The Right Support for the Right Time

Dan Meade, Vice President of Global Total Rewards, Ciena

The global pandemic was a shock to the world and many organizations' ways of working. While many companies and their staff were rushing to establish remote ways of working to sustain their business, some were already adapted to working remotely prior to the pandemic. Fortunately for us at Ciena, we already had existing work routines, processes, and tools in place to enable our teams around the world to work on virtual teams. Many were already designated as remote workers, so when the company went almost fully remote, we were well down the path of supporting a virtual workforce and needed to make a few adjustments to bring it to scale. The next priority was to ensure our existing global wellbeing programs were prepared to meet the onslaught of demands brought by the pandemic.

Now more than ever – with people feeling the repercussions of Zoom fatigue and the absence of spending more in-person time with their colleagues – it’s important to create an environment where their work is acknowledged, they have the support they need to face any circumstance, and are celebrated for how they make a difference for the business, our customers and each other. At Ciena, our goal is to create an environment full of happiness, a sense of belonging, and vibrancy. The means to accomplish this is to be rooted in your people - understanding their needs and reacting.

Understanding your employees needs and celebrating their accomplishments, naturally leads to a culture of outstanding people who have pride in their work, their teams, and themselves

Understanding needs

It begins with knowing what works and doesn’t work for your people. Our employees identified flexible working arrangements as a priority well before the start of the pandemic and our efforts to address their priority have proven to be essential to sustaining physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. According to HR Dive, “Employees with flexible work arrangements are also more likely (54 percent vs. 45 percent) than those without to say they have the emotional support they need to manage stress, and also say they are much more likely (57 percent vs. 37 percent) to be able to change the stressful things about their work.”

With this in mind, we have offered our people the opportunity to continue working remotely