DEIB, Developing Leaders, Leadership & Management
Great Place To Work’s bold, three-year initiative unlocks new ways to hire, promote, and retain employees to build more resilient, innovative, and productive workplaces.
By Roula Amire
The only constant in the workplace has been unprecedented change.
Business leaders are searching for answers on how to succeed in today's divisive, uncertain, and fast-changing environment.
To uncover those answers, Great Place To Work® formed The Great Transformation, a groundbreaking, three-year research initiative to build a blueprint for the future of work together with Accenture, Cadence, Cisco, DHL Express, Dow, Encore, Hilton, KPMG, Synchrony, UKG, and World Wide Technology.
CEOs, CHROs, and Chief Diversity Officers from these organizations have committed to participating in targeted, data-backed initiatives designed to unlock the full potential of all employees and test new ways of working to increase organizational productivity, agility, resilience, and innovation.
The impact of The Great Transformation not only benefits cohort companies, but lays the groundwork for organizations around the world to create more equitable, "for all" workplaces for their people.
“These 11 companies have opened themselves up to change and transformation and did the hard work so the rest of the world can learn from their experience and insights,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work. “This will be as close to a blueprint for the future of work as anything we’ve seen because the future of work is for all.”
The cohort collectively represents more than 1.4 million global employees across a broad range of industries, including technology, finance, transportation, hospitality, professional services, semiconductors, and manufacturing.
A new roadmap
Great Place To Work used its methodology, backed by 30 years of measuring great company culture, to analyze each cohort member’s extensive employee data set to develop and test radical new ways to revolutionize the employee experience.
“It's one thing to have data that shows how you can improve the experience of your people and your business, but it's another to have the courage to act on that data,” Bush says. “That's not easy to do, but that's what these companies have done.”
They’ve made unprecedented strides in their approach to hiring, promoting, and retaining employees from all backgrounds, creating environments where all people are seen, recognized, and valued for their contributions.
Developing measurable and actionable ways to ensure all employees have a positive workplace experience has a profound impact on business and culture.
“This will be as close to a blueprint for the future of work as anything we’ve seen because the future of work is for all.” - Michael C. Bush
“At KPMG, we are continuously seeking new ways to enhance how we attract, develop and engage a collaborative and diverse workforce,” says Paul Knopp, U.S. chair and CEO. “As we navigate transformative ways of working, we prioritize efforts that further our ability to support our people, which makes the difference in the way we grow trust, sustain growth and foster meaningful opportunities to do work that matters.”
“The secret sauce in making a great company even better is ensuring the people that support you every day feel valued, championed, and have a sense of belonging,” agrees Greg Hewitt, CEO, DHL Express U.S. “As the future of work continues to evolve, we’re thrilled to continue our learning journey through the help of The Great Transformation project, all for the benefit of our greatest asset: our people.”
You can’t have a “for all” culture without “for all” leaders, Bush says.
“A ‘for all’ leader ensures every employee can contribute their best,” he says. “Thanks to the work of this cohort, we now have the metrics to measure the experience the leader creates for all levels of their organization. When that happens, companies outperform. That’s the future of leadership.”
Cohort companies like Synchrony are training leaders to embrace new mindsets and behaviors that are required to lead differently.
“Synchrony has long been a values-led company and culture,” says Brian Doubles, president & CEO of Synchrony. “In partnership with Great Place To Work, we are taking a closer look at what ‘for all’ leadership really means, challenging ourselves to embrace the mindset shifts and leadership behaviors needed to unlock innovation, accelerate equity for all and drive strong business results.”
[Register today for the culture conference of the year May 7-9, 2024, in New Orleans]
For All™ Summit
Just as important as the mission of The Great Transformation is when it all began — in 2021 in the middle of a pandemic when the workplace was flipped upside down.
“At the peak of Covid, they decided to redesign their For All business processes,” Bush says. “They have courage in ways that we know most companies do not. These leaders are willing to change, make hard decisions, and commit to finding solutions that will move their business forward.”
At the end of the three-year initiative May 2024, Great Place To Work and the cohort will showcase the findings May 7-9 at the For All™ Summit in New Orleans.
Leaders from the cohort will share which approaches have proven successful to create more equitable and innovative workplaces for every worker, including women, marginalized communities, hourly workers, and mid-level managers.
“Other companies say, ‘We have work to do,’” Bush says. “But after three years, these companies will be able to tell the world: ‘Look how far we’ve come.’”
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