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Michael Stahl | May 08, 2023

Looking for New Talent? Focus on Potential, Not Credentials

If a company is experiencing difficulties in acquiring talent, which many report to be the case today, a solution may reside in a simple change of approach: Broaden the search. Such a shift, particularly on the part of companies in the technology sector, where the need for talent is always on the rise, could prove a powerful elixir to the perceived talent shortage in the job market. It would also help address the lack of representation in the industry. For years, tech companies have cited “pipeline problems” as the reason why so few of their workers are women and people of color. But too-restrictive hiring processes with bloated prerequisites for candidates, such as the absolute need for a college degree, may also be to blame.“Companies who are still requiring college four-year degrees for a major set of jobs—they can still require that, [but] they’re just going to have a lot of open jobs,” said Kim Mitchell, VP of program strategy at NPower, a nonprofit that creates pathways to careers in tech for military veterans and young adults in underserved communities. “There are not enough people going to college to fill the demand for tech talent in particular, [and] as we look at the broad range of open jobs, the requirement for [a] degree is simply not going to allow someone to reach their goals.”Mitchell’s remarks were made during a recent thought leadership spotlight, “How Employers Can Get Out of Their Own Way in Measuring Talent.” Her advice, to tech companies and other organizations struggling to build a workforce, especially a diverse one, is to consider non-college graduates, young people and veterans who, in lieu of robust formal education, still boast desirable skill sets.“A degree is not always a proxy for someone’s ability and their aptitude, their competence and the skills that they’re able to demonstrate,” Mitchell said. “Just because you’re not on a path to college doesn’t mean you need to take a vow of poverty.”Kim Mitchell, VP of program strategy at NPowerDiplomas also don’t necessarily symbolize the grit a candidate might possess, or their motivation and potential commitment to a position. These are all character traits Mitchell said she’s observed in the talent that’s come through NPower over the years. She added that there are many trades and skills “in areas where individuals can obtain a set of credentials that are not necessarily a college degree.” NPower program participants, some of whom do have degrees–including veterans whom Mitchell described as “struggling with translating their transition to civilian life into a career”—get started with what Mitchell called a “behavioral-based interview.” This step helps determine the prospect’s level of interest in technology and willingness to commit to a career in the sector, as well as what experiences they’ve had that may be, according to Mitchell, “a proxy for skill similarity.”She said that 81% of NPower graduates—those who’ve earned industry-recognized certification—land a job in tech. But NPower isn’t done with them yet. The organization tracks their graduates’ progress and provides more advanced training and education, too, supplying them with the tools to achieve higher-level jobs.“And when employers open their doors and receive this talent, and they then create a culture that is receptive to individuals who may not have had the [traditional] path, but who are able to contribute as much, if not more, then you also have a greater level of commitment,” Mitchell said. “You also have someone who is willing to pay it forward and want[s] to pour [effort] into other young talent and entry-level talent.”Mitchell welcomes what she and others observe as a “skills-based movement” in labor, with a “de-credentialing of positions.” This pivot will not only open up more advancement opportunities for those already employed but also give previously ignored talent the chance to get started on a fulfilling career of productivity. And, in the face of a labor shortage, it will help companies struggling to staff get the talent they need, from sources traditionally perceived as unlikely. “Their focus is on what someone is able to do,” Mitchell said.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, NPower, who sponsored this thought leadership spotlight.Michael Stahl is a New York City-based freelance journalist, writer, and editor. You can read more of his work at MichaelStahlWrites.com, follow him on Twitter @MichaelRStahl, and order his first book, the autobiography of Major League Baseball pitcher Bartolo Colón, at Abrams Books. (Feature photo: iStock by Getty Images)

Webinar Recap

What Women Want: A Future for Women’s and Family Health

Gender balance has been an issue in the workforce, well, forever. But more and more companies are pushing harder to move the dial. One way of ensuring that women apply for, are hired by, and remain with an organization is to focus your benefits package more on their needs – especially when it comes to health.“Because of Covid and other factors, women are exiting the workforce in greater numbers than men,” said Christine Geissler, head of HR for the global nutrition business at Reckitt, the makers of Enfamil infant formula, among other products. “To stop that loss we need to figure out how to better support women and families in the workplace.” That’s about more than just keeping the women you have happy in their jobs, said Mamta Elias, the vice president of strategy at Ovia Health, a women’s health and parenting benefit company. “The business case for a diverse workforce is clear, and we know benefits are an important piece of that equation,” said Mamta during a From Day One webinar on women's and family health benefits.What Are Family-friendly Benefits?Ovia recently surveyed working parents and employees of childbearing age about their existing benefits and where they could improve. Among the results:• Nearly 80% of respondents said they would gladly leave their current role for a lateral move to a company with better benefits. • More than 96% of respondents consider family-friendly benefits to be important. • 55% of respondents didn't consider their employer to be family-friendly. • Most employers offer at least around three months of parental leave, which is at least partially paid. • 44% of respondents said their leave was paid at 100%. • Only 22% of respondents said their benefits were easy to understand. • 63% didn't even know if they had family-friendly benefits like parental leave, adoption support, surrogacy benefits, or maternity support. • Respondents wanted digital tools for maternity support, perinatal mental health support, and pumping-friendly work environments. • They also wanted financial support for childcare, as well as for caring for elderly or sick relatives. • They wanted support for all paths to parenthood, including surrogacy, adoption, and fertility assistance.Elias says the survey also asked which benefits matter the most. Flexibility was at the top of the list. Respondents also wanted fully paid parental leave of at least four months so that they wouldn’t have to drain their PTO and sick leave before tapping into parental leave. They wanted flexible scheduling, remote options, and gradual return-to-work options. And the desire for flexibility goes beyond postpartum: “People need flexibility, no matter what phase of their life or family building or family supporting they’re in,” Elias said.The full panel of speakers from top left, Christine Geissler of Reckitt, Hannah Wilkowski of BuzzFeed, Mamta Elias of Ovia Health, moderator Anna Maltby, and Dr. Jaime Knopman of CCRM (photo by From Day One)“There is a large spectrum of generations currently in or entering the workforce,” said Hannah Wilkowski, global director of benefits for BuzzFeed. Some younger people aren’t ready to start a family. But they may want to know more about contraception. Maybe they're new to a city and want to find a new OB/GYN. Being able to offer fertility benefits like IVF or egg freezing for those who are just starting their parenting journey can be as important as providing resources for those who are pregnant or have a young baby. There also needs to be attention to people entering menopause. “We want our employees to feel seen and heard,” she said. “Different people need different things. Providing the resources necessary makes their lives easier, and makes BuzzFeed a much better place to work for everyone.”Finding Solutions that WorksJamie Knopman, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist with CCRM, said there has been a huge shift in what employers cover. “Embryo and egg freezing used to be available only to couples and women when they were older, and only if they had the financial resources to do it,” she said. “I didn’t have $10,000 to freeze my eggs when I was 28, but I probably did when I was 40. But my eggs weren’t good by then. I could freeze all I want and they probably won’t make a baby.”Now, more companies help women take advantage of technology when they are younger. Then, when they are ready, those eggs are available if needed. The pandemic also exacerbated the push towards freezing eggs and embryos, in part because, as people sat at home alone or with their partner, they started to think more about what they wanted from life. “Women came in droves to freeze their eggs or to make embryos with donor sperm,” Knopman said. Sperm banks were tapped out for a while owing to the demand.Offering egg and embryo freezing provides options for families, Knopman said. While they may not be sure at 28 if they want to be a parent or carry a pregnancy, they won’t have to face fertility decline in their late 30s. They just need to open the freezer, pull out their 28-year-old eggs, and make a baby.Solutions can cost a lot of money, but Wilkowski said you can make a difference by looking at redundancies in the benefits you offer. Is something offered in two different places or with two different vendors? Are you paying for benefits that no one is using? Know what they use, what they like, and what they wish they had. What are the problems they are experiencing that keep them from being their best, most productive and engaged self at work? “When we understand the problems and perceived gaps, we can go find a solution,” she said. Geissler suggested that companies regularly evaluate what they spend and ensure that it aligns with the company’s vision and goals. Who do you want to attract and keep? Are you fixing a gender imbalance? Are you a company whose ethos and products have an obvious alignment with specific kinds of benefits? Since Reckitt is in the formula business, women’s, mothers’, and infants’ health had better be included in their offerings. “We over-index in supporting women and families. We support environments where healthy babies and families can thrive.” Reckitt offers 26 weeks paid parental leave, something that is vanishingly rare in the United States. “But we should over-index in that area because the importance of babies and families is our message.”Elias says that having an organization where women’s and family benefits are respected and utilized, and where everyone sees the value and importance of those benefits, requires having an open and supportive work culture. “Everyone understands the ways in which women's and family health can impact people's personal and professional lives. We need to highlight why this should matter to all of us in an organization.”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.

