From Day One | Stories

Enhancing Manager Effectiveness With Transparency, Technology, and Leadership Development

Creating transparency and trust within a company allows for employees to feel trust with managers, but how can companies measure management success and continue to improve their impact on employees? In an executive panel discussion, leaders at From Day One’s Austin conference spoke about “Manager Effectiveness: Defining It, Measuring It, and Improving It.”“You have to really be able to be transparent. You have to be able to be authentic and be willing to not know all the answers and rely and trust your team to help you get things done,” said Patrick Felder, senior vice president of employee success at Salesforce.Using AI as a Tool“2024 is all about AI,” said Arun Serikar, vice president of digital human resources at Schneider Electric, who uses tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT in his role as a manager. Serikar says AI allows for more efficiency for meeting notes, scheduling and synthesizing information from meetings.AI however functions off of available data which means that in order for the system to function effectively, you need to ensure that the system has the knowledge, articles and information before deploying it.Ricardo Galan, vice president of diversity, inclusion and talent experience at QBE, says his company uses AI to train managers on skills such as how to facilitate difficult conversations. “Our HR department cannot go to every single leader and teach them how to have a difficult convocation, but AI can actually help you practice in a safe environment,” Galan said.For companies with thousands of employees, it can be difficult to reach each person and give each of them the necessary training and workshops but implementing AI tools can help streamline these processes.Companies like Salesforce overlook over 30,000 team members, many of which are based in India. Salesforce created its own AI virtual agent called Agentforce, a competitor to Microsoft Copilot. Within the company however, leaders use a separate tool called the manager 360 dashboard which allows them to access all of their team’s data, offers suggestions and provides summaries.Panelists spoke about "Manager Effectiveness: Defining It, Measuring It, and Improving It," in a session moderated by Tom Miller, morning anchor at KXAN“The idea is, to continue to build better leaders you have to give them all of the relevant information, make sure they understand all the component pieces and then bring that to them at their fingertips within the flow of work,” said Felder.Growing and Developing LeadersLeaders within a company don’t come out of thin air. Leaders like Jennifer Newbill, director of emerging talent at Dell Technologies, have to be able to spot future employees with potential in management and leadership.At Dell, the company has implemented programs around the world where students can rotate throughout the company and learn about different aspects of departments. Throughout these programs, a student’s potential is being measured through observations on whether they exhibit the skills that match existing company values and leadership principles.Haeli Harris, director of clinical operations at Nivati says empathy is also an important skill for leaders to have. “Empathy is a key piece in building trust,” she said.Leaders are natural problem solvers but it’s also an important skill to be good at connecting with employees on a personal level and be able to see when behaviors change and notice when there might be something wrong, says Harris. “We want managers to be able to recognize when people are struggling, and the tools of ‘how do I help them, and how can I be a better manager,’” she said.Training on emotional intelligence can improve relationships between managers and employees. One skill that managers can build is as simple as listening. “Sometimes people don’t want to sit and get advice. They want to be heard,” said Newbill.Learning to become a leader comes with experience and development and hosting workshops can be helpful in boosting the growth of current and potential managers. Salesforce uses a manager training program called Lead India, which aims for the growth of leadership in employees based in India.Over the last few years, Salesforce has expanded their leadership team in India to now over 900 leaders this year, says Felder. With this expansion, Lead India also had to adapt. The training program this year embedded wellness conversations, Indian luminaries to spark inspiration and focused conversations led by leaders.Felder adds that when hiring for a company, leaders should be hiring those who are better than themselves to build a strong team that will carry the company forward. “You really have to be open and make sure that you’re holding folks accountable to hiring better than who they are, because the talent that you need is out there, but leaders sometimes want to hire like themselves, and you've got to push people a little bit harder to think differently about that,” said Felder.Keeping Teams Connected RemotelyAs many companies are now allowing employees to work remotely or hybrid, it can be difficult to maintain the connection between your team compared to an everyday in-person setting. Serikar emphasizes that open communication platforms like Slack or Yammer, now Viva Engage, can be helpful in connecting with employees remotely.Felder, who uses Slack, said he will take videos with recaps of conferences and events to share to his team working offsite. Salesforce also utilizes multiple Slack channels where different teams and groups can connect with each other and maintain communication. Managers can build trust with their employees by opening themselves up to feedback and following up with what is shared.Jennifer Yoshikoshi is a local news and education reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

BY Jennifer Yoshikoshi | November 27, 2024

Evolving a Strong Set of Cultural Values for a Remote Workforce

Pop quiz: What U.S. city currently has the most remote workers? That would be Austin, Texas, with a whopping 24.9% of its workers operating outside of a traditional office environment. Carmen Amara, chief people officer at Yelp, is one of them.While many companies have ordered their employees back to the workplace, others have remained committed to flexibility. During a fireside chat at From Day One’s Austin conference, Amara showed how Yelp develops its remote culture with three elements in mind: What are employees saying about it? What are the business results? And what is the pace of innovation? Plus: How to keep career development at the forefront in a distributed workplace.Responding to the Desire for Remote WorkEven among growing public discourse about the need to return to the office, many workplaces are still noticing a strong desire among employees to stay home post-pandemic. “We are a remote work culture now,” said moderator Ross McCammon, deputy editor at Texas Monthly. “17.9% of workers are remote, a full three times as much remote work as there was before the pandemic.” And Yelp is no exception.“In 2021 we said we were going to be ‘remote first.’ We opened up our office doors and employees voted with their feet. On any given day, we had less than 1% of our employees showing up in an office,” Amara said. Recognizing that remote work was, in fact, working, Yelp went fully remote in 2022.The job market today is different than it was in 2022, when there was heavy competition to attract the top talent and the Great Resignation was in full swing. Now, Amara says, “companies are hiring more selectively” and tenure is lengthening, which means productivity is up, but organizations must work harder to keep longer term employees engaged. We’ve gone from the Great Resignation to what McCammon calls “The Big Stay.”An Intentional Approach to Culture-buildingOne of the biggest concerns facing employers today: Can you create culture in a remote environment? “Yes, you can, but you have to do so with intention,” Amara said. “And it’s not the same playbook, you can’t translate what you were doing in an office environment and just do that at home.” Yelp does it by relying on its longstanding core set of values. “Culture is about the stories that we tell and the values we hold high. That has to be foundational. You have to live by your values. You have to show your values in action. You have to address breaches in your values. And leaders have to walk the talk,” she said.Yelp creates experiences for employees that allow them to feel the organization’s values in their daily work. It’s taken its formerly San Francisco-based employee resource groups global, so all employees can join in the conversations from wherever they are. It also holds awards opportunities tied to the values and select in-person and virtual community service events in cities where there happen to be a lot of what Amara affectionately calls “Yelpers.”Carmen Amara, chief people officer of Yelp, was interviewed during the fireside chatYelp has developed both structured and unstructured storytelling sessions tied to its corporate values and professional development initiatives. Amara herself recently recorded one about authenticity. Leaders and employees at all levels are invited to take part. Sessions are presented live, recorded, and then sent out for later viewing.Re-envisioning the Employee ExperienceAmara says Yelp has relied on employee listening to inform a lot of its actions during and after the pandemic. “We did more specific and targeted surveys and interactions with employees to learn from them, so that we could quickly create the new playbook,” she said, noting that the organization was even more willing to move quickly and learn on the fly while refining the employee experience, rather than waiting for it to be “fully baked” before launch.What came out of the listening sessions was a strong desire for flexibility and the benefits that can help support it–caregiver benefits, mental health benefits, and flexible health and wellness benefits, including a stipend that can be put toward gym memberships, acupuncture, fitness gear, or the like. “It’s about creating a person-first experience,” Amara said.Amara acknowledges that as an HR professional, it can be hard to capture employees’ attention when rolling out cultural changes and benefits opportunities. She suggests “trying to meet people where they are.” Yelp introduced a new framework called Connected by Conversation, which offers six templates of the most impactful conversations leaders can have with employees, such as goal-setting discussions and one-on-ones. “It’s not a script,” Amara said. “We want people to be authentic, but it gives them a menu of options in a two-page outline to enable them to amp up their coaching capabilities.”Addressing “The Big Stay” in a Virtual WorldKnowing that employees are now staying longer in their roles, organizations need to prepare to play the long game. When Yelp went fully remote, it revamped its employee value proposition. “The former proposition talked about what it felt like to walk into a Yelp office,” Amara said. Now, it focuses on “work-life fit,” and hires with an eye toward what sorts of people thrive in a remote working environment. “We look for people who are going to be self-sufficient, who are self-starters, but can also collaborate across geographies,” Amara said. “We tend to include other folks from the team in that interview panel, so that our candidates get a full understanding of what it’s going to feel like to work here.”Without the natural visual and emotional cues of in-office interaction, it can be harder to see if employees are fulfilled and thriving. Yelp uses tools to assist, sending automated reminders to managers to complete regular check-in protocols with employees. “And we're very intentional about creating robust onboarding experiences,” Amara said.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.

HR’s Influence on Revenue: Navigating the New Employer-Employee Relationship

Successful organizations that consistently exceed revenue goals thrive by aligning with employee expectations .A thriving company nurtures the employee journey, focusing on various aspects of well-being and engagement to support personal and professional growth.This puts HR leaders at the forefront of helping employers and employees form an evolved relationship where their respective professional goals are more compassionately and collaboratively achieved.During a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Austin conference R.W. Holleman, head of enterprise sales at Rain, a company offering earned wage access programs to employers, spoke on how a holistically symbiotic relationship between employee and employer is crucial to achieving higher revenue goals.Cultivating Authentic Value“We all know the cost of turnover. The impact of disengaged employees and the ripple effect that has on the bottom line, right?” Holleman asked the audience. He elaborated on how companies failing to address the root of modern-day disengagement see a cultural decline that further leads to a decline in revenue.Employees are no longer satisfied with just a paycheck and guaranteed work hours. They seek meaningful support, recognition of their value, and a sense of purpose in their work. Consequently, HR executives confront the limits of traditional talent management. The conventional view that employees are satisfied with consistent financial compensation and set work hours alone is outdated.“You’re not just managing people. You’re shaping your HR and you’re shaping the future of the business,” Holleman said. “If you don’t help with that, the business might not survive, right?”What can employers provide of authentic value? Holleman cited security, flexibility, and belonging as vital to maintaining employee engagement, productivity, and satisfaction. Data from McKinsey & Company confirms this. Companies resolving significant drivers of disengagement, including an unsafe environment and a lack of career advancement and workplace flexibility, can annually save up to $56 million.R.W. Holleman, head of enterprise sales at Rain, led the thought leadership spotlightResolving several major drivers of disengagement supports retention, reduces absenteeism, and boosts productivity. Companies then experience an increase in revenue.A Positive and Supportive CultureThe same study by McKinsey & Company showed that employee disengagement exhibited by workers with lower well-being can cost a median-size company between $228-355 million a year in lost productivity. In 5 years, that adds up to about $1.1 billion in lost value.It underscores how HR executives now occupy a unique position. They can be more influential to companies achieving sustainable financial success through leveraging comprehensive benefits and programs that support employee well-being. Going beyond the scope of traditional HR work is to pioneer the cultivation of positive and supportive modern-day workplace environments conducive to success for employers and employees.One way to foster a positive culture is to consider more inclusive benefits that better support employees’ overall well-being. Inclusive benefits empower workers, contribute significant value to their lives inside and outside the workplace, and help them thrive.For example, Rain gives employees instant access to 50% of their earned wages, providing financial flexibility. This benefit eases the stress of immediate financial burden, helping employees focus more on their careers. The program is also a win for employers because of its simple process: companies who access Rain’s program complete an EWA adjustment file and withhold the accessed wages from employees’ checks.“What makes that powerful? What I’m talking about is not technology or automation, right? It’s about meeting the human need for stability and security,” he said. By authentically addressing employees’ concerns and providing relevant solutions, employees feel more valued, optimistic, engaged, and committed to performing at their best.Other benefits like inclusive healthcare coverage, care benefits, wellness programs, skill development, work projects, and continuing education improve employee well-being and strengthen positive connections between employers and employees. “By recognizing the importance of the human element and giving employees the support they need, you’re not only driving engagement, you’re driving revenue,” he said.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Rain, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Stephanie Reed is a freelance news, marketing, and content writer. Much of her work features small business owners throughout diverse industries. She is passionate about promoting small, ethical, and eco-conscious businesses

