I began my HR career at a large tech company way back in the 90’s. It was a great place to start, but I had a lot to learn and it was very easy to get lost in the shuffle. I often held back from speaking my mind or offering ideas because I didn’t feel comfortable or safe enough to do so.
And then I met Cynthia Neff.
Cynthia remains one of the best managers I’ve ever known. I’ll never forget the day she walked into a conference room where I’d been waiting with a group of senior sales leaders. Right before she got there, some of them thought it would be funny to comment on how “sexy” my boots were. When the first joke was made, I laughed too. I was the youngest, most junior person in the room and I wanted to be a good sport. But when the rest of the group got in on the action, I began to feel smaller and smaller. These guys were not including me - they were objectifying and excluding me. I had no idea what to do.
Cynthia once told me I didn’t get to “graduate” from her particular brand of HR Leadership until I could tell an executive to piss off (the kinder, more British version of what she actually said). Lucky for me, on “boot-gate” day, Cynthia walked in, saw what was happening, and called them all on their “B.S. behavior.” I’m sure she used some saltier language, but you get the point. She used her influence to do more than diffuse the situation: she put these guys in their place and I immediately felt seen and protected. This was a particular skill of hers and it’s how Cynthia continued to make me feel during the time that we worked together.
Mutual Respect Leads to Deeper Engagement
Cynthia’s commitment to creating a safe environment and her genuine investment in me as an HR professional allowed me to open up, be courageous, take risks, and find my footing. Her approach led me to feel more deeply engaged on the job and in our working relationship. She made me want to be better. Honestly, I would have followed that woman off a cliff.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from Cynthia and over the course of my career is that employee engagement runs parallel to how psychologically safe people feel. I know exactly how hard it is to get up in the morning and try to do your job when it feels like your life is falling apart. At Turnitin, we’ve worked to cultivate an environment in which people feel comfortable showing up “as they are.”
Seize the Moment, Figure Things Out Later
As soon as it became clear that everyone would be asked to shelter in place and practice social distancing during the pandemic, we scrambled to support our teams -- not only in regards to getting work done, but also in preserving their psychological safety . We ramped up our communication to employees using email, slack and video; at least twice a week, hosted virtual happy hours, and started a global book club. Now, we’re offering yoga and meditation sessions via Zoom, expanded our wellness reimbursement policy to include online fitness memberships, and increased access to mental health services. We’ve also provided additional funding for office equipment so that employees can buy what they need to feel productive at home.
We didn’t have a playbook for the pandemic. I’m certain there are things we missed or would have done differently if we’d been able to plan. But nobody had that luxury, so we sprang into action and did the best we could while keeping our employees at the center of our actions.
What I’m most proud of is our ongoing commitment to our employees as individuals. I can see a direct parallel between the lessons Cynthia taught me and how I have tried to lead through this crisis. We have not succumbed to fear; we are staying focused on our employees and working hard to honor their wide variety of experiences.
When we tweaked our most recent employee survey to reflect the Coronavirus pandemic and encouraged employees to be totally honest about their feelings and needs, engagement shot up by six points.
Why? There could be a lot of factors. But based on what people are writing, the invitation to be emotionally honest (not only in the survey, but as a way of operating) about the impact that Coronavirus is having on them has played a crucial role in the increased levels of engagement. Our people feel taken care of and "seen" for what is going on in their worlds.
As complicated as this situation has been, I’m seeing a lot of silver linings. At work. we’ve learned how to be effective on a remote-first basis, our employees feel taken care of, and our company is able to help universities and secondary education institutions during this difficult time. A few days ago we launched another survey, inviting our employees to help co-create the “new normal” when we can go back to our offices. I can’t wait to read the responses.
On a personal note, I reached out to Cynthia for the first time in a while to let her know that I’d been thinking about her a lot during this challenging moment. As usual, she was super inspirational, still suffers no fools, and is doing really great work in the world.
What has your experience during the Coronavirus taught you about employee engagement? Have you had any “silver lining” moments? If so, I’d love to hear about them.
