Evolving with People’s Needs: Listening, Learning, Trying, and Acting
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Posted By: Reginald Culpepper on November 05, 2020 FEATURED Content by Bill Ackerman, Head of Human Resources at Fidelity Investments Thinking back to six months ago, we were all facing challenges – the winter months were getting old, financial services competition was heating up, labor markets were getting tight, and many workers, including me, were acting on year-end performance reviews and jumping in to hit their new goals. But wow…the challenge “bar” was certainly raised even more this year amidst dramatically higher customer growth and engagement, the COVID-19 pandemic, and social and racial tensions (just to name a few) – all bringing changes to our lives and our focus areas, both at work and home. And while this is a confusing and difficult time for everyone, I am not surprised at how resilient, nimble, empathic and truly innovative our associates have been. Their obsession with delivering a high-quality customer experience – when and how it’s needed most – has remained unshaken. And just as our associates are looking out for clients, at Fidelity we’ve been hyper-focused on looking out for our people by listening, learning, trying and acting on their needs. In the last six (or seven) months alone, we’ve developed new ways to do things for our associates - everything from recruiting, to hiring, to onboarding, to working from home, to listening, to providing enriching experiences. And implementing all that change meant investment and innovation on several fronts. Two great examples stand out: Increased hiring in a virtual world Our customers are more engaged now than ever before, many preferring to talk with us live to help with their financial futures. So, just as we did in the spring, we’re accelerating hiring to meet the evolving needs of our current and future customers. That means enhancing our recruitment practices to attract more critical skills by expanding channels to reach new talent, applying machine learning and natural language processing to drive better candidate screening, and increasing the diversity of hires. We’re also creating engaging entry-level positions, rotational and internship opportunities (even if virtual for now) and offering several pre-hire, onboarding and new associate immersion processes that help ensure the best possible experience from day one. And, it’s working! As we ramp up hiring for thousands of more roles, nothing is more rewarding than hearing from our newest associates that our efforts and processes are working for them in these challenging times. We’re eager to welcome more great people to our Fidelity team – you can learn more and apply here. Jobs that can change clients’ lives, and benefits that can change yours In today’s environment, acting on critical associate needs is paramount – new challenges call for new, more impactful solutions. In the spring, we offered more time to deal with unexpected life events and gave access to expert care coordinators and healthcare providers. In the summer, we offered more ways for our employees to support their communities’ COVID-19 relief and social justice efforts through The Fidelity Foundation’s new matching gift program and in response to associate needs, offered creative and welcoming return to the office “re-entry” programs for volunteers who wanted to be a part of test pilots for coming back to the office. For this school season, we launched several benefits for working parents, including childcare cost assistance through a new Working Caregiver COVID subsidy, enhanced access to child-care coordinators who can help secure care and educational resources, such as a nanny or tutor, and even more flexible work schedules. And while taking care of family is a top priority for many, associates need to care for themselves while working remotely, too – and that starts with the “home office.” To help, we have provided a one-time COVID work-from-home allowance to help employees cover home-office expenses related to the pandemic (think internet access or ergonomic supplies or equipment). Then, we took it a step further and negotiated discounted rates on technology and furniture accessible via an internal portal for employees to make it even easier to create the home workspace they need. We remain hard at work collecting associate feedback through a variety of feedback loops. And thankfully, these feedback opportunities are giving us a detailed look as to what is on employee’s minds. Virtual “water cooler” talks are thriving, ZOOM drop-ins offer great insight, employee support channels are busy, and survey responses are at all-time highs. And, new system “nudges” and ways of fostering new connections are also generating great feedback. Overall sentiment from our employees is very high and we’re focused on keeping it that way! Fidelity’s strength, innovative spirit, and strong industry and community relationships continue to shine during this trying time. To our current associates – thanks for all that you do! To our new associates – welcome aboard! And to those looking for a job that can help change people’s lives, with benefits that can change yours – we hope you will consider joining our team and growing with us. Apply for Opportunities today! #FidelityAssociate #HiringNow If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Reginald Culpepper
President, Fulfillment and Web Services, HBCUCONNECT Clark Atlanta University class of 1998 Member Since September 2000 |
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