How Employers Are Boosting Internal Mobility
BY Nick Wolny June 23, 2023Who you hire may not matter so much as how you onboard and develop them along the way.In a rapidly changing world, internal mobility plans continue to be a powerful motivator for managers and employees alike. Skill sets for jobs have changed by 25% since 2015, and that number is expected to double by 2027, according to the latest LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report.Reaching into untapped workforces and properly developing new talent can lead to higher-performing teams, said Addie Swartz, CEO & founder of reacHIRE, a workforce consulting company.“For many different reasons, women often need to sideline their careers, and some men too,” Swartz said. “And these people represent an untapped talent pool that could really be fully utilized in corporations if they were given the right training, support, upskilling, and opportunities.” Swartz founded her company after a car accident involving her family forced her to step out the workforce to care for her daughter; along the way, she met many other skilled women who also wanted to eventually return to the workforce, and discovered a reskilling gap.Leadership professionals need to pull multiple levers to win the present-day talent war, which is why streamlining internal mobility was the subject of a recent From Day One panel titled “How Employers Are Boosting Internal Mobility.”Start With Your LeadersAt a time when stakeholders are figuring out how to achieve more with less, investing in leaders is “the gift that keeps on giving,” said Meredith Haberfeld, founder and CEO of ThinkHuman, a leadership consultancy.“If leaders are focused on developing others, it's not all on HR and L&D to make that happen,” she added. Haberfield’s company uses a cohort model, which helps to create a support system that continues on after engagements are complete. “Learning journeys only last a certain amount of time. There's merit in one-on-one coaching for sure, but in a cohort we create this leadership community that then continues after that experience.”Mapping out longer career roadmaps can further standardize and hardwire development efforts, said Lindsey Datta, vice president of human resources for Thermo Fisher Scientific.Career roadmapping “allows for customization,” Datta said. “Working on a solid plan to help individuals in a variety of different ways ensures the right experiences on the job.” Datta shared about Thermo Fisher Scientific’s gigs initiative, which lets employees explore other areas of the company by being assigned to projects that provide five to 10 hours per month of exposure.“A lot of people are really unsure. They don't know if they want to go into product management, or marketing. We are trying to give people a taste of that, so they don't have to say, ‘Okay, let me uproot my current career and make a huge transition,’” she added.Nick Wolny, top left, moderated the conversation among Lindsey Datta of Thermo Fisher Scientific, Meredith Haberfeld of ThinkHuman, Diane Psaras Vitas Healthcare, Brian Little of Intel Corporation, and Addie Swartz of reacHIRE (photo by From Day One)HR professionals should also keep up on technology advancements like artificial intelligence to help assuage fears among staff that jobs or opportunities will be automated away, said Brian Little, vice president of human resources for Intel.“What you're seeing today is only the very tip [of AI], and it's going to change a lot more,” Little said. “From an HR perspective, AI today is something like a really good helper. It helps you screen resumes. From an employee benefit perspective, being able to see and diagnose challenges or opportunities you already have is good. But the bias is there.” Little cautioned that technologies like AI should be leveraged more to help, rather than replace, to ensure the human element isn’t lost in important initiatives.How to Engage Employees at All LevelsTo avoid siloing your development efforts to leadership only, consider connecting employees of all job titles to various business initiatives, said Diane Psaras, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Vitas Healthcare.“The most impactful way we've been able to drive engagement at all levels and customize what folks get out of it has been through involvement in the business,” Psaras said.“We also look at what skills individuals need to build. They learn so much about various dimensions of the business, as well as acquire skills on how to influence other people's perspectives and present to an executive audience, with respect to their own ideas,” she said. “Those two things have really gained a lot of momentum, and have gotten the most excitement from our employees.”Internal mobility is critical for sustained business success. But learning and development cannot be isolated to upper management alone. Incorporate a coaching and learning culture throughout your organization and you’ll walk away with a more resilient workforce.Nick Wolny is an editor, journalist, and consultant. Currently a senior editor at CNET, he has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, and OUT Magazine, and is a frequent television commentator on technology and work life. He is based in Los Angeles.
The ‘Zigzag Career:’ Why This Microsoft Executive Is a Believer in Reskilling
BY Nick Wolny June 21, 2023Some of the largest companies in the world rely on reskilling. Do you?Many workforces contracted last year to shield against inflation worries, but innovations in technology continue to charge forward. Reskilling and upskilling have emerged as viable alternatives for closing new talent gaps. Moreover, effective upskilling programs can help your top performers discover what type of work truly lights them up, increasing retention and engagement.For one executive, taking the leap to pursue new opportunities led to a rewarding career.“I'm a big believer of what I call the “zigzag career” and shifting around,” said Carlos Pardo, chief learning officer at Microsoft Latin America. “Microsoft has enabled me to be able to do that and really not go in a traditional linear path.” After starting with Microsoft as an intern, Pardo worked in finance, moving to positions in business operations, marketing, and sales, before eventually landing his current position. He says these departmental moves and opportunities for coaching and upskilling were vital for growth.“I've never been one to really think about a role or title, but more about what the experience is that I want to get out of my next position,” Pardo said. “What are the skill sets that I'm going to get? What am I going to learn that I don't know today?”Pardo shared his insights on learning and development in a changing world in a fireside chat during From Day One’s May virtual conference about “Coaching a Team While Recognizing the Individual.”How Microsoft Implements Two Learning Days Per MonthOne of Microsoft’s internal initiatives is learning and development. To facilitate this, the company encourages employees to block off two days a month for skill development and education, with management modeling the desired behavior.Nick Wolny of CNET interviewed Carlos Pardo in the fireside chat session (photo by From Day One)“Since Satya [Nadella] took over Microsoft, there's been a big change in the culture of the company,” Pardo said of the current CEO. “There's a book by Carol Dweck called Mindset, which speaks to growth mindset and fixed mindset. It's really been a game changer in terms of the “always learning” concept.” Pardo said Microsoft’s employees are encouraged to set aside time bimonthly to encourage learning, and that the learning doesn’t always have to relate to an employee’s job description.Microsoft has built up an internal library of courses, topics, and skilling paths. If there is a specific employee development need that isn’t offered in-house, managers are empowered to endorse external training up to a certain level, a flexibility Pardo said is helping as current demand for generative AI talent outweighs supply. To keep up with advancements in artificial intelligence—as was the case with past tech advancements like cybersecurity—some companies are focusing more on reskilling than recruiting to close the talent gap.