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Cultural Transformation and Meaningful Work: Nurturing a Purpose-Driven Workplace

It’s no secret that happy employees are more productive. 12% more productive than their less-happy colleagues, according to a study cited in Fast Company. They also tend to be more loyal over time. But how do leaders create and foster a work culture that breeds happiness and purpose?“The intent to leave or stay in a job is only one of the things that people are questioning as part of the larger human story we are living,” said Caitlin Duffy, a research director in Gartner’s HR practice. “You could call it the ‘Great Reflection.’ It’s critical to deliver value and purpose.”In a From Day One conference in Los Angeles, industry leaders gathered to discuss how to create a space for happy workers, in a conversation moderated by LA Times reporter Faith Pinho.Maintaining Purpose Amid Internal StrifeNicole Husband, VP of people and culture at Warner Bros. Discovery, has had some experience with internal strife. To manage their work culture, especially during difficult times, they follow five guiding principles: act as one team, create what’s next, empower storytelling, champion inclusion, and dream it, own it. They’re focused on “putting these principles in front of people to the point where they can’t stand it anymore."Additionally, the organization has done a lot of work around acknowledging challenges and change, and providing education on how to lead through it. “Part of that is drawing employees back to why we are actually here,” Husband said.Amy Baker, vice president and people officer of corporate functions at Activision Blizzard, says in her six prior years at Netflix, they saw unprecedented change. In a short time, the company went from around 10 people to 800.“You have some people saying, ‘I feel like we’re growing so fast.’ It’s your work as a leader to be helping these people acclimate to the change that they’re going through by coming into this company,” Baker said. Activision Blizzard just weathered a huge work culture shift over the past year after Microsoft acquired the gaming company. Baker says you have to be super clear about what’s happening next. “You have to operate in that spectrum. I call it like the HR skeleton key, you have to be able to open any door with people,” Baker added.The panelists discussed the topic “Cultural Transformation and Meaningful Work: Nurturing a Purpose-Driven Workplace” at From Day One's recent LA conference. Both Baker and Husband alluded to the fact that they work with extremely dedicated and passionate people. With that passion in mind, Pinho pointed to the individual purpose people bring to the job, a purpose that might not always align with the company’s.“Organizations can be very self-absorbed and selfish. It’s all about their purpose, not about your purpose. But the more you engage in the conversation about what’s important to you, you will find that alignment. The more that organization is going to pour into you, the more that relationship is built,” said Jerrold Coakley, the SVP and chief human resources officer at Stater Bros. Markets.Coakley says it’s about sharing a joint story between the employee and employer that builds a relationship and uncovers what the two can accomplish together. “Normally the misalignment happens when we’re so concentrated on performance. And that’s not what people really care about. We have all these systems in place, and all these consultants make so much money off of us, because they tell us it’s all about performance. No, it’s really about development. People want to know that their leader is helping them get to their personal greatness. So as a leader, if you concentrate on development more than performance, you get the gift of their performance back.”For Octavius Black, co-founder and CEO of MindGym, the purpose value is something attainable by every worker, no matter where they are.“In my experience, everyone wants to feel that they’ve done something that matters. So the question is, how can you help people find the thing they care about come to life at work. And it’s up to our leaders, our managers, and us as HR professionals, to ignite that passion that people have for something and bring it to the workplace,” Black said.Sometimes too much purpose is a bad thing that can lead to burnout. “How can you ensure a healthy work life balance while still driving that mission forward?” Pinho asked.“This whole idea of a healthy work life balance, I just don’t think it exists yet. You are seeking, seeking, seeking–constantly trying to get there,” Husband said. Yet despite her skepticism, she says there are leadership strategies that can mitigate burnout, other than putting the onus on the employee to figure it out on their own. For leaders, they can make sure they are properly staffed, one. And two, leveraging resources to support staff during reorganization, is key.According to Black, company initiatives that try to change the outside behavior of employees, through meditation, yoga, a corporate gym membership, counseling, really only help the workers who intend to engage in those behaviors anyway. He says in studies they’ve done there was no change between the people who’ve been through the programs versus those who had not.A Larger Sense of Purpose for the Community“The trend lines now, with early career professionals and the young people coming in now, the data I’ve seen, both anecdotal and otherwise, shows they want to know that you’re doing something good for the world,” said Matt Stone, senior solutions consultant at Attuned.To do this, Stone says companies have to be clear on what their culture is and how that can translate to the wider community. “It could be days off to volunteer, or it could be if your company does a particular service, getting creative about where they could help.”Coakley parses the difference between words, actions, and where your values are. “Words matter. So, you have to say the words and then follow the words with your actions. Go back and look at your values. If they sound aspirational, they are not values. Rewrite them. Your values are the minimum expectations that you’ll tolerate within your organization,” Coakley said.“So when you come to work with us, you can expect this. That’s going to push your organization forward, investing in those communities and letting your people see it.”Matthew Koheler 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.

Matthew Koehler | December 18, 2023

Charting a New Course: How to Nurture Career Growth by Showing Workers What’s Possible

How can a company overcome the challenges posed by Covid and thrive once again? According to Ana Maria Sencovici, the chief talent officer at Royal Caribbean Group, the key lies in revitalizing career growth and development strategies.In conversation with Tom Hudson, senior economics editor and special correspondent for WLRN Public Media, Sencovici says that prioritizing intentionality post-Covid helped the cruise company navigate financial challenges, adapt to ever-evolving employee needs, and emerge stronger as a result.“We have a real constraint, which is our budget. And we need to operate within that,” she said. “So from a talent perspective, it’s prompting us to be essential, intentional, and super creative.”Intentionality centers on replatforming the talent ecosystem and reevaluating the organization’s foundations—its understanding of careers, roles, performance, and more, “with a keen eye toward what matters, what moves the needle in an evidence-based way.”Sencovici spoke at From Day One’s conference in Miami. During a fireside chat titled “How to Nurture Career Growth by Showing Workers What’s Possible,” she outlined a new five-destination program encouraging employees to explore their aspirations, see new possibilities, and launch their career journeys.Hudson and Sencovici spoke in a fireside chat at From Day One's Miami conference. The cruise industry struggled greatly during and after the pandemic. This period was characterized by port closures, financial trouble, and the need to rehire talent on a very limited budget. Now the Royal Caribbean Group has managed to surpass pre-pandemic measures. Sencovici said it began with the organization adopting an employee-centric approach. Through pulse surveys, the organization discovered that career development was the foremost pain point for its employees.“So we started where the employees were and thought, ‘let’s use that as the replatforming vehicle, as the channel and the delivery mechanism for all of this expectation-setting and development,’” she said.The Five-Destination JourneyWhat emerged is the journey of five destinations, a program designed to integrate various elements within the talent ecosystem. The first destination involves questioning how employees think about their careers, encompassing the basics of level-setting and performance.The next takes an employee-centric approach. It asks them to consider what they want. What are their aspirations and goals? The third is where employees think about what’s possible. It encourages them to consider the sea of opportunities available. Questions like, “What are the experiences that can be offered here? What are the skills that you can gain and the skills that will help you thrive, to set that foundation and educate, while at the same time inspire,” are asked, said Sencovici.This builds up to destination four, which invites employees to “chart a course.” Once the goals are set and the opportunities are laid out, what will they do with them? How can the organization give them the tools to achieve their goals?“One of the greatest skill sets to teach is learning how to learn,” Sencovici said. “How do we actually help integrate that from the beginning and teach people that muscle, so that no matter what skill is the next flavor of the month, we’ve invested in you to teach you how to learn.”These initial learning and development-centric steps bring us to the fifth destination: employees taking accountability. This is where feedback mechanisms come into play. It involves educating employees to pull feedback from the system to determine if they’re on track to achieve their goals.Key FindingsConsidering that career development was a pain point found in their pulse survey, Sencovici expected more employees to sign up for the program. However, her team didn’t necessarily get the expected reaction.The lesson she learned from this is to “never under-appreciate the mental bandwidth that is available to employees” who face many organizational demands.Despite the low participation, Sencovici maintained that not making the program compulsory—and offering employees a way to opt in and opt out at any time—is the right approach. “The very reason for putting this forth was to enable an ownership mindset. If we say ‘chart your own course,’ and then we mandate that, people are actually building the muscle of ownership,” she said.The second takeaway she offered to the audience and those tasked with making similar changes is to embrace resistance. “Resistance is always there. So, if you’re going through changes, you’ve got to acknowledge that and understand the benefit of resistance. And then infuse that into all the stuff we already know about change.”Looking AheadThe conversation also touched upon the Royal Caribbean Group’s trifecta proposal: a financial plan announced to shareholders and investors to help the organization recover from Covid losses over the next three years.How does the employee journey feature in this scheme? Despite financial restraints, Sencovici said the company has creatively integrated the career journey into its initiatives on a very limited budget. An example she described is the “Career Concierge,” an interactive video coaching session that takes employees through the five-destination journey. Because the systems are already in place, the organization easily interacts with employees at scale with little added investment.To wrap up the conversation, Sencovici outlined how this plan will evolve in the future. The first year was all about building the spine of the talent ecosystem. The goal for the following years will be to add muscle. The company will continue to provide the platforms, rituals, and habits that put employees in the driver’s seat. The goal is to develop a culture where employees feel empowered enough to invest in themselves.Keren's love for words saw her transition from a corporate employee into a freelance writer during the pandemic. After having made her mark as a Top Rated Writer with over 2000 positive reviews in the extremely competitive Upwork space, and having been featured on various magazines and publications, Keren has now moved on to bigger and better with her own digital marketing agency aptly named Epic Owl. When she is not at her desk whipping up compelling narratives and sipping on endless cups of coffee, you can find her curled up with a book, playing with her dog, or pottering about in the garden. 

Keren Dinkin | December 14, 2023

Could Older Workers Be the Solution to the Labor Shortage?

