Forward-thinking HR teams put people at the heart of everything they do. “Our extraordinary global HR team leads the way to ensure that every moment matters for our people – from the big experiences like onboarding and promotions, to the everyday interactions that show how much we care,” says Ellyn Shook, chief leadership and human resources officer of Accenture. “We start by asking a simple question: ‘Are our people net better off working here?’”
Shook says the answers to this question help guide initiatives to make sure employees are connected and have a sense of belonging as well as feel physically, emotionally, and financially fit. “This mindset has transformed our ability to access talent, create talent, and unlock the potential of our people – which ultimately drives business growth and accelerates change in our communities,” she says.
At Jacobs, a global solutions company with more than 60,000 employees, its employee value proposition, “A world where you can” is about inspiring, enabling, and empowering the workforce says Chief People Officer Shelie Gustafson. She explains that this is being achieved through several HR strategies, including:
77% of global workers are ready to learn new skills or completely retrain.
For the HR team at Target, their HR strategy is center around ensuring all team members are fulfilled professionally by working at the retailer. “We serve with care, a growth mindset, and a deep understanding that the most important investments we make are in the team that delivers joy to our guests and communities, every single day,” says Melissa Kremer, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for the organization.
In 2022, Target made several people investments, including:
Making an impactful DEI approach, one that fosters inclusivity, was a main goal of the HR team at Booz Allen Hamilton who supports more than 31,000 employees. "Our refreshed DEI strategy and action plan enables us to lead by example, empowering employee potential, inspiring belonging, and using our voice," explains Betty Thompson, executive vice president and chief people officer for the organization. "In 2022, we provided access to our signature "Unstoppable" programming to advance equity both inside and outside the firm. We launched our quarterly DEI magazine, a podcast, and hosted a weeklong virtual summit to share DEI content from our team to our employees and external experts."
One common denominator among many of these initiatives is the end goal of building an inclusive company culture. “Our goal is to help employees find their joy,” says Hyder. “One way we do this is through benefits, but that’s just one part of the equation. It’s also about culture and creating empowered employee experiences where people can do meaningful work, build trusted relationships with each other, and find purpose and belonging.”
Because leading organizations understand that today’s employees want something much more than just a job.” We want to set the example for workplace culture and to do that we will continue to transform data into intelligence, not only for our customers but for ourselves to give our employees a rewarding, meaningful, and equitable experience,” says Mann.
72% of job seekers say it’s extremely or very important to see details about company culture.
For Walmart, inclusive initiatives align with their culture of belonging. “In 2022, the team created new ways of working for campus office associates, rolled out new family building benefits, continued to improve our diversity representation and transparency, supported frontline associate growth by offering new college programs and certificates at no cost through our ‘Live Better U Program,’ and strived to cultivate a culture of belonging for all,” explains Donna Morris, chief people officer of Walmart.
By holding people accountable and supporting employees in every life stage, AbbVie is building an inclusive workplace. “We are driving our high-performance culture by building our expectations into every HR process,” says Tim Richmond, EVP and CHRO for the organization. “Our culture combined with a focus on high value offerings for employees sets us apart. The result of this successful HR team is high employee engagement, strong leaders, and an inclusive workplace for all employees.”
Cardinal Health says they differentiates themselves from competitors through their strong culture. “Known as a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), we’re dedicated to creating an inclusive work environment where all employees can thrive and feel empowered to bring 100% of themselves to work,” says Ola Snow CHRO for the organization. “We know that when we have diverse voices at the table, we make better business decisions.”
The Cigna Group is focusing on building a culture that can retain the talent needed today as well tomorrow. “This is a transformative time to be an HR professional, and at The Cigna Group, there is nothing more critical to our success than our employees,” says Cindy Ryan, executive vice president and chief HR officer for the organization. “Our work supports an experience in which our employees feel supported by leaders, motivated by growth opportunities, and connected with each other.”
About The HR100
The HRO Today research team reviewed nearly 1,100 companies to come up with the top 100 HR departments. HRO Today’s HR100 scores and ranks HR departments in eight core areas: workplace culture, employee benefits, diversity and inclusion, employee development and talent management, human resources innovation, leadership development, talent acquisition, and employer brand. Performance in these core categories is aggregated, forming an index that provides a reasonable score for overall HR excellence.
To create the ranking, the HRO Today research team collected available public data from nearly 40 established benchmarking and ranking programs in the identified categories. Examples of these programs includes Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, Training Magazine’s Top 100 and Glassdoor ratings. This generated a score based equally on depth and breadth of outside recognition and internal recognition. The data is then aggregated and weighted to create the final score, producing the index used in the ranking.