“I think the first thing is to be able to acknowledge that you have a gap and how you're going to fulfill it,” Pardo added.How to Cultivate a Culture of LearningIf your company doesn’t have a robust learning and development culture, step one will be to go to the top of the organization, and “that's something that you don't necessarily control,” Pardo said. As with other coaching and mentoring initiatives, connecting the investment to ROI and the overall organization will be key to secure a green light.“Position it in a way that they understand the reskilling or upskilling [investment] is going to ultimately help the company, and not just fulfill an individual’s desire,” he added.When layering development days or other learning initiatives into employees’ busy schedules, you’re likely to encounter some bumps. The Microsoft executive encourages managers and professionals to stay focused on the end goal of promoting curiosity.“It's never perfect, and sometimes there's conflict,” Pardo said. “But we strive to provide protected time for employees to put work aside for half a day or a day and just spend it on learning something new. I spent half of last Friday learning about AI. Does my role require that? No, but I am interested in knowing more so that I can have more knowledge about it.”As advancements in technology continue to reshape workforces, always remember that the right person for a critical new job might already be under your nose.Nick Wolny is an editor, journalist, and consultant. Currently a senior editor at CNET, he has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, and OUT Magazine, and is a frequent television commentator on technology and work life. He is based in Los Angeles.
Equitable Rewards: Do You Have Pride in Your Benefits?
BY Nick Wolny June 20, 2023Pride month is about celebrating and supporting diversity. One way to do that is to ensure your benefits plans are inclusive of different employees’ needs.A good benefits package consistently ranks among the top three most important factors for job satisfaction, according to a survey from the Society for Human Resource Management. But for many people, the usual components of a benefits plan—401(k) match, paid time off, and/or professional development stipends—aren’t keeping up with what employees really want and need.As a result, some companies are innovating their compensation offerings and winning over top talent along the way. Moreover, your existing employees may be shopping around for packages that better suit their needs, said Corrinne Hobbs, vice president of business development at Ovia Health, a family health benefits platform.“Recently, Ovia did a survey of its members, and we learned that 91% of our members would consider a lateral move to a place with better family benefits and a family friendly culture,” Hobbs said. “That's really significant.” For BIPOC and LGBTQ+ employees, inclusive benefits packages can encourage well-being, better team retention, and a more diverse overall workforce.Leading DE&I professionals weighed in at From Day One’s recent webinar titled, “Equitable Rewards: Do You Have Pride In Your Benefits?” How to Tap Into What Employees WantEmployee Resource Groups (ERGs) are a great way for employees to connect with one another. But they can also be an accurate and authentic way to determine relevant next steps for your benefits development efforts, said Hannah Wilkowski, director of global benefits at BuzzFeed.“ERGs are such a source of information. There's no better way to get to know your employees than to reach out to your ERGs and say, ‘How are we doing? Let's get a temperature check,’” Wilkowski said. She notes that leveraging existing connections within the organization can help you shape a relevant strategy. “It’s actually helped shift our trajectory for the next few years, just based on those conversations,” she added.The full panel of speakers from top left, Hannah Wilkowski of Buzzfeed, moderator Nick Wolny of CNET, Corrinne Hobbs of Ovia Health, Jodi Davidson of Sodexo, Chad Nico Hiu of YMCA of San Francisco, and Pablo Slough of Google (photo by From Day One)The needs and wants of most workforces have shifted in the wake of hybrid and fully remote setups. As such, stakeholders may need to revisit current policies and weigh what works best to meet employees’ needs, said Chad Nico Hiu, senior vice president of strategy, equity and impact at the YMCA of San Francisco, who also serves on the board of the Tyler Clementi Foundation.“When we say hybrid, we mean like seven different things. And the nonprofit sector, part of what we are struggling with is [that] only some of us at leadership levels, myself included, even have even the option of being hybrid,” Hiu said. “Those who are at the top of the hierarchy are making decisions for those who are not, oftentimes without understanding or empathy. If we're asking questions of our employees, are we really ready to listen?”The power dynamic brings up an important point: If employees don’t feel psychologically safe to begin with, they’ll be less likely to voice their needs and concerns, crippling an important feedback loop. Research from Google entitled Project Aristotle found that psychological safety is the most important factor for effective teamwork. C-suite decision makers and team leaders should proactively cultivate this across the organization, said Jodi Davidson, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion for Sodexo.“Psychological safety ensures teams are effective. It’s about expanding the definition [of psychological safety], not only being able to bring your whole self to work, but also the ability to take risks without fear that in some way you're going to be punished for doing so,” Davidson said.Meet Employees Where They Are, Both Physically and PersonallyAnother reason to advocate for remote work is that it can often result in more diverse workforces, noted Pablo Slough, head of diversity, equity and inclusion for executive recruiting at Google.“It’s also just about where offices are located, right? What happens a lot in the tech space is that everyone is in the Bay Area, so you want to hire in the Bay Area,” said Slough. “If you're always looking in the Bay Area, you end up with lower representation of certain groups. Being open to hiring and [having] offices in cities like Atlanta, DC, or Chicago, these are all places where representation is greater. It’s an important piece that's kind of adapted more recently.”To instill confidence in your rewards plan, experts agree that prioritizing flexibility and innovation in your benefits is a smart move. Ensure your compensation package is inclusive to different employees’ financial and family planning needs and you’ll find yourself attracting and retaining quality talent for years to come.Nick Wolny is an editor, journalist, and consultant. Currently a senior editor at CNET, he has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, and OUT Magazine, and is a frequent television commentator on technology and work life. He is based in Los Angeles.