Guiding Employee Growth With Inclusive Pathways to Success

Success in an organization is never a given, and without a clear pathway, it becomes almost unattainable for employees. Creating inclusive pathways for employee growth is a strategic imperative that fosters engagement, trust, and long-term retention. Five panelists spoke on this during From Day One’s LA conference in a conversation moderated by Nick Wolny, columnist for Out Magazine.Leverage Employee Resource GroupsOne way that companies can create inclusive pathways for employee growth and success is to make the most of their ERGs. Panelist Antonio Hairston, VP of recruiting, diversity outreach & early career talent for William Morris Endeavor, says that leaders should join ERGs. That way, leaders can participate, advocate, and promote them. “Over 2,000 members are a part of them, and it’s an authentic way to really build community,” he said. “Four of my team members are either a part of the leadership board or a part of a committee, and so as we think about our conversations and quarterly reviews or semi-monthly reviews, we talk about their personal development, and we talk about ways in which we can stretch them, ways in which we can give them stretch assignments.”This kind of collaboration and skill-building is instrumental in helping employees grow. Taking it a step further, Hairston became a mentor as part of the company’s ERG mentorship program. “It gives me the opportunity to connect with someone outside of my direct team,” he said. “We’re bouncing ideas off of each other, and I get a fresh new perspective from someone far removed from my direct team.”It’s really a win-win for both, with the mentor gaining insight, while the mentee learns from a leader in the company.Create Sharing OpportunitiesAt Chedraui, previously Smart & Final and El Super, where panelist Joseph Tischbern is VP of talent development and engagement, they focus on looking at employees as individuals. “We’re not just going to train you. We’re going to help you find the skills that exist in you, and we’re going to coach you until you believe that you can do whatever’s possible,” he said.Everyone comes to work wanting to be successful, but success may look different depending on each person. In order to feel comfortable to do that, there must be an environment of trust. To do that, companies need to create sharing opportunities.When Chedraui acquired Smart & Final, the company went from 12,000 people to 25,000 overnight. Tischbern said while many of the employees shared some commonalities with regards to Spanish language and culture, they needed to bond as employees and speak a common company language. “We put them in as many learning environments together as we possibly could,” he said. They also focused on developing consistent language. That included putting everyone through the Gallup Strengths Finder and the Seven Habits for Highly Effective People. From that, employees began speaking a common language, which ultimately helped them to trust the environment. One company leader, an immigrant from Iran, shared stories of hardship living in his home country. Soon others began sharing their stories. “Him being so transparent in that learning environment started breaking walls down,” Tischbern said. “Forty leaders in a room started to talk about their experiences. And that started to transform the culture.” Shift to Skills-Based HiringAn inclusive pathway always starts with the first step, and that’s hiring. Panelist Christine White, head of talent acquisition, North America, at Alstom, said they’ve changed how they approach getting people in the door. “We created a matrix for the core skills that we needed for all of our exempt and non-exempt positions,” she said. Still, letting go of traditional ways of focusing on degrees from specific universities can be hard for some leaders. To help change the mindset, shifting to a skills-based hiring model is a constant topic of discussion, White says. One thing they’ve done is put potential hires through tests, and share the results with leadership.The group of leaders spoke on the topic "Creating Inclusive Pathways for Employee Growth and Success"As they continue to share the results, a pattern emerges. It challenges the educational ecosystem and makes them ask the real question—what makes a person ready to work? If a person took the SAT or graduated from a prestigious university, does that automatically make them better? White concluded no. That’s a bias that needed to be challenged. This mindset shift to skills-based hiring has created an inclusive pathway for success. “We've been successful dealing with the education issue. It’s pretty much nearly gone in terms of a four-year degree,” White said. “Without the educational [barrier], we’re having them undergo a few more skill assessments in the pre-screening phase.” And any skills they still need, they teach, allowing for growth and success. Embrace DiversityThe current environment is a collision between DEI and talent development, says panelist Katie Oertli Mooney, managing director at Seramount. No matter what you call anything related to DEI, the focus is diversity, and it’s only going to become more important as time goes on. “Representation matters,” she said. “When we think about the future of work, students and those of younger generations are two times more likely to turn down a job if they don't see diversity in the organization.” Equitable access and opportunities is required so everyone can compete and move forward, Mooney says.Data from EEOC shows a 10 percent increase in new charges, meaning if inclusion isn’t at the center of an organization’s focus, there will be risks organizations would need to manage. Alternatively, leaders can proactively create a diverse workforce. “Having inclusive leaders, involving curriculum of that magnitude, leads to more effective, efficient workplaces,” Mooney said. A culture of belonging reduces attrition risks. Use the Power of AI for Job MatchingLarge corporations especially can find creating inclusive pathways challenging. That’s where AI can prove a useful tool, says panelist Michael Watson, senior director at Eightfold. There, they try to remove bias by not requiring an education and looking more at skills with the help of AI.“Every day I go to work, I’m trying to level that playing field for veterans, for working moms that didn’t have a chance to go to school, dads, everyone across the board that just hasn't gotten a fair chance,” Watson said. Some of his best recruits, he added, were baristas or servers without a formal education but plenty of skills in talking to people and dealing with rejection. “We’ve ingested over a billion and a half career paths. We’ve ingested over a billion roles,” he said. “Because of the size of our dataset, we can see those adjacent skills that you have.”Originally, Watson interviewed for a different position with Eightfold, and they turned him down for that role. But they came back and told him he’d be perfect for a different position—something he never would have considered, but thanks to AI the company matched his skills with what they needed. “Never in a million years did I think I would be running customer success,” he said. “But because we’re using these large data sets, we can see these anomalies, and we can see these patterns, and then we can lay those out for our employees.”By fostering inclusive pathways, companies can unlock the potential of their workforce by emphasizing trust, collaboration, and shared growth. Organizations that prioritize these efforts will not only build stronger communities within but will also drive sustainable success.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