Lisa Jaffe | May 08, 2023

Krista Sherer | May 05, 2023

Changing Women’s Health Care Through Grit, Grace, and Humor

Women and people of color who have experienced any sort of health issue know that our standard of care is somewhat abysmal.“We don’t deserve a second-class medical system just because we were seen as second-class citizens for such a long time,” said Surbhi Sarna, Y Combinator partner and author of Without a Doubt: How to Go From Underrated to Unbeatable.“I wanted other people to understand the importance of women's health,” Sarna told moderator Rosalie Chan, senior tech editor of Insider, in a fireside chat at From Day One’s 2023 Silicon Valley conference. Sarna said the experience of turning her health scare into a success inspired her “to change the state of women's health care.”The Journal of the American Heart Association concluded in 2022 that women were less likely to be admitted when presenting chest pain in the emergency department. The study also confirmed that women and people of color waited longer to be seen by physicians.Sarna had an ovarian cancer scare in high school and suffered from debilitating pain. It took months for medical professionals to tell her she had a complex ovarian cyst. Grappling with invasive blood tests and ambiguous ultrasounds, she was left with the options of surgery, the possible side effects of a biopsy, or allowing the mass to dissolve independently.Ultimately learning it was not cancer, Sarna wanted to make a change in the world of women's health and began working on raising capital to create a first-in-kind microcatheter for the detection of ovarian cancer.“And so the idea was born,” she said. “But women's health in 2010 was the least sexy area for raising venture capital. So, talk about being doubted! I always had to go in front of a room of men and say the word vagina because it's part of women's health.”Sarna says that responses to this clinical term were perplexing, with men leaning either in or out. In addition, the fundraising process was nightmarish, with people telling her that women’s health was “bikini medicine.” Nevertheless, she proceeded.“It took me a year to raise $250,000 to build a prototype,” she said. “Doubters even said the market size was too small. Yeah, women only make 50 percent of the population – tiny market size.”Additionally, it was difficult to attract male engineers to the project of creating a women’s health device with a young female chief executive officer at the helm.“Eventually, I did find a team who believed in it,” Sarna said.She recalls that the strategy of putting fear into her donors' hearts finally worked.“If they didn’t invest in me, they would miss out,” she said. “I told them nobody else understood this disease state as well as I did and that I could write a textbook on it. Of course, the first several checks written were all from women, but women who believed in it.”Sarna’s doubters only motivated her more, driving her to raise $20M in venture funding and to complete three clinical trials with two first-in-class FDA approvals. The result: nVision Medical, which developed the first microcatheter for the identification of ovarian cancer. In 2018, Sarna sold the corporation to Boston Scientific for $275M, more than 15 times the money invested and one of the most significant exits in women’s health. She stayed on for the following two years, running the organization in preparation for its inception. “It was a very proud moment for all of us,” she said. “But I realized I wanted more people to understand the importance of women's health, and I wanted more examples of women leaders out there reaching for their dreams.”As a woman of color raising capital in tech and medicine, Sarna is candid about her experience of navigating structural biases and her struggle with self-doubt in her book.“I wanted to be honest about the challenges, what it was like to fundraise as a woman, and then to be pregnant, and then have a one-year-old at home at the time of the exit,” she said. Sarna says the unconscious bias and sexism she experienced in raising capital fortified her and fueled her courage to speak up for other women. “Before, I might not have felt comfortable to call it out,” she said. “And now if I’m in a roomful of men, and they're talking over another woman, I just say, ‘Sorry, Bob, I think Sally was speaking.’”Currently, as a partner with Y Combinator, where she invests in early-stage companies or startups, Sarna says changing corporate values are at the forefront of their work. “Leaders of companies are revisiting their values and having open discussions about them,” Sarna remarked. “All of us know that culture happens one way or another, by accident or by design.”Sarna says that, in times of turbulence, employees return to cultural values, which are a company's glue. “Values are the light at the end of the tunnel,” she explained. “ They keep you going and remind everybody why they are there in the first place, why the companies work matters, and why they matter.”Rosalie Chan of Insider interviewed Surbhi Sarna during the From Day One session (photo by David Coe for From Day One)As someone who built her ladder to her success, Sarna says that having strong values to return to while raising money for capital was necessary. “I can't tell you how many times I talked about this in the book,” she said.In light of news about Theranos risking patients’ health by misrepresenting the accuracy of blood analysis technology and defrauding investors, Chan asked Sarna how she assesses due diligence as a partner. “What I’ve come to realize after working with the hundreds of founders is that the vast majority just aren't like that,” Sarna said. “Most of us have gotten into health care because we hope to make a difference to patients.”Sarna does intrinsic motivation sessions with her founders at Y Combinator. The sessions are based on the neuroscience of our spontaneous tendency to be curious, seek out challenges, and gain knowledge without rewards. These gifts will keep you going in the face of obstacles and doubt.“When everything is falling apart, your data doesn't come out the way you want, or your current investors aren't willing to write you another check,” she said. “What keeps you going? What is that intrinsic motivation?”Sarna says the latest session with her team was very emotional because many members were personally impacted by issues related to health care in one way or another. “They fundamentally want to create positive change in the ecosystem,” she said. “So, I'm not blind to what has gone on around us; I remain very optimistic about the mentality of most founders, especially in the health care and life sciences space.” Chan asked Sarna, a founder in biotech without a medical background, how she assembled the right team. Although Sarna graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied molecular and cellular biology and bioengineering, she does not have a medical degree. Sarna says she started with her previous boss, David Snow. The initial meeting was uncomfortable, but Sarna suggested he consult with her and try it out. After a couple of months, the partnership was sealed and the company was off to a good start. “I think you need to remember that the reputation you build is so important, especially right now, on top of all these layoffs,” Sarna said. With a strong partnership and an established team, Sarna and her colleagues were methodical about their cultural values. For example, employees needed to enjoy working, not just show up for a paycheck, and to have a good sense of humor. “We wanted people who would take the work seriously; don’t take yourself as seriously,” Sarna said.From that point, Sarna says the team had a good understanding of their cultural values, technical skills, and the operational skill sets the work required.“The combination was just magical for us,” she said. “We had an extremely high retention rate after that, because when it fits, it fits.”There were mistakes along the way, Sarna admits. “I once hired someone who kept calling the word vagina a ‘hoo-ha,’” she said. “They were the Head of Clinical, and needless to say, that hire did not work out.”Still, Sarna says that these experiences helped everyone stay clear on their commitment to their values. “It cemented our values even more,” she said. “And whenever we tried to move outside our values, it didn't quite work for us.”Chan asked Sarna how Y Combinator supports startups in developing healthy cultures. “Being a founder is an incredibly hard job; a lot rests on your shoulders,” Sarna said. “But one of the advantages is that you can be deliberate about the culture from day one, and it can be an extension of yourself.”Sarna says that corporate values and culture are concepts you feel and live naturally, but that they need to be talked about and revised, so the company walks its talk. “If you have a cultural value of integrity, or you are holding yourself to high standards when it comes to handling data, it extends into how you make choices,” she said. Ending with the trending topic of layoffs in the tech industry, Chan asked Sarna how she thought this would impact the startup ecosystem. “It takes one door closing before you can even notice another one's open,” Sarna said. “And I think that a lot of the engineering talent that has been let go in the valley is thinking, ‘Maybe now it's time to pursue that dream I had of starting another company or bringing this innovation to life.’”Y Combinator sees over 17,000 applications twice a year. “Right now is a great time to do a startup, because it takes seven to 10 years to build a good, solid company,” Sarna said. “Even though I can't crystal ball what the economic climate will be then, it may be better than now.”Krista Sherer is a strategic communications consultant with a background in journalism and corporate communications. She resides in Sebastopol, Calif.

Lisa Jaffe | May 05, 2023

Why Volunteering Works: The Evolutionary Drive to Help

Chris Jarvis likes a thought experiment. At From Day One’s 2023 Seattle conference, the CSO and co-founder of Realized Worth asked the audience to think about this one: Give some members of a group $100 and tell them to spend it on others; give some $100 and tell them to spend it on themselves. Who feels better afterwards? When Harvard professor Michael Norton did this, the group that spent money on others felt better than those who spent it on themselves. He did the experiment with college students, with people in various African countries, with businesspeople in Europe, and with sports teams. Almost universally, the givers group felt better, reported more happiness, and also outperformed their counterparts.Jarvis says the result is known as the helper’s high. “There are primary behaviors that have good feelings baked into them, so that we want to do them again and again,” he said. “Helping each other is a great way to stay alive, and on an evolutionary basis, Mother Nature has put it right up there with eating and sex.”When you ask people why they help others, most respond that it’s the right thing to do. “But what we really mean is that it feels good, so it must be the right thing to do,” he said. “The feeling pre-exists. That’s how it has become institutionalized into our systems, our societies, our culture, religious beliefs. It is an ancient system.”Chris Jarvis, the CSO and co-founder of Realized Worth, led the engaging presentation (photo by David Ryder for From Day One)Another thought experiment from Jarvis: Imagine a hand on a table under a spotlight. Now imagine another hand coming into view holding a syringe with a long needle. The unseen person pokes the needle into the spotlighted hand. The hand wants to pull away, but that hurts more. So it stays still and takes the agony. “Most people will flinch a little.” He also points to a popular video of magician David Blaine doing a magic trick involving the insertion of a large pointy object like a knitting needle through his bare forearm in front of others. You can see it go in one side and the point stretching the skin on the other side before it pops through. In one video, comedian Ricky Gervais expresses extreme discomfort before getting up and leaving the room. “Will Smith and his family ran from the room in terror,” Jarvis said. The effect is similar to that of being overwhelmed by disturbing news or social media and having to take a break. “You are feeling too much, so you abstain from it.”This is an example of the pain matrix, he explained. “There are neurons deep in your brain that can’t tell the difference between seeing someone in pain or experiencing it yourself.” We see this in the reaction people have to natural disasters and the plight of those impacted by war. This is empathy, and the reaction happens in your brain faster than the blink of an eye.The problem is, we don't help everybody. We tend to help those with whom we share an identity. In research out of the Netherlands, subjects were put into a functional MRI machine and shown pictures. First up were pictures of inanimate objects like tables and chairs. The test subjects’ prefrontal cortex, which decides whether something is human or not, didn’t react. When pictures of people were used, there was a spike of activity – until a picture depicted someone who was homeless. Many participants then reacted in the same way as they had to the objects.That reaction wasn’t universal. Participants who’d had experience with homelessness or homeless people did not see those people as objects. You can find more information on these experiments here and here.The in-group/out-group tendency is strong. Jarvis pointed to research that included the needle in the hand experiment. In this version, people wore wristbands that said Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or atheist. When the needle was inserted, test subjects mostly reacted to the people whose bracelet they identified with. “It’s not surprising,” he said. “Research shows that religion and politics are the easiest ways we dehumanize other groups.”Well-constructed volunteer opportunities in the community can reduce the us-versus-them mentality, Jarvis said. They help create brain plasticity that allows people who are often seen as outsiders to be viewed as worthy of concern and action.“Events should be designed in a way that alerts people to something new,” he said. Imagine a volunteer opportunity to serve food at a homeless shelter. “I promise two things: we are not going to make a dent in hunger today, not even a little bit. And we are not here to fix the poor; they are not a problem to be solved.”Participants may wonder why, then, they should bother. This question should be explored as part of any event. “That is the learning. That helps orient them to what meaning they will bring to the experience. I'm going to give you just enough information to inform your meaning-making process. And if we've done a good job, you'll come back. And if you come back, and we revisit those pathways in your brain, you will grow new neural pathways to think differently.”Our current neural pathways dictate how we see the world. “If we want to think differently or behave differently, we must grow new neural pathways. There's no exception. We cannot think our way into better behavior, we must think about it, orient to it, and act.”Without that experience, you can’t achieve neuroplasticity, which is the only way to undo the evolutionary flaw of us-versus-them thinking that leads some people to see a homeless person as an object. “Employee volunteering is very much about building the kind of culture that you want to see in people. Think about the social impact. Not how many people, how many things, how much money. Those are interesting outputs. But the key metric is how people change, and whether they can adjust the us-versus-them [thinking] enough to internalize the social impact. That has promise for the rest of our species and the future of this planet.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Realized Worth, for sponsoring this thought leadership 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.