Empowering Your People to Be Better Health Care Consumers
BY Nick Wolny May 15, 2023Offering your employees a health care benefit isn’t where the work ends—it’s where the work begins. When your team is healthy, they’re able to show up more powerfully both at work and for themselves.“What we've learned over time is that your healthy employees actually are happier,” said Patty Starr, president and CEO of Health Action Council, a coalition of employers that works to secure more affordable and effective health care for employees. “And they're actually more productive. They're more able to deliver not only on their personal goals, but also their professional goals and the organization.””What we see as well is that often there's a big disconnect between what employers think and what their employees and family members think,” Dr. Mike Sokol and senior vice president for clinical strategy at Quantum Health, a health care navigation company for employers. Sokol pointed to an internal Quantum survey in which 88% HR professionals said their employees knew how to navigate their health care system, but only 35% of employees agreed.“All of us can get into those times where we're extremely busy, there's a lot going on,” added Miycol Jones, senior director of employee experience and growth at Quantum Health. “It happens with our employees, and it happens with the HR professionals as well. Employers need to be really intentional about making the time to help provide those resources, because everybody's stretched.”These leaders weighed in on how stakeholders can help their employees become more cost-effective health care consumers in From Day One’s webinar panel discussion titled “Empowering Employees to Be Better Health Care Consumers,” moderated by journalist Anna Maltby.Employees Are Hungry for Health Care SolutionsYour workers not only want access to health care; they also want simple, straightforward instructions on how to utilize that health care effectively.“You can provide your employees with a go-to resource for all things health care,” said Jones. “But honestly, a lot of times people just want to [be able to] call someone. They want to get a really quick answer. A navigation partner like Quantum can provide a single point of contact for members and providers.”The speakers from top left, Patty Starr, Miycol Jones, moderator Anna Maltby, and Dr. Mike Sokol (photo by From Day One)Starr agreed. “As employers, we sometimes forget the human side of things, and what's happening in somebody's life on a day-to-day basis that we might actually not know,” she said. “So there might be a whole bunch of chaos, things pulling them like Gumby in a whole bunch of different directions, but all we see is what’s happening in front of us on a day-to-day basis. There's sometimes a disconnect between what our employees need and want at that moment.”When it comes to human resources leadership, part of being effective means knowing about the latest trends and changes in health care that can add value for your organization’s employees.“We're seeing a number of interesting trends,” Sokol said. “One that we're seeing quite a bit now is an explosion of these “point solutions.” We have a number of vendors out there now that are focusing on one specific area, like diabetes reversal, weight loss, musculoskeletal conditions, or fertility management. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of these companies popping up all over the place. And what we're finding is that a number of large and medium and even small self-insured employers are starting to contract with the solutions, but in some cases, they may have multiple solutions in place.”Sokol added that these layers of complexity are causing some companies to engage with marketplace navigation providers, who can track all the changes and ensure multiple plans aren’t contracted inadvertently.Help Workers Improve Health Literacy, EquitablyDon’t underestimate the level of support your employees may need to grasp fundamental health insurance terms, added Sokol.“Do they really understand the basic concepts of health insurance and the health care system?” he said. “If they don't, how can we really expect that they can take care of themselves? [health literacy] really is a very important topic.” Sokol cited one industry study in which only 4% of workers could correctly define the terms copay, coinsurance, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum.When it comes to health insurance, don’t be afraid to repeat your message often in order to help workers get comfortable with the benefits they earn and deserve each month.“I definitely encourage teaching it all year long, all the time,” Starr said. “The number of people who don't know the basics today is overwhelming. Just keep on repeating it.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Quantum Health, for sponsoring this webinar.Nick Wolny is an editor, journalist, and consultant. Currently a senior editor at CNET, he has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, and OUT Magazine, and is a frequent television commentator on technology and work life. He is based in Los Angeles.
Unlocking Innovation Starts With Compensation
BY Nick Wolny May 11, 2023If you want to drive innovation at your company, start by creating compensation plans that catch the eye of top talent.That was the big takeaway from a recent fireside chat with Patti Taylor, vice president of total rewards at Xerox, at From Day One’s virtual event, “Creative Total Rewards To Set Employers Apart.” According to Taylor, innovation starts with attracting the people who can help you enter new markets and industries, and it’s never too late for a company to pivot or explore.“Xerox is a 118-year-old company with a very iconic brand,” Taylor said. “And that brand has been aligned for many years to brick and mortar work locations around the world. This core business still exists, and it's quite prominent in our business model. However, we are creatively forging into the future with digital services solutions to meet the needs of today's clients.”Many other companies have similar initiatives. But how exactly do you get started with such an overhaul? Taylor suggests keeping the following advice in mind.Don’t Be Afraid to Get CreativeSkilled workers became increasingly scarce in the wake of the Great Resignation, and some began demanding higher salaries as a result. Taylor encouraged attendees not to count themselves out if the cost of top talent is outside their budget. Instead, embrace creative compensation workarounds.“We need to be thinking outside of our tried-and-true compensation boxes that we've played in all these years,” Taylor said. ”What if we offered more days off? What if we offered an attractive sign-on bonus? Perhaps you find out a little bit more about what matters to the candidate. The total compensation package must become more flexible, and that means it's going to look more individualized.”Patti Taylor of Xerox was interviewed by Nick Wolny during the fireside chat session (photo by From Day One)Taylor says that this customization can push up against org chart protocols but urged professionals to prioritize agility when they can. “It’s absolutely going to stretch our ‘reward muscles,’” she added.Of course, one of the challenges to entering uncharted territory for your organization is that it may mean adjusting or even completely reimagining existing compensation structures and procedures.“We've got to truly figure out what matters and what is really valid and with our positions,” Taylor said. “So first of all, we have to look again at what positions really do work. What we thought was going to go away three years ago is still here, and what we thought would sustain us from all these years before is not often working anymore.” Many companies are requiring decades-old structures in light of the fact that hybrid work is here to stay.To Win Over Decision-makers, Use the DataEnterprise-level changes can be impactful, but for them to work, you need the buy-in of senior leadership.“Always lead with data,” she said. “The C-suite is going to want to see the data, and you’re going to have to show with data how the business is being negatively impacted by turnover.” Taylor shared an anecdote from her career. At a previous company, a finance job had three different people in the role within a two-year period. “I experienced firsthand the impact of just going over and over the same things we thought that we had already set said groundwork on,” Taylor said.As your company explores new ways to attract and retain top talent, compensation and rewards leadership might be the strategic linchpin that ensures future innovation.“Again, I can't get away from my challenge to everyone about being creative,” Taylor said. “Think about what you would want and what you know about what’s important to workers today.”Nick Wolny is an editor, journalist, and consultant. Currently a senior editor at CNET, he has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, and OUT Magazine, and is a frequent television commentator on technology and work life. He is based in Los Angeles.