Where are the workers? The list of occupations suffering critical shortages in the U.S. keeps getting longer: teachers, nurses, bus drivers, social workers, accountants, air-traffic controllers. While the problem is relatively new, it’s becoming a long-term one. “The number of humans available to work is starting to go down,” said HR consultant Josh Bersin in a recent From Day One webinar. “Over the last four years or so, from the pandemic on, we talked to so many companies and heard the same thing over and over again: We don’t have enough people, we don’t have enough skills. We don’t know where to source them.”A major cause of the problem is demographic: the Baby Boom generation is retiring, a trend that sped up during the pandemic, and fertility rates are declining all across the developed world. In 2024, for the first time, Generation Z will represent a larger portion of the workforce than the Baby Boomers.Yet therein lies one of the solutions: persuading older workers to stay in the labor force longer, as well as creating opportunities for younger generations to have longer careers. In February, the Wall Street Journal ran the headline, “Here Comes the 60-Year Career.” The story profiled Millennials setting themselves up for six decades of work comprising multiple career switches, returns to school, detours, and sabbaticals. Millennials and younger generations have no choice but to think differently about their careers, the reporter Carol Hymowitz wrote. “Because they are likely to live healthily into their 90s or longer, they must learn to navigate 60-year careers instead of the traditional 40-year span.”But longer careers punctuated by breaks and reinventions are not just the Millennials’ doing. The Boomers are already experimenting. In 2022, the job website Indeed noted an increase in the number of people “unretiring.” Short of savings or restless in retirement, older workers are increasingly stepping back into jobs they left a few years ago, this time looking for flexible hours, part-time consulting jobs, or even gig work. “We’ve had this model of working from the moment you graduate college or high school until you’re 65,” Sania Khan, chief economist at the talent intelligence platform Eightfold, told From Day One. “Employers are realizing that this is an outdated model.”Though a growing part of the population, older workers have represented a shrinking portion of the workforce, especially during the pandemic. While labor-force participation among Americans aged 15–54 has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, it has not bounced back among those aged 55 and older, much of this due to excess retirements of Baby Boomers.At the same time, the national unemployment rate has been below 4.5% for two years, and employers are struggling to find the workers they need with the skills they need.This leaves employers wondering: how can we encourage workers to stay on the job?In a Tight Labor Market, There Is No Room for Ageism “Necessity is kicking ageism to the curb, pushing businesses to reevaluate hiring strategies and perceptions when it comes to this essential part of any workforce,” reads an Eightfold report. “In a strange twist, the looming labor shortage may be the kick that’s needed to shift the narrative on age and employment. As the supply of workers tightens, organizations are finding themselves in a bind, and they must take a closer look at experienced workers, those with a lifetime of skills and wisdom to offer.”There are 9.5 million open jobs in the U.S., but only 6.5 million unemployed workers, a labor shortage that affects almost every industry in almost every state, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Companies can’t afford to discriminate, and often-marginalized groups are reaping the benefits.Data: Glassdoor analysis of Census Bureau data. Chart: From Day One adaptation of graphics by Axios and Glassdoor To recruit and retain older members of the workforce, employers are embracing age-inclusion. PNC and Bristol Myers Squibb have added benefits like workplace menopause support and healthcare to match. Fannie Mae and Booking.com now offer grandparent leave so workers can take time away from work to care for new grandchildren. Recruiters are scrubbing age-biased language from their job descriptions. Financial counseling services that include retirement planning are a popular new addition to total rewards. Some employers are offering “flextirement” arrangements that allow retirees to come back part-time or temporarily.Some organizations are actively hiring from older demographics. Especially when the customer base is seniors, it makes sense that the company is staffing seniors as well. One of them is Naborforce, a gig-work platform where seniors can request help from “nabors” for tasks like setting up a computer, getting to the grocery store, or doing the laundry. The average Naborforce client is 83 years old. Almost three-quarters of nabors–the gig workers who power the platform–are 50 or older.“There is a big group of untapped resources–empty nesters and retirees who are not looking for a job, but love the flexibility. They are craving purpose, they want to feel needed, and they’re craving connection,” founder Paige Wilson told From Day One.Not only is the company’s gig workforce predominantly seniors, Wilson is actively recruiting older workers to her staff. In November, Naborforce piloted its first “golden internship” program. Paid interns come into the office 10–12 hours per week to advise on user experience, marketing, messaging, and business operations. The first intern, a former nabor and retired business owner, is in his 70s. “Our target market on all sides of our business are seniors or close to it,” said Wilson. “We are not discarding older people. We are hiring them like crazy,” Wilson said.As Workers Retire, the Skills Gap GrowsAmong companies whose workers skew older, workforce planning is getting tougher. In certain industries and roles, older workers are retiring, but no replacements are on their way.For global logistics company Pitney Bowes, finding young workers with the right skills is getting harder. “Electromechanical [engineering] is a skill set that our service force is very much in need of,” said Andy Gold, the company’s chief HR officer. There are fewer qualified candidates coming out of schools and training programs than there used to be. Younger professionals seem to be more interested in programming the machines than building them, he said.For now, the company is trying to recruit from within, finding workers who are willing to learn the new skills. They’re also talking to older workers about their retirement goals so they can train younger ones before clocking out for good. Gold isn’t the only one wondering where the talent went. In other industries whose workers are long-tenured and have decades of experience, the talent pool is drying up. “For some of the professional service jobs, for example, the qualifications needed are time-intensive,” said Jen Schramm, senior policy advisor at AARP. “[Companies] can look ahead in their workforce planning and see on the horizon that they will have a shortage. In the long-term, they will have to increase the labor pool of people that have the correct certifications or qualifications or licensing. But in the near term, they don’t have time to wait.”Early this year, the Greater Richmond Transit Company, or GRTC, which operates mass transit services in Richmond, Va., experienced a bus-operator shortage (due in part to retirements) so severe that it interrupted normal service and blocked planned expansion projects. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the bus service and urban transit sector has the oldest median worker age–52.4 years–among all industries in the U.S.As of January 2023, the GRTC employed about 230 bus operators; it needed 50 to return to pre-pandemic service and an additional 20 more to expand. The company couldn’t find the talent it needed, so GRTC created its own pool by covering the cost of commercial drivers-license training for new hires.By November, that gap had been closed, with more than 300 full-time operators hired, 27 working on a part-time basis, and 35 more in training. GRTC also sweetened the deal for new hires, who got a signing bonus, and for all operators, who got a 43% pay raise.The Value of Long-Term Knowledge and LoyaltySome employers may not need to cultivate their own talent pools to fill immediate openings. Older workers are a solution to both the skills gap and the labor shortage, said Eightfold’s Khan. “Employers see that they have a skills gap. They know that they have to switch over to a skills-based workforce planning solution in the near future,” she told From Day One. “I think they haven’t started to see older workers as a resource quite yet.”The world is spoiled with a wealth of knowledge represented by an aging workforce. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the number of people aged 65 and older grew five times faster than the whole U.S. population did in 100 years. In 1920 fewer than one in 20 Americans were 65 or older; as of 2020, it’s one in six. “We should give them a choice,” Khan said. “Those who want to continue working and feel that they’re capable should be able to, and they should be valued as a resource.”Employers opting to fill vacant spots with younger, “cheaper” workers are losing institutional knowledge and wisdom built on decades of experience. Plus, older workers tend to be more loyal to their employers. “We’re going to see a very stark labor supply and demand imbalance very soon as these workers age out of the workforce and retire,” Khan said.The Legacy Stage of One’s CareerIf careers are getting longer and changing shape, with employees embracing career lattices instead of career ladders–could there be new stages too? Andrés Tapia, global strategist for diversity, equity, and inclusion at consultancy Korn Ferry, favors a new segment to working life, a denouement between career and retirement known as the “legacy stage.”In the legacy stage, older professionals on their way to retirement rework their professional contributions with schedules, benefits, and compensation to match. “It will be about mentorship and wisdom,” Tapia said. In exchange for fewer hours, very flexible schedules, and sabbaticals, legacy workers may get lower pay and less decision-making power. “A lot of Boomers feel vigorous and in charge, they want to keep ‘riding the train,’” but some roles do need to be vacated so younger workers can move in and get the experience. “It’s about reciprocal adaptation between generations,” Tapia told From Day One. “Older workers have to stop diminishing the contributions of young workers and younger generations have to be inclusive of older ones.”As workers age, they enjoy passing on their knowledge, said Schramm at AARP. “Companies that are savvy about having a multigenerational workforce, that’s something they leverage, but they do it from both sides”–giving younger workers the opportunity to pass their knowledge to older generations too.“Many people are not ready to retire at age 65, but age discrimination really starts at age 55,” Tapia said. “That’s when people start feeling devalued.” But if we create a legacy phase where decades of knowledge is elevated to its own category, he argues, “rather than coasting by default, you coast by design.”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 BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.   

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza | December 13, 2023

How All Managers Can Become Leaders in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

During her time at Uber, Siran Cao knew she had a problem in her workplace when one of her employees had turned down a promotion twice.The reason, Cao discovered, was the employee’s need to access government childcare benefits, a commonality that a few other workers shared.“I can’t tell you the number of conversations I had with employees who turned down a promotion because they would lose access to government childcare benefits. Some of those same people take out loans in the summer because they couldn’t access subsidized summer care,” Cao said. “That's not an equitable workplace.”Now as co-founder and CEO of Mirza, a comprehensive child care solutions software, Cao takes her experiences from previous companies to help build a more equitable workforce for other companies. In From Day One’s Miami conference, Cao and industry leaders sat in conversation with moderator, Paul Bomberger, veteran South Florida business editor, to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies in their workplace.Lean into Cultural ConversationsThe murder of George Floyd caused an outcry for cultural change within America, and as senior vice president of human resources of Telemundo Enterprises & Latin America at NBCUniversal, Ashaki Rucker knew it was a conversation her leaders needed to tap into.“People had a lot of emotion, frustration, and questions that they wanted the organization to address from George Floyd’s murder. Our company wanted to ensure that we facilitated a collective and consistent message about how we were viewing DEI and also give people the tools to have effective conversations on topics that are sensitive,” Rucker said.The panelists discussed “How All Managers Can Become Leaders in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” in Miami.In a continuous learning series called “Meet the Moment,” Rucker says that tapping into difficult cultural conversations can help leaders grow while meeting the needs of the employees.“Our Meet the Moment sessions are meant to create space for employees to have ongoing conversations about topics that are timely and relevant for the moment,” Rucker said. “The most recent session was about the war in the Middle East. We leaned in heavily to focus on mental health, and provide our employees tools to ensure that they’re taking care of themselves.”Measure for Success, Not Just QuantityFollowing Floyd’s murder, there was a 55% increase in DEI roles. But a recent study showed DEI roles being cut at a higher rate than non-DEI roles, hinting at receding momentum.From increased employee performance to higher revenue, DEI can offer a strong business value to companies. However, for DEI initiatives to be successful, leaders need to implement an effective strategy that challenges existing work culture, says Stefano Boero, senior vice president of people and culture at technology company, Amadeus IT Group.“We cannot deny the correlation between diversity and business performance, but some people think that just by increasing the number of diverse employees, the performance or the business is flourishing,” Boero said. “It’s not like that. It takes years and it takes a change in the values or changing the identity of the company.”Engaging LeadershipIn a study by Harvard Business Review, researchers found 97% of HR leaders said their organizations have made changes that improved DEI. However, only 37% of employees agreed that their workplace has made changes to improve DEI.The stark difference emphasizes not only the importance of leadership buy-in but also the need for a stronger execution of DEI initiatives. To do so, leaders from all levels need to be tapped in, says Zoe Hernandez Wolfe, vice president of talent management and development of healthcare company, Baptist Health.“At Baptist Health, we want all of our leaders to embrace DEI and we do that by engaging our senior executives from the very top,” Wolfe said. “We found ways to bring in the entire leadership team to embrace DEI, in whatever area they might be passionate about. So if they’re passionate about LGBTQ+ rights or about employees with disabilities, they can hire or mentor those folks.”While 71% of DEI leaders do believe that leadership is involved in endorsing and advancing DEI initiatives, only 13% of the respondents believe that executive leaders are proactive and visible in those initiatives.DEI needs to be embedded into the culture and work of leadership to gain greater support, Diane Psaras, executive vice president and chief human resource officer of VITAS Healthcare, said. Psaras highlights the success of a key DEI initiative in her company that leaders participate in.“We have a dedicated professional as a leader whose efforts are at the forefront of our community engagement within our communities of color, and supporting minority health care professionals as they continue to learn and develop,” Psaras said. “Our leaders go to these engagements to educate and empower those folk and those types of efforts have strengthened our communities, and in turn, our leaders. They’re right in the thick of it, learning firsthand the importance of DEI.”Wanly Chen is a writer and poet based in New York City.

