“ENGAGEMENT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
GOOD COMPANY AND A GREAT COMPANY.”
– JANE RIDDELL
be accepted and trusted at all levels of the company. HR needs to be
plugged in to all areas of the company, and a great HR leader
needs to create a culture around the importance of diversity
and equity, so it becomes just who you are.”
Like Maurin, Riddell prizes bottom-up communication, and says
that the HR function needs to “build in many different channels for
our people to give feedback, with open touchpoints. There’s no such
thing as good or bad feedback: all feedback is important and good to
receive. By being open for feedback and creating a trusting environment,
we can make sure that we are on top of how changes are affecting
our people and alter change plans in the moment when we need.”
For example, through an online tool called Speak Out!
that allows associates to communicate with any company
leader (anonymously, if they wish), Riddell says she
recently gained insightful feedback that resulted in positive
change.
“We also have town hall meetings with senior leaders
that have been quite effective,” she said. “We carry out
short online engagement surveys twice a year with all of our
associates. Our last survey, I think, got 4,000 comments. And
annually, we do a 360 feedback review on all of our managers,
with the results incorporated on their development plans.”
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16 ❚ APRIL 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL