Campbell’s Soup Co.: Setting the Tone at the Top

Since 2001, Campbell Soup Co. has undergone a significant number of changes. On their corporate website, CEO Doug Conant attributes the success of the company’s transformation to its employees, stating ”we’re performing at a higher level and are more innovative and more self-governed because our employees believe that each individual can make a difference to Campbell’s success.” Campbell’s has received numerous awards recognizing the company’s commitment to the diversity of their employees.

The awards highlight Campbell’s as a great place to work, supporting the employment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, committing to corporate social responsibility and ethics, the advancement of women and promoting healthy lifestyles amongst employees and members of the public. Conant’s leadership has set the tone for the future of Campbell’s, celebrating the contributions of its employees along the way.

Best Practices: Tone at the Top
Upon arrival at Campbell’s, Conant had a long list of goals he wanted the company to achieve by 2011. With the help of employees and a strong corporate culture, Conant set the tone at the top, resulting in the achievement of company goals. In reviews from Glassdoor.com, employees at Campbell’s have praised company CEO Doug Conant for being a great leader, stating he lives the values of the company, is respectful of everyone in the workplace and knows what needs to be done to create a diverse, engaging workplace.

In the Businessweek article “Lighting A Fire Under Campbell,” Harvey Golub, Campbell’s chairman and the former head of American Express stated, “He’s (Conant) an extraordinary leader who behaves with the utmost integrity. People follow him and believe in him.” Conant’s ability to act consistently with company values adds credibility to corporate initiatives and policies. When top executives practice what they preach, employees are more inclined to work towards achieving company goals and bring forward new product ideas.

At Campbell’s, they are committed to “nourishing people’s lives everywhere, every day.” Conant understands the impact of employee recognition and takes time each day to personally commend employees for their efforts. In the article “Lighting A Fire Under Campbell,” Businessweek reports:

“In his time at Campbell, Conant has sent out more than 16,000 handwritten thank-you notes to staffers, from the chief investment officer to the receptionist at headquarters–notes often found hanging in people’s offices or above their desks. ‘[In business] we’re trained to find things that are wrong, but I try to celebrate what’s right,’ says Conant.”

Best Practices: Employee Relations
The development of employee engagement programs and support groups at Campbell’s has redefined the relationship between employees at Campbell’s. Winning in the Workplace, Winning in the Marketplace, Winning with Women, is an initiative geared towards increasing the presence of women in managerial, executive and manufacturing roles. In 2010, Campbell’s received a Catalyst Diversity & Inclusion award for this program, demonstrating a commitment to the advancement of women in the workplace.

Campbell’s Lifestyle Change Awards is a program established to recognize the achievements of employees who have made commitments to adopt healthier lifestyles. Examples of the types of lifestyle changes made have been developing healthy eating habits, participating in physical activity, weight management, reducing blood pressure and stress levels and quitting smoking. Campbell’s also developed a series of annual awards presented to employees and teams at the company’sExtraordinary Performance Awards gala.

Campbell’s has created a variety of employee networks to help provide support for employees and encourage workplace diversity and inclusion:

• Campbell African American Network


• Asian Network of Campbell


• Hispanic Network de Campbell


• Our Pride Employee Network


• The BridgeWomen of Campbell


• Global American Indian/Aboriginal Network

These support groups allow employees to come together and discuss challenges they face at work. Group discussions assist employees in understanding and relating to each other, creating an inclusive culture at Campbell’s.

Although Campbell’s has received numerous awards for improvements in employee engagement, innovation, employee diversity and inclusion, Conant repeatedly states that there is still room for the company to progress- always room to be better.

Resource:
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Australian Growth in Job Ads slow in January however Market Experts still Quietly Confident for 2010

Australian job ads on the internet and in newspapers decreased by 8.1% in January, after growing 4.6% in December and 5.2% in November. January’s softening growth still represents an increase of 7.1% from the cyclical low in July 2009.

2010 started with positive sentiments following 137,200 jobs being added to the labour market in the last four months of 2009. Whilst January shows a decline on December growth, economists are confident that growth will continue throughout the first half of 2010 albeit at a somewhat slower pace than first predicted.

Interestingly 30% of all jobs are now part-time indicating spare capacity amongst employees who perhaps would like to increase their hours worked. This in part can be attributed to organisations who cut hours rather than jobs throughout the 2009 slow down.

Whilst national unemployment was predicted to increase to 7%-8% less than a year ago, the job growth in quarter 4, 2009 combined with January’s most recent release means economists have revised forecasts to a high of around 5.8% at some point throughout the year (currently 5.5%). This is not only impacted by the growth of jobs but also an increase in the number of new entrants to the labour market, growing by 29,000 a month.