Wanly Chen | December 13, 2023

Leading With Humanity: What Younger Workers Expect From Their Managers

When Maribel Diz, senior vice president of human resources at Visa, joined the workforce, she recalls being motivated by a desire to climb the corporate ladder, an ambition shared among others in her generation. The fruits of their labor were to be rewarded ostensibly with higher pay and rank.Millennials and Gen Z, however, approach their careers from a slightly different perspective, Diz shared in a fireside chat during From Day One’s Miami conference. Diz sat down with moderator Jane Wooldridge, senior director of journalism sustainability and partnerships at the Miami Herald, to discuss how managers best tailor their leadership styles to courting a multigenerational workforce, particularly young workers.“They’re driven by intrinsic value,” she said. “These employees care about impact. They care about society. They need to have a sense of pride in the company that they work for.”Gen Z, individuals born between 1997 and 2012, represent an increasing share of the workforce. The cohort is forecasted to be 30% of the workforce by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers focused on high retention rates will need to think about how their employees perceive their role in the company and the extent to which their varying expectations of their managers are being met.Diz’s answer to centering the needs of a multigenerational workforce? Lead with humanity. Authentic LeadershipYoung workers’ trust may not be bought, for example, with a happy hour hosted by their managers, Diz says. But they do want their managers to be stand-up people who will stick up for them when needed.“They’re looking for someone who will have their back, that will give them feedback and coaching,” she said.Providing work-specific guidance signals that employers are invested in their workers’ growth and capability to meet expectations. Still, above all, Diz says beyond work-related agendas, managers should lead with humanity.Maribel Diz of Visa, left, was interviewed by Jane Wooldridge of the Miami Herald, right, during the fireside chat session. She defines this as an authentic relationship-building where employers think of their employees holistically – not just individuals performing a service for the company, but as people with distinct lives.“It starts with asking someone, ‘How are you doing?’” Diz said as an example. “‘How was your weekend?’”Such questions should not be treated as a checklist at the beginning of the meeting or an optional afterthought at the end, rather they represent continuous practices to foster an empathetic workplace.Managers who come across as humble or relatable may also find that employees have more confidence in their leadership. To that end, managers must admit their mistakes and admit when they do not have all the answers. “Always take accountability,” Diz said. After all, everyone is human.The Cost of Losing EmployeesThere’s also a financial benefit to leading with humanity.In a 2022 McKinsey study on generational gaps in the workplace, researchers found that 77% of Gen Z respondents reported actively looking for a new job. Employees may be courted by competitors at any given moment. If they feel that their values and expectations do not align with what their employer is putting forth, they can have a higher incentive to depart prematurely. Loss of talent can be a financial blow to the company.“Do you know how much it costs to hire someone?” Diz said.In the months-long process to recruit, vet, interview, and onboard new hires, companies can rack up costs that range from 50% to 200% of the role’s base salary, according to analysis from research firm Forrester.“If you hire someone and you lose them within six months or even a year because you haven’t fostered that connection with them, you’ve just lost a lot.”She continued, “It doesn’t take much to connect with your people.” Once these relationships have been built across your workforce, a domino effect can occur.“More people would want to sign up and work for you,” Diz said. “If we just pay a little more attention, the reward is just tenfold.”Uwa Ede-Osifo is a writer, journalist, and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. She recently concluded a reporting fellowship at NBC News where she covered national news including youth culture, race, and inequality.

Uwa Ede-Osifo | December 13, 2023

Finding Purpose: The Power and Pathways of Meaningful Work

Six years ago, Ross Stores reopened its first retail establishment in a part of Oakland, California where all the grocery stores and other shops had left. “Everyone laughed,” said Shawn Moore, Ross’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion.However, on opening day, “there was a line out the door,” he told NBC 6 news anchor Constance Jones, who moderated a panel titled “Making Work Meaningful in an Uncertain World.” Moore spoke alongside four other executives at From Day One’s Miami conference.“I felt like a hero. It’s such a simple thing to just be in the space to give people an opportunity to shop and have the same access to goods that anybody else would have.”Ross Stores also partners with charitable organizations nationwide, including local ones where its stores are located. “All our associates can feel really good about it,” Moore said. “The last thing anyone wants to do is work for the evil empire, a company that doesn’t care and is just taking resources out of the community.”What Does Meaningful Work Mean?People spend too much of their time at work for them to not care about why they’re doing it, says Federico Demarin, chief people officer for GroupM’s Latam division. “If you understand why you are doing it, you’re going to be happier,” he said.Research shows that when individuals feel they belong to an organization, they are more productive and more willing to recommend the business as a great place to work, says David Bator, managing director of the Achievers Workforce Institute.“People fundamentally want to know that they matter,” he said.But when it comes to activating an employee in a purpose-driven way, “it’s more complicated because not everyone finds the same meaning in work,” Bator said.Rachel Schneider, the founder and CEO of Canary, said for many people, being able to support themselves and their families is “a purpose for working that’s incredibly valuable.”Another motivating factor is a sense of contributing to an organization’s purpose and being recognized for that contribution, says Schneider. Feeling connected to colleagues can also be meaningful.Ideally, companies should help their employees “feel all versions of purpose,” Schneider said.The idea of an emotional salary, or the emotional gains of working, is good, but “it’s not trading currency. It’s not something you should try to leverage so you don’t have to do other things,” Demarin said.That’s why allowing employees to grow within the organization is crucial, says Moore. “I’m really proud that about 78% of our leaders in stores are internally promoted,” he said.Connecting the Mission to Employee PurposeCompanies that want their employees to find meaning in their work should put that at the beginning of their interactions with potential team members, says Demarin.Many times, a job description is “just a statement. It’s just something that ChatGPT has done,” he said. “How do you connect it with the person’s purpose when they are interviewing? How do you talk about purpose in your onboarding? How do you talk about purpose in your performance management and career development? If you really want to create meaningful jobs, you need to start embedding this idea of why into the whole journey.”The panelists spoke on the subject “Making Work Meaningful in an Uncertain World” in Miami. Abbe Partee, vice president and head of global certified learning for DHL, says the organization has a foundation program it sends each employee to.“They go through it in a day, but they understand how they are connecting people and improving lives,” she said. “They understand how they’re an essential part.”DHL also recently rolled out a supervisory academy for frontline leaders. “They go through a 15 to 18-month program where they focus on a lot of the soft skills around recognition, connection, communication, and more. But my favorite part is that they are focused on developing and training and making their hourly associates into their successors,” Partee said.One of the best ways to help employees connect their purpose to the employer’s mission is through frequent recognition, says Bator.“Our research shows that when someone is recognized in a meaningful way, meaning that it’s personal and specific, it carries great weight for employees,” he said.Paying attention to individual team members’ personalities and desires is essential, says Schneider.  “A big piece of helping people feel connected to the purpose at work is knowing that there’s a lot of different on-ramps to whatever your company’s purpose is,” she said.“If you’re a good manager, you’re going to ask people what their on-ramp is and help them see how they’re accomplishing their own purpose in alignment with the company’s purpose.”Mary Pieper is a freelance reporter based in Mason City, Iowa.

Mary Pieper | December 12, 2023

How the Benefit of a Trained Doula Can Make Childbirth a Safer and Happier Event

As a Black mother-to-be, Aredella McCain knew that the statistics for African American women giving birth in the U.S. are troubling. In 2021, there were 69.9 deaths per 100,000 births among Black women, up from 37.3 in 2018. Among white women, the maternal death rate was 26.6, up from 14.9. African Americans and members of other marginalized communities are more likely also to suffer from post-partum depression, post-pregnancy complications, and feel that they are unheard during the prenatal and birthing process. They are more likely to have C-sections, low birthweight babies, and preterm babies. What can make a difference is a trained doula: a birthing companion with knowledge of prenatal care, birth, and postnatal care. While not a medical professional–they are not licensed–they can have a profound impact on birth outcomes. According to the Doula Foundation, mothers who have doula assistance are 50% less likely to have a premature baby, 36% less likely to have a low birthweight baby, and 33% more likely to initiate breastfeeding. McCain, of St. Louis, has given birth twice with the help of a doula, the first of which turned out to be a learning experience about how to make the most of the assistance a doula can offer. For her first experience with childbirth, in 2020, McCain worked with a doula employed by the hospital, but McCain feels the team didn’t prepare enough for what was to come. “I should have taken the time to prep and practice with her prior to game day. We would have benefitted from going over what to expect and support measures for both my husband and I outside of the birthing class required by the hospital,” McCain said in an interview. “Everything was so intense, and labor was stalled for hours, resulting in interventions which I know now could have been avoided with mental and physical preparation as well as more hands-on support.”The McCain family welcomes their second child (Family photo)For her second birth, McCain found a birth doula through Stork Club, a family-building and reproductive-health benefit solution. Stork Club extends traditional employer-sponsored benefits to provide access to support, personalized guidance, high-performing medical care, and a network of providers.McCain’s experience improved dramatically. “My second doula was hands-on, months prior to delivery. She visited our home, helped to progress labor, kept me moving, and gave comfort measures when I needed it the most. She also visited postpartum. I felt like my second birth was more rewarding because not only was the experience much quicker, I was not acting or making decisions out of desperation. I felt in control of my body.”The Stork Club doula was willing to learn to accommodate McCain’s wishes. McCain used hypnotic birth practices for both deliveries, but it was a new concept for her Stork Club doula. “She took the time to research and support me in my practice, which made a great difference. The end result was exactly what I hoped for, an unmedicated birth.”The Stork Club Birth Doula Program is designed not just to provide individualized care, but also to be easy to use. The pregnant individual is matched with a primary and back-up birth doula early in the pregnancy to ensure a long-term relationship. They can talk as much as needed via phone, text, or email. By week 37, they have developed a birth plan that meets the individual’s values and preferences. They also discuss what to expect during three, 90-minute visits, so the person giving birth feels prepared and supported. As delivery approaches, the doula is on call 24/7 to be available for in-labor room support, where they will help the person giving birth with breathing techniques and provide emotional support. Following birth, there is a two-hour, post-birth visit where the doula provides coaching on infant feeding, emotional, and physical recovery. Later on, a postpartum visit focuses on coping skills.First-time mom Portia Feeny says she wanted to have a doula present throughout the birthing process to provide the support and guidance that doctors and nurses are too busy to provide. “I also wanted someone that could help me advocate for myself if I was too tired or overwhelmed to follow the plan that I originally wanted,” she said.Feeny, of Greer, S.C., said she wanted a natural childbirth and knew that statistics show doulas lower the chance of surgical interventions. As her delivery stalled, however, the doula helped her try several birthing positions, encouraged periods of rest, and when the decision was made that she needed a C-section, the doula advocated for Feeny and her husband to have a few minutes alone together before going to the OR. She stayed at Feeny’s side throughout the procedure. “She helped me mentally to cope with not having my ideal birth. I had someone there that helped me try everything to push me along until we had literally exhausted all of our options.” Jeni Mayorskaya, Stork Club’s founder and CEOOne of the keys to the positive impact from the Stork Club’s birth doula program is ensuring all the doulas have adequate training, says Jeni Mayorskaya, Stork Club’s founder and CEO. All of Stork Club’s doulas are certified through respected programs. “We coach on consistency of clinical practice,” Mayorskaya said. “We insist they be proactive, supportive, and empathetic. Our doulas don’t just wait for calls, they initiate them.”While ensuring that a company’s benefits actually help its employees and their families is reason enough to have a doula program, there are also returns on the investment for the employer as well. Jesse Remer, a certified birth and postpartum doula and international doula trainer, helped to create the Stork Club doula program. “It is one of the most implementable, economical, and ethical investments a company can implement to make a difference in employee work/life balance, retention, and mental health,” she says. “Doulas are one of the most innovative and evidence-based practices.”By helping to address health inequities, they can be a strong part of a company’s efforts toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). By improving the mental health of mothers and their partners, doula programs can help to reduce absenteeism, burnout, and turnover. And they can lower healthcare costs, making it a dollar-positive investment. “Over 40 years ago, [the renowned pediatrician] John Kennell said that if a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it,” said Remer. “Expanding a family is a forever commitment, and all the transitions that come with a new baby are deeply impactful. Doulas hold parents’ hands across the perinatal threshold with continuous support. By reducing the more traumatic impacts of childbirth–major abdominal surgery, pre-term labor and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, for instance–doulas reduce the barriers to the parental recovery required to return to work as productive humans,” Remer said. “Doulas help practicalities of everything from feeding to sleep routines to organization in the 4th trimester. It’s common sense that a person who is happy and healthy and supported will be more productive.” Editor’s Note: From Day One thanks our partner, Stork Club, for supporting this sponsor spotlight.Lisa Jaffe is a freelance writer who lives in Seattle with her son and a very needy rescue dog named Ellie Bee. She enjoys reading, long walks on the beach, and trying to get better at ceramics.(Featured photo: iStock by Getty Images)

Lisa Jaffe | December 11, 2023

Creating a Culture of Feedback: Embracing the Discomfort

In either the classroom or the workforce, everyone has received feedback at some point, whether constructive and effective, or unclear and confusing. Those who are in the position to give reviews are often uncomfortable with doing so, which can result in feedback that is ineffective.“People need to know where they stand,” said Willie Jackson, partner and head of growth at ReadySet, a diversity strategy firm. Jackson led a thought leadership spotlight titled “Creating a Culture of Feedback: Embracing the Discomfort,” at From Day One’s recent Miami conference.“There is something that I call the tyranny of niceness that pervades a lot of corporate cultures where we pretend everything is okay, we nod along, we don’t give people critical feedback, and then nobody actually knows where they stand.”Incorporating a human-centered feedback approach can help workers feel more at ease in the workplace. Instead of receiving vague feedback that provides no real clarity on work performance, individuals benefit from open and professional communication, which can make them feel more secure in their roles.How Feedback Can Impact MoraleWillie Jackson, partner and head of growth at ReadySet, led the thought leadership spotlight in Miami. When it comes to feedback, women are more likely to receive criticism not for their work performance, but for their personality and how they make other people feel. Around 76% of women have been told they’re too aggressive in their reviews, whereas only 24% of men received this criticism in an analyzed sample of performance evaluations conducted by The VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab at Stanford University.People of color also experience feedback that is not only less concrete, but also less authentic than that of their peers. Compiling facts and concrete evidence to support feedback is imperative to ensure efficient feedback is given to each individual, no matter their gender and racial identity.Emotional energy plays a large part of how feedback is received. Regardless of how simple the feedback may be, if the individual giving the information is emotionally charged, the person will respond to the energy and not to the content of the conversation. Maintaining a relaxed disposition will help the review stay focused on the topic and not the emotions of the various parties.How to Implement Efficient FeedbackGiving feedback is an unnatural and uncomfortable feeling for most people. It can be a hard conversation, and many find it easier to skate over the real issues than to face them head-on.“Let’s say a direct report of yours sent a deliverable too quickly without it being reviewed, and it didn’t look great. Speed is important, but pausing to focus on quality control before sending can ultimately save us time.” Jackson offered an example of feedback in this situation, “‘Next time, please send me a draft before distributing, and we can talk through it together,’” he said.“What I love about this framing, phrasing and language is that it acknowledges the mistake without dwelling on it,” said Jackson.Jackson and his team at ReadySet have overcome this issue by using a system called FLIF, which stands for felt, liked, improved, and feedback. Before getting into detail about how to improve an outcome, they will go over how they felt, what they liked about the situation, what they would improve for next time, and finally, the feedback.Telling someone, ‘Hey, let’s FLIF this out quickly,’ can help take away the awkwardness of telling someone they need to be given feedback, says Jackson.Harm can also happen when giving feedback. “We also want to be equipped and prepared to repair harm in the event that it occurs,” said Jackson. After giving the person some time, it is essential to reach out to them to see how they are feeling after having digested the information and if they have any feedback for the reviewer. This shows the person their well-being is valued, and will help them avoid feeling that the conversation was punitive in nature.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, ReadySet, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Jessica is a diverse writer and crochet enthusiast based out of Upstate New York.

Jessica Manley | December 11, 2023

Developing Diverse Leadership From the Start

“It takes a lot of personal energy and commitment on behalf of a lot of people to make meaningful sustainable change,” said Kimberly Fernandes, VP of learning and organizational development at The Wonderful Company. “Companies that are making strides in an enduring way are doing it slowly and less publicly.” Following the murder of George Floyd, many companies announced diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. However, in some cases, those initiatives didn’t last long. “It’s hard to sustain that level of public outrage,” she said. One of the best ways to make lasting changes is to create an organizational culture that allows all employees to see themselves as potential leaders, says Fernandes. She noted that 60% of The Wonderful Company’s employees are Hispanic, but most leaders are white. To change that, the organization is cultivating talent from its frontline workers, whether they are harvesting fruit and nuts or in the company’s production plants. “They are given career pathways to develop into those leadership positions,” Fernandes told reporter Stacy Perman of the Los Angeles Times, during From Day One’s LA conference. Fernandes and four other executives spoke in a panel discussion titled, “Developing Diverse Leadership From the Start.”From the Top DownThe mandate for energetic, inclusive leadership must come from the company’s board of directors and C-Suite to be successful, says Michael Watson, head of customer success, North America at Eightfold.“If it’s lower than that, then you’re just one person away from leaving the organization and everything changing,” he said, noting the average tenure these days is three and a half to four years. That’s why it’s essential to have succession plans not just for business continuity but also for employee resource groups and DEI “so you don’t lose a beat when someone leaves,” Watson said.But what if corporate leadership isn’t setting an agenda for diverse leadership?Watson said he worked for organizations in the past where this was the case, “I used to say to my teams all the time, ‘If we can’t control the culture of everyone in this company, at least we can control the culture in our team and our group.’ Our thought was maybe other people will see that and be inspired to take that on.”Leaning Into Core ValuesThe push for diverse leadership must align with a company’s core values, according to the panelists.“It starts with the culture,” said Marissa Waldman, chief excellence officer of Leaderology. “We’re seeing it in turnover. We’re seeing it in unions and strikes. The employees are demanding companies take a stand. We need the C-suite to step forward and align with the company’s values in a way that isn’t performative.”If a corporation has its values on the wall, employees expect senior leadership to take them seriously, says Waldman. Workers are saying, “This is what we care about. Prove it, or we’re going to hold you accountable,” she said.If company leaders only advocate for diverse leadership to tick a box, “it’s not believable,” said Christina Glennon, head of DEI programs and operations, Levi Strauss & Co.She said the company “has a really strong history of putting people first. So our value of empathy really comes through in our DEI programming, primarily in the way that we expect to captivate the hearts and minds of our leaders.”Darren Chiappetta of Roku spoke to the importance of listening to ERGs.Ways to Develop Diverse LeadershipOver the past couple of years, there’s been an outpouring of development programs and pipelines to assist employees who traditionally have not been in leadership roles, says Darren Chiappetta, global head of employee relations & workforce compliance at Roku.“I spent 20 years at Disney, and the employee resource groups were a part of it,” he said. For example, if Disney were making a movie with characters from an underrepresented group, the ERG would approach employees from that group for their feedback. “It starts them on the path of seeing that their voice really matters,” Chiapetta said.The next step is to meet with employees who have leadership potential and put together a plan for them to achieve their goals, says Watson. “Lay out that roadmap of, ‘How do I get there? What skills am I missing? What courses do I need to take?’” he said.Levi Strauss is proud of its leadership development programs for women and employees of color, says Glennon. “They have often worked three or four times as hard as anyone else just to be treated fairly, so what they encounter in the workplace is different,” she said. “We’ve created accelerator programs to help them overcome some of the invisible barriers that stand in the way of their success.”Organizations must help these emerging leaders “tap into their fearless authenticity so that they can act in alignment and conviction with their values and their purpose,” Waldman said. “And then, most importantly, create psychologically safe spaces so that others can do the same. It’s only then through that empathy, authenticity, understanding and aligning around purpose, that we can ensure that everybody is getting what they need to grow and to be recognized in the organization.”Mary Pieper is a freelance reporter based in Mason City, Iowa.

Mary Pieper | December 11, 2023

To Attract More Talent, Build a Bigger Tent

Get a degree, get the job. That’s been the way of finding careers for a long time. But companies are taking a hard look at how they handle talent acquisition, and they’re realizing it’s time to rethink their time-worn approach. One way is to remove barriers for people who might lack traditional credentials, but have the potential to be a good fit.“We take a skills-based approach,” said Eric Ueno, SVP of HR for Hot Topic. “We found that bachelor's degrees were a barrier for a lot of prospective candidates. So, we look at the skills more than the education itself.”Ueno joined four other panelists on the topic of rethinking talent acquisition at From Day One’s Los Angeles conference.When it comes to attracting the type of talent that would fit well with the Hot Topic brand, Ueno says that every touchpoint reflects the environment the employee would be working in. From picking the right URL to taglines that resonate with the core audience. “The other thing that we do is take a look at innovation in terms of, how do we get people into our hiring process as quickly and easily as possible?” he said. QR codes or text to apply signs at their stores make it easy for potential talent to apply. Then continuing with useful tech, “We have a chatbot that we use that interacts with all of our potential candidates and helps them search out where the job opportunities are.” With an applicant pool of 94,000 qualified candidates in 2022 alone, the chatbot has been huge in terms of productivity. Cast a Wider NetMany industries are hurting for talent, which is why one of the panelists suggested taking a more nontraditional approach. “Look at all the untapped talent in your community that’s being blocked out because of your traditional mindset,” said Rita Stall, senior director of digital operations at Tech Elevator.Actively reaching out to communities of people that companies tend to ignore can grow your business in ways you never thought possible, says Stall. “The neurodiverse, the veterans, the career transitioners, the recently incarcerated folks—there’s lots of workforce programs across the United States, they’re in every state in every community that have tons and tons of really good talent,” she said.The panelists discussed the topic “To Attract More Talent, Build a Bigger Tent” at From Day One's Los Angeles conference. When looking to fill roles, don’t underestimate the value of employees already working at your business. They already know company culture, and even though their current job may be in a different department, the question is, do they have the skills that matter? And can they be trained to do the rest? Because they could be a better fit and a less expensive find. “Certification programs are really a great way to take those learning and development dollars, your in-house dollars, and find the talent within your organization,” Stall added. The average software developer costs $60,000 to find, onboard, and train. Whereas instead, you can invest inside of that talent.”Engage Your EmployeesIt’s one thing to hire an employee, and it’s quite another to retain them. Brian Padilla, VP, HR business partner & production leader for Lionsgate, says they have a unique challenge because the different roles are defined with specific functions. So how can they help their employees feel engaged and valued?“Are they receiving the development that they need? Are they fulfilled? Are they happy in their role?” he said. They may have the employee take on a stretch assignment, perhaps take second lead on a particular project, or shadow another person. It gives them upward movement, he says. Or they can start them on their internal coaching program, mentorship program, or certification program. There are certain skills that can be taught, and others that are hard to find. So focusing on what matters keeps the best talent where they want to be. Traditionally, people would look for work pretty much anywhere. These days, employees want a company and a work environment that aligns with their values. That’s why it’s important to have them front and center. “The employer brand is huge,” he said. Candidates want to get a sense of what the company is all about. “What are the values? Do you live by them? What is your DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) philosophy?” Focus on FlexibilityNick Wolny, columnist at Out Magazine, moderated the panel.The nontraditional approach to talent requires flexibility. That means thinking outside the box. Challenging the old way of doing things. Opening new doors.“I think we’re really talking about being agile, in terms of the methods used to onboard and also the way that you look at the people that you’re bringing in. Agility is a big factor,” said Bertha Haro, executive director for NPower, California. But depending on your industry, focus on that competitive advantage. Outsource the skills that are broad and easy to find. “But when you’re talking about industry competitive advantage, then you want to keep it in-house, and you want to have a different pathway toward building that talent capacity,” Haro said.Enhance the positions you already have, she added. “Across the board, all of us, we may be in roles that existed 20 or 40 years ago, but the way we operate is not the same as the way they did.”Grow Business Through PurposeUltimately, companies need to find purpose and bring their employees along with them. And that purpose can and even should evolve over time. In the case of Mattel, purpose started out one way but has turned into something different today. “Business growth is based upon acknowledging that you must find the ways to evolve, find new ways to connect, find new ways to actually grow business through purpose. Doing good work and doing good business are not at odds,” said Mason Williams, global head of DEI at Mattel.Evidence of changing values and focus are showing up in the changing demographics of executive suites, and that’s a good thing, Williams says. “There are more people in executive suites who might have been what you call underrepresented. I think that there’s more of an affinity in certain places where folks say, ‘Hey, you know what, my route might have been more nontraditional than ever.’”Companies need to take stock of how they operate so they can make better decisions. “Who’s in the room when they’re actually trying to change the way or evolve the organization?” Without the inclusion of progressive perspectives, valuable voices may go unheard.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

Carrie Snider | December 11, 2023

From Silence to Support: Revolutionizing Workplace Wellness Through Menopause Benefits

“Many women who are experiencing menopause are at the peak of their careers. If they leave the workforce, there’s less gender diversity, especially at the top at leadership level,” said Kate Muzzatti, chief people officer at health benefits provider Maven Clinic. If companies are to preserve some of their most valuable leaders, then something needs to be done to help women stay in the workforce longer.It’s estimated that about 20% of the workforce experiences symptoms related to menopause–symptoms that can disrupt performance and even drive some to leave their jobs–and there’s a cost to business. Productivity lost to menopause symptoms costs the U.S. $1.8 billion per year.During a recent From Day One webinar titled “From Silence to Support: Revolutionizing Workplace Wellness Through Menopause Benefits,” Muzzatti and her colleague Stacey Fine, an OB/GYN at Maven Clinic, laid out ways employers can improve the workplace for women experiencing symptoms.First on the to-do list: Get rid of shame. Pulling themselves out from under the weight of social taboo, women are talking about their need for menopause support despite fears of being perceived as old or losing respect. Public figures like the former First Lady Michelle Obama and the actress Naomi Watts have talked openly about their experiences with menopause, and companies are encouraging their employees to speak up too.People need to understand that menopause is a normal stage of life, says Fine. This could go a long way in destigmatizing the matter, which can in turn protect careers. She’s confident that menopause will shed its taboo, albeit slowly. “As we develop more access so people can continue to get the care they need and really feel supported, that stigma will come down, it’s just going to take some work.”Employers Risk Losing Valuable Company LeadershipAs the workforce ages (the World Health Organization projects that one in six people globally will be aged 60 or older by 2030), there will be more workers experiencing the symptoms of menopause while on the job. Employers including Bristol Myers Squibb, Microsoft, and NVIDIA are responding with new policies, medical care, social support, and cultural changes to make it easier for these women to stay in the workforce and thrive for as long as they want to.Stacey Fine and Kate Muzzatti of Maven Clinic spoke during From Day One's recent webinar on menopause benefits (photo by From Day One)For businesses, attrition due to inadequate menopause support disposes of institutional knowledge and professional wisdom, workplace leadership, and valuable mentors. For women, it means lost wages and prematurely ended careers.“We don’t want people to think that talking about menopause is going to be harmful for their careers,” Muzzatti said. “If you’re tired, if you’re not sleeping well, if you’re having symptoms that could impact your day-to-day, you don’t want to have those things associated with your performance.”Yet this is a fear for many women. According to a Bank of America survey in 2023, 60% of women feel that menopause is stigmatized, and 58% don’t feel comfortable talking about it at work, fearing that their coworkers will think differently of them—that they’re old or can no longer do their jobs.Components of an Effective Menopause Support ProgramMuzzatti and Fine laid out the most important parts of a menopause support program in the workplace including policy changes, manager training, comprehensive medical care, and social support systems.If your company doesn’t provide flexible working schedules, menopause support is a good reason to start. Being able to work from home when necessary, clock out for doctors’ appointments, and shift one’s schedule can help women stay engaged and on the job longer. Some practical policies allow workers to address symptoms in the workplace, like the ability to move one’s desk or wear cooler clothing.They also recommended that employers seek a health benefits provider that offers dedicated care teams specializing in menopause. “We want you to have a range of specialties so that we’re meeting employees where they are with the needs they have. It might be mental health providers, nutritionists, physical therapists, wellness experts, or career coaches,” Muzzatti said. A broad slate of therapies and care types gives women the freedom they need to make the best choices for them. As useful as telehealth is, even for those experiencing menopause, there are going to be times employees prefer to, or even need to, see somebody in person.Not everyone will know that they’re experiencing menopause, and a good menopause support plan can help them find out more about their symptoms. Though some people will have textbook signs like hot flashes and night sweats, many will experience mental health changes, like depression and anxiety, heart palpitations, and joint pain that may not immediately be associated with this stage of life. The experience is ultimately an individual one.“Menopause by definition is one full year without a period, but this doesn’t necessarily apply to somebody who had a hysterectomy and has their ovaries. They may not know when they’re actually menopausal,” said Fine.As individual as the experience may be, there’s no reason for it to be alienating. Employers can organize social support for workers where they can find a community. Maven has created employee resource groups (ERGs) and support groups, “safe spaces for people to come together and share ideas and talk to others who are having similar experiences,” Muzzatti described.If employees are to take advantage of these benefits, then they must feel comfortable doing so. Stamp out the stigma of menopause by building it into manager training, that way everyone learns to talk about it. “Best-in-class organizations are providing awareness and training, especially to managers on how to talk about this, how to recognize that there’s an issue, and how to have the right conversations with their teams,” Muzzatti explained. Maven’s include talking points and plenty of practice with roleplay scenarios.Workers, too, will need exposure. Even among predominantly male workforces, there are employees who will go through menopause at some point, and plenty surrounded by people who will. “No matter what your workforce looks like, it’s still key to be educating your entire employee population,” Muzzatti said. Fine pointed out that the same applies to benefits–make them universally available to everyone who needs them. Mental healthcare is important for all, but may be especially beneficial to members of the transgender and non-binary communities. Having symptoms can surface complicated feelings about one’s own gender, she noted.“Symptoms come over a period of time,” Fine said, so revisit, revise, and augment your menopause policy periodically. Whenever you revise, bring it up again with employees and establish a routine that makes people feel safe asking for the help they need. In a way, make it ordinary. “We try to normalize it,” said Muzzatti. “We try to create a safe space where people can be direct and kind, and have the tools and resources they need.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Maven Clinic, 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 BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza | December 08, 2023

From DEI to EDI, How Companies Can Rethink Diversity Strategies

For Heather Caruso, Ph.D., associate dean of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) didn’t quite fit the bill. “We are very intentional about saying EDI at Anderson because it’s meant to be a reflection of how these things build up on one another,” Caruso said.“I start with equity because what we’re trying to do is address the fact that the world has, for most of its history, not been particularly welcoming of different perspectives. To get diversity, we have to acknowledge that there are going to be some inequities in people’s paths in our school.”At From Day One’s Los Angeles conference, Caruso sat with journalist Margot Roosevelt for a fireside chat, delving into the challenges and benefits of addressing diversity in educational and corporate settings, and how leaders can strategize for a more inclusive environment for all identities.Balancing CensorshipIn a study on self-censorship, researchers found only 16% of Americans were comfortable talking about politics with anybody. In contrast, 77% of Americans said they actively self-censor around certain people.In an increasingly divided country, companies and universities are being put in the spotlight on their choice to respond to political and social issues. The decision, in either case, would be a difficult one to make, Caruso says.“Wrestling with that frustration about the existence of different narratives is at the core of what EDI and DEI professionals have to help their organizations confront, because it’s a key barrier to achieving a thriving diverse community,” Caruso said.  “If there’s some domain where we can’t tolerate the existence of different points of view, then that’s potentially a boundary on our commitment to welcome diversity.”Heather Caruso, Ph.D., (left) was the featured speaker, interviewed by journalist Margot Roosevelt (right).Censorship and free speech remain a delicate balance for U.S. college campuses as well. A recent study found students view free speech as important, yet feel unsafe to express their opinions because of fear of judgment or reprimand from their peers and campus.There is no right answer to this issue, Caruso says. “It’s a gamble either way, but I think organizations benefit from at least being intentional about the bet they’re making. We’re betting that some boundaries are necessary or we’re betting that we can create and innovate in this space and find a way to handle it,” Caruso said.By making intentional choices to engage or change work cultures, leaders can help foster a safer environment for their communities to participate in. Keeping an open mind and willingness to learn all play key roles in developing change, Caruso said.“Learn as much as you can as you go. If we encourage that kind of experimentation and learning as much as possible, then we will at least be able to update and refine and improve our efforts more quickly,” Caruso said.Work From the Bottom Up, Instead of Top DownRecent studies show that a diverse workforce has a strong business value, with diverse companies earning 2.5x higher cash flow per employee than less-diverse companies. However, leaders need to think beyond just the business value when approaching EDI strategies.“Top-down initiatives are largely the initiatives where some leader or organization comes out with a proclamation that diversity is the right thing to do because of the business value,” Caruso said. “My problem is that when the business value is centered around getting people to engage with diversity in a certain way, then it tends to focus people on a transactional thing.”Caruso suggests companies focus on bottom-up approaches that look to the root of diversity issues instead of looking for and hiring employees that fit diversity needs.“Try to figure out what you need and try to solve that problem with the people that are right there in the company. Why is it that we’re not seeing a certain race or ethnicity in the organization? Is there something that systematically excludes them from the process?” Caruso said. “I want to see employers give people more room to pick and choose where they want to be and how they want to show up.”Wanly Chen is a writer and poet based in New York City.

Wanly Chen | December 07, 2023

Building a Corporate Culture of Creativity, Passion, and Empathy

United Talent Agency has gone through plenty of changes of late, but one thing that keeps them moving forward is collaboration. Specifically, nurturing relationships with clients so they can more effectively tell their stories.Jean-Rene Zetrenne, chief people officer at United Talent Agency, says as they build opportunities for those clients, others take notice.“They might be looking and saying, I see the success you’ve had here for Bad Bunny, I’ve seen the success you’ve had with Rosalía. I’ve seen the success you’ve had for Karol G. How can I be part of that?” he said. Zetrenne spoke to UTA’s strategies in a fireside chat at From Day One’s Los Angeles Conference. Alison Brower, Business Insider’s Los Angeles bureau chief, moderated. Providing a VoiceAlison Brower of Business Insider interviewed Jean-Rene Zetrenne of UTA in the opening fireside chat at From Day One's conference in LA.Prior to his role at UTA, Zetrenne spent 14 years at Ogilvy, a creative and founder-led environment. In considering the move to Hollywood, what resonated was that UTA was also founder-led.“I can understand the journey that the company is going to be going through as it continues to scale and to grow,” he said. “We sit at the nexus of culture, communications, media, sports, you name it, we are there. We’re able to curate and create an experience that shapes culture. For me, it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”With UTA’s name and reputation, they can bring in the names, but what Zetrenne said makes an impact is helping them grow. UTA recently conducted an engagement survey, and the results showed that diverse populations coming into the company feel a sense of belonging.“As in, the organization gives me a voice and a place for me to speak,” he said. “UTA thrives on people having a point of view. Having a point of view is what’s going to help us succeed.”Another driver is diverse people sitting in all areas of the company. Candidates want to see people at the senior level and all other levels who look like them. Plus it helps on the client-facing side to know that DEI is taken seriously. “We have diverse leaders represented at the partnership level. This gives people a sense that they have an opportunity to grow and be successful here,” Zetrenne said. Continuing that mindset is UTA’s program for people of color to opt-in through the onboarding process to gain guidance from other executives that have been successful in the organization. Taking RisksAllowing people to tell their stories is key. UTA has internal initiatives where they have their own fireside chats, which helps to foster collaboration and the exchange of ideas. That mindset and value focus is how UTA allows its people to lead the way and encourage them to take risks.That kind of collaboration has paid off in developing an entrepreneurial spirit. UTA has added more facets to its business just in the last few years. “We didn’t have UTA marketing three or four years back. We had an idea, and it came from within the organization,” he said. The same idea goes for acquisitions. UTA has 2,000 employees globally, and 70 percent of the company has joined by way of acquisition and new hires in the last few years. How do you keep the core mindset of the company while bringing on so many new people?“One of the things that we’ve learned is there’s not one culture that fits within UTA. If you’re going to get the maximum experience out of any company that you acquire, you have to allow them to be who they are.” At the same time, they need to find commonality with who UTA is, which is collaboration, entrepreneurship, innovation. “You must allow for the different points of view to come to the table and make sure that you create space for that.”Giving BackFurther expanding its way of thinking, the UTA Foundation’s Project Impact sets aside one day a year for all employees to give back to the communities where they live.  “The idea behind it was to create a space where you could connect clients with some of their philanthropic endeavors, and at the same time, help us as an organization to find ways to give back to our communities.” It’s been a tremendous success in not only turning outward to help others, but to show people in and out of the community what they’re all about.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

Carrie Snider | December 07, 2023

Looking Ahead: Integrating Weight Loss and Diabetes Medications for a Healthier Workforce

With the recent increase in demands for new drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, 43% of employers are now considering covering GLP-1s next year, nearly double today’s number. Since its first FDA approval in 2005, GLP-1s have proven effective for health conditions like obesity and diabetes.However, with a steep price tag and concerns about misusage, leaders may find adding GLP-1s to their benefits offerings to be challenging. In a recent From Day One webinar, physicians from Accolade joined moderator Katie Miller Blakemore, senior manager of events at Accolade, to discuss the trends around GLP-1s.Understanding Cost BenefitsOn average, medication like Ozempic can cost more than $1,000 per month, a deterrent for some leaders considering proving it in their benefits. However, there may be greater healthcare costs if employers choose not to offer these drugs, says James Wantuck, MD, associate chief medical officer at Accolade and co-founder of Plush.“There are two sides to this equation: the cost of the drugs and the cost of not using the drugs,” Wantuck said. “Employers need to consider the costs for not using the drugs which may include things like absence from work or inability to do as much at work.”Wantuck points to the cost of obesity as one example. Chronic diseases caused by obesity and excess weight cost 1.72 trillion dollars in the U.S. alone in 2016.With a direct effect on one’s cardiovascular system, GLP-1s can reduce the severity of these diseases by reducing the chances of heart failure and strokes. Having healthier employees is an invaluable asset to any company, Wantuck said. “It’s harder to dismiss and not cover a drug that prevents a heart attack,” Wantuck said. “The price decreases as employees get less sick.”In comparison to similar countries, GLP-1s cost five to ten times more in the U.S. and the prices are not expected to change anytime soon, says Connie Hwang, MD, Accolade’s chief medical officer.“The FDA approved GLP-1s almost two decades ago, and yet there are no generic competitors in this class of drugs,” Hwang said. “The patents and regulatory exclusivity granted show a median of 18.3 years of market protection and so putting this into perspective, the earliest date for a possible generic Ozempic is guaranteed for December 2031. Employers need a GLP-1s strategy now as there is likely no pricing relief in sight.”Dr. Connie Hwang, chief medical officer at Accolade spoke with Dr. James Wantuck and Katie Miller Blakemore during the webinar (company photo)Giving Access to the Right PeopleNot everybody qualifies for GLP-1s but high costs and the spike in popularity of some drugs from mainstream media have caused employers to enforce restrictions and in some cases, outright bans.Qualifying for GLP-1s states individuals need to have a BMI greater than 30 along with medical problems such as hypertension, type two diabetes, or cardiovascular disease.“Some large employers have eliminated coverage for GLP-1s for the weight loss indication, and many have done so pointing to the greater than 200% total cost increases that they’ve been seeing,” Hwang said.Eliminating GLP-1 options negatively affects people who need the medications, bringing the strategy back to the need for employers to evaluate cost benefits. In a study of how members receiving GLP-1s meet the protocol criteria, researchers discovered that 94% of Accolade Care members did meet the criteria.Offering GLP-1s is only the beginning of the journey for employers, Wantuck says. Employers need to provide employees with resources to continue the momentum of their lifestyle change for a successful exit from these drugs.“You have to be open to a lifestyle change to change your habits, diet, and exercise routine to make these drugs the most effective that they can be,” Wantuck said. “These drugs facilitate this weight loss and allow people to reach the goals they’ve never been able to reach before, and I think that inspires them to change their habits.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Accolade, for sponsoring this webinar.Wanly Chen is a writer and poet based in New York City.

Wanly Chen | December 06, 2023

How Hybrid Work Has Changed the Ways We Attract, Retain, and Engage Workers

According to a recent Upwork survey, one out of every 10 Americans will be working remotely by 2025. That’s an 87% increase from 2019! While the urgency of the early days of Covid has passed, remote work is clearly here to stay. How can HR professionals rise to the challenge to attract, retain, and engage top talent in this changing working world?In a short time, innovative new strategies have emerged along the whole employee life cycle, including virtual team building, self-paced learning, and asynchronous communication tools. The goal: ensuring workers are both happy and productive in their roles. In a fireside chat at From Day One’s October Virtual Conference, Sadie Bell, the VP of innovation and deployment, people systems and digital experience at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), discussed how companies can embrace new technologies to make their workplaces more attractive.Embracing Digital Transformation Within HROrganizations are embracing the concept of digital transformation in the workplace, incorporating the latest technologies to make work faster, more efficient, comfortable, and sometimes even safer. “I like to talk about digitization not as moving something from paper to a digital format, but uplifting a process. That’s really where innovation is,” Bell said. “How do I take a process, whether it’s in a chemical plant or an HR onboarding, and give it as many digital touch points, considering the human in the process, and make it more efficient and productive?” One example of digital transformation is the optimization of virtual job applications and the entire HR onboarding process.The overlap of consumer technology and HR technology is already here Bell says, and companies are still developing how best to professionalize its use. “We’re now texting people to apply for a job,” she said. “The differentiating factor now will be compliance and regulation for how we share, store, and secure data.”Matt Charney of HR.com interviewed Sadie Bell of HPE in the virtual fireside chat session (photo by From Day One)Hybrid and remote work options are another clear sign of “HR embracing this age that we live in,” said moderator Matt Charney, talent acquisition practice leader at HR.com.  And it has had a tremendous impact on talent acquisition and retention. “There is a high talent market that is unwilling to work without a hybrid work environment. It’s now more of a workers’ market than an employers’ market,” Bell said. Employees are often juggling multiple competitive offers and are able to be more selective about a company’s values and culture. “They’re starting to look at the grain of the company, and make choices about where they want to work because they’re no longer confined by a physical space,” Bell said.Changing the Employee Value PropositionSince employees are no longer limited in their work options by physical location, organizations need to encourage the recruitment and retention of top talent in other ways, making the whole package more attractive. “It’s about community, it's about beliefs. People are looking for a company that has high integrity, that participates in the community on things that they believe in,” Bell said.HPE focuses on its employees as its most important element, Bell says. “We focus on making the employee value proposition something that people can testify about,” Bell said. That includes involving employees in decisions around corporate social responsibility causes, as well as input into creating customized individual benefits packages surrounding mental health, family care, and other key issues. Companies can also consider unique employee appreciation strategies like virtual game days or meal delivery via local services that allow a team to share a meal or coffee together over Zoom.Flexible Work OptionsIt’s also important that companies emphasize flexible working options and allow employees to “design their day, in their way,” whether through a hybrid schedule or one adjusted to account for other personal responsibilities and priorities like childcare.There are still some employees who would prefer to be on site some or even all of the time, but even that environment is shifting. “When people are on site, we’ve found that we have to make things a little more exciting,” Bell said.“I had some team members ask me at some point, ‘If we’re going to come back to the office every day, what are you going to give me?’” Covid proved that in many organizations, full-time in-person work is not necessary. So, companies must pivot their approach to make it attractive and even fun if they’re going to expect employees to return.“The expectation is that when I’m there, it has to be something more valuable than when I'm sitting on my couch, where I can do other things like get to my children faster, or wash my laundry, or just not get dressed when I wake up in the morning,” Bell said. This value can come through setting strong intentions for in-person meetings and making sure it’s always the right people, at the right time, for the right purpose.Retention Through Training and EngagementHPE has a particularly strong track record with employee retention, Charney notes, thanks to the company’s in-house initiatives for growth and engagement. It provides in-house mentorship programs, relying on networking and team building to pass on knowledge. “We think about upskilling and reskilling our teams as technology changes,” Bell said, ensuring that more seasoned workers are up on the latest technology while simultaneously training the newer employees to eventually step into leadership roles.Engagement is no longer about a pinball table in the conference room, Charney says, especially with employees working virtually around the world. Instead, Bell says, there needs to be a focus on frequent smaller team engagement, communities that come together for a purpose, with larger groups coming together more occasionally and usually in a virtual format. Company culture is generally becoming more localized. By embracing virtual working environments, focusing on engagement, and amping up CSR initiatives, HR professionals can attract and retain top talent in a changing working world.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, Honeysuckle Magazine, and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, and CBS New York.