Helping Managers and Workers Cope With Transformation

Over the last seven years, Samantha Khoury, vice president of human resources for the Los Angeles Lakers, has seen several changes in management, including four different head coaches. In times of change, Khoury advises transparency to maintain success and satisfaction among employees.During an executive panel at From Day One’s LA conference, leaders discussed the many ways companies can support the mental health of employees, guide them through challenges with company changes and ensure all voices are heard.Making Your Employees Feel SeenIn order to gauge feedback within a company, many employers will opt for a survey, but what makes the impact is for employees to hear back and see their survey responses being considered to make changes in the workplace.“It’s easy to roll out a survey. What’s important is what you do with the results, how you measure them, and how you communicate them with the workforce so that you can show you heard them loud and clear,” said Sarah Jingco, vice president of human resources for Securitas.Vulnerability and honesty from leadership can make a large impact on employee satisfaction and positivity. Creating a consistent feedback loop between management and employees can help build a culture where people feel safe and welcome to share their thoughts and feelings, says Carrie Bergen, senior strategist at Lyra Health.Especially in times of change, whether it’s a layoff or management shift, maintaining a strong sense of leadership as an employer is important for companies to move forward through change, despite leaders themselves carrying a sense of uncertainty.In these situations, leadership can be displayed through communication, offering support and opening up spaces for questions and concerns, said Jingco. Employees have to feel like they can trust their leadership and know that they are being prioritized by the company, says Laura Bartus, head of learning at Humana CenterWell Pharmacy.“I think people are craving leaders of fabric, leaders with high integrity, leaders that can lead from the front, lead in plain sight,” said Jeff Williams, president and CEO of Aptia.Providing Mental Health SupportChanges can also bring on increased mental health impacts, but how can managers recognize and respond to employee struggles while they manage their own well being?Faith Pinho, reporter for the Los Angeles Times, left, moderated the discussionBergen emphasizes that providing managers with training is a critical aspect to helping leaders recognize mental health issues and taking the appropriate action to help their employees. Even for managers to communicate to employees that they recognize their struggles and open the door to mental health support for when they want it can make an impact.Leaders play a large role in maintaining a sense of stability for employees during changes, but it’s also important to remind leaders that “it’s okay to not always be the strong one,” said Bartus. “It’s okay to seek help and find resources, because often we feel like we have to be invulnerable.”For managers and employees, acknowledging this vulnerability of not always being strong can be important to the long term well being of workers.“Sometimes you have to tell people to take a break,” said Jingco.”I always tell my employees, ‘You’re not a machine. You know you’re not gonna break down and I can just fix you and you’re back to work. It doesn’t work that way.’”From the pandemic, many companies have become remote, but some executives are calling for employees to return to the office. Jingco recognizes that it varies among employees whether they prefer remote or in person work, but the real key performance indicator isn’t about being in the office, it’s about getting the job done.Hardships During LayoffsCompanies nationwide have been announcing major layoffs over the years and during these transitions companies put a strong focus on rightfully taking care of the people being let go. In times where laid off employees are being supported, remaining workers who are left to pick up the company’s work might be seen as an afterthought.Despite how much attention is given to people being laid off, Bartus says it’s also crucial for companies to hold space for remaining employees to express their fears, nerves and to provide feedback. “I need to let them know we’re not going to do 100% of what we used to do with 20% fewer people. Let's talk about prioritizing what we don't do anymore, and talk about making what we do now more efficient, because that's gonna be their biggest fear,” Bartus said.Maintaining a healthy relationship with remaining employees is important to move forward during major changes like layoffs. Especially when workload and responsibilities might be shifting, companies should be setting a clear vision of future expectations for employees to understand.At the Lakers, Khoury says that layoffs are driven by changes in investment and moving towards what would benefit the company in the future. With new visions on how the company will progress, leadership will need to deliver the hard truth and recognize that not everyone will find themselves in those changes.“Getting to the heart of the matter on [changes] and making sure you have a group that’s aligned on the purpose, the mission and being true to that mission is vital as well because you can’t have this sense of active dissent of people who can't get past it either,” said Khoury.Finding the best avenue to addressing change is not a direct road. Companies have to take notes on what worked best, what didn’t and find the balance between “exploration and engaging the employees,” said Jingco.Jennifer Yoshikoshi is a local news and education reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

