process is an opportunity for thoughtful interaction with job candidates. It’s a reflection of your company and what the employee experience is like. “There’s so much to say about a full-cycle recruiting process, but also an ATS that enables that process and makes it more streamlined, especially given how many candidates in the market are already stressed. It’s so important as leaders and as companies to keep that in mind. The reality of our market is that we have so many people in it–how can we really make sure that our ATS is working for them too?”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Lever by Employ, for sponsoring this webinar.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

By Katie Chambers | October 01, 2024

Beyond Birth: How Employers Can Invest in the Postpartum Period

More and more organizations are realizing that providing fertility benefits is essential to support and retain employees who are looking to start their family-building journey. However, a key period may be getting overlooked in the process: postpartum. How are organizations supporting employees after they give birth and return to work?During a From Day One webinar, experts from Ovia Health discussed the pregnancy and postpartum risk factors that can influence long-term health outcomes, as well as the ways employers can invest in meaningful end-to-end digital health solutions that support employees throughout their entire care continuum.Health in the ‘Fourth Trimester’Moderator Sarah Begley, director of member content at Atria, says that the postpartum period is often referred to as “the fourth trimester.” This time can require just as much special care and attention as the months of pregnancy. “The government has expanded [the postpartum period] to 12 months,” said Corrinne Hobbs, general manager and VP, employer market organization at Ovia Health. This is a significant and relatively recent change in thinking.“When we originally thought about postpartum, it was geared toward the six weeks after birth, whether that was vaginal delivery or C-section,” said Leslie Saltzman, chief medical officer at Ovia Health. “At the end of that period, the mother would go back to their OBGYN or their nurse midwife, be cleared and told ‘everything’s fine. You can go back to your normal life.’” In reality, Saltzman says, the first six weeks, when everyone is giving the mother time and attention, is the easy part. It’s what comes next that can be the challenge. “The exhaustion in those periods after can be worse,” she said, as can the complications that appear later after the stress-test of childbirth.“In the U.S., many of us have heard about the high rates of maternal death that we have compared to our peer nations. 65% of those deaths actually happen in the postpartum period,” Saltzman said, noting that fatal complications can arise when mothers are back home and more or less alone. She notes infections, high blood pressure, cardiovascular complications like cardiomyopathy or blood clots, and mental health issues like postpartum depression or psychosis are conditions that need to be monitored and addressed during this period. And complications diagnosed during pregnancy such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in women for the rest of their lives.What Postpartum Care Looks LikeThe American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that every person that has a delivery has contact with their provider, whether that's OBGYN or a midwife, within three weeks, with ongoing care as needed up until a final visit at around 12 weeks. “What that’s translating to for most people is a phone call followed by a single visit,” Saltzman said. Only about 60% of people even go to that postpartum visit, Saltzman says. Many people don’t even have 12 weeks off for parental leave, making it even more challenging to attend the appointment. Most daycare centers won’t even accept children until they are at least six weeks old. “You’re still trying to figure out how to feed your baby at that point,” Begley noted. And because we’re living less and less in multigenerational homes, Salztman says, essential knowledge in baby care is not being passed down.Leaders from Ovia Health spoke with Sarah Begley during the From Day One webinar (photo by From Day One)Among those that do attend the checkup: “After you have that visit with your OBGYN and you get clear that your cervix is normal, your incision looks okay, and talk about ongoing needs for birth control… New mothers are then left in the system where it is their responsibility to identify if they have a complication and try to figure out whether that needs care or not. And then have to make the appointments and go,” Saltzman said. “This is where the existing system doesn’t really meet the needs.”How Digital Solutions Can Bridge the GapDigital healthcare programs through an employer can provide structured and personalized access to information on health and baby care at this crucial time in a parent’s life that gives them, Hobbs says. A digital solution can help a person record their symptoms and then provide insight into what might be happening and whether to seek care, potentially saving them the time and expense of a doctor’s visit, Saltzman says.These digital solutions, Hobbs says, should include information on physical recovery and support, postpartum depression screenings, lactation coaching, sleep training, and appointment management for the parent and the baby, including vaccination schedules. “A tool that can help you manage all of that while you're going through this physical, emotional, and mental transition would be tremendously helpful,” Hobbs said.Ovia Health’s Postpartum SolutionIn addition to the digital solutions mentioned above, Hobbs says Ovia Health’s platform also provides information on potential pregnancy complications and associated risk factors, such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which is “one of the most expensive health conditions.” The platform incorporates all potential aspects of life tied to pregnancy. “Our solution addresses reproductive life, planning and contraception, pelvic floor recovery, return to work, social and financial planning, social determinants to health and equity, and navigation of care,” Hobbs said.“Our solution starts with recovery, so we are meeting people where they are in their individualized journey,” Hobbs said. Symptom trackers encourage people to engage with the platform’s dashboard daily to provide checklists and guidance along every step of the way. Behind the tracking are clinical algorithms primed to notice an impending issue. Critical alerts let the person know right away if something is abnormal, with care team members, who are licensed clinical staff, ready to respond and guide the parent through next steps.The platform also encourages a segue back from OBGYN care to primary care and routine screenings since. Mothers often neglect their own basic non-pregnancy related healthcare once children arrive, Saltzman says.Building an Inclusive Postpartum PolicyEmployers, Begley says, should be “shifting their workplace culture to be more inclusive of those returning from maternity leave, parental leave, or being a new parent.” This includes several key factors, as described below.Paid parental leave is crucial to postpartum recovery. “It really helps women to overcome or traverse the physical, emotional, and mental needs of being a parent,” Hobbs said. “Living in the United States, there's not a standard or universal paid parental leave requirement. So, employers are left to decide whether they can and will offer that.” This means women especially are often required to return to work during those first 12 months when they are still physically and mentally recovering. It’s worth noting, Hobbs says, “that women who take paid parental leave have lower rates of postpartum depression. And women of color are more likely to have jobs where paid leave is not offered at all.” Employers looking to cultivate a diverse workforce would do well to invest in paid parental leave whenever possible, for as long as possible.Flexibility and inclusivity in spaces also matters. Physical space for pumping and breastfeeding also builds a welcoming and safe environment for employees who are in-person. Flexible scheduling to allow for childcare, healthcare appointments, and other issues is another way employers can support new parents–without cutting into their sick time.Management training is important to make sure leaders understand parental policies and how to interact with workers in an inclusive manner, regardless of their family situation, can ease the process for the whole team. In turn, employees also need to be trained on how to communicate their needs.Lastly, transition plans should be put in place to allow employees on leave to be able to ensure their continued professional development and assignments. “We're often afraid to step away because we feel like it might set us back. Adjusting the culture to support the employee and having that manager training to create that inclusive environment related to situations like this are critically important,” Hobbs said. “It really improves the workforce culture around [pregnancy] and postpartum.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Ovia Health, for sponsoring this webinar. Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

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