People First: The Crucial Role of Investing in Employees in Challenging Times

BY Katie Chambers | March 13, 2024

Gen-Z is the fastest growing generation in the workforce, and they are drawn to companies that invest in the causes that matter most to them. “I love seeing businesses that are purpose-driven and are aligning their work around some amazing causes,” said Ben Sampson, chief evangelist, social impact and employee engagement at WizeHive on an executive panel discussion at From Day One’s Houston conference.

More and more, employees are seeing participation in community service programs as a major job perk. “Getting the opportunity to support nonprofits that align with the mission of the company is really special, and something that I was really proud to do,” Sampson said.

By prioritizing investments in their workforce, organizations establish a foundation for sustained success, even amid periods of corporate austerity. The panel of leaders discussed questions like, what are the most inventive and budget-friendly ways to invest in your people, from innovative benefits, recognition, workshops, mentorship, and more.

Investing in Employees During Challenging Times

Trisha Conley, EVP of people and culture at LyondellBasell, says her company’s Value Enhancement Program, which invests capital in employees to become problem solvers within their own organization. This investment in ideas has a big impact. “Culture change, they say, typically takes five to seven years. In less than a year, we have seen 20,000 people jump on board, because they’re so excited that people are listening to their ideas,” she said.

Education and professional development are crucial investments, even during times of financial strain. “We are going to spend money on it. If we don’t, people are leaving,” Conley said. “Especially post-Covid, it’s a retention mechanism.” Organizations don’t necessarily need to rely on external vendors for education; many leaders will welcome and enjoy the opportunity to teach, and it can happen organically internally rather than incur an outside cost.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) provides not only internal academies but has also partnered with outside universities to provide upskilling opportunities for its employees, says Sadie Bell, VP of people systems and automation at HPE. In addition, the company uses its benefits program to ensure “we give people the value that they need.” That includes six months paid parental leave for all parents (birthing or not) and cultivating women’s leadership opportunities through mentorship and development.

Reassuring Employees During Periods of Austerity

It’s imperative for companies to provide employees with information during times of financial strain or uncertainty. “Reassurance is not codeword for lying,” said Jenna Sneed, U.S. growth leader, HR & compensation consulting at Gallagher. “It’s demystifying what we actually know is and can be reasonably true.” She suggests thinking of scared employees as people lost in a boat out at sea in the night. “Your sole job is to give them a lighthouse – not just [showing] that it exists, but a defined lighthouse that when we reach it at this point in time, we will know we have arrived on solid ground.” This means adjusting “the horizon” to changing times. For example, during Covid, “visions of the future” had to be tackled in 90-day chunks rather than five-year plans. Leaders with “front row access” to information need to be the ones to create anchor points for the rest of the team.

The panelists discussed the topic “People First: The Crucial Role of Investing in Employees in Challenging Times” at From Day One's Houston conference 

Kristi Pittman, VP, HR at Daikin Comfort Technologies North America shares that Daikin creates not only five-year plans to tackle global challenges, but also annual company wide goals with bulleted action plans to share with its group of nearly 200 companies – so all employees and departments can turn to the same guiding principles during times of challenge. “That helps our leaders understand more about Daikin’s planning and what their part of it is, and they can take that down to their team so that there is no fear,” she said.

Sustainable Career Paths Through Technology

Pittman explains that Daikin’s corporate culture is rooted in the Japanese tradition that one will work at the same company his or her entire life. In order to make that lifelong career path at Daikin attainable, the company has a robust electronic performance management system that invites conversations between employees and leaders, sets the standard for optimal performances, and provides training and development for further growth, she says. “This technology can tie training to career pathing to performance management. It creates a one-stop-shop for career development in general,” she said. “Those are investments in terms of technology, time, and development that we are very passionate about.”

Technology can build careers, but its rapid development is also threatening the workforce. “There’s a huge fear out there that artificial intelligence is going to come in and sweep away jobs,” Bell said. HPE prioritizes education on AI to allay those fears, she says, to demonstrate to employees and consumers the responsible and ethical ways it uses AI and re-assure them that it will not be used to “spoof” or replace human intuition and intelligence in the workplace.

“One of the powers of AI that we’re seeing being mass adopted is taking large qualitative datasets, summarizing them, and producing insights at your fingertips” Sneed said. She says that HR managers can harness this power to collect data, but then need to use their own human “facilitative leadership” to put that data to work to better the organization. Sampson adds that AI can even help increase employee volunteer engagement numbers (which hover at around 17%) by analyzing employees’ skills, schedules, and locations to help match them with volunteer opportunities that are right for their availability and skillset.

Engagement Through Community Service

“Workers increasingly want companies to invest in social issues and causes that matter to them,” said moderator Amanda Drane, Reporter at The Houston Chronicle. Engaged employees are 13.8% more productive and stay with the company longer, Sampson says. Therefore, investing in employee volunteer opportunities “is a huge cost savings in regards to recruitment and training of staff,” Sampson said. “Gen Z, which is becoming one of the largest workforces in the U.S., deeply cares about having those opportunities and how it aligns to a brand.”

Having service shine through on two levels, both through company wide initiatives and individual employee opportunities, is integral to that alignment and fostering company pride. Sampson notes Campbells Soups’ programs with community food banks as a prime example of building a culture of care.

Kindness, ultimately, is what employees themselves are looking for in a workplace and what will keep them committed and successful in their roles. “We care about our people,” Bell said about HPE. “We want to see them thrive, and people that are thriving are living, they’re working, and they’re innovating at the top of their game. This is why it’s so important, no matter where the cycle is, to always stay on the upside with people.”

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Honeysuckle Magazine, and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, and CBS New York.

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