By Katie Chambers | November 25, 2024

Redefining Well-Being in Today’s Workplace

What does well-being mean to you? The standard six pillars of well-being are emotional, physical, financial, social, intellectual, and spiritual. Each one complements and impacts the other, and the most forward-thinking companies are careful to include each in their employee benefits package.Traditionally, employers viewed well-being through the lens of physical health and its impact on productivity. Today, the scope has widened, encompassing mental health, financial security, and social connections, in the context of hybrid and remote work as well as in-office. As this thinking evolves, how are leaders assessing the points where employers can be most effective–and how are they aligning those needs with new solutions? As workplace culture becomes a key driver of well-being, how are companies ensuring their efforts foster a sense of belonging for all employees?The key to an effective benefits plan is understanding how each pillar of well-being impacts the other, shared panelists at From Day One’s LA conference. “When you consider well-being, always remember it’s not one silo or one category. It’s about taking a holistic approach to well-being,” said Bernie Knobbe, head of global benefits & well-being at AECOM.Your approach should also be intentional. “Ambiguity kills culture and when you think about well-being and how people flourish in the workplace, if you don’t know why you do what you do and how it fits into the bigger picture, then you’ve got a very little chance of flourishing,” said Matt Jackson, GM & VP, Americas at Unmind. Holistic refers not only to the intersection of the pillars, but of the offering themselves. Vendors should work together to accomplish this, Jackson says.Creating a Space That Embraces WellnessAll panelists emphasized the importance of leadership buy-in to make a wellness program thrive. “Employees look to their managers for guidance and encouragement. So, you have to get those managers to buy into this concept in order for it to be successful. It shouldn’t be top-down… it should be middle forward,” Knobbe said. “Make sure you’re reaching everybody, and that it’s consistent.”Wellness can be a sensitive topic, but companies like BuzzFeed have created “safe spaces for employees to be able to share what they need for their physical and mental health,” said moderator Pamela Avila, entertainment editor at USA Today. Buzzfeed offers panel presentations, wellness fairs to highlight current resources, and manager dens for frank conversations on relevant current events. The company also tailors its offerings depending on role and department.“We also try to identify what different teams and different levels of our employee population need,” said Chandler Bondan, chief people officer at BuzzFeed. For example, those covering tough news topics might need additional mental health support. And honoring the lifestyles and values of a diverse workforce is key. Bondan shares that Buzzfeed ended a contract last year with its insurance provider due to its restrictions on IVF and LGBTQIA+ care, opting for “a carrier that would be more inclusive of our population.”The executive panelist spoke about "Redefining Well-Being in Today’s Workplace"Leveraging employee resource groups can be a pathway to making well-being offerings more inclusive. Jackson shares how Major League Baseball initially had an individual mental health ERG but found that it was more effective to have mental health integrated into all its other groups instead. “If you can talk about mental health in the context of how you experience life across those different ERGs, it’s going to resonate and have a much greater impact,” Jackson said. ERG’s are also “a great employee listening tool” to see which benefits are working, and which are not, he says.Well-Being as Company CultureMore and more, company culture is becoming a driving factor behind not only employee retention but also overall business success. “FOX Sports is a household name. But we’re no longer getting people because of just our brand. It’s really [about the philosophy,]” said Kim Beauvais, EVP, HR & business operations, FOX Sports. For Beauvais’ organization, offering an inclusive wellness benefits package helps build a culture of psychological safety, and therefore, risk-taking. “We believe it’s okay to fail, it’s okay to try things,” she said. “And listen, we’re not curing cancer. We’re putting on sports TV! It should be fun. It should be fulfilling. There should be a purpose in what you’re doing. And you should feel like it’s a fun place to come to work.”Culture needs to be cultivated with intention, especially when employees are being asked to return to the office at least some of the time. You don’t want all employees to feel forced to return only to continue to stare at a screen. “We have to help people feel connected when they’re back in the office, so that they have a sense for being there,” said Jack Schutzbach, VP, HR, Americas, Groupe SEB.Understanding Your WorkforceEspecially in large corporations, well-being offerings should speak to employees’ unique lifestyles and work situations, Beauvais says, citing different needs like childcare, at-home work set ups, physical labor vs. desk jobs, etc. “The shift that we had to make over the last five years was that empathetic leadership, that empathetic philosophy that not every employee is created equal. We have multiple buckets and types of employees, [and] their situations are all very different,” she said. HR leaders need to be visible among employees, listen to their needs, market current benefits, and carefully investigate potential offerings to make sure they are viable for the current workforce.And always remember that generally, use of benefits can be confusing or stressful to employees. “We try to make exceptions where we can, to make sure that it’s an easy part of someone’s day, not a hard part. Being as flexible as possible is a good [idea],” Bondan said.“The role of the HR business partner is changing,” Beauvais added, so that it’s less about enforcing rules and more about providing support and care so employees can stay healthy and productive. “Being a part of their world and understanding what they’re going through, so that they do lean on you in those moments that they wouldn't normally reach out to you, is really important,” she said.Understanding Your Role in the ProcessUltimately, you must remember that as HR you are in a people-first business. “One of my favorite sayings is, ‘We’re human resources. Human is our first name. Resources is our last name.’ Our customers are our resources, and we’re responsible for the human side of our business. So, we add value when we do that,” Knobbe said. “And ROI–it’s both ‘return on investment’ and ‘return on individual.’ If you can get your programs and your communications right, people feel like it's about them, not just about whatever it is they’re trying to accomplish.”Jackson shares there are three layers of well-being benefits: organization, interpersonal, and individual. For years, HR was mostly just focused on the individual, emphasizing personal resilience and being reactive to problems after they occur. In today’s workplace, that’s no longer enough.“What’s your responsibility as an employer? The organizational layer is all about how you want to talk about mental health. How do you want to talk about culture? How do you want to talk about well-being? How do you set the right tone for the rest of the organization?” Jackson said.The structural elements should be supporting your company values, be it mental health benefits, fertility benefits, parental leave or more. And manager training should incorporate these values, teaching how to be “empathetic leaders that create mentally healthy environments,” Jackson said. “If you are intentional and look across how you run your organization from a well-being, benefits, and culture perspective, and assess at each of those three levels, that’s a good starting place to think about what you need to do to create that mentally healthy environment.”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.