How to Blend Profits With Purpose, According to a Harvard Business School Professor
BY Nick Wolny April 13, 2023Business leaders say they want both purpose and profits. But what does that actually look like in day-to-day efforts?Harvard Business School professor George Serafeim has ideas. As a leading authority on environmental, social and governance initiatives, and the author of the book Purpose + Profit: How Business Can Lift Up The World, the researcher said the assets of the future—ones that will drive an organization’s competitiveness for years to come—go beyond financial resources alone. “It used to be about financial and physical capital, but increasingly, other types of resources are defining the competitiveness of organizations—human capital, natural capital, and social capital,” Serafeim said. The scholar’s research has shown that, when organizations are successfully able to diffuse their company purpose down to middle managers and individual contributors, the results are better financial performance and higher employee retention.But how do you get started with ESG initiatives? And which ones should you prioritize first in your organization? In a fireside chat at From Day One’s recent virtual conference “Pulling in the Same Direction: Strengthening Employee Purpose Within Your Corporate Strategy,” Serafeim weighed in.Expand Your Company’s PurposeTo identify meaningful ESG initiatives, Serafeim suggests thinking about how your company can create more positive impact as it grows.“The reality is that the answer will be different for different companies,” he said. “If you have a transportation company, it will be about delivering safer, cleaner vehicles. If you have a health care company, it will be about access to healthcare and innovation—very different elements.” Serafeim also urged attendees to define KPIs early on in the process to create accountability across an organization, citing DE&I efforts as an example.Nick Wolny interviewing George Serafeim during the From Day One March Virtual conference (Photo by From Day One)“In current research, we're finding that lots of organizations have gotten much better at hiring a diverse set of people,” he said. “But guess what? In many organizations, those people end up leaving. [Companies are] observing higher employee turnover because they’re not measuring the right things, and as a result there is no accountability inside the organization.”How to Overcome Pushback on ESG InitiativesWhen you advocate for more purposeful profits, you may encounter financial roadblocks, office politics, or both. In one chapter of Serafeim’s book, he recaps the challenges PepsiCo’s then CEO, Indra Nooyi, faced when pushing her “profits with purpose” initiative, which prioritized investing in healthy food and beverage offerings. Under Nooyi’s tenure, the PepsiCo stock price doubled—but in the short term, the lack of confidence in her campaign nearly ousted her as CEO.Expanding on that anecdote, Serafeim emphasized that the phenomenon of “worse at first, then better later” applies to many types of organizational change.“A fundamental uncertainty exists when you're engaging with environmental, social and governance issues,” Serafeim said. “The way you mitigate it is to first build an enormous amount of credibility inside the organization. Assemble a team of people inside the organization who have already a lot of credibility, [people who are] excellent at what they do and are masters of their craft. That gives quite a bit of social capital and trust that actually has a high probability of working.”Serafeim also suggested working quickly at the start of an initiative, conducting various sprints and experiments to establish a small-scale blueprint for success. “You need to show some quick wins, that actually demonstrate the innovation process that you're trying to catalyze is already working,” Serafeim said. “Also convey the risks of not taking action and falling behind.”As the hybrid workforce talent war unfolds, human resources professionals have become more strategic and central to the competitiveness of an organization. Serafeim encouraged attendees to keep human capital front and center, even as whispers of a recession continue to persist.“In a downturn, investments that organizations make in their people and their processes are what will differentiate the leaders from the laggards,” he said. “It's truly affecting an organization’s ability to compete.”Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.
