We’ve certainly endured a large amount of change this year. And yet I’ve never been surprised during this less-than-stellar time by our ability to pivot and adapt to ensure that our organizations and people within them remain of primary importance.
Because of this assigned value, we invited three panelists to engage in a discussion about the importance of focusing on organizational culture and employee engagement during this time. Laura Martina (Chief People Officer, Fresno Chaffee Zoo); Aaron Marshall (Chief Operating Officer, Santa Barbara Zoo); and Kyle Lundby, PhD (Principal, Global Aspect Human Capital Advisors) joined our Community Conversation focused on the care of teams during layoffs and cutbacks and the organizational impact on our staff and organizations within the AZA community, as well as measures leaders can take to impact organizational culture now and moving into the new tomorrow.
Takeaways included:
-
Acknowledging the challenges of this period–particularly in those organizations that have faced significant layoffs or furloughs. And acknowledging that this period is far from over.
-
Perhaps surprisingly, while panelists shared challenges, there were significant positive observations regarding current culture within our zoos and aquariums.
-
Dr. Kyle Lundby (contact information below), who in addition to working in Microsoft’s employee research area conducts employee engagement work within the AZA community and beyond, shared that he had just completed some survey work within AZA.
-
An initial review of the data showed that opinions of senior leadership were more favorable than before the pandemic. We know that many of our senior leaders are working overtime to “show up” virtually for their teams, are communicating more, and are sharing their vulnerability and empathy with their teams.
-
The panel talked about their hopes that these leadership behaviors continue into the future.
-
-
Being a part of developing innovative solutions to problems is now the norm (and a necessity!) that we’re seeing across our organizations, regardless of level or position. It’s reinforcing for our staff to participate in this way and the hope is that this continues in the new tomorrow.
-
Recognizing that organizational culture doesn’t appear or change overnight, the panelists also discussed ways to reinforce critical values you *want* to be part of your culture–whether that be innovation or leadership traits such as vulnerability–by strategically and intentionally integrating them into every aspect of your organizational processes:
-
Your core values and strategic plan
-
Job descriptions
-
Interview questions
-
Onboarding
-
Performance expectations and reviews
-
Meeting agendas
-
Internal communication
-
Stories you share internally and externally
-
Etc., etc.
-
Click here to watch the full recording of this Community Conversations webinar.
Panelist contact information:
-
Laura Martina
Chief People Officer
Fresno Zoo
Lmartina@fresnochaffeezoo.org -
Aaron Marshall, PhD
Chief Operating Officer
Santa Barbara Zoo
amarshall@sbzoo.org -
Kyle Lundby, PhD
Global Aspect Human Capital Advisors
klundby@globalaspect-hca.com
www.globalaspect-hca.com