Bridging the Gap: Evolving Benefits to Support Women’s Health Milestones

Women’s healthcare has made progress, yet it remains outdated and frequently falls short, even in the 21st century–a consequence of longstanding bias. In 1977, the FDA banned women of childbearing age from phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, “unless they had a life-threatening condition.” Then in 1993, “Congress passed a law requiring the inclusion of women in clinical research.”“How did we get here? Well, you know women aren't small men. You might have heard that, but the FDA did not agree with that. The FDA in 1977 banned women from being part of research. So anything that applies to a man research-wise, applies to a woman as well. [In] 1993 we’re finally invited back in, which is great. However, we still have work to be done. We’re very behind,” said Kerri DiCicco, vice president of business development at Progyny where she partners with consultants and employers to provide end-to-end family- building solutions.DiCicco spoke on the topic of women's healthcare at a From Day One’s Denver Conference in a thought leadership spotlight about “Bridging the Gap: Evolving Benefits to Support Women’s Health Milestones.” She specifically touched on fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause, and how to make it more tailored to women's experiences.The Impact of Health GapsDiCicco says access to providers who specialize in women's healthcare isn’t easy. “Everyone has probably heard that women live longer than men, right? But it's true, we do live longer than men. But the flip side of that is that we spend 25% more of our lifetime in debilitating health. And one of the things that happens is it takes us a lot longer to be diagnosed with illnesses,” said DiCicco.Yet, even though women are back in the picture, outside of oncology, only 1% of research dollars go towards women’s health research. Furthermore, DiCicco says it took another 14 to 16 years for infertility to be recognized as a disease. “And infertility, even when it's male factor-infertility, the woman is the one that's going to bear the treatment for that.”DiCicco points to the fact that we’re starting families later in life and that “one in six people are going to need help conceiving.” “Because of the lack of research we come to childbearing years with chronic conditions. So it takes, on average, 10 years for a woman to get a diagnosis of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) or endometriosis, which when it goes untreated, really impacts your ability to conceive without assistance.”The struggle to have a child, DiCicco says, is often more stressful than a death in the family, “but less than 7% of women are able to get support.” There needs to be a full episode of care to cover what is needed, and it needs to happen at the right time.DiCicco gives the story of Jessica and Ashley, a same-sex couple, who want to start a family. “It’s a hard journey to start, and if you're in a same sex relationship, there’s additional nuances.”In this scenario, Jessica’s employer offers equitable fertility benefits, so they’re assigned a patient care advocate (PCA). This advocate acts as their guide, helping them find appropriate clinics, offering emotional support, helping them understand their options, and scheduling appointments.The benefits of targeted, proactive care extend beyond health: Data shows that 80% of employees who receive fertility benefits stay loyal to their employer, seeing the support as invaluable. “And you think about that also through the lens of DEI–it’s a very connected journey, and we took the gaps out.”With pregnancy and postpartum care, DiCicco says the U.S. is not doing its job to take care of women, and that the maternal death rate has risen.Proactive Postpartum CareBroadly speaking, DiCicco says we know postpartum is deadly, but it's still up to women to seek out that help. “And that's really hard, because at that point she's just trying to keep a seven pound human alive.” Instead, DiCicco says that proactive, early care is better.In another example, Katie, a new mom in her 30s who went through fertility treatment, is struggling with postpartum anxiety while caring for her baby alone at home. Her employer's program connects her with a PCA who knows her background and stays involved after the birth. This advocate, along with a pregnancy coach, checks in on Katie, helping her understand that her struggles are common. “As she gets closer to [returning] to work. Her patient care advocate helps her with that, so she has the ability to go back on a schedule that really works for her, works for her family and takes the stressors out of it.”Navigating the Symptoms of MenopauseThe final issue DiCicco covered was menopause, which she says gets misdiagnosed all the time. “If you have an employee that comes into your office and says, ‘My heart won’t stop racing.’ You’re going to tell her to go to the ER. The cardiologist is going to see her and say, ‘I don't know what it is. Let's refer you here, here, and here,’ not even thinking that you’re 37 years old, and this is perimenopause.”There are 34 symptoms related to menopause and according to DiCicco nearly 47% of women go through 15 different providers before they get a correct diagnosis. Most women are told to go see their OB-GYN, who are primarily trained to “have a healthy mom and a healthy birth. Less than 7% of the OB-GYNs in this country get any training at all in menopause.”DiCicco's final example is Nicole, a 42-year-old working mom and executive, who is struggling with classic menopause symptoms. She first goes to her primary care physician, who doesn’t recognize the symptoms as perimenopause-related. “Why would she ever think about menopause or perimenopause?” Luckily, Nicole’s employer provides a comprehensive health benefit that covers menopause care. This proactive care not only eases symptoms but also saves women from multiple office visits, keeping them focused and productive at work. By offering targeted proactive support, employers can avoid unnecessary claims and help retain valued employees who might otherwise be affected by unmanaged symptoms. “And when we close the gaps in menopause with the right care, with the right specialist, that's what's going to happen.”Closing the gaps in women's healthcare is key, and highly beneficial to employers. “Really think about ‘what gaps do I have, and how can I close those?’ Because when you close the gaps we just touched on, you're going to see that financially, it’s going to make sense. Don’t put the onus on women to navigate a system that wasn’t created by or for women. We need to choose equitable coverage, coverage for everyone. And make sure it's intentionally designed for the specific concerns of women.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Progyny, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Matthew Koehler is a freelance journalist and licensed real estate agent based in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in Greater Greater Washington, The Washington Post, The Southwester, and Walking Cinema, among others.