Valerie Schloredt | May 05, 2023

Finding the Most Accurate and Enlightening Ways to Measure DEI

Your organization aims to embrace diversity. But is there an accurate way to measure how your DEI efforts are working? What does the data look like when individual workers feel they belong? That was the theme of “Finding the Most Accurate and Enlightening Ways to Measure DEI,” a panel at From Day One's live conference in Seattle, moderated by Puget Sound Business Journal’s Cathy Duchamp. You know you have an inclusive, culturally relevant workplace if people there are thriving, said Leann Pereira, senior director of people and learning sciences at Emtrain. Her company sees cultural knowledge and inclusion as a learned skill, she explained. “Our model is focused on people first learning to stay grounded and be self-aware, and then learning to connect and build relationships with others who may not be exactly like them.” Emtrain offers assessment at different levels: to help people understand the quality of their individual relationships; to assess team dynamics; and to assess organizational systems and processes. “We provide a way for DEI practitioners to speak to executive stakeholders and board members and develop strategies because they have data and analytics that can inform programs.”Elizabeth Umphress, a professor and faculty director of the Consulting and Business Development Center at the University of Washington, has spent 25 years researching training. Her work includes finding out what doesn’t work as well as what does. For example, she cites a meta-analysis of studies showing that making diversity training mandatory may be counterproductive. Voluntary training is better. “I see an incredible amount of promise with civility training, which is learning how to treat one another with respect and dignity. If I was an organizational leader, that's what I would look to. I certainly wouldn't look to mandatory diversity training, and I would definitely not make it online. Civility training is amenable to different formats and much less costly.”The current period is one of well-known challenges related to burn-out and workforce retention. Gloria Ngezaho, senior human resources manager for workforce & workplace equity for King County, Wash., points out that, at the same time, a generational shift in the workforce has begun. Gen Z is coming in with different desires and expectations. Interviewees often make it clear they’re attracted to inclusivity and more interested in projects than in long-term security. So, ways of creating workplace culture need to shift, too, says Ngezaho. Delay planning for your changing workforce, and you're going to struggle to attract the type of talent that you need.Cathy Duchamp of the Puget Sound Business Journal moderated the conversation (photo by David Ryder for From Day One)The next generation is not just motivated by a paycheck, Ngezaho said. They’re interested in how they feel at work. “Do they feel comfortable, do they feel safe? Do they feel like they’re happy in the space? Do they feel like they’re contributing something beyond Monday to Friday, 8-5? We're just starting to understand them, because they're just starting to show up in data points.”Mardia Shands, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Swedish Health Services, agrees about the importance of looking to the future. Organizational preparation now has to go beyond DEI discussions about race to consider the needs of every demographic within an organization, including parents of young children and caregivers. The question is, “How are you creating a culture so that people can come into that organization and thrive as their whole, true, authentic selves?”Trust and SurveysThere is such a thing as survey fatigue. But Pereira says that the right survey can help you understand the way people experience work. “Where our surveys need to go is to assess risk and to understand the experience and then to inform strategic actions.” In decision-making, Umphress recommends asking the opinions of those who are going to be most impacted. “We have really smart people who are working for us,” she said. “And if they trust you, they will tell you what they think.” Her research demonstrates that employee distrust is generated not just by experiencing unfairness but also by observing it. So, she encourages people making decisions about layoffs and pay cuts to think about long-term consequences for their workforce. “You need to probably expect a performance reduction. And you might expect turnover, too,” she warned. “The people who are going to leave are going to be the ones who can leave, which are going to be the ones who are the high performers.”Beyond surveys, “We get data every single day that we overlook,” said Ngezaho. That data can come from one-on-one conversations, through the interview and feedback process, and from internal data: on harassment and discrimination, and from employee assistance programs, affinity groups, and disability programs. “There's a lot of data that's already there, that people have been sharing all the time.” Pereira observed, “The clients who have the most successful human resources practices, I think, are the ones who understand that it’s qualitative data. I'm hearing my colleagues say, ‘Use all your stories and all your numbers. Don't just do surveys.’”It also helps when employees believe that surveys lead to action, notes Umphress. A best practice she sees within organizations is transparency regarding salient outcomes like salary. Looking at data by gender, race, and ethnicity will reveal significantly unequal outcomes, owing to the prevalence of implicit bias. Several panelists underlined that point: unconscious bias is real. But the growth mindset, says Umphress, is to accept that reality and take it on. “There's data-demonstrated interventions that we can do in order to change that.”In tightening economic times, how does one make the pitch to managers to maintain or grow teams? Shands reflected, “We as a society have to get to a place where we recognize the humanity in people. In order for us to thrive, we have to invest in ourselves, and organizations are no different. That's why we invest in making sure that the organization is diverse and inclusive. And we have to have a sense of belonging in order for us to be able to bring our best performance.”Valerie Schloredt is a writer and editor living in Seattle. She is the former books editor for YES! magazine.

Ellen Chang | May 04, 2023

Rallying 30,000 Workers for the Great Energy Transition

Many employers are not well-equipped to retain their employees, says Rachel Clingman, executive vice president, sustainability and governance at McDermott, a Houston-based global engineering giant. Clingman spoke in a fireside chat with moderator Shern-Min Chow, Anchor, KHOU 11 News, at From Day One’s 2023 live conference in Houston.Managers tend to look at metrics in an effort to understand the employee experience objectively. But employees often prioritize more subjective factors, such as the company’s culture, mission, and value proposition.“So I feel like as management, we’re not really set up to match employee expectations,” Clingman said.Creating a sense of community and being able to appeal to the individual on a global scale remains a major challenge, she argues.While giving competitive salaries are critical, employees are often motivated by other factors.“I don’t think a lot of people move just for more money,” said Clingman. “How do you address that whole bucket of other things that are more subjective, that are, I believe, really going to move the workforce in and out? That’s our focus.”Instead of focusing on what employees say during their exit interviews, managers must focus on the people who remain at the company and why they have stayed instead of leaving for another organization or competitor.McDermott shifted their focus and conducted more employee surveys as a strategy to encourage its current workforce to speak up and discuss the reasons that they stay. Surveys asked, “What’s the best thing about this company? And how can we make sure everyone else sees that? And how can we tell our stories about our people?” Clingman said.Employees are interested in learning about how their colleagues have made contributions to various projects because doing so creates a collaborative culture and highlights what workers are accomplishing.Managers should also focus on the career goals and values of current employees, Clingman said.Rachel Clingman, McDermott's executive vice president of sustainability and governance, was interviewed by Shern-Min Chow during the fireside chat (photo by Cassandra Sajna for From Day One)Sharing examples of ideas that worked can create a culture of constructive feedback and result in more transparency from employees. In this way, managers will find that they have “created a safer, more trustworthy, trusting environment,” Clingman said.Another common challenge that companies face is that less than 10% of employees work at the same place for five years, which is why Clingman recommends that the onboarding process be sped up from six months to just six weeks.By the time some employees have received the tools they need for their position, they might be thinking about looking for another job.“So, we as employers need to be much better at onboarding and offboarding - bringing people in, giving them the tools they need, bringing them to our culture so they can be productive and effective quickly,” Clingman said.Hiring managers should also embrace “boomerang employees,” or workers who resign from the company and want to return later on. These employees often leave to obtain more experience in a different area or project.“I would encourage employers to be very welcoming to people coming back if [their reason for] leaving was to build experiences or to have some different work experience or job or profiling title,” said Clingman. “We used to build our résumés within a company, but people now build that same résumé by moving around to different companies,” Clingman said.McDermott is participating in the energy transition by building solar, hydrogen, and LNG projects, in addition to maintaining its more traditional focus on the petrochemical industry. The shift could attract employees who want to be part of the solution to less emissions, she says.“I think being inside is the best way to drive change,” Clingman added.Companies who can explain their goals to reach net zero will encourage employees to remain in the energy industry. “Have a clear value path that you can explain to people: here are all the things we're doing to try to make this industry better, and that's our value proposition,” said Clingman. “I think we can still appeal to youthful workers and those who maybe are more idealistic to come into the energy industry and help us.”Ellen Chang is a freelance journalist who is based in Houston and writes articles for U.S. News & World Report, TheStreet, Kiplinger’s and Bankrate. Her byline has appeared in national business publications, including USA Today, CBS News, Yahoo Finance and MSN Money.