Thriving in the New Year: How Individuals Find Meaning in Their Work
BY Nick Wolny January 18, 2023How do you help employees thrive? As it turns out, that’s a trillion-dollar question. Disengaged employees cost their organizations $7.8 trillion last year globally, 11% of total GDP, according to research from Gallup. Engagement is a byproduct of great company culture, but as workforces become more hybrid–and companies become more thoughtful about their initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)–the definition of company culture has evolved. “Culture is not free lunches. Culture is equity for your employees,” said Alawna Ozoka, coach-operations acquisitions lead for BetterUp, a platform helping companies deliver personal and professional growth to their employees. Ozoka said the Gallup research points to four areas that employers can focus on to better engage employees: clarity with expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, feeling cared about, and cultivating a deeper connection to the organization’s larger mission and values. “Really, what quiet quitting means for employers is that employees are looking for something beyond just a salary,” Ozoka said. “They're looking for deeper meaning, deeper growth, and deeper connection when it comes to work, a place where they’re spending 40+ hours of their week.” How can leaders reinvigorate employees in a hybrid world–and in the face of potential headcount reductions? Okoza shared her top tips in From Day One’s webinar “Thriving in the New Year: How Individuals Find Meaning and Purpose in Their Work.” Improve Culture to Increase Revenue In a recent BetterUp report entitled “How coaching culture builds resilient future-ready organizations,” an analysis of 18,300 users found that companies whose employees reported a high coaching culture had 14% higher revenue growth over a five-year period than low-coaching-culture companies. “What you’ll see with coaching is you have these little flywheels that continue to reap benefits when it comes to employee happiness, growth, and purpose at work,” Ozoka said. She describes coaching culture as “combining strength-based processes and mindsets with organizational success,” and notes that employees who are continuously learning are more resilient. “I think that’s something that’s particularly important in this environment of uncertainty where, again, we have layoffs, and a potential recession looming.” Webinar speakers Alawna Ozoka, coach-operations acquisitions lead for BetterUp, bottom, and moderator Nick Wolny (Image by From Day One) Performance review cycles are top of mind at the moment, but they’re not as impactful as you might think. A separate study from Gallup found only 14% of employees “strongly agree” that performance reviews inspire them to improve. Ozoka said there are several initiatives you can take year-round to embolden culture without needing a bigger budget. “When I think about culture, I think about salary, and benefits, and transparency,” she said. “That is absolutely culture. I think about time off, leave policies, employee assistance programs, and coaching. I encourage employers to think about those things.” She also noted that, amidst tightening budgets and new-year layoffs, leadership should think strategically about incentives. “Maybe certain roles aren't available, and your team really has to bootstrap in and get things done. What type of behaviors are you incentivizing?” Cultivate Belonging in Three Ways BetterUp’s report found that, when it comes to predictors of retention, a sense of belonging was the second-highest indicator of intent to stay with a company. But what is belonging, really? And how is it different from culture? Ozoka suggested thinking of belonging as having three components: personality, awareness, and top-down relatability. “First, understand that everyone is different. The way they show up is going to be very specific to them,” she said. “I love to be in everyone’s face and be very extroverted, because that’s who I am. But that doesn’t make me more belonging, or exhibiting more belonging, than someone that may be more quiet and reserved.” “The second thing I’d say is being able to evaluate what your people are saying about you,” she added, citing platforms like Fishbowl and Glassdoor, which can sometimes influence an employee’s perception of company culture. “And then the last thing is for our leadership teams to show up not only as leaders, but also as people. Model that behavior, showing up as your full self, so that others are encouraged to do it too.” Culture and belonging take time to develop. As we enter a new year, consider ways to measure to improve your organization’s coaching culture, and you’ll have a bigger impact on the bottom line for years to come. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, BetterUp, who sponsored this webinar. Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.
Inclusion: ‘It’s About Evoking a Culture Change–Not Just Checking Boxes’
BY Nick Wolny December 27, 2022Instead of recruiting employees who are a “culture fit” to reach benchmarks for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), experts say some introspection might be a better use of your time in the new year. “It’s important when you look at inclusivity to look not just at the demographics, but also the way people want to work–and how they want to work,” said Darren Chiappetta, VP and global head of employee relations and policy for Sony Pictures Entertainment. “The workforce has expectations that senior leadership might not share. The workforce wants to be respected, and emerging workers are a lot more supportive and curious about diversity and belonging.” Clear DE&I initiatives are increasingly important for companies as they try to attract and retain the next generation of top talent. Four out of five members of Generation Z, the segment of the population born between 1997 and 2012, say it’s important for companies to address DEI, according to a survey by the market-research firm Quantilope. Experts say the priority needs to come from the top down. “If you have an organization where leadership is not committed to using DE&I tools to run a better business, you’re not going to succeed,” said Mason Williams, global head of DE&I for toymaker Mattel. “So you have to hold your leaders accountable. We’re in an age now where we can hold leadership accountable,” he said in a panel discussion titled, “Is Your Company Developing an Inclusive Culture?” part of From Day One’s recent conference in Los Angeles. Among the highlights of the conversation, moderated by reporter Jonathan Landrum Jr. of the Associated Press: Incorporate Inclusion Effort Into All Departments Inclusion metrics are often siloed into numbers related to headcount or advertising. The experts urged company leaders in attendance to go deeper and look at ways to weave diversity into the very fabric of their company culture. “Studios are the factories that build content,” said Chiappetta. “The [entertainment] industry has not always been the easiest place to break into. So for us, part of this is making sure the stories are more varied and inclusive. That means bringing people who have these lived experiences into the writer’s room. It includes the camera people, the hair and makeup artists, everyone.” Associated Press reporter Jonathan Landrum Jr. moderated the discussion Stacie de Armas, the SVP of DE&I, diverse insights, intelligence, and initiatives for the audience-measuring company Nielsen, challenged attendees to go even further with how they define and incorporate inclusion. “At Nielsen, one way we approach inclusion is to take those same DE&I principles and apply them to our products and services. When we think about something like inclusion in content, one of the things we wanted to do was operationalize inclusion, so that it doesn’t need to be counted manually. We asked ourselves the question: ‘Could we build this into our work streams?’ This idea of taking DEI and operationalizing it means that everyone can evaluate more effectively, and this also helps brands objectively look at content output.” Several panelists noted that younger workers may be too intimidated to speak up, but that they have ample data at their fingertips to form perceptions and opinions of company culture for themselves. “There’s this discomfort with telling the truth,” said Odessa Jenkins, president of Emtrain, a workplace culture e-learning and analytics company. “These new generations of workers are enabled with data in a way that past generations were not. They are born data-literate.” External communications on online forums like Glassdoor and Fishbowl, an app where professionals can go to have semi-anonymous workplace conversations, can also shape company perception in the eyes of younger employees. Jenkins emphasized that, to deal with these outside reviews, companies must take control of the conversation via clear and demonstrable messaging. “If you don’t define what your components of culture are, you will be beholden to that external information,” she said. “The other thing that’s really important is this: What are your mission and values? And are you allowing those to be cannibalized by these external things? If you have a strong position on who you are, what your core values are, and what your objectives are, that will drown out external noise.” Panelists emphasized that a company’s approach to inclusion can’t be cookie cutter, and must integrate well with current company culture. “I don’t think it’s a one-size-fits-all,’” said Deborah Kuness, senior business psychologist for Workday, which provides enterprise cloud applications for HR and finance. “The important thing is to not be afraid to open up these conversations with our own people. As Mason said earlier, it doesn’t need to be complicated.” Connect DE&I Back to Business Outcomes “Do leaders respect the data behind DE&I?” Landrum asked. “Or is there skepticism about it?” “You align it to their business outcomes,” Jenkins said. “The truth is that most leaders don’t have a great understanding of what’s happening deep down in their organizations. And really, they shouldn’t. I think we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we are still running a business, that we are still for-profit, when we try to prioritize diversity. Be fair to your board of directors, and your C-Suite, and show them what you’re out to do.” De Armas agreed, citing the shift in how consumers shop. “Consumers want to invest in brands that are doing good, and this wasn’t a priority before 2020 and before George Floyd. In 2020, everyone began to care about who they were spending their dollar with. In that moment, DE&I changed; it moved away from something about [employee resource groups] and supplier diversity and into the spotlight.” Acknowledging the work still to be done can be a productive step toward a more diverse and inclusive workplace, said Kuness. “It’s about evoking a culture change–not just checking boxes.” Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.