How Your Workforce’s Culture Directly Affects Your Consumer’s Experience

Build a workplace culture that empowers employees, and in turn, you’ll elevate customer service. That’s the key takeaway from a discussion with Ash Hanson, EVP and chief HR officer of AmeriHealth Caritas. She spoke during a fireside chat at From Day One’s Philadelphia conference. Stephen Koepp, editor in chief and co-founder of From Day One moderated.But how exactly do you build a workplace culture that empowers employees? Hanson offered several main points.Treat Employees Like ShareholdersAs stewards of human capital, HR leaders play a pivotal role in an organization’s success, according to Hanson. The pandemic certainly brought that fact into focus. “When you fully leverage the potential of your human capital, it truly makes a difference between the performance of a company from being good to being great,” she said. At AmeriHealth Caritas, a managed care organization serving Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, and Health Insurance Marketplace members across 13 states, employees aren’t just fulfilling tasks—they are living the organization’s mission every day. With over 9,000 associates, the company manages care for millions of Americans, often in times of critical need. “Our mission is not just something on paper,” Hanson said. The organization’s structure enables team members to view their work as essential to clients’ well-being, creating a culture in which employees feel accountable and aligned with the company’s goals. This approach connects employees to the organization’s outcomes, inspiring them to perform at their best.As Hanson says, treat your employees like shareholders. Invite them into the conversation. Their quarterly virtual town halls are well attended, and leaders spend time talking about not just what’s happening in the company, but within the competitive marketplace.Ash Hanson, EVP and CHRO of AmeriHealth Caritas, spoke during the fireside chatWhat other discussions would you have with shareholders? A mission statement is one key focus. At healthcare companies like AmeriHealth Caritas, the mission is to help people get care, stay well, and build healthy communities.“We really take care of over 4 million of the most disadvantaged Americans, very often at the time of their most critical need,” Hanson said. “This is an organization where every single employee lives the mission every single day.” That purpose helps drive employee culture, which in turn elevates customer experience. Along with that is ensuring team members have the proper training to get the job done well. While technology is useful, she added, an employee’s expertise and human care can’t be replaced or undervalued. “We spend and invest a lot of time upskilling our associates and making sure that they are ready and prepared to be responsive to member needs.”Finally, being transparent must be woven into everything you do, Hanson says. The more open and honest leaders are, the more open and confident employees can be. Holistic Employee BenefitsThere’s the expected medical and retirement benefits many companies offer. And then there are benefits that look at the whole employee. What do employees need and want? The more companies can offer these to their people, the greater the company culture. Physical needs are important, but leaders should also pay attention to employees’ emotional needs and financial needs. “Coming out of the pandemic, we implemented Lyra because we had a lot of employees talk about how they couldn’t find therapists for either their own needs or for their children,” Hanson said. “We implemented a program which offers 12 free counseling sessions, not just for our employees, but for their families as well.”The company has a state-of-the-art gym on site, but those working elsewhere have access to fitness apps to help them with fitness, plus nutrition and even sleep. A well-rounded, happy employee is better able to show up for work in a way that helps the employee and customers. As far as financial well-being, the company provides education on preparing for the future. Hanson emphasized the impact of authentic employee recognition, stating that recognition is integral to promoting engagement and reducing feelings of isolation. Their social recognition platform allows team members to acknowledge each other’s efforts, creating an authentic culture of support and mutual appreciation. This culture of holistic care and recognition has a direct effect on employee satisfaction and productivity, leading to improved service quality for clients.Balance Conviction with CuriosityOne core HR strategy is balancing conviction with curiosity, Hanson says. HR professionals are often sought after for their expertise, yet cultivating curiosity is essential to inspire innovation and creative problem-solving. Hanson suggested that HR leaders stay curious. “Curiosity opens up opportunities for creative, new ideas. It's a place where inspiration comes from. It's a place where innovation comes from,” she said. And especially as the needs of employees continue to change, HR leaders must continually stay ahead and change with them.By following these points, leaders can start to build a company culture that enhances both employee and customer satisfaction. By treating employees as stakeholders, supporting holistic well-being, and fostering a culture of curiosity, organizations can strengthen their workforce’s commitment to service excellence, benefiting customers in the process.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