Michael Stahl | May 04, 2023

The Importance of an Outcome-Driven Approach to Employee Development

For a long time, most companies have been fixated on answering questions that begin with the word “what,” as in, “What revenue milestones have we hit this year?” or “What can we do to ensure growth and sustainability?” And maybe they’ve dabbled in a few “how” questions, such as, “How do we get our sales teams to perform better?”But it would behoove organizational leaders to consider different, deeper questions that start with “why?”“‘Why’ is our purpose, our core belief,” said Eric Bierig, learning and development strategist at GrowthSpace, a data-driven L&D management platform. “If you’re in tune with your central ‘why’ and tune all of your actions to this, you will live a more stress-free, settled, productive, self-aware life.”That peace of mind is possible for all employees, Bierig observed, as long as the people who sign their paychecks effectively communicate their company’s purpose and core beliefs.“When you start with your ‘why,’ what you’re doing is building a collective vision. It motivates, it calms, it gives a sense of belonging, it gives a sense of ownership, of safety, connection between people,” Bierig said. “If there’s anything we can all agree on, it’s that motivated, calm, confident, accountable, collaborative employees are the ones that companies need.”Bierig made these remarks in a talk at From Day One’s March virtual conference on employee purpose. He later noted that a number of studies have revealed connections between workers’ sense of purpose and their productivity.Getting those bottom-line benefits starts with answering ‘why’ the company is in the business it’s in, which leads to organizational outcomes that should also be advertised to workers. This information is often summarized in OKRs, the latest buzzy acronym in business, short for “Objectives and Key Results” reports.“OKRs serve as more ambitious goals that extend to multiple departments and team members,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote in a recent blog post. “Once you understand the main objectives of your organization, you can develop OKRs that move your company towards the goal line.”Eric Bierig of Growthspace led the thought leadership spotlight (company photo)To use another popular concept, OKRs create “alignment.”“Leadership sets direction and priorities, the ‘why’,” Bierig said. “Ideally, they are transparent about the objectives and how they will achieve said ‘why,’ and the results are clarity, empowered employees, and improved organizational performance. Once aligned on the ‘why,’ your employees and teams will be best equipped to figure out the ‘how.’ They will have a strong sense of purpose.”Of course, learning and development programming can effectively keep employees highly engaged and productive, in part by outlining why their company cares so much about whatever objectives they’ve chosen to strive for. Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives also demonstrate a company’s commitment to outcomes beyond year-over-year growth, Bierig said.But, he continued, making these kinds of initiatives “invaluable to a company” requires mindful steps that go beyond “checking a box.” Simply putting training courses or internal mentoring programs into place is not enough. Instead, company leaders need to be sure these types of programs have “meaningful organizational impact,” Bierig said, by “digging another layer deeper.”L&D programming platforms like GrowthSpace can help, he said, by “starting with your company’s ‘why.’” From there, it’s a matter of prioritizing objectives and figuring out who to achieve them.“We’ve developed a simple yet effective methodology to ensure learning solutions are accurately mapped to business needs,” Bierig offered. “We have found that objective and outcome-driven growth and development initiatives are what drive true business impact. This has made us outcome-obsessed.”The approach GrowthSpace uses has been dubbed “POP,” for “population,” “outcome,” and “program type.”GrowthSpace first asks, “For which population is your company in most need of focused development?” Of course, they also ask “why?”Then, GrowthSpace moves on to ask, “What business outcomes are a priority?” Putting those priorities in place then leads to the development of curated programming that will “move the needle” for a given company.In addition to providing a GrowthSpace client case study, Bierig also provided survey data from companies the platform works with. By asking “why” and engaging in GrowthSpace’s “POP” process, those organizations have seen up to a 10% reduction in employee attrition, more than a 10% increase in readiness for promotions, and up to a 10% increase in worker productivity, among other highlights.“These numbers are probably jumping out at you, as they have a real tangible ROI,” Bierig told the From Day One audience early in his presentation. “And you might be asking yourself, ‘how?’”By the end of his talk, however, they were most certainly asking “why?”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, GrowthSpace, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Michael Stahl is a New York City-based freelance journalist, writer, and editor. You can read more of his work at MichaelStahlWrites.com, follow him on Twitter @MichaelRStahl, and order his first book, the autobiography of Major League Baseball pitcher Bartolo Colón, at Abrams Books.

Samantha Campos | May 04, 2023

The Talent Shortage Is Coming. Is Your Employee Experience Strategy Ready to Combat It?

More than 85 million jobs globally could go unfilled by 2030. A talent shortage in the U.S. alone could equal 6 million people. The potential annual revenue loss for all those unfilled jobs: $8.5 trillion. With 69% of employers reporting difficulty filling jobs, Carolyn Clark believes that the best way to overcome the projected employment deficit is to “create a talent magnet, not a mandate.” Engaging and inspiring employees now will be critical to attracting and retaining talent in the future. Clark is vice president of employee experience strategy and transformation at Simpplr, an AI-powered employee experience platform. In a talk at From Day One’s 2023 Silicon Valley conference, she explained her three-part plan to attract and retain top talent.Measure Engagement DifferentlyMost companies obtain worker data from annual or biannual employee experience surveys, which is a good start. But employers may be missing what’s below the surface. Clark advocates using “sentiment AI,” which analyzes text for subjective information.“It allows you to access [employees’] true feelings day to day,” said Clark. “You're measuring all the time. So, as employee experience and HR people, you're able to answer the questions, ‘What do employees want? What do they need? How can you support them?’” Ensuring that employees’ voices are heard will enable more effective communication and greater engagement. Increased engagement leads to higher earnings per share, based on Gallup research. Establish Employee CommunicationsHR and communications are what Clark calls the “peanut butter and jelly” of an organization. It’s a relationship that’s critical to elevating your overall employee experience. LinkedIn recently listed Employee Experience Manager as the fifth fastest-growing job over the past five years. And according to a Towers Watson study, companies with effective internal communication are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their peers when it comes to revenue growth.Carolyn Clark, the vice president of employee experience strategy and transformation at Simpplr, led the thought leadership spotlight (photo by David Coe for From Day One)“Employee experience is what it's like to live somewhere,” said Clark. “It's the language you use as an organization. It's the expectations you put on your employees. It's the work style, the values, the rituals that you all have. It's how you reward people, it's how you recognize people.” Employee communications are no longer a “nice to have,” but a strategic advantage for companies looking to increase engagement with their workforce. Expect More from TechnologyWe go online to read the news, pay our bills electronically, broadcast our activities, or visit with friends on social media. And then, especially if we’re working remotely, we connect with colleagues, track our progress on projects, and send and receive emails, all through various technological platforms. The average person uses over 30 apps every month to accomplish their daily and weekly tasks. “Why are we making work so hard?” asked Clark. “It’s slowing our productivity. We want a unified solution. Let's start making it in one platform where we can actually have an effect.” It’s time to make sure your digital experience matches your in-person experience, said Clark. A competitive employee experience strategy built on connection, community, and communications will ensure that your company inspires and retains talent through the changes to come.Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Simpplr, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Samantha Campos is a freelance journalist who’s written for regional publications in Hawaii and California, with forays into medical cannabis and food justice nonprofits. She currently resides in Oakland, California.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza | May 03, 2023

How the Definition of Total Rewards Is Changing

Total Rewards is at a crossroads. Increasingly, employees are wielding greater influence over what’s offered, and are confident enough to switch jobs based on the content on benefits packages. But employers are scaling back, often shy to spend under the pressure of inflation and the often confusing signs of a recession that may or may not come to pass.But despite these headwinds, employees are ready to change for better learning opportunities, career growth, the ability to work remotely, and for an employer who supports mental health. Compensation always matters, especially with inflation pressing on everyone’s budgets, and employers can’t afford to not consult their workforce on the matter of total rewards.“What benefits managers struggle with, myself included, is that we think we know what you want, but we don’t actually know what you want,” said panelist Jeanne Walsh, director of benefits and global mobility for biotech company Boston Scientific. Walsh was one of four panelists who participated in a discussion titled “How the Definition of Total Rewards Is Changing,” during From Day One’s April virtual conference on how employers can use total rewards as a differentiator in the job marketplace.To actually know what employees want, Walsh consults the company’s employee resource groups. At Buzzfeed, director of global benefits, Hannah Wilkowski does the same. When asked to weigh in during the thick of Covid, the parents ERG said they just needed more paid time off. “We gave everyone one monthly self-care day that does not roll over.” The change satisfied a specific need, and the company still makes that available to all, not just parents.As employees get a bigger say in company benefits, there is an increasing need for them to be customizable. Employees want a say in what they use and how they use it, said panelists.The director of people and talent at financial wellness company Northstar, Stephanie Denton, said the company’s clients have employees who want one-on-one attention, a range of options, and personalized financial education for their unique situation.The full panel of speakers from top left, moderator Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, Matthew Tremmaglia of Achievers, Jeanne Walsh of Boston Scientific, Hannah Wilkowski of Buzzfeed, and Stephanie Denton of Northstar (photo by From Day One)“Financial support or education means something completely different to a Millennial, or a Gen-Xer or Gen-Zer than it does to our employees who are 10, even 15, years away from retirement,” said Walsh.When options are customizable, employees may feel a greater sense of respect. Rolling out a new benefit, especially one requested by your employees, is a way to reinforce a sense of belonging, said Matthew Tremmaglia, the VP of customer success at Achievers, which makes employee recognition software. “[Employees] feel like they’re part of the organization and feel like their organization understands themselves as an individual,” he said.But not every request can be satisfied, and panelists urged employers not to be reactive when new benefits are requested. You may already have what they’re looking for. “Look within all the services to see what else is there, because oftentimes someone will ask for something, and it’s something we already offer but don’t promote,” Wilkowski said.Realistically, budget doesn’t allow for reaction. The reality of total rewards post-Covid is that some benefits have to be rolled back because the money just isn’t there. Benefits packages really beefed up during the pandemic, but employers have grown wary about overspending and are pulling back on benefits like parental leave while preserving those that can be more directly linked to business growth, like learning and development.Cushion the blow by giving your employees more flexibility “such that your employees have more choice about how they allocate what benefits are available to them,” said Tremmaglia. “What I really appreciated from my own company and from our customers is finding more diversified programs that are applicable to people, and then having the choice as an individual.”At Northstar, Denton said they needed to roll back their backup childcare coverage, taking a phased approach to make the transition easier. “You need to warn people, you need to give them enough time so that if they are planning to use this benefit, they have adequate notice that you need to think about this differently,” she said.Give them the courtesy of telling them why a particular benefit is being phased out. “If you take something back, a lot of people are going to be angry, and there’s no avoiding that,” Denton said. “But for a lot of people, if they understand the why, maybe they’ll be a little less angry.”Despite recent contractions, mental health benefits have become a permanent fixture of total rewards packages. “Mental health benefits were one of the more underutilized programs prior to Covid. With Covid, we saw exponentially increased need,” said Walsh. “The increased need wasn’t necessarily a good story, but the increased awareness and participation? Absolutely. We put a lot of different programs in place focused on expanding our mental health benefits.” Benefits matter most when there’s a need, she noted.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance reporter and From Day One contributing editor who writes about the future of work, HR, recruiting, DEI, and women's experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Fast Company, Quartz at Work, Digiday’s Worklife, and Food Technology, among others.

Nzingha Hall | May 03, 2023

Developing Leaders in a Thoroughly Inclusive Way

More than ever, it is critical to train and develop leaders into champions who will reach their highest potential. And it’s often echoed that leadership needs to reflect our ever-changing diverse society. But how do we get there? How can we prioritize inclusion and create leadership opportunities for talented employees? The answer is an authentic dedication to equity.At From Day One’s 2023 Atlanta conference, during a panel moderated by journalist Ernie Suggs, experts from notable businesses shared their methods and tactics for bringing diverse talent into leadership positions.Grady Tripp, vice president and chief diversity officer at Tegna, began the conversation with a question about commitment: “What is really the impetus to change behavior and make different decisions?” Equity and inclusion have to be priority for the CEO and the board. If lead decision-makers don’t value equity and inclusion, then the whole organization will reflect that. Sara Fatima, head of global talent acquisition at Verifone, agreed. “Let's be intentional about what we want,” she said, adding that this commitment has to be more than just a buzzword. What Does It Take to Move the Needle?Jackie Parker, senior vice president of talent management and chief diversity officer at Global Payments, spoke to the audience about taking steps to transcend personal biases. Issues related to DEI are embedded in our social fabric. To make the necessary changes, she said, we as a collective need to “start dealing with those systemic, structural barriers.” It is essential to remove barriers to opportunities so that everyone has the access skill up and move into positions of leadership. Karen Viera, chief people officer at Church’s Texas Chicken, is intent on finding solutions to ensuring employees can achieve their full potential. Viera was able to use funds to help employees receive their GEDs and restaurant management training. “That's our responsibility as HR leaders,” she said. “Where are people? Where are the gaps?”Ceresa founder and CEO Anna Robinson finds that investment in DEI initiatives can’t just come from the viewpoint of social justice. Leaders must understand how DEI as a “business value” can create stronger organizations. Accountability from the C-SuiteConversations about implementing DEI should not be limited to teammates and staff members; they must be shared with the leaders in executive positions. Tripp points out that, although 2020 made organizations around the nation start talking about equity, the work shouldn’t end with a conversion. “Dialogue is an important first step,” he said. “But at the end of the day, your actions either help or hurt the culture that you're trying to build. Your culture is essentially the outcome of what you reward, reprimand, or tolerate in your organization. And every decision that's made is either a step towards where you want to go or a step away. So there has to be the action.”Leaders must set an example. Robinson stresses the importance of leading a company with diverse teams. “We're not a hugely resourced company,” she said. “But we invested in getting people to come work with us on unconscious bias training and difficult conversations,” including “an ongoing discourse about race.” She added, “Even in a small company, I don't care if you're 10 people or 110,000 people, you can make sure to have representation on your team.”Making Connections and Matching NeedsThe panelists offered methods for increasing networks, prioritizing authenticity, and promoting work-life balance. Robison emphasizes creating environments in which employees can balance all of their commitments. She recommends asking: Do times and dates match with the busy lifestyles of employees who wear many hats, especially employees of color and women employees?The panel of speakers during their session titled, “Developing Leaders in a Thoroughly Inclusive Way” (photo by Dustin Chambers for From Day One) Parker agreed: “Why aren't we doing these things in more flexible ways?” She advocates giving leaders support as they continue in their careers. This support may not look the same for everyone. “One size doesn't fit all,” she said. “Understand the unique needs of your team members when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Your trajectory of accelerating to the C-suite is entirely different from mine. Everybody's needs are unique.” Showing up authentically in the workspace can enhance feelings of belonging and self-efficacy, and assessment tools that identify genuine representation can improve employee engagement and experience. In discussing these tools, Viera shared, “I added many questions related to diversity. ‘Do I feel comfortable coming to work, representing my full self?’ I told the leadership, ‘I'm adding these questions. I want this to be intentional.’ And our score went up by 9%. We're at 9% engagement. That's amazing.”Fatima points to one of the most successful projects in DEI at her company to date. The mentorship program at Verifone has helped women gain access to opportunities and understand the lived experiences of people from around the world. The program was so impactful that Verifone’s leadership considers it integral to people operations and talent development. “You've got everybody from the CEO down to the line manager going, ‘I have somebody on my team who can be a part of this,’” Fatima said. “Now you've created that confidence. Now you've created a voice. So it's been an incredible journey.” Moving ForwardDEI needs to be intentional, authentic, and understood as business value that testifies to a company’s success. Is it a core part of your operations? Hiring and supporting diverse leaders throughout their journeys is essential. Giving leaders the tools they need to be successful also ensures that they’ll be able to support the next generation of DEI champions.Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.

Erika Riley | May 03, 2023

The Future of Mental Health Care–and the Role of an Inclusive Solution

Over half of Americans will develop a mental illness or disorder in their lifetime. Still, more than 50% of adults with mental illnesses do not receive treatment. Even if everyone with a mental illness or disorder wants to pursue care, there aren’t enough therapists. If every one of the 500,000 mental-health specialists in America fully maximized their schedules, they could still only fit in weekly one-on-ones with 7% of the population, says Ariela Safira, founder and CEO of Real.As Safira puts it, there is no working solution in mental-health care.“I know so many people who are struggling, really struggling with their mental health. And there’s no care system or care model that’s identifying their needs, helping them to identify those needs, and bringing them to appropriate care,” she said. “The vast majority of people I know are actually struggling in silence.”Safira spoke on the future of mental health care and Real’s inclusive solution during From Day One’s February virtual conference, “Beyond Good Intentions: Measuring and Accounting for Progress in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”Safira has worked in the mental health care space for over a decade. After a close friend attempted to take their own life, she saw how the mental health care field failed Americans.“And while that wasn’t the first time I’d seen mental illness, it was the first time I’d seen mental-health care, which felt hugely problematic for me,” she explained. Not only did I see the mental health care system, but I saw the flaws within it. So I threw myself at it and have not stopped working on it since.”The statistics are staggering, even more so for marginalized communities; only 25% of Black Americans seek out mental health care, compared to 40% of Americans, and the adult Black community is 20% more likely to experience rates of severe mental health problems than other populations.“That’s not a problem a startup or a network is going to solve for you, because we just don’t have enough therapists of color,” said Safira.After dropping out of Columbia University, where she was studying to become a clinician, she founded Real, which launched in 2020. This year, the company is launching “Real for Work,” which allows employers to offer the product to their employees as a wellness benefit.“Ultimately, you know, I found myself at Columbia thinking, I’ve seen every mental health care solution, and none of them work. And even those that say they’re working aren’t quite working. I look around and no one in my family would ever see a therapist,” she commented.Real is working to fill in the gaps left by the traditional mental health care market. Often, employers are the middleman between the individual and care, but even those offering benefits don’t always get it right.“While individuals who go to work every day have always faced mental-health concerns, this issue is really reaching headlines and becoming more and more known. And what workplaces are certainly seeing and I hear a lot about is that today’s mental-health benefits are not addressing employees’ needs.”Barriers to Entry The average utilization rate of mental-health benefits in America is 2%, which indicates that, while most people need mental-health care, next to nobody uses it. Several barriers to entry discourage workers from taking advantage of these benefits.Time is one such barrier to entry. Many therapists book sessions during the mornings and afternoons, when people are often at work. Traditional therapy scheduling is even more exclusionary of hourly workers, who often do not set their hours and work on-site jobs. Leaving in the middle of the day requires more transit, too.Ariela Safira, founder and CEO of real led the virtual discussion (company photo)“We’re talking about demographics that don’t have the luxury to take an hour out of their schedule weekly for care,” Safira said.The stigma around therapy and mental-health care can also discourage people from seeking treatment, as can the cost. Even with insurance, individual sessions can cost upwards of $120. Some employers give their employees “packs” of sessions they can use, but workers are left with few options when those sessions run out.In other words, Safira explains, current mental-health care benefits aren’t meeting people where they are. The future, ideally, could look like more scalable, inclusive, accessible, and clinically effective solutions that make it easier for people to make mental-health care an essential part of their well-being.Offering an Inclusive Solution The goal of Real was to build something for everyone, taking diversity of race, gender, sexuality, and economic class in mind. Real, which has a website and a mobile app, aims to meet people at what Safira calls “step zero:” when they feel immense pain but don’t have the language to describe their experience.“To meet them at that step zero, you have to give them people and stories. They have to hear what this looks like for other people,” Safira said.These stories and easily digestible bits of content are beneficial for people who are not ready to or are not comfortable with talking to a therapist or who don’t have the language to express themselves.Real provides tools and lessons from therapists, therapist-led group sessions, guided programs, and on-demand exercises that target various topics, including sleep, anxiety, depression, relationships, and identity.Receiving this content in digital formats akin to those seen on social media is more accessible for people who don’t have the bandwidth for weekly hour-long therapy sessions or to read self-help books.Real can utilize user data, such as what content the user is engaging with the most or returning to repeatedly, to personalize the experience and predict future mental-health needs. And the research proves that it’s working; IRB-approved studies showed that Real outperforms one-on-one care in terms of reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression.“We’re seeing clinically significant reduction in depression across all races after real app usage, which is phenomenal and incredible, given that, particularly for those who do not identify as white, there just isn’t a care option for them,” Safira said.If other industries have made this evolution in service so rapidly, such as the transition from CDs to iTunes to Spotify in the music industry, there’s no reason mental-health care can’t be the same, Safira says. She welcomes the start of “mental-health care 3.0,” where care is no longer reserved for the few who can access it.“We’re moving away from the one-on-one therapy appointment in-office, to building CBT worksheets, to putting one-on-one therapy on video chat, to transforming care into a digital-first experience,” she explained. “And it will enable us to deliver scalable and affordable care.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Real, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Erika Riley is a Maryland-based freelance writer.