How Leaders Can Cultivate Trust in a Changing World of Work
BY Nick Wolny December 27, 2022Your people don’t work for the company. They are the company. This was one of many takeaways from presentation by Tran Andrada, sales engineering manager at HiBob, an HR platform named last month as one of Time magazine’s best new inventions. “If you get the culture right, everything else will follow suit,” she said. “Culture is how we feel at work. A lot of the successful businesses out there today are the ones that fostered culture, then leveraged it to scale the success of the business.” Every leader wants to empower their team at work. But what happens when the very definition of work itself is changing? Andrada shared tips with attendees at From Day One’s recent conference in Los Angeles. Among the highlights: Why Culture Is Shifting Andrada noted that the definition of culture is in transition because the world of work is in transition–in more ways than one. A job used to shape much of a person’s identity, she said. Employees worked full time, at an office, probably in a city, and with little or no technology. These days, “work” includes considerations like: •Location independence: Building systems that allow for flexibility and enable work-from-home arrangements. •Avoiding burnout: Addressing hybrid work, life-work balance, and mental health initiatives. •Identity and belonging: Awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Shifts like this are what led HiBob co-founder Ronni Zehavi to start documenting his personal interactions across the corporate ladder, from C-level executives to employees and line managers, Andrada said. Since 2015, Zehavi has interacted with over 3,000 customers around the globe, and incorporates the ways work has transformed into the company’s offerings and overall value proposition. HiBob opened its first office in London in 2016, offering HR solutions in Europe, then opened a New York City office two years later. The HR unicorn’s technologies have attracted sizeable investments. HiBob has had three recent funding rounds: a $26.5 million Series A in 2019, a $70 million Series B in 2020, and a $150 million Series C in 2021, for a current valuation of $1.65 billion. As Companies Scale, Culture Often Begins to Erode Scale often leads to culture erosion and attrition, said Andrada. More perilously, employees who leave sometimes go to your competitors. HiBob uses what they company calls the “triple T” to jumpstart culture: trust, transparency, and teamwork. “Even though our corporate headquarters are in Tel Aviv, our CEO hosts a global, all-hands call once a month,” she said. The company uses this call to cultivate transparency; Andrada cited one recent call in which Zehavi narrated a recent slide deck he had presented to the company’s board. Even if companies aren’t growing in size, their workforces are changing, and younger employees value work differently than their predecessors. In one data set, 15% of chief HR officers said company vision was at least somewhat relevant to resignations on the part of their employees. But at those same companies, 62% of employees cited company vision as relevant, a notable discrepancy. Andrada also cited research that outlined the “top 5 aspects of work viewed by employees as “very important” for an employer to provide.” 1.) Positive culture (48%). 2.) Mental health and/or well-being benefits (42%). 3.) A sense of purpose/meaning (40%). 4.) Flexible work (38%). 5.) More than the standard two weeks of paid vacation time each year (36%). As for continuing to navigate the shifting world of work, Andrada said a trust-first approach can keep employees connected and engaged, even when they’re thousands of miles away from each other. “When you build a culture of trust, the ‘Am I producing at the same level at home as I would if I were in the office?’ conversation will go away,” she said. “As Simon Sinek likes to say: ‘Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.’” Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, HiBob, who sponsored this thought leadership spotlight. Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.
Walmart Has Become a More Socially Conscious Company. But Is It Enough?
