Benefits of Company Culture, Best Workplaces, Employee Experience, Leadership & Management
Here鈥檚 what leaders from Cisco, Target, Hilton and Accenture are doing to build trust and connection with employees.
For businesses facing the challenges of 2022鈥攔ampant inflation, a looming recession and the ever-present COVID threat鈥攖he most powerful tool in their arsenal is workplace culture.
When legendary management consultant Peter Drucker quipped "culture eats strategy for breakfast,鈥� he epitomized what sets great businesses apart. All the strategies and business plans in the world are no substitute for a collaborative and supportive workplace.
For leaders looking to weather the storms ahead in 2022, considering the employee experience is a crucial step. If you鈥檙e wondering about your efforts to support and celebrate employees, take your cue from leaders with companies atop the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For庐 list.
There are no shortcuts to becoming a great workplace, as Michael Bush, CEO of 逸遊娛樂城庐 shared led by Fortune CEO and Publisher Alan Murray earlier this year. The conversation with leaders from Cisco, Hilton, Accenture and Target offers key takeaways for what drives exceptional employee experiences today:
While the CEOs participating in the discussion helm large companies with thousands of employees, Bush argues the lessons apply no matter what size your organization is.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e out there with 30 employees, you should be listening to what these leaders are saying,鈥� Bush shared with the virtual audience. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no excuse 鈥� the stuff we鈥檙e talking about鈥攏one of it鈥檚 expensive.鈥�
The CEO roundtable provides a roadmap for executives looking to create exemplary employee experience for the rest of 2022 and to safeguard their organizations against an uncertain economic future:
1. Connect employees with purpose.
A great employee experience is built on the belief that employees believe their work has meaning: 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just a job.鈥�
For Chris Nasetta, president and CEO of Hilton, No. 2 on the 100 Best Companies list for 2022, helping redefine a brand purpose was the secret to reviving a stagnant employee experience.
Nasetta described Hilton on his first day 15 years ago: 鈥淲e were well established, we were big, we were global,鈥� he said鈥攁nd not close to making a Best Workplaces list. The brand purpose that had been the vision of Hilton鈥檚 founder 100 years earlier was no longer accessible to most workers.
鈥淲e had lost our way,鈥� Nasetta said. 鈥淥ur culture atrophied; performance followed.鈥�
Nasetta and Hilton set out to recapture the brand鈥檚 original vision of making the world a better place by giving people safe places to stay around the world, and as a result foster cultural exchange, build awareness and understanding, and open up the world.
Reconnecting with that purpose made all the difference for Hilton鈥檚 workforce, according to Nasetta, both in workplace morale and in service provided to customers. Data also shows that companies that connect employees鈥� jobs with purpose have triple the retention rates of their competitors.
鈥淣inety-eight percent of our people are on the frontline working very difficult jobs,鈥� Nasetta explained. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 feel some connection to something bigger than them 鈥� then they really don鈥檛 give it their all, which means we鈥檙e never going to deliver the service we need to.鈥�
2. Build connection for a dispersed workforce.
For Julie Sweet, chair and CEO for global consulting firm Accenture, No. 6 on the 100 Best Companies list and an organization that hasn鈥檛 had physical headquarters in three decades, the answer is in pursuing connection.
鈥淲e actually moved from conversations about spaces and places, which we still find is a lot of what people think about with the hybrid workforce, to what we call 鈥榦mniconnections,鈥欌�� Sweet said. Accenture鈥檚 innovation was to have its expected 150,000 new employees this year connect in the . In the hybrid work reality of 2022, finding ways to promote social relationships can help reduce stress levels for employees and build psychological safety among teams.
3. Trust workers with flexibility.
The great remote work experiment of the pandemic era isn鈥檛 over. And , No. 1 on the 100 Best Companies list, sees offering flexibility to workers as an issue of trust.
鈥淲e completely leave the decision up to the first-line manager and the team itself,鈥� said Robbins of the decision to work remotely or return to an office. Trusting employees to decide for themselves how they can have the greatest impact has improved morale and retention.
鈥淥ur attrition is probably about half the industry rate right now,鈥� Robbins said.
The trust that enables flexible work is driven by authentic communication and setting clear expectations with employees.
鈥淭he one thing that really stood out for us was [that] we really drive frequent, honest, authentic communication with our teams,鈥� Robbins said. For Cisco, that means setting expectations with managers while their teams are also in the room.
Robbins shared how managers had to reset expectations for parents when schools and daycares closed during the pandemic and workers had to scramble to cover childcare.
Cisco鈥檚 message to managers was clear: 鈥淛ust because you want to have a meeting at two o鈥檆lock in the afternoon, if the 3-year-old child needs attention, then the person can鈥檛 make your meeting and you鈥檙e going to have to recognize that.鈥�
4. Listen beyond pulse surveys.
For Brian Cornell, CEO and chair of Target Corporation, No. 12 on the 100 Best Companies list, the secret to building great workplace culture is deep listening.
When Cornell and his team first started thinking about a return to the office for corporate staff after the height of the pandemic, listening guided the plan: 鈥淲e quickly started listening to our teams, and realized we had to be really focused on being a progressive employer that was going to create an environment for the next generation of team members,鈥� Cornell said.
A culture of listening has enabled Target to connect employees to its brand purpose鈥攁nd the results have been remarkable. 鈥淥ur turnover numbers have never been lower,鈥� Cornell shared鈥攅ven as the retail workforce has faced immense challenges due to COVID-19.
鈥淚 found it so important to listen and I think that鈥檚 allowed us to meet the needs of our team members and really avoid the great resignation,鈥� Cornell said.
Show your mettle by making a Best Workplaces list
To find out how your company can become 逸遊娛樂城-Certified and apply to make the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work For庐 list or another of our industry-leading lists, contact us.