Creating an Optimal Workplace for Hourly Employees: Essential Tips for Leaders

In an industry where employee turnover is famously high, what might keep a grocery store employee with the same company for decades?Mayerland Harris, group VP of talent at Texas retailer H-E-B, started at the company right out of college, taking her first job in store operations before moving into HR. She spent some time in the pharmacy department then held a few corporate roles where she oversaw all the centers of excellence for compensation, talent development, recruiting, and people analytics. Recently, she’s taken over HR for all store operations. Harris estimates she’s had a new role roughly every three years, and more than three decades later, she says the experience still feels fresh. Though Harris isn’t an hourly employee, the majority of H-E-B’s 160,000 employees are.“But the fundamental reason I’ve stayed all this time is the company has never really given me a strong reason to look outside,” Harris said during a From Day One webinar on creating an optimal workplace for hourly employees. “To take another job, you have to take that call from the headhunter, and you have to go on the interview, and you have to have some level of curiosity or dissatisfaction.” Harris just hasn’t felt that. “By the time I started thinking, ‘Hey, this doesn’t seem right,’ the situation would change, or my role would change, or that person would leave.”Lots of hourly workers start at H-E-B with a temporary summer job—then they end up staying, and it’s not uncommon for careers to last decades like Harris’s has. Some have been at the same store for 55 years. “I believe it is 100% the family orientation,” she said. “People will tell us they feel like when they work here, they’re a part of a family. Your [direct supervisor] is a big part of that, but so many people have best friends that are co-workers that they feel like they’re coming to, if not a reunion, at least a place that’s very, very comfortable.” Those who come from other organizations tell her they feel a genuine sense of respect from all levels of the team that they haven’t felt elsewhere.When Harris goes into the stores, she doesn’t put her title on her name tag, just her years of service. “The line employee or sweeping the floors or bringing the carts in is just as important as a manager or a leader, because it’s all about serving the customer.”Mayerland Harris of H-E-B spoke with journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza during the webinar (photo by From Day One)A good employee experience depends on having a good team. “We try to find people who are able to start and hold a conversation easily. There is an expectation that we’re talking to our customers as they’re going through the line or while we’re bagging groceries without being too intrusive about what you’re purchasing. We’re looking for people who genuinely like talking, who like interacting, especially for those roles that are customer-facing. Everything else, you learn on the job.”Growing the Careers of Hourly EmployeesAt H-E-B, even hourly roles can expand. There are career development tracks for those who want to be a specialist in their department. Hourly employees who want a chance at being a department manager can apply for a multi-week program called the School of Retail Management, where they gain both technical and leadership skills they still need for the job. Those who want to can keep going, progressing through the organization to become a top store leader or move into corporate. “We love when partners who start in hourly, non-management positions rise all the way to the top.”It helps that the company doesn’t contract with external companies for any of its store employees. That means they employ their own doctors and nurses for on-site health clinics. They also have pilots, engineers, and food scientists on the payroll. “We joke that we have every single career path in the world except for astronauts,” she said. “People see that and they feel like, ‘OK, I don’t have to be stuck here in this one role.’ There’s so much flexibility to do different things.”The operational implications for such a large organization are huge. Those who regard grocery retail as boring soon learn this isn’t the case. Front-end managers might be responsible for 500 or 600 people in a store that’s open 17 hours a day. Inventory and store experience has to flex with consumer preferences. “We’re always having to reinvent who we are, having to reinvent what we are providing. Do we do self-checkout or not? Do we provide meal solutions and all the different things people are looking for? You have to stay on top of that.” One TikTok video or news story can spike demand for a single item, and stores need to meet that need quickly. “That speed of change keeps everything pretty exciting.”Rewarding Excellent Work and Long TenureTo reward those with outstanding contributions, H-E-B has a company-wide recognition program where employees can nominate a colleague or a manager can nominate their direct report. The rewards are prestigious, she said. “You can win at your store level, your facility level, your regional level, or your division level, and then you can make it all the way up to the top person in the organization.”To get a sense of what it’s like to be an hourly worker, Harris uses the annual engagement survey to find a company baseline and identify aberrations, then address them at the store level with on-the-ground research and focus groups. “We have a whole department called customer insights, and these people are amazing at talking to customers and doing focus groups,” she said. “Well, now we’ve been using them to help us internally, because they are so good at asking questions and coming in with recaps. We use them also to spot-check and get feedback from our employees. And then we figure out what we can do to make the environment better.”One thing that makes the store environment so great is that the hourly workforce is so diverse, and that’s something employees really love, Harris said proudly. Hourly workers range from teenagers to octogenarians. “You’re not just working with people who have your same life experiences or your same background; the thing that you have in common is that store or that facility that you work in; the thing that you have in common is H-E-B.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Deputy, 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, Business Insider, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.