BY Nick Wolny December 26, 2022The world’s largest employer, Walmart, which has 2.3 million workers around the world, has poured billions of dollars into conscious capitalism in recent years. A new book explores whether the investment has succeeded in compensating workers enough so that they can even afford their basic needs. To do the reporting for Still Broke: Walmart’s Remarkable Transformation and the Limits of Socially Conscious Capitalism, author Rick Wartzman was given unprecedented access to Walmart’s inner workings as the company decided to increase its minimum wage in 2015, the first increase of its kind since the company’s inception in 1972. Wartzman, who is head of the KH Moon Center for a Functioning Society, a part of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, was initially an unlikely candidate for such an opportunity. “I approached Walmart as someone who’s been a critic of the company for so long,” he said. “I pitched them, but noted that I would need to be able to be 100% honest in my reporting.” Since 2015, Walmart has invested more than $5 billion to lift its starting hourly wage from $7.65 to $12, a trend long advocated by workers and their advocates. Yet many of the company’s employees still struggle to make ends meet. Which raises the question: Is a win/win scenario even possible in our modern economy? The topic was explored a part of From Day One’s recent conference in Los Angeles in a fireside chat titled, “The Promise–and Pitfalls–of Walmart’s Socially Conscious Capitalism,” moderated by Margot Roosevelt, a reporter on the California economy and labor for the Los Angeles Times. ‘We’ve Dug a Hole So Deep’ Walmart’s wage increases since 2015, which have brought average pay to $17 an hour, amounted to $5 billion to $6 billion in total, the author said. But in the same timeframe, the company also invested $44 billion in stock buybacks, raising the value of its shares, which enriched investors and Walmart executives. “What does that tell you?” Roosevelt asked Wartzman. Fireside chat, from left: Author Rick Wartzman and Los Angeles Times reporter Margot Roosevelt (Photo for From Day One) “I think they can do much more, and I think they should do much more, so I don’t want to let them off the hook,” he said. “But this is a company that, given all their pressures, has done some positive things. They’ll never go far enough or fast enough in the eyes of their workers, and that’s true for corporate America in general.” Wartzman said he believes that because of stagnant wages and growing economic inequity, we’ve “dug a hole so deep that the Walmarts of the world can no longer get out.” Is a Federal Mandate the Answer? In the book, the author makes several recommendations on what corporations can do to create greater equity. His biggest recommendation is both a plea to lawmakers and a long shot: a government-mandated $20 minimum wage. “Four out of five Americans live in a county where the minimum living wage needs to be $20 an hour or more,” he said. “For 40% of Americans, that number is $25 an hour.” The problem for publicly traded Walmart is that when the company has invested in wage increases for frontline workers, Wall Street has responded negatively, wiping billions of dollars from the company’s market value. One announcement resulted in a same-day, 10% drop in its stock price, equal to about $20 billion. “Imagine what Wall Street would do if they lifted it to $20 an hour,” Wartzman said. Roosevelt asked if unions could offer compromise, but, as the author noted, Walmart’s attitude toward organized labor hasn’t exactly been welcoming. The company has a track record of doing whatever it takes to stave off unions, and has racked up labor-law violations along the way. “It highlights the wage crisis in this country, and I don’t use the word “crisis” lightly, Wartzman added. Wartzman noted that the social dissonance between C-suite leaders and their workers can create a damaging rift, and that companies of all sizes can work proactively to close this gap. “Make sure that the highest levels of the company and the CEO know what’s happening [with employees],” Wartzman said. “There’s a real social dissonance between the C-suite and their workers. There’s an empathy gap, a lived-experience gap.” As for wages at Walmart, Wartzman says making sense of the paradox is all about the data. “Is Walmart doing conscious capitalism? Yes. But is shareholder primacy dead? As journalists, we look at the numbers.” For further reading: In a recent virtual conference, From Day One spoke with Walmart’s head of learning and development about the company’s efforts to help its workers pursue career growth. Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.
How to Make Reskilling and Coaching Part of a Corporate Culture of Learning
BY Nick Wolny December 24, 2022As companies brace for tighter budgets in 2023, one talent acquisition strategy might be sitting right under your nose–if you’ve developed a coaching culture along the way. The strategy is reskilling: the act of training existing employees to prepare them for lateral or departmental moves within the company–and it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to bolster your talent bench. “Reskilling is different from upskilling,” said Nicole Husband, VP of people and culture at Warner Bros. Discovery. “Upskilling refers to developing skills that make you more effective in your current role. Reskilling refers to developing skills that would enable a transfer into a different job or department altogether.” Recession buzz has led many companies to keep their budgets conservative for 2023, forcing some professionals to get creative with their learning and development initiatives. By cultivating a reskilling culture now, talent leaders will not only give themselves more flexibility; they’ll also be able to identify and cultivate the cream of the hiring crop early on in the onboarding process. “We look for people who raise their hand for new challenges,” said Jennifer Rice, SVP of learning and organizational development for Universal Music Group. Reskilling and coaching culture were a hot topic of conversation at From Day One’s recent conference in Los Angeles. Here were some of the insights shared by industry leaders in a session entitled “How to Make Reskilling and Coaching Part of a Corporate Culture of Learning,” moderated by USA Today editor Pamela Avila. Start with What (And Who) You Already Have Reskilling doesn’t require additional programming. Before you try to incorporate new approaches or curriculum, first take an honest look at how well your current employees retain existing resources. “Research shows that we lose about 75% of the knowledge we gain from traditional, class-based learning,” said Kevin Meyer, PhD, an industrial organizational psychologist and VP of people insights at BetterUp, which provides coaching and development for employees. “We have to give people bite-sized pieces of learning more frequently, rather than deep intensives.” Meyer said that mixed modalities get better results, because they appeal to a number of learning styles, according to industry research. The full panel, from left, Rice, Husband, Meyer, Mark Allen of Pepperdine University, and moderator Pamela Avila of USA Today “Budgets were tightened during the pandemic, and L&D was one of the first things to go,” said Mark Allen, PhD, professor and academic director for the graduate HR program at Pepperdine University. “When most people think of a coach at work, they think of an executive coach. But executives already have the most experience and career success. Everyone has a manager, though–the manager can fill that coach role.” As you reskill, panelists agreed that an experiential approach yields better retention and overall results. “Seventy percent of what we learn and know how to do, we learned experientially. Try to give [a mix of] experience, coaching and mentoring, and actual instruction,” said Allen. Of course, if your program does require funding, panelists agreed that aligning your pitch with overall enterprise objectives will be the key to getting things off the ground. “It has to drive business outcomes,” Allen added. “You’re not there just to create better leaders; you’re in business for a reason. Choose outcomes like customer service.” Husband agreed. “Reskilling has to address the fact that we are in a labor shortage. The research says it’s much cheaper to train someone internally, reskill them, and move them, rather than try to find that person externally.” Document Your Results, Then Share Them Loudly The panelists spoke to shifts they’ve seen both across the industry and within their own companies. “At UMG, I oversee “U.M.SHE,” a women’s development program,” said Rice. “It’s a nine-month cohort that you apply to join.” Rice reported that 56% of participants were promoted within two months of the cohort ending, a success rate she attributed to “a blended-learning approach.” She encouraged HR leaders in the audience to be rigorous about tracking and reporting to better advocate for their departments. Reskilling “has to drive business outcomes,” Allen said “Get with your marketing departments to figure out how to spread the word on your programs,” Rice said. “Get into the habit of producing impact reports to document what worked and advocate.” “Also shout from the mountaintop that this was a great use of your time,” added Husband. As leadership professionals grapple with tightening budgets, it can be tempting to put learning and development investments on pause. A closing quip from Allen illustrated why such a decision sets teams back in the long run. To the hypothetical bean-counter who might ask, “What happens if we train these people and they leave?” his ready answer would be, “What happens if you don’t educate your people, and they stay?” Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.