Click here to read the full Media Release

Turn Stress into Strength in your Workplace

Without a doubt chronic and life altering stress exists in every workplace however for many organisations it seems to be an invisible elephant in the room. Everyone knows it exists and is significantly increased by the workplace. Everyone knows it impacts productivity, but few take responsibility and implement actions or initiatives to relieve the outcomes until breaking point kicks in.....

Chronic stress is a killer. It causes or aggravates high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and addictions, and immune suppression. It's implicated in infertility in women, sleeplessness, gastro-intestinal problems, slower wound repair and memory loss.

Health Canada found that stress caused by conflict in work or family costs Canadian businesses an estimated $3.5 billion each year in absenteeism. It put the cost of mental health problems, where stress is sometimes a factor, at $35 billion a year.

In the U.K., the government's Health and Safety Executive describes stress as the No. 1 cause of lost time at work, responsible for 13 million lost workdays in 2005.

The American Institute of Stress estimates the cost of work-related stress to the U.S. economy – loss of productivity, absenteeism, accidents, employee turnover, medical bills and insurance costs – at $300 billion annually.

The Whitehall studies, led by Sir Michael Marmot, professor of epidemiology and public health at University College, London. examined almost 30,000 British civil servants over more than three decades. They found what they called the "social gradient": The lower an employee was in the work hierarchy, the higher the rate of heart disease, mental illness, chronic lung disease, gastrointestinal disease, suicide, depression and back pain.

In the wake of 2009, a time where jobs were shed and roles became engulfed with additional responsibilities, many frontline workers have been stretched to maximum capacity, to deliver more with less. 2010 provides an opportunity to place fresh eyes over your organisation and the way your people are working.

1. Demonstrating sincere concern for your people and the level of stress that has been endured is the first step to relieving stress. Many people firstly want to be appreciated for their efforts.

2. Critically assessing department and individuals role and responsibilities to ensure you have the right people doing the right things is a powerful way of creating some freedom in the workplace.

3. Focus on outcomes and contribution rather than hours and tasks.

4. Walk the talk – implement processes or strategies to help them manage or eliminate stress in the workplace. Simple things like flexible work practises or monthly RDO’s can help relieve the pressure of trying to manage both work and home life.

5. Education – For most, stress will always be a part of life. Education around time and energy management, diet and fitness can help provide tools that can broaden a person’s capacity or tolerance for situations. Here the focus is on turning what would ordinarily be seen as a stressful situation into something taken in one’s stride.

Ask yourself the question....How can our organisation make life easier for our employees?

Have you calculated your Flight Risk?

Everywhere you turn there is research quoting stats like 30% & 60% of Australians will change jobs in 2010. The most recent was conducted by education provider Martin College.

Key takeaways are:

• Three quarters of Australians are not happy with their careers and want to change,
• 9% of Australians hate their jobs; &
• 67% say they are looking to change jobs in 2010 with 21% on the network trail to start the ball rolling.

Read the full article here

Whilst the research swings, it is pretty clear that a significant proportion of Australians will look to move employers in 2010.

Do you know what your employees are thinking? Could 2010 be a year consumed with recruitment and administration costs and time rather than activities that could provide real value to your people? If you are into risk management the red lights are flashing on this one!

Strongest Growth in Job Ads since May 2007

The Job markets appears to be coming back with strong growth in job advertisements. The results for quarter 1, 2010 will be watched with great interest.

Highlights of the article.......

• The number of jobs advertised in major Australian newspapers and online rose by 6.0 per cent in December, the strongest monthly growth in two-and-a-half years.
• Overall job ads averaged 149,063 a week, with newspaper job ads rising by 11.6 per cent and internet job ads increasing by 5.6 per cent, an ANZ survey shows.
• The rise in December follows a 5.2 per cent increase the month before and it was the strongest monthly growth since May 2007.
  

Read the full article here

One in Four High Performers will Leave

One in four high-performing employees say they want to leave in the next 12 months, according to new survey of 35 companies in Europe published by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB).

The consultancy believes the results highlight a "worrying" developing trend for businesses. While these individuals perform 21% better than colleagues, they are 10% more likely to leave their organizations today than a year ago," the CEB said.

Read full article here from the Wall Street Journal

Managers Drive People Away

'Managers drive people away' was the key takeaway from Red Balloon's 2009 Reward & Recognition survey after 62% of employees rated Managers as ‘Poor’ or ‘Satisfactory’ when it comes to delivering praise. Also...........

• 33% of employees believe their manager knows what motivates them,

• 33% plan to leave their job now or when the economy improves,

• Only 29% of businesses are recognising their employees daily or weekly,

• 52% of employees say not receiving any recognition would contribute to their decision to leave the organisation, and

• Private one on one recognition is the most popular form of communication.

Download the full report at The Red Balloon Website