Christina Cook | May 02, 2023

The Future of Benefits: Change Is on the Horizon

Over the past few years, employers have relied heavily on enhanced benefits packages to attract and retain a productive workforce. But this year, with an economic slowdown, and a return to a semi-traditional workplace, 95% of HR and benefit leaders are focused on recalibrating their company’s benefit strategies.Jess Marble, the director of Care.com for Business, kicked off her session at From Day One's April virtual conference by noting that “The biggest theme of the future of benefits this year, is that change is coming.”Marble should know, as the stated mission of Care.com for Business is to support every working caregiver with accessible, affordable, and customizable family care benefits.During her talk, Marble shared new research from the 2023 Future of Benefits Report about the primary goals of HR leaders in 2023, the business impact of investing in employees and families, and how businesses and the government can make childcare more accessible for working families.Of the businesses that are recalibrating their benefits’ strategies in 2023, 47% say that it includes trimming some employee benefits. In industries like food and hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and construction, the average is even higher.Specifically, Marble said, “companies are pulling back more on what we call boutique benefits, like one-off specialized programs, including fitness benefits like gym memberships.”Employers are cutting back on all types of benefits, but the impact of those cuts vary dramatically. Eliminating health and fitness discounts, for example, is likely to have minimal impact on costs and worker retention. In contrast, adjustments to family care benefits have a big impact on both, which is why investments in child and senior care remain relatively strong. Marble said, “The focus here is on the strategy of recalibration, with the selective trimming and reallocating of funds rather than complete elimination.”Jess Marble, the director of Care.com for Business (company photo)So, who are business leaders designing these benefits packages for?Marble said, “We're seeing from the data that most employers are prioritizing their full time, salaried, corporate employees, over their frontline, hourly employees, despite the fact that 58% of US workers are non-exempt.”In the retail industry, which is highly dependent on hourly employees, 46% of the survey respondents said that their benefits strategy focused on professional, knowledge based, hybrid employees. In the food and hospitality industry, 58% of the survey respondents said they concentrate on the needs of professional, knowledge based, office employees.But, an interesting statistic from this year’s report is, in 2023, 73% of the American workforce is a working caregiver.Hourly and frontline workers need the most in terms of child and senior care benefits, and these workers also have the most at risk to lose with sparse income without the support of their employer. Marble said, “If productivity is a top concern for HR and business leaders this year, it's going to require leaders to take a closer look at family care benefits in particular.”Marble suggested that companies can measure the direct business impact of the benefits it chooses to keep by considering accessibility, quality, and affordability.She said, “More than one in six Americans are already a caregiver for the elderly, and 70% of these caregivers suffer work related difficulties.”In the Future of Benefits survey, 69% of female job seekers said that they'd be more likely to choose an employer who offered childcare benefits. 83% of women and 81% of men said that such benefits would play an important role in helping them decide whether to stay with their current employer or not.When employees provide childcare, it's estimated that job turnover can decline by 60%, and that can result in significant cost savings. Employers are starting to recognize the positive impact of family care benefits in the workforce and are recalibrating their packages to support those strategies and spend accordingly.Despite this, some business leaders are holding off on expanding benefits because they want to know what government policy will be. But many employers are choosing to be more proactive, and are lobbying state and federal government to be their partners in addressing family care.Overall, employers are taking advantage of the state and federal support that’s available. Marble said, “96% of benefits leaders are aware of the employer provided childcare tax credit, and 75% say that they use it. But of those that don't use the tax credit, nearly 90% say that they would use it if it was broadened to include more types of childcare. The fact that 68% of our respondents favor flexible childcare benefits, adds fuel to support the notion that employers would welcome an expansion of the current tax credit.”For businesses that want to get started on the recalibration of benefits, Marble said, “A great way to begin is to ask employees about the distractions that they have in daily life. What are their needs for major life events? And whenever I am asked this question, I like to remind employers that life happens continuously.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Care.com for Business, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Christina Cook is a freelance writer based in Dallas, TX, where she covers a variety of topics, with favorites including Art, Film, and live Theatre. Her work can be seen on Rawckus.com, RedDirtNation, and DallasArtBeat.com. Christina is also a creative writer. Her children’s book Your Hands Can Change the World was a 2017 regional bestseller.

Nzingha Hall | May 02, 2023

Building Culture for the Changing World of Work

All of us contain multitudes: we enter any workplace as family members, caregivers, friends, and loved ones. We take our essences, our lived experiences, and our social norms into our careers. It is crucial for businesses to focus on and prioritize these connections and relationships. This business philosophy builds a healthy company culture.Mike Kaupe, global director of sales engineering at HiBob, led the audience of From Day One’s live conference in Atlanta in a discussion about building a company culture. Just like cities, or even food scenes, company cultures impact our everyday interactions and experiences. “Culture is the accumulation of relationships. It must emanate from the top leadership of the organization and then permeate through all people leaders in the organization, so that everyone has that sense of connectedness, a sense of belonging.” Kaupe espouses an idea he learned from leadership expert Simon Sinek: that culture is one of the motives behind the way we feel and, in turn, the way we will treat others. If an employee really appreciates the company they work for, the clients will in turn also appreciate the company they are patronizing.So how do we go about doing this? Kaupe points to the three T’s: Trust, Transparency, and Teamwork.What does it take to build a culture of trust? You have to be able to take a look at the policies and opportunities offered. Does everyone abide by policies? Does everyone across the board feel welcome to equal opportunities? “Trust is hard, especially in our diverse world, across borders and global teams. In collaboration, how do you trust everyone's going to do what they say they're going to do? Well, we had to foster inclusivity. We found out that when we foster inclusivity, it fostered collaboration. This was actually a lot of fun.”Mike Kaupe, HiBob's global director of sales engineering presenting in Atlanta (photo by Dustin Chambers for From Day One)Kaupe shares that it is important to have employees view the intricacies and developments occurring at an organization. Everyone should be able to access pertinent information: “You have to be transparent. This is key. And I mean transparency in everything we do, including data and visibility as to the makeup of the organization. So, for example, everyone in our company has access to understand the makeup of HiBob. What that does is it holds everyone accountable.”Job satisfaction and employee engagement are essential. Employees want to feel supported and to have the necessary tools to complete their duties. For some companies, that may entail a 35-hour work week, or work-from-home options. Kaupe explains that, by giving employees collective accolades, as opposed to individual commendations, leaders can strengthen team dynamics. “We need to praise groups, instead of just individual achievements,” he said. This practice can promote cohesion, camaraderie, and a culture of healthy feedback.Company culture is the ultimate ROI. When people feel visible and appreciated in the workplace, they are able to influence interaction and engagement with clients and customers. Company culture must be a business value. Employees have to feel recognized, and companies need to do dedicated work in order to understand what their staff values. “Remember this,” Kaupe advised. “Building a strong, healthy, and good company culture can be difficult, but it's not impossible.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, HiBob, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.

Nzingha Hall | May 02, 2023

How One Company Makes Timeless Values Relevant in the Modern Work Environment

How do business leaders think about wellness? Some might believe that wellness starts and ends with providing benefits such as paid time off, maternity leave, health insurance, and gym memberships. But, more holistically speaking, how can the individual wellness of employees benefit the overall wellness of an organization? Why should wellness be prioritized?In a fireside chat at From Day One’s 2023 Atlanta conference, moderator Kelly Yamanouchi, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, spoke with Jeri Hawthorne, chief human resources officer of Aflac, about how one of the largest insurance carriers in the world makes wellness a cultural and business imperative.They also discussed the impact of the pandemic on staff and leadership. Aflac ultimately made the decision to work virtually. Although many employees had enjoyed the camaraderie of an in-person workplace, this change was a key way in which Aflac prioritized employee wellness.“At our headquarters in Columbus, Georgia, we had to lock the buildings and cut off badge access and close the gates, because employees loved being on site so much,” Hawthorne recalled. But, she says, now that in-person, remote, and hybrid arrangements are in play, employees have an authentic Aflac experience no matter where they work.“We’ve also made a lot of investments in technology and are planning to continue to make those investments,” she said. “So, if you are an employee of our organization, regardless of where you are, you have a positive experience as it relates to team effectiveness, communication, and engaging one another.”Aflac took the necessary steps to make wellness a part of workplace culture. Now the company asks employees to complete annual surveys related to wellness. What are the needs? What works? What doesn’t work? The company invests in all forms of health, not just physical health, but emotional and mental health. Hawthorne explains that companies can see direct benefits by making wellness a vital business principle. “Our emphasis on wellness is not just about the benefit of getting our employees well,” she said. “There are absolutely business benefits: lower absenteeism, higher engagement, higher output, and higher quality of output for our customers. All of those factors impact our employee experience and our customer experience.”Aflac created programs that focused on healthy eating and autonomous holistic weight loss. These initiatives built strength and trust in the organization and encouraged people to interact and engage. There has also been an emphasis on financial and social wellness. “We want people to grow and develop,” Hawthorne said.Aflac has even invested in spiritual health. They chartered a collaboration with Corporate Chaplains of America, a non-denominational organization that provides spiritual support for businesses. The partnership provides spiritual guidance for employees of various religions and helps Aflac leadership “understand the challenges that our employees are facing.”Wellness is a cultural value and essential workplace tenet. Employees want to know that their health is prioritized. They also want to be involved in a company that understands the importance of taking care of oneself. Aflac has shown that the results speak volumes: A healthy workforce and healthy work environment are best for business.Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.