AT&T’s HR Chief on Career Growth: ‘There Are Opportunities for Everyone’
BY Nick Wolny November 18, 2022To stick around and climb the career ladder, employees have to know there’s one available in the first place. That’s the takeaway from a conversation between Angela Santone, senior executive vice president of HR for AT&T, and Lydia Dishman, senior editor for growth and engagement at Fast Company, in a From Day One webinar on career growth as a strategy for employee retention. To be sure, compensation matters. Nearly two out of three U.S. workers who left a job last year cited low pay as the top reason for doing so, according to Pew Research. With inflation at 40-year highs, macroeconomic headwinds are leading some employees to seek out better compensation opportunities. The runner-up reason for departure, however, is something companies can prioritize in any economy. A third of respondents said the fact that their employer offered no opportunities for advancement was a “major” reason they left a job. Employees who perceive opportunities to learn and grow are nearly three times more likely to be engaged in their work, and 91% of them say it’s either “very” or “extremely” important that their manager encourage learning and experimentation, according to LinkedIn’s most recent Skills Advantage Report. A lack of advancement opportunities stunts earning potential, noted Dishman. So how can stakeholders better cultivate opportunities for their employees–and bolster retention as a result? Santone is in a position to know, because her company is one of the best in the business in advancing its workers. What makes that happen? In the webinar, presented in partnership with the employee-coaching platform BetterUp, Santone offered her insights. ‘There Are Opportunities for Everyone’ Santone says she knows firsthand how powerful career-development infrastructure can be for retention and leadership. Prior to starting at AT&T in May 2019, Santone was an executive at Turner Broadcasting who had ascended from individual contributor to the head of HR over an 18-year period. Speaking in a From Day One webinar: Angela Santone, top, senior executive vice president of HR for AT&T, and Lydia Dishman, senior editor for growth and engagement at Fast Company (Image by From Day One) “I joke and say that I’ve been in HR for a hundred years,” she said. “So it’s been a long journey, but never boring. And now, transitioning from Turner to AT&T, it’s a totally different industry, and a great learning opportunity.” Santone notes that, if infrastructure isn’t yet available to them, employees and managers should proactively curate their own mentorship opportunities. “I think about individuals that have been [my] formal mentors, but also the ones that have been informal mentors,” said Santone. “Even my mom. I learned from her to be independent, to have my own thought process, to be confident.” But in the new hybrid workplace, mentorship is easier said than done. “How can [mentorship] possibly unfold in this era of work, where we are asynchronous?” asked Dishman. “Very, very small segments of industries are fully in-person, 100% of the time, working synchronously together. How does that even work now, in this hybrid job market?” “I don’t know if I actually have the answer, because I think not many do,” said Santone. “But what worked 30 years ago doesn’t work today. Before, you could maybe get away with not having conversations with your employees face-to-face. Now, if you don’t schedule time with them to have a call, or a team meeting, you’re never going to know what they’re doing. You’re never going to know how they’re feeling. And those are the employees who are quick to look at other opportunities.” “People leave managers, not companies,” she added. AT&T appears to have mentorship and career mapping dialed in. The American Opportunity Index is a new measurement for corporate career advancement, co-published by the Burning Glass Institute, the Schultz Family Foundation, and Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Project. In it, the 250 largest public companies in America were ranked on criteria related to career growth, upward mobility, and compensation. AT&T came out on top for economic and job opportunity, just ahead of American Express and Cisco Systems. “At AT&T, fewer than 5% of our positions require college degrees,” noted Santone. “We have over 20 programs that we offer to employees, and a continuous learning culture. There are opportunities for everyone.” Sweat the Soft Stuff Soft skills will likely appreciate in value in years to come, Santone said. Companies may want to take on-the-job, soft-skill development opportunities into consideration when weighing hybrid or remote-work policies. “I worry a little bit about how we maintain the soft skills,” said Santone. “We put such a focus on technical skills, which is obviously incredibly important. I just want to make sure individuals have the ability to share their ideas, have conversations about their careers, and engage. A lot of the kids coming up already have the hard skills.” She said companies will need to pay more attention to how young employees interact interpersonally, and may need additional mentorship or development to close the gaps. Volunteer work is a big part of the company’s employee engagement, including AT&T Believes, a program of grassroots initiatives to improve local communities (Company photo) “It’s a skill in and of itself to build in an hour every day for focus time,” noted Dishman, “so that someone doesn't usurp your calendar and stick a meeting in there. I know my prime times for doing certain tasks, but not everybody knows that.” Dishman asked Santone how employees can better advocate for their own development when they’re not always sure what they need next. Santone says it sometimes starts with saying no. “No one is going to make you a priority, so first and foremost is having boundaries,” she said. “The older I get, the more I realize how important boundaries are. They matter. If you aren’t willing to set those boundaries, and you’re always saying yes to everything, it really cuts into your time to develop yourself and learn.” Whether you’re advocating for your own career, or trying to build a culture that encourages your employees to do the same, Santone says leaning into proactive conversations is more important than ever for retention in a hybrid workforce. “We don’t have a mentality of up-or-out,” said Santone. “When I joined AT&T three years ago, I was completely blown away by how many people come here and have so many different careers at the same company. I always tell the leaders that I talk to about that. You can either keep [employees] where they are, or they’re going to leave the company. If you think they’re that great, I think we want to keep them.” Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.