What do Great Workplaces For All™ look like in the future of work?
At the 18th annual Great Place To Work® For All Summit held in Orlando on October 11-13, a future positioned for all aims to recognize, foster, and support great workplaces across the globe for all working people. We share the key takeaways from 3 of our team members, what they gleaned from the Conference which saw global leaders and thinkers come together to share their reflections from leading their organizations through the crisis of the past two years, and their vision for the future workplace.
What might be a relevant takeaway for you as you double down for the remaining of 2022 and start planning for 2023?
Talent As the Competitive Differentiator
Julie Sweet, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Accenture shared how she led the 700,000-strong workforce at Accenture when the company navigated difficult macro conditions. “The kind of change that organizations need to drive right now, it is at such a large scale that we have to put our employees at the forefront of these changes in order to succeed. Our core change agents are our employees,” she said.
Talent is truly the competitive differentiator – companies that are diverse and inclusive and who are listening to their employees are those that move ahead of their competitors.
Courage and Care in the workplace
Great Place To Work and the workplaces that we recognize have a few things in common. They have the courage to change, the care for people to succeed and the desire to maximize human potential in a supportive and caring environment. The theme of inclusiveness was a shared sentiment throughout the Summit and across all keynote speakers who are HR and people leaders and experts across a range of industries.
Care, kindness, and connection is what every human needs and the clarion call to recognise everyone as a human first, not just an employee was clear.
In the workplace, employers can check in and ask their team members: “How are you doing, really?” and then wait for a response. This makes a huge difference because if a company can exemplify showing and having care in the organization, it will enable people to learn to ask for help.
18th annual Great Place To Work® For All Summit held in Orlando, Florida. October 11-13
Argue like you’re right, listen like you’re wrong
Leslie Patterson, Americas & US Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness Leader at Ernst & Young spoke about supporting the needs of a multi-generational workforce. She said one of the best ways to engage with staff regardless of their age is to check in – in a genuine way.
“Ask – tell me about yourself? Don’t just make it about work, that’s how you establish trust with someone, by getting to know them, and that trust fosters inclusiveness and shared understanding.”
Assil Omar, Vice President, Talent Acquisition and Human Capital Planning at AbbVie discussed Empowering Resilience and how to retain top talent through challenging times. She said organizations must have a readiness to go toward pain, not avoid it. “If you see areas in your organization that need improving, leaders must take a genuine step forward, then reflect and evolve. Pain plus reflection is what equals progress when a strong culture of learning is encouraged.”
When crisis builds character – how do you respond?
Julie Sweet reminded organizations that a crisis, like the one many companies around the world have found themselves in, is what can accelerate change. She asked the question: “Can your team articulate what you want to change?” Your whole team needs to understand the challenges facing your business in order to get onboard with responding to those problems.
We all face challenges in life that we deal with, triumph and learn from, and one of the advice by Cynt Marshall, CEO of Dallas Mavericks and author of the book “You’ve Been Chosen” is to bring your authentic self to work and just “do you”. All of these make us uniquely qualified for something significant. We do not need to be someone else. The best way to live out our dreams is by being our true selves.
The future of work is for you, for us, for all
Regardless of the incredibly inspiring sessions at the Summit that the team attended, this phrase rings true: “Things don’t get better until people get better. The future of work is not clickbait, it is genuine trust, interest, and support for all.”
Curious about creating a better workplace in ASEAN?
Join us on November 16 and 17 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore for the ASEAN Greater Summit as we share Insights about Best Workplaces in ASEAN, how to build Employee Well-Being and Elevating your Employer Brand.
Evelyn Kwek
Evelyn is the Managing Director for Great Place to Work®️ in ASEAN and ANZ. Heading the expansion of Great Place to Work®️ offices in ASEAN, Evelyn is convinced that just as the region is growing exponentially on the economic front, the work of building great workplaces FOR ALL™ must go in tandem with economic growth.
A proud mother of 3, Evelyn takes parenting very seriously – she is strict yet giving, result-focused yet generous. Together with husband Roland, they relish exploring new cultures and beautiful places of the world, usually on leisurely self-drive holidays, before the days of Covid.
Antoniette (Toni) Mendoza-Talosig
Toni has close to two decades of experience having worked in partnership with Singapore government agencies, SMEs, MNCS and Fortune 100 companies across industries and geographies.
With a deep conviction in the timeless approach of being open, transparent and respectful to others, Toni is committed to enriching the lives of thousands of employees by building great places to work For All™. Her personal mission is to inspire leaders to build a culture of trust in the workplace and elevate employee experience. With her husband Camilo and their son Joaquin, Toni is currently based in Singapore. A deeply devoted mother, she hopes that the journey of parenting will be the best adventure of her life; and the world is a playground for their family as they enjoy exploring and travelling together.
Bernadette O’Connor
Bernadette is a digital marketing whiz with experience managing marketing for brands in Europe, Australia, UK and Asia.
She aims to connect companies, employees, and communities to experience a Great Place to Work® For All™ through the best way she knows how – online platforms. Living and breathing digital-first strategies, Bernadette brings together our regions’ marketing approach so we can reach more people to help them get Certified™ and helps our clients with amplifying their own employer brands. As a digital native, she works wherever her laptop is and her favourite hobby is travelling and meeting new people.