Michael Stahl | May 01, 2023

Ensuring Your Benefits Plan is Adaptable to a Changing Health Care Environment

What solutions should be included in a modern benefits plan that will solidify strong retention rates and attract top talent in the job marketplace? Is it childcare? Mental health services? Parental leave? Chemotherapy? How about fertility treatments, virtual healthcare, and even housing stipends?The answer is, across the board, “yes,” and there are additional items that should probably be included, too. So said the audience of a From Day One webinar, “Ensuring your Benefits Plan is Adaptable to a Changing Health Care Environment.” The wide range of replies reveals just a sampling of what HR and benefits leaders must consider when developing healthcare programming. Challenges abound for these people managers, especially in light of the pandemic and the recent wave of worker empowerment. First, they must strive to appease as many members of what should be a diverse workforce as possible, with programming that addresses a bevy of needs about as varied as the company’s employee demographics chart. Benefits leaders also have to anticipate rising costs in healthcare and prepare for adjustments to ensure continued affordability, while also keeping an eye on the competition. In this volatile job marketplace, hiring folk don’t want other companies in their industry and adjacent ones to gain an edge in talent acquisition. “Finding a single package that is competitive, equitable, and controls cost is a tricky tightrope to walk for some of the customers that I get to work with,” said Liz Ferega, vice president of customer solutions at Accolade, a platform connecting providers to businesses and their employees, which sponsored the talk. “Then you add in the factor that we think is out of our control, which is the healthcare system itself, and the impact that COVID has had on the industry,” said Andrew Rosa, vice president of customer care at Accolade. There have been supply chain issues borne of pandemic conditions, he said. The way care is delivered has changed for many, Rosa added, as have costs, and so the programs that have been around for a while at any given employee’s place of employment may no longer suit that worker’s needs.Steve Koepp of From Day One (top right), introducing the experts from Accolade, including Katie Blakemore, Andrew Rosa, and Liz Ferega (photo by From Day One)But the Accolade VPs offered a series of tips on how companies can future-proof their benefits packaging:Communicate Effectively with EmployeesFerega said that one goal for employers should be to provide their workers with improved “health and benefits literacy” through robust and effective communication about the programming they offer. She also said people leaders should establish a “feedback loop” between themselves and employees, so that they can better understand workers’ needs and demands and “help [companies] maintain that competitive position for talent.”Add Off-Cycle Benefit OptionsBenefits packages can be put in place for workers at any time. In fact, changing up the timing could be a terrific future-proofing hack.Ferega is currently working with a company that is officially instituting new health equity and well-being programs in the spring, after a soft launch at the beginning of the year. “That’s a great way to keep the benefits conversation going outside of open enrollment, when it’s all about, just, what one has to do and in what timeframe,” she said. “It just changes the environment, to be able to work quickly,” chimed in Rosa. “Sometimes as an employer you feel locked in to that year and it’s kind of like, ‘Well, let’s see how the rest of the year goes,’ even though it might be March and you know you’ve got to make a change.”But there’s actually no real reason to wait until January.Pay Attention to How Other Companies Are Adapting“Benefits are becoming more and more important to the workforce,” Ferega observed. Given this truth, it’s important for hiring leaders and benefits programmers to observe what other companies are offering in this area. She outlined that Accolade, in response to growing trends in healthcare programming, recently implemented fertility benefits, which “solves a big need [for employees] in terms of family forming and health equity.” She added: “We’re really excited about that.”Stay Up-To-Date on Healthcare InnovationsRecruitment efforts are helped not only by responding to the movements of competitors, but even more so by outpacing them. Gaining insight into new services that employees might be most attracted to will allow people leaders to do just that.“The pace of benefits just seems to be accelerating,” Ferega said. “Technology innovations, workforce needs change must faster, and so staying up-to-date on them is a job in and of itself.”Ferega observed the rise in telehealth during the pandemic. Employers who got in early on that benefit put themselves a cut above everyone else at a high point of worker anxiety. “Now there’s a much greater acceptance of receiving care in a virtual environment, and it’s becoming even more of a preference,” Ferega said. “What that is leading to is the emergence of solutions like virtual primary care”—something Accolade offers its partners, as a matter of fact. Ferega says that such a benefit closes equity gaps by making care that much more accessible. Ultimately, these pieces of advice, should they be followed, can all work to enhance the employee/employer relationship, which people managers and those above them on the company ladder must value greatly, says Rosa. “You want people to choose your organization,” he said. Rosa added that “a powerful value proposition” is being able to provide not just the worker but their families with the best healthcare possible. Doing so will get them “feeling better,” he said, and bring about “the best outcomes.” With all the tools at the disposal of HR personnel, including platforms like Accolade, they can feel more empowered to deliver on that value proposition than at any point in recent memory. It’s a good thing they’re in that position, too. Afterall, as Ferega put it, benefits leaders are “the change makers.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Accolade, for sponsoring this webinar.Michael Stahl is a New York City-based freelance journalist, writer, and editor. You can read more of his work at MichaelStahlWrites.com, follow him on Twitter @MichaelRStahl, and order his first book, the autobiography of Major League Baseball pitcher Bartolo Colón, at Abrams Books.

Cynthia Barnes | May 01, 2023

How Employee Coaching Boosts Inclusion and Impact

Employee coaching used to be reserved for top executives, but now many employers realize the vital role it serves on many levels within their organizations. As coaching becomes more democratic, how can it become part of a company's overall learning and development culture, how can it boost inclusion and impact, and how is it evolving?During a From Day One virtual conference, a panel of five experts on employee coaching spoke about how companies are evolving to bring more inclusion and diversity to their coaching and mentoring programs. The panel was moderated by Janelle Nanos, a business reporter from the Boston Globe.Most successful leaders have benefited from some form of coaching, and all of the panelists agreed that their careers have grown thanks to the influence of good coaches. “I established a relationship with my manager as a coach when I didn't get the promotion I wanted,” shared Eileen Cooke, vice president, enterprise learning, development & performance at CVS Health. “It wasn't a coaching relationship that was about feedback, like after something ‘what you could have done better?’ It was like pregame coaching, setting me up to go be successful, the day before or the hour before I was stepping into something. Like, here's the context, here's a scenario. It was really like having someone on the sidelines with me, and he set me up for what ultimately was success. I needed that coaching to get me there.”Head of People Experience at Seattle Children’s Hospital Keturah Hallmosley recalls a coach who helped her understand her goals and acted as a cheerleader. “I was really looking to grow and develop. One of the things Rita helped me understand was I am enough, and to have that confidence within myself to really work on specific leadership skills, and connect with my goals moving forward.”The sidelines metaphor is an effective lens through which to view the differences between coaching and mentoring. “I see mentoring as more role-specific, more long-term, something that sometimes can last all through your careers, whereas coaching is a lot more specific to [the time period], to address a performance challenge,” said Shashank Bhushan, chief talent development architect at BMC Software. “Coaching is more reflective in its nature. The purpose of the coach is to come in and help ask questions that elicit answers from the coachee. Whereas mentoring is more typically with a subject matter-expert, who would be more directive and would say, ‘I did this; it worked for me, and maybe this is something that you should try.’” That said, Bhushan believes that both are necessary. “My own experience has been that mentoring actually precedes coaching, because it prepares the person to learn from somebody else.”Tamar Elkeles was chief learning and talent officer at Qualcomm and now is a member of the board of directors at the edtech marketplace Open Sesame. “I think that mentoring is a bit more informal in organizations. Coaching is like an assigned person that's working with you on a specific task.”Regardless of the terminology, creating an inclusive workplace requires rethinking the old “top-down” techniques by which wisdom and instruction were dispensed from on high, and usually only to an organization’s top executives. Modern coaching aims to boost inclusion, especially in fostering career growth and providing a pathway to leadership for people who have traditionally been marginalized. For many leaders, this means abandoning one-on-one sessions in favor of bringing together groups of people who can learn from one another, regardless of organizational hierarchy.BMC Software introduced a program for middle managers with specific classroom sessions, each followed by group sessions (to share knowledge) and then individual coaching (to reinforce new learning). “This created a very different vibe altogether,” said Bhushan. “We brought it down several layers below in the organization and made it easily accessible to folks who can really make a difference to a lot more people's lives on a day-to-day basis.”Tom Bigda-Peyton, chief learning officer at Catholic Health Services, is also a fan of groups and “inverting the pyramid” so that employees at all levels can achieve excellence. He’s also adamant that organizational learning should be a two-way street. “In my healthcare organization, we do a lot of coaching on the technical side. But on the people side, we try very hard to get to the frontlines and work backwards rather than the management and work down.” The healthcare organization has developed an “appreciative coaching program,” in which managers first compliment what has gone well before giving their nurses one idea for improvement. “If you're going to democratize, you have to have group settings,” he continued. “Sometimes the terms ‘coaching’ and ‘mentoring’ can confuse the issue. To me, it's about giving and receiving feedback in a way that you don't get defensive, and the other person doesn't get defensive.”Hallmosley also believes two-way dialogue broadens inclusivity and benefits coaches. “What we're seeing right now is how important it is for leaders and individuals to understand that diverse perspectives and different ways of looking at things are essential in how we make decisions. And coaching, making it okay to learn and make mistakes and get feedback, helps us. I realized that there's not just one right way to solve a problem or one right way to approach things. That's something that coaches learn: that there are multiple perspectives and different ways to get to the end result.”Looking forward, each panelist sees the role of both internal and external coaches as likely to expand, as remote workers require that managers give (and receive) feedback from behind a screen instead of behind an office’s closed door. Another evolution is predicted to be an increase in opportunities for inclusion in a remote-first environment. After all, said Elkeles, “We all have the same size square in a Zoom.”Cynthia Barnes has written about everything from art to zebras from more than 30 countries. She currently calls Denver home.