Katie Chambers | December 06, 2023

How Equitable Technology Can Boost Diversity

Almost three-quarters of Americans oppose the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring decisions, according to a 2023 survey by Pew Research Center, yet almost 25% of companies surveyed by SHRM report using AI for HR-related tasks.In order to make advanced tech a useful, ethical, and legal part of people operations, employers may proceed with enthusiasm, as long as it’s tempered with caution. This was discussed in an executive panel titled “How Equitable Technology Can Boost Diversity,” which I moderated during From Day One’s November virtual conference.Given the panelists’ expertise in talent acquisition, the way tech is used in hiring decisions (specifically how AI and bias-limiting tools are used) was at the center.When Tech Makes Decisions, and When People Make DecisionsTech has proven itself to outperform recruiters on many hiring tasks, like making connections across vast amounts of information to solve problems faster, says Rebecca Warren, who leads customer success at talent intelligence platform Eightfold.There’s a difference between new AI-powered tools and the more familiar ones that use data analytics and machine learning. Warren considers AI to be largely proactive, while the latter is reactive.“AI are systems or machines that are replicating human intelligence,” she said. “Data analytics uses the insights, patterns, and trends from data to help make decisions. If you were to think about providing actionable information to improve operations, that would come from your data analytics, as opposed to using AI, which helps to either eliminate extra work or make connections faster. They should be used in conjunction, but they have different purposes.”One signal of a good tech tool is that it streamlines the interview process, said Stacey Olive, VP of talent acquisition and employer branding at Medidata Solutions, which builds software for clinical trials. “Anything that levels the playing field is going to be helpful. Sometimes that’s the luxury of an applicant tracking system that allows you to customize a feedback form or to make sure that hiring can’t take place unless you have a diverse candidate slate.”It appears that a sizable share of workers are comfortable with companies using AI to screen candidates. Pew found that 47% of Americans think AI would be better at evaluating job applicants than humans are. Only 15% believe it would be worse.But there are some parts of the hiring process that even the most sophisticated tech can’t replicate, like networking. “Many people find their jobs through their network and by word of mouth. Some people don’t even like to apply, so you’ve got to always be networking, and that’s constant hard work,” Olive noted.Spotting the Bad Actors, Finding the GoodResist the draw of all things shiny and new, said panelists. Don’t chase technology for technology’s sake and adopt a buzzy tech trend before you’re equipped to do it well. “Like any new technology, people need to think about the problem they’re trying to solve,” said Josh Brenner, CEO of job search platform Hired. Instead of finding a problem to fit the technology, find tech tools that solve problems you already know about.Journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza moderated the panel among Josh Brenner of Hired, Rebecca Warren of Eightfold, Nicholas Mailey of Equinix, and Stacey Olive of Medidata Solutions (photo by From Day One)Larger firms should make sure the tools they’re picking are set up for enterprise-level application, “especially when it comes to compliance,” said Brenner. “There are a lot of challenges within recruiting around privacy, salary transparency, and AI biases. Make sure your vendor can provide a third-party audit.” As of July 5, employers in New York City are required to submit AI tools used in hiring to an annual audit under the US’s first law designed to limit such bias. State and federal laws may be incoming, and some agencies already have recourse to challenge AI tools that cause harm.All employers should look out for AI platforms making big, vague claims. “If your vendor can’t explain how the platform or the process works, that’s a red flag,” said Warren. “You need to make sure that the person who is telling you what you need to buy actually understands how it works.”Not everything billed as AI is truly artificial intelligence. Some might be more accurately labeled as machine learning or data analysis. If you’re unsure of your vetting capabilities, bring in an expert. “Even if you’re a small organization, it’s absolutely worth the money to bring in a consultant to give you an independent view of whether that technology is going to solve your problems,” Warren said. “Even if it’s just five hours or one week, bring in an expert to make sure you’re not causing more harm than good.”Governing Your Company DataTo better govern its data, enterprise network provider Equinix developed a governance board comprising representatives from information security, legal, IT, and HR analytics. The team built a process for reviewing the way data is handled, who has access (and whether they still need it), how it’s used, and who governs it. The group meets at least monthly, sometimes more, to review new data practices and audits.“Then we run water through the pipes,” says the company’s VP of talent acquisition, Nicholas Mailey. “You want to play out the implementation of different solutions or processes, look at the outcome of those processes or practices to ensure that you know, to the extent that you can, that you have control and a sense for whether the outcome is ultimately equitable.”The test-run exercise has worked, prompting the company to correct itself before making privacy-violating mistakes. “We started to implement AI technology in certain areas, then we candidly thought that we were out over our skis,” Mailey said. At the time, Equinix asked job seekers to self-disclose demographic information in the application process. So when Equinix wanted to create diverse talent pipelines for jobs, it was those self-disclosures they thought of first. But at disclosure, applicants had been assured that such data would not be factored into hiring decisions.“Fortunately, we caught it,” he said. “But if we hadn’t had a governing board in place looking at how we were approaching these issues, we would have made the mistake of leveraging that data.” Instead, the company took its time and got it right. “It was another year and a half before we started implementing again.”Recruiters like to move quickly and get things done. But HR isn’t a tech department (at least, not entirely), and it’s best to proceed with caution, Mailey said. “It’s safest for companies to go slow in order to go fast—and ensure you’re doing the right thing.”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 BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza | December 05, 2023

Tech-Powered Ways to Recognize Your Team

When Magdalena Bugallo, director of total rewards experience at VCA, opened an ecard on Boss Appreciation Day this year, she was moved to tears.“There were words of appreciation from my team, and for me that was amazing because I built this team from scratch. We had been getting to know each other for the past year. And it filled my heart and made me cry,” Bugallo told journalist Lydia Dishman, moderator of the recent From Day One webinar titled “How Tech Can Boost Engagement and Recognition.”In this new hybrid and remote work era, using tech to recognize others can be as simple as that. This is good news because employees who think their company will recognize them are 2.7 times more likely to have high engagement at work, according to Zippia.But business leaders also need to know which technologies and practices are motivational and informative versus fatiguing or counterproductive.Recognizing Team Members in the MomentOrganizations are already using communication tools to effectively recognize employees immediately, instead of waiting for their performance review or a big corporate event.Supriya Bahri, vice president of global total rewards at Roblox, says whenever one of her direct reports has a work anniversary, she writes one or two short paragraphs on the team’s Slack channel to acknowledge the event. Those individuals have begun to do the same for their direct reports.“If it’s the first anniversary, it’s a three or four-line story about how we met and how we’re so excited looking at how far we’ve come,” Bahri said. “And if it's the year three anniversary, it’s reflecting back on the year and thanking them for it.”Microsoft Teams has a function that VCA uses to celebrate employees in a team chat or via a private message, says Bugallo.“It has visuals like a unicorn that means, ‘You’re amazing,’” she said. It also allows managers to recognize employees when they display values such as leadership or courage, Bugallo added.Recognition For AllEveryone is different regarding how they like to be recognized, and respecting that difference is critical, says Katrina Hall, director of human resources at VSP Vision.For example, Hall had a team member she wanted to recognize for the extraordinary way she faced adversity. Hall planned to praise her on a company-wide platform, but the employee told her she disliked recognition on the platform and found it disingenuous. She told Hall, “the people who really appreciate me will tell me directly. I don’t want the fanfare.’”On the other hand, “I have other people on my team that need that larger recognition,” Hall said. “You have to lean into your team and ask, ‘How do you want to be recognized? What’s important to you?’ In knowing that, then you hit the mark every time.”Everyone’s Voice MattersOne essential way to recognize employees is to make them feel like their opinions matter, which can be challenging to accomplish in a hybrid workforce, says Bahri.During Covid, everyone worked remotely, so “we were all a box on the screen. It was leveled,” she said.Now some employees are physically present in a room while others are still boxes on the screen. Bahri says some in the latter group weren’t actively participating in meetings, so she told the team leaders to “watch out for the quieter people, and as we are asking for input from the room, if we haven’t heard from employee A and employee B, let’s ask them, ‘Hey, we haven’t heard from you. How do you feel about it?’”Lydia Dishman, senior editor for growth & engagement at Fast Company moderated the webinar (photo by From Day One)Barhi also recommended companies take advantage of Zoom’s breakout room feature to allow remote workers to meet in smaller teams “because some people are more comfortable discussing an idea among three people versus 15.”Employee engagement and recognition can be challenging for large corporations with team members across the globe.“We’d like to have a little bit of fun. Who doesn’t?” said Seema Bhansali, vice president of employee experience and inclusion at Henry Schein.That’s why the Henry Schein Games began. Employees were randomly split into two teams: Team Henry and Team Esther, Esther referring to Esther Schein, co-founder of the company. Each team was given the opportunity to engage through competition and surveys on topics such as how they volunteer. The company set up a specific website for the games where employees can check the leaderboard, post pictures, and engage with each other. A few Henry Schein sites even held field days for in-person competition.“It was amazing to see the transformation from some of the most serious people in our organization, just getting into the fun and chatting on teams with one another,” Bhansali said.The company also has various clubs where employees worldwide can bond through shared hobbies such as gardening or gaming.“It’s an appreciation for the team to say, ‘Hey, jobs well done,’” Bhansali said. “You also need to unwind. It’s a focus on wellness and connection in a time when we are a little bit disconnected because of the way that we work.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Achievers, who supported this webinar.Mary Pieper is a freelance reporter based in Mason City, Iowa.

Mary Pieper | December 04, 2023

How Innovative Employers Are Making Their Benefits More Inclusive

Company benefits have never been one-size-fits-all, but today the employee landscape is changing even more rapidly than ever. The more varied the workforce, the more varied their benefits needs are going to be.That’s certainly true for Liz Pittinger, head of customer success at Stork Club. In the last three years alone, family planning and fertility benefit needs have drastically changed.Pittinger spoke to this at a From Day One’s webinar along with three other panelists. Lydia Dishman, senior editor of growth and engagement, at Fast Company, moderated.Millennials are further in their careers now and want company benefits to better reflect the changing workforce as well as align with diversity, equity, and inclusion, Pittinger says. That has opened the way for Stork Club to create a more inclusive path for people to start families.“People are waiting later and later to start their families, so you have single women in their 30s and 40s, who are concerned about fertility preservation,” Pittinger said. “Then there are same sex couples who have typically been excluded from a health plan and fertility solution.”Companies now can’t afford not to offer these inclusive benefits. Especially if they want to attract and retain the talent they need.“I think it's really important to ground ourselves on why DEI is important,” she added. The answer: because it’s important to employees who are searching for and staying at jobs for different reasons than previous generations. According to a study by Fortune and the Institute for Corporate Productivity of 1,200 HR professionals around the world, overperforming organizations are those that focus on DEI. “In other words, company culture, even over compensation,” said Pittinger.That is to say, however, not every company needs to offer every type of benefit. Organizations must cater to their workforce, their unique makeup, and their unique needs. “It’s about understanding the company goals and demographics,” she said. “Some industries just traditionally run heavier on single women in their 30s and 40s. You may have a large LGBTQ community.” It goes back to understanding their needs. How? Be in close contact with them, offer surveys, get feedback from the hiring team and managers.Then, once HR managers understand the gaps, they need to make changes, circle back and make sure their people know what’s being offered.Growing Need for Mental Health BenefitsWhen reporters at the Los Angeles Times had to stay out of the office due to Covid, they felt the disconnect. They were doing their jobs, telling the hard stories, but didn’t have that natural way of talking things out with colleagues.Nancy Antoniou, SVP of strategy and CHRO at the Los Angeles Times, recalled how difficult that time was. Rather than expressing and sharing, the reporters were internalizing what they were seeing.“We had a situation where an employee called our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) vendor, and the story that they were sharing about what they were experiencing during one of the protests was so impactful to the EAP counselor, that the counselor themselves started breaking down,” Antoniou said. “It was a role shift for the employee, where they felt like they had to now counsel the counselor.”With that information, they now had the responsibility to do something about it. So they implemented a peer-to-peer support group, and hired clinicians to train employees. It’s really made a difference in how they share and work through the emotional side of the job, Antoniou says. “Having the ability to talk to your peer who has potentially experienced something similar is where that inclusiveness and belonging came in,” she added.The bottom line is you have to listen to your people, and then you must follow through and give them what they need. “There's no greater disservice than taking a survey and asking employees to share their opinions and thoughts about our culture or offerings, and then doing nothing with it,” said Antoniou.Putting On Your Listening EarsOf course, there are benefits that everyone needs. Kristy Lucksinger, head of global benefits at JLL, said that during the pandemic many people were reactively addressing health issues. More recently at JLL, they’re trying to close that gap and help people focus more on preventative care. One tool to accomplish this has been virtual health care.“We truly believe that virtual care is absolutely critical in this environment, ensuring our employees really know and understand how virtual care works; and when it's appropriate to use virtual care versus when it’s not,” she said.In a conversation moderated by Lydia Dishman of Fast Company, the panelists discussed the topic “How Innovative Employers Are Making Their Benefits More Inclusive.”Relaying benefits information to employees is key. One way they do that at JLL is training managers to recognize symptoms or indications among employees so they can help them take the next step.An employee came to Lucksinger with personal issues at home, specifically an adult child with mental health concerns. “They were dealing with their gay son who needed some mental health services provided to them because they were experiencing a couple of their friends who had just committed suicide.”Any parent with stressed children is also stressed themselves, she added. Acknowledging that hardship, and the impact on the employee’s life, were important first steps. Next was to ensure the employee and their child got the help they needed with a professional with experience in the LGBTQ+ space.“Just having had that conversation with this employee, you could just see the relief in that employee,” explained Lucksinger. “We are trying to go that extra mile to ensure that our employee experiences go above and beyond.”Take the Proactive ApproachThe key takeaway from the panel was thinking outside the box. Straying away from the traditional approaches to company benefits and incorporating the values of DEI into offering the benefits people really need. And it all goes back to listening. Sometimes employees will come to you, but you also need to proactively seek them.In the case of Lisa Singh, managing director of global benefits at Silicon Valley Bank, they met with their military and veteran employees to get their specific feedback. The employees gave their thoughts on experience and processes, which Singh said they took into consideration and made adjustments to their policies. Education goes a long way, too, Singh added. At the bank, they hold mental health safety trainings and offer other ways to educate so employees are better equipped to help themselves and others. They hold regular webinars about different aspects of health, which is an opportunity for the company to let employees know about their benefits. One piece of key advice to make sure this kind of change happens? Take matters into your own hands to best serve your employees.“Your healthcare vendor may say, ‘yes, you’re competitive. You have fertility coverage, don't worry about it.’ But we really need to look under the hood at that,” she said. “If we don't ask the questions, if we don’t work with our consultants, even push our consultants, then we’re going to have these gaps that we don't know of, and we’re not going to be meeting the needs of our diverse population.”Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter. 

Carrie Snider | December 04, 2023

Is Your Company Attractive to a Diverse Workforce?

Three out of four job seekers and employees consider a diverse workforce as an essential factor when evaluating companies and job offers, according to a 2020 Glassdoor survey. “Underrepresented candidates really care about the makeup of your organization and the actual numbers,” said Rena Nigam, founder and CEO of the AI-enabled hiring and talent intelligence platform Meytier, during a recent panel discussion at From Day One’s November virtual conference.Ideally, employers will be able to show candidates that there are people who look like them across all company levels. But what if they aren’t there yet?“If you’re still at the beginning of your journey, then be authentic,” Nigam told journalist Lydia Dishman, panel moderator. “Convey your intention on why you want to improve or why you have a lack of diversity.”Overcoming Biases When HiringTo create a diverse workforce, everyone involved in the hiring process needs education on how to recognize their own biases. Education can help “control some of those thoughts, and ensure that it doesn't allow you to make a decision based solely on those particular biases, but challenge it in the moment,” said DeShaun Wise Porter, global head of diversity and recognition at Hilton.Shenece Johns is the head of inclusion and diversity at JCPenney, which is exploring how to use AI to attract talent. She says this technology is so new that the company is still navigating how to infuse it into the recruiting and hiring process.“There could be bias when using AI, and we want to be mindful when we do decide to go full-steam ahead so that we don't inadvertently put our own unconscious bias into the system and discriminate,” she said. “We want to be intentional and methodical about how we approach it. We don’t want to screen out individuals based on their name, school, neighborhood, or other factors like that.”But companies can employ AI to expand opportunities rather than automate rejection, says Nigam.“We use an AI based ontology there to ensure that we discover things that people may not have stated,” she said. “We look beyond the obvious on people’s journeys.”Skills vs. Traditional MetricsHigher education is becoming more expensive, meaning many individuals can’t afford college. However, that doesn’t mean they lack skills, says Louis Chesney, neurodiversity program manager at RethinkCare.“Even if you were to walk into an interview with a master’s degree, they care less about how many years you were in that environment, and more about if you can do the job,” he said.Lydia Dishman of Fast Company moderated the discussion titled “Is Your Company Attractive to a Diverse Workforce?” during From Day One's recent virtual conference (photo by From Day One)Hilton has eliminated the four-year degree requirement for most of its positions in favor of looking strictly at the skill sets of potential employees, says Wise Porter.“It afforded us an opportunity to truly evaluate and determine what is honestly needed for a particular role,” she said.Monica Parodi, vice president of talent acquisition for The New York Times, said that as a federal contractor, the organization uses a structured, consistent, and inclusive interview process where the questions are all tied back to skills.“The training needs to be there for recruiters to make sure that anything that veers away from skills and might show bias in debriefs returns right back to the skills qualifications for the role,” she said.Leaning into Corporate ValuesMany companies have diversity and inclusion as one of their corporate values. However, those are just words on paper unless an organization truly embraces them.The golden rule, ‘treat others as you want to be treated’ is one of the core values at JCPenney. Johns says it’s a phrase everyone is familiar with, so it’s a good way to connect everyone in the organization as well as job candidates. “We lead with that and we lean into it,” she said.However, people can perceive values differently, which can cause bias, says Porter. She said it’s important to ask “appropriate behavioral-based interview questions to be able to get down to the crux of the matter for a consistent experience.”The best way for an organization to communicate its values is to demonstrate them, says Chesney. That’s why it’s essential to provide a detailed interview agenda to job prospects. “This could level the playing field by giving all candidates the same information and expectations. It’s also important to be transparent about the accommodations process, which can help candidates with different needs to perform their best in the interview,” he said.Connecting with Overlooked Candidate PoolsNigam defined overlooked candidate pools as “people who see constant rejection. They are people who always end up in the job black hole.” These individuals include immigrants, caregivers, veterans, and those with disabilities, she says.The New York Times is working on hiring practices across the board for anyone from historically marginalized groups, including people who are neurodivergent, says Parodi.For example, the organization is moving away from panel interviews. Those interviews were created to reduce biases but have also excluded some groups, says Parodi.Certain individuals might not perform as well during a panel interview because they may struggle with working memory or executive functioning, says Chesney. He said those struggles are amplified “when you’re getting rapid fire questions from multiple people.”One of the most overlooked talent pools are those with criminal backgrounds, says Johns. “We are doing some work in this space to help with giving them a second chance,” she said.Mary Pieper is a freelance reporter based in Mason City, Iowa.

Mary Pieper | November 30, 2023

Utilizing Benefits to Attract Diverse Talent: Building the Foundation Before They Arrive

When Matthew Legere and his family faced a devastating pregnancy loss, he submitted for bereavement leave at work. He was denied. “They said because the baby wasn’t actually born, I didn't qualify for bereavement leave,” Legere said. “Now, if you asked me at that moment if I felt valued as an employee, no. No, I did not.”While this example is startling, it’s unfortunately not uncommon. Progressive employers need to account for all the nuances and complexities of an employee’s life when crafting a benefits package with care, dignity, and respect.By looking at your benefits plan through a variety of lenses and thinking about your employees’ diverse needs, you can build a plan that allows individuals and their families to feel seen, heard, and valued through the benefits that you offer. “By addressing unmet needs, we believe you can truly drive engagement with your current employees. But it also casts a vision that’s attractive to a prospective employee, making it so that your story can truly become their story,” Legere said.Legere, now SVP of Brown & Brown, the fifth largest benefits consultant in the country, shared his top tips during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s November virtual conference.Building out an employee benefits package that is comprehensive and sensitive to a variety of lifestyles and situations is integral to workforce acquisition and retention. Of course, employers cannot envision those needs in a bubble. There is a difference between a vision and a shared vision, Legere says. “If we have an opportunity to get feedback from the talent market, or even our current employees on how well we’re solving for a diverse employee benefit program, that is what’s going to be most effective,” Legere said. Shared visions attract more people, sustain higher levels of motivation, and withstand more challenges.Surveying Employee ValuesLegere cites a 2023 study from MetLife of the top desired employee benefits, which include, in order of importance, health, paid leave, 401(k), dental, vision, life insurance, and disability.But importantly, Legere notes, these rankings changed from generation to generation. “You have to get a sense of who your current population is as well as who you’re trying to attract and what their needs are,” Legere said. “What they expect for benefits could vary significantly.”It’s also important to pay attention to what trends change over time. For example, from 2020 to 2023, there was a 100% increase in employees surveyed who prioritized wellness benefits like gym memberships and employee assistance programs. Your employee benefits need to change along with the cultural climate in order to stay competitive. Legere also shared that employers tend to significantly overestimate their employees’ well-being and satisfaction, and encourages them to be proactive in crafting a package that reflects their actual current circumstances.Moving from Buzzword to ActionMatthew Legere, senior vice president of Brown & Brown, led the thought leadership spotlight (company photo)Talking with employers, Legere found that while many talked about diversity, equity, and inclusion, they weren’t really taking steps to move the needle.  “Craft strategies, policies, practices, and procedures, for everybody at every aspect to feel valued,” Legere said. That means taking into consideration all aspects of life wellness and creating policies that are effective for all generations in your workplace. It’s also crucial to recognize the different steps of an employee’s life journey both in and out of the office, and account for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.Using national statistics like Gallup polls or the U.S. census, employees can project an estimate of how their workplace population might be impacted by categories like LGBTQIA+, family planning, veteran status, working parents, and build out a benefits plan accordingly.An effective plan should be valued by all employees, encompassing all of their intersectional identities. “You want to be relevant to your employees in those key areas and offer benefits specifically for them.”Legere and his team at Brown & Brown offer assessments for organizations to see how their benefits packages address the needs of certain populations and find where there might be gaps. They can also show the cost/benefit analysis, in other words, how much an employer has to pay for a benefit vs. the positive economic impact it would potentially have on an employee.Executing the Benefits Strategy and Looking AheadAlongside benefit strategy decisions, Legere says employers have several opportunities to embed relevant DEIB themes across their HR and benefits communication. Employees and their family members receive inclusive content, DEIB culture messages, and targeted materials. It’s important to use inclusive language in these communications. Legere shares an example of using the term “chosen family” alongside “nuclear family” when talking about holiday celebrations, which is potentially more welcoming to LGBTQIA+ employees. “Having intentional and inclusive language woven into communications can be significant,” he said.Legere advises employers to identify their target employee audience, then take a look at their current benefits partners to make sure they are offering the depth, breadth, and cultural sensitivity that is best-suited to that community. If they are not, it’s time to make a change.Ultimately, it comes down to what is best for the employee when they are at their time of greatest need and vulnerability. “If you can be relevant with what your employees or prospective employees are talking about at their kitchen table,” Legere said, “you're going to help them feel so seen.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Brown & Brown, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. 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, Honeysuckle Magazine, and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, and CBS New York.

Katie Chambers | November 30, 2023