A yellow cover with a happy face. Is there any better way to start off the first issue of a new year? I can’t think of one. But I’ll admit that not all HR leaders are smiling when it comes to their employee engagement efforts. It is core to HR strategies because it’s often the link to several key components of human capital management, including loyalty, productivity, and retention. Having an engaged workforce is not always easy to achieve—but it can be done. In our cover story, Seeking Engaged Employees , we feature the stories of five CHROs that showcase how their organizations successfully drive engagement and the results they are seeing.
“Our approach to employee engagement is to incorporate it into everything we do as HR partners to the business,” says Dianne DeSevo, chief people officer for Dow Jones. “Whether through training, development opportunities, initiatives led by specific department leaders, company-wide communications and global town halls, we ensure that people managers at all levels are encouraged to engage with their direct reports and are well-equipped to do so.”
Chief Transformation Officer and CHRO Cindy Blendu says Clearwater Analytics also takes an all-encompassing approach. “Employee engagement is a top priority for us, and we have implemented several strategies to foster a strong connection with our workforce,” she explains. “First, we have appointed leaders throughout the organization to drive diversity, inclusion, and volunteer efforts, while also engaging local offices with dedicated budgets and creative teams for fun initiatives. Additionally, we have various recognition programs in place to promptly acknowledge employees, including budget allocations for team lunches, happy hours, and events.”
Blendu adds that engagement is part of ongoing conversations driven by monthly town halls, weekly team meetings, and regular training sessions via platforms like Udemy and LinkedIn Learning for self-directed training.
DeSevo and Blendu report that their efforts have been effective with both of their organizations experiencing a drop in attrition. There is so much more to learn about Dow Jones’ and Clearwater’s strategies, plus the ways in which Limbach, Guitar Center, and University of California, Irvine take employee engagement to a happy place.
Until next time,
Debbie Bolla
SVP/Editorial Director