Angelica Frey | May 01, 2023

Benefits That Benefit: What Workers Are Really Seeking

Mark Valerius is quick to recognize that, for people of his generation, the framework around benefits presents a unique challenge and a trove of opportunities. “I am a Generation X guy, born in 1965: we’re squeezed between parents, children in college, and still on payroll,” he tells journalist Lydia Dishman at the From Day One panel, titled “The Benefits That Employees Want to See Enhanced in 2023 and Beyond” during an April virtual conference. “We become the parents, and the parents become the kids,” Valerius, who is the director of compensation and benefits for the automotive multinational Stellantis, continues. “And navigating veterans’ benefits, social security, medicare, life insurance, esp. when they need dedicated care…it’s a handful.”Benefits have evolved since the start of the pandemic. According to a 2022 report by SHRM, healthcare still tops the list of important offerings, and while retirement benefits dipped, they’re now ranking high again, but, in all, benefits are now more embedded in the culture of the organization. Moreover, 86% of employers said that mental health, burnout, and stress are still top priority, yet there is a widespread lack (nearly half of the respondents) of a formal strategy. This is a time of great opportunity, with COVID-accelerated initiatives such as remote work, DEI and wellness now straddling the line between benefits and structural components.How Can You Bring Your Best Self to Work?Nicole Tanzillo is the COO and founder of the ed-tech company Ceresa, where she finds herself reflecting both on benefits for her own employees and o the creative-leadership and development tools to provide to the early and underdeveloped talent that constitutes Ceresa’s user base. To her, remote work is a no-brainer. “Continuing to be a remote organization has been instrumental,” she says. “It has balanced my need to work my job and be there with my children and invest in my own health.” Angela Nelson, the executive director of clinical services of the global behavioral and mental health platform RethinkCare reflects on a similar topic “Parenting benefits and work-life flexibility is really really key,” she says. “I can’t bring my best self to work if my company wasn’t supporting me as a mother.” Valerius, however, cautions against remote work, even among caregivers. “When you work from home you’re like a doctor or nurse with a pager,” he says.The full panel of speakers from top left, moderator Lydia Dishman of Fast Company, Nicole Tanzillo of Ceresa, Melissa Fisher of Children's Hospital Colorado, Jennifer Lavoie of Piedmont Health, Mark Valerius of Stellantis, and Angela Nelson of RethinkCare (photo by From Day One)How Do You Adapt?Melissa Fisher, the director of compensation and benefits at Children’s Hospital Colorado, had to have her organization adapt pretty quickly. “I could work remotely but a caregiver is in the hospital, in the clinic. For us, it was easy and clean: we listened to that population,” she says. “We have a young workforce: where they are in life, it’s all about family planning, resiliency and behavioral health. We want to make sure we support family planning and student loans—how do we make sure we’re taking care of our caregivers so they can come into the office?” Everyone has made interesting discoveries over the past several years, about how employees receive their benefits, wellbeing resources. “It has been challenging but also fun,” says Jennifer Lavoie, director of employment and well-being at Piedmont Health. What has been lovely to see was that, at the same time COVID hit, we brought on a DEI division in the healthcare system. I walked right up to my director and said there’s no employee wellbeing without DEI."How Do You Foster Connection?Valerius’s hesitation with remote work does not translate into a rigid approach “The approach is more of a hybrid, see where it goes, but I am concerned for the human element,” he explains “We see remote work can be productive. Sure, we can have videos, but quite frankly, we’ve been having meetings at the office and A LOT of people are enjoying them. You can really get things done quicker, too. Get a big whiteboard!”At Piedmont Health, connection is independent from in-person work. “There are moments where we come together, but we’ve gone fully remote in some corporate capacity. We have employees across the country and we have to make sure they feel connected,” explains Lavoie. “From where I sit, over the past several years we really wanted to pull back the veil and look at how each of our pillars are receiving and accessing care. We’re doing it with our clinical group and we’re putting execs in that group as well” Piedmont’s remote workers can take advantage of 1:1 and group virtual offerings with them. “We have various means to do this. it can be as easy and simple: it’s been interesting to pull back that veil,” she says.How Do Leadership and Coaching Factor In?One thing that is important when it comes to inclusion and benefits is looking at the full range: the majority of programs show that they are primarily focused on in-office knowledge workers vs hourly underrepresented groups. “Another piece is proactive support: make sure they’re making space. We’re rolling out a brand-new program focused on early development, the executive organization was super bought in,” says Tanzillo. “We got feedback that the participants’ managers were NOT bought in. That was a real wakeup call: make sure we’re educating our frontline folks” With all the money paid for access to great vendors, and great benefits, in fact, Tanzillo reports that participants did not know said benefits existed. “I think it’s important for underrepresented groups, for their manager to say hey, do you know that this is available? Knowledge and understanding are important in terms of inclusion.”Angelica Frey is a writer and a translator based in Boston and Milan.

Ellen Chang | April 28, 2023

Putting Well-Being at the Forefront of Company Values

Management can support employees and their well-being by encouraging them to take PTO, sabbaticals, and other breaks without fear for their standing and career advancement.In a discussion moderated by Matthew Kitchen, editorial director of the Houston Chronicle, at From Day One’s live event in Houston, a number of top employers offered these and other solutions. But managers must accept that employees all have different needs, says Michele Gest, senior vice president, total rewards, LyondellBasell. Employers need to make adjustments to their approach and ensure the solutions are “more personal,” she said.“What I think this COVID time has done is kind of open a window into people's lives that maybe we didn't have before,” Gest said. “I think when you really take the time to know people, then you can set certain things right that maybe you couldn't before.”Finding different methods for addressing employees’ needs is an important task for managers, she says. “We had to be real creative” in approaching solutions and in how “we think about things as a company and what's important and how we try to meet the needs of different people,” Gest said.Since LyondellBasell manufactures chemicals, it had previously taken a conservative approach to encouraging work from home, but its management has since gradually shifted its mindset and is now allowing employees to work from home three days a week. “But we're certainly, I think, being challenged in the recruiting space,” said Gest. “We haven't necessarily gone as far as 100% remote. And so I think that's where we're really seeing some of the challenges.”Employers need to find new solutions instead of relying on previous stand-bys, says Lucho Vizcardo, head of international human resources, Western hemisphere, Nabors Industries. “We need to start thinking out of the box,” he said. “But these last two and a half years we’ve needed to keep up with the pace, which is not bad. I truly believe that, at least personally, I learned a lot.”When managers stress the importance of wellness, whether it’s mental, physical, emotional, financial, or professional, they should lead by example, says Kojo Mensah-Bonsu, global director of diversity, equity and inclusion, CDW.Managers can be proactive by adopting small solutions, such as allowing employees to skip being on camera during video calls.“It doesn't sound like it is impactful, but there are leaders who demand that everyone stay on camera,” he said. “But, on some days, folks don't want to be seen, right?”Encouraging employees to take advantage of the benefits a company offers, such as time off for mental health days, is also crucial, Mensah-Bonsu said.“If I know someone is going through something or if I can tell just from body language, I'll extend that offer to them,” he said. “We’ve got this available to you; take full advantage of it.”The panelists from left, Kojo Mensah-Bonsu of CDW, Michele Gest of LyondellBasell, Lucho Vizcardo of Nabors Industries, and Jamie Walsh of Anco Insurance (photo by Cassandra Sajna for From Day One)When employees hear stories about their managers using those benefits, it makes a larger impact.“When people in your organization hear that coming from the leader, and you share vulnerability, that’s a big thing,” said Mensah-Bonsu. “If I talk about taking a personal day for something that has gone on in my life, and that benefit is afforded to everyone in the organization, I think it goes a long way. And so does expressing the impact and value of these behaviors. Making that known is pretty impactful.”HR leaders are wrestling with how often employees should work in the office and what a hybrid model should look like in order to build culture, define purpose, and develop new team members, says Jamie Walsh, benefits and risk consultant, Anco Insurance. But instead of focusing on where employees are working, Walsh says, the priority at his company lies with targeting presenteeism. “We believe that if the employee is present, then they're engaged, they're healthy,” he said. “If they're present, they're going to be productive, and productivity equals profitability.”The emphasis is on giving employees the tools they need to work efficiently. “So, that's really what we're focused on: supporting them, giving them what they need, and not being so focused on the definition of where they're working,” Walsh said. “We really want to help them be present as an employee.”Ellen Chang is a freelance journalist who is based in Houston and writes articles for U.S. News & World Report, TheStreet, Kiplinger’s and Bankrate. Her byline has appeared in national business publications, including USA Today, CBS News, Yahoo Finance and MSN Money.