Driving Culture in

Today’s Marketplace

Nereida (Neddy) Perez

Founder & Principal

D&I Creative Solutions

www.DIcreativesolutions.com

www.linkedin.com/in/neddyperez

About: Neddy Perez

20+ years of experience in Human Resources and Diversity & Inclusion Management

Built and executed strategies/programs at Fortune 100 & 1000 companies (i.e. Shell, Sodexo, KPMG, National Grid & Ingersoll Rand)

Has worked in Asian, Latin American, US, and European markets

Trusted Coach & Executive Advisor to CDOs and executives at major companies, nonprofits, academic institutes and government agencies

Owner D&I Creative Solutions

Social Entrepreneur and co-founder of two organizations STEMInnovationForum.com & MightyChicks.org

Has won several awards and recognition for work in diversity, leadership development and STEM talent pipeline development

Serves on the board of Diversity MBA Magazine, Central Piedmont Community College, University of Southern California’s Elevate Program, SHRM Political Advisory Committee, i4cp think tank, etc.

Blogger/Writer and Speaker

Question: Tell us about you?

Why are you here today?

Have been asked to revamp or build our culture strategy

Already own the culture work in our company

Am in Human Resources and curious about topic

Am in Diversity & Inclusion and am curious about topic

Am just curious

Question: Tell us about you?

How many years have you worked in your company?

1-4 years

5-10 years

11- 15 years

16+ years

Objectives

Our goals today are to help you understand :

Why do many corporate culture initiatives fail

What are the 7 major workplace trends that will impact

your company culture

How to leverage internal resources to identify, embrace

and reinvigorate your company culture

How can you align Diversity & Inclusion to support

Corporate Culture transformation

Walk away with a one page overview to help you

revitalize your corporate culture

Why Corporate Culture Matters

“The company’s Brand

Image will attract

candidates but the Culture

is why they stay or

comeback”

Why Corporate Culture Matters

It is the heart and soul of the company

It provides the framework for why the company was founded, continues to exist, and continues to grow

It is what people believe internally with regards to :

Behaviors (Trust vs Competition; Integrity)

Treatment (fairness)

Leadership (only at executive level or certain groups)

Externally

It carries over to customer interactions

Impacts and influences customer loyalty

It’s About the Numbers

Impact the bottomline

Reduce Turnover cost

Attraction costs – make it easier to attract people

Reduce safety costs and medical leave

Improve productivity

Customer Satisfaction

Competitiveness

What Employees are Looking for

Why Corporate Culture Initiatives Fall Short

Small group of senior leaders assigned to “project” but no long term process owner

Work tends to be done or commissioned by Human Resources or the Strategy Group

Efforts may not go deep enough

Efforts may not be linked to founders’ vision

Objectives don’t link to other major initiatives (i.e. Diversity, HR or Business Strategy)

Why Corporate Culture Initiatives Fall Short

Workforce trends may be discussed and reviewed but not incorporated

Method used doesn’t take into account subcultures (i,.e.Trane)

Voice of employee and middle management may not be incorporated (i.e. Ascend)

The company culture is not translatable (i.e. We have a “Winning Culture” )

Fail to communicate and imbed into every nook and corner of the organization

7 Workplace Trends You Need to Know

1. Data provides the foundation,

People’s experiences tell the story

2. Listen and incorporate my

voice

7 Workplace Trends You Need to Know

3. Don’t promise what is not true

or do not deliver it at all

4. Don’t just say it …“Live it, Be It”

(i.e. Do it & Zappos)

7 Workplace Trends You Need to Know

5. Loyalty is Dead unless

Ongoing learning/growing

There is a belief in the purpose

Failure is allowed without being

hurt (i.e. experiment)

Work is flexible – I am not tied

to a location (i.e. CCL offices)

Allow me to comeback after I

leave (Think “Boomerang” –

Deloitte’s Alumni Groups)

7 Workplace Trends You Need to Know

6. Communicate in Short Bytes

Visual is better with a caption

Snap Chat it or Text it (140 to 250

characters)

i.e. Two Words : Service &

Commitment - National Grid (10 million

customers 1 blizzard)

7. Be socially thoughtful and responsible (humanitarian causes, environment/sustainability,

animal rights)

How to Leverage Internal Resources to Drive Transformation

Connect to History: Really understand the

founding individual’s rational behind the

company values

Identify pivotal transitions in the company’s

history (i.e. merger/acquisition, shift in

strategy)

Identify the main elements of the culture that

align to the core values

How to Leverage Internal Resources

to Drive Transformation

Look for internal subcultures and identify what are the core values that resonate with them

A sub culture is any group that has it’s own identity which over rides the parent company/corporate culture (i.e. engineers, supply chain, or a subsidiary, or business acquisition)

Look at internal data (i.e. National Grid tablet)

Turnover – why did people leave what did they say about the culture

Use the employee engagement survey; what patterns exist

Look at ethics complaints filed ; safety records; pay equity patterns; rewards and recognition handed out

Leverage external social media sites like Glassdoor to find out why people left or what they don’t like about the company

How to Leverage Internal Resources

to Drive Transformation

Interview people (senior leaders,

employee resource group leaders,

hold focus group meetings in the

native language of employees)

Leverage tools like Yammer, or

Corporate Linkedin or Google

Groups to learn more about what

employees say about the

company and leadership (i.e.

Google Story)

How to Leverage Internal Resources to Drive Transformation

Review the company’s Learning & Development Strategy

Incorporate the core values into all learning

Ask to speak to high potentials who have completed leadership programs to get their in put on the culture/subculture.

Look at your Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, what progress has been made.

Ask to meet with the employee resource or business resource groups to get their input

Look at key questions on the engagement survey around trust, respect, work culture, diversity (i.e. I feel respected by…)

Align Diversity & Inclusion

with Culture Strategy

Building blocks of Diversity & Inclusion are

grounded in

Valuing people’s skills & talents

Understanding & navigating the corporate culture

Helping to breakdown silos and biases that limit collaboration

Addressing/Improving policies, processes and

behaviors that prevent an organization from meeting business obligations or finding solutions business

problems or prevent a company from tapping a

particular market of business opportunities

Increasing the talent pool of diverse candidates and improving retention

If You Don’t Have a D&I Program

Some tips:

Form a committee of high potentials -diversity council

Check for how language is used … hidden meanings

Review your demographics

Understand why people stay or leave

Resources:

www.humancapitalmedia.com

www.dicreativesolutions.com

www.linkedin.com

One Page Road Map Checklist

• What are the core values?

• What’s been

done?

Communicate

&Engage• Make it easy

• Make it

accessible

• Make it active

• Embed it in

everything

• Keep it simple

Eliminate & Track • Forget the employee value

proposition• Establish & measure goals• Hold the leadership

accountable ..imbed in business scorecard

Anchor

Efforts• Learning• Diversity

&Inclusion• Operations• Management

& employees

• Performance System, etc.

Collect Data• Engagement

Survey• Demographi

c data• Conduct

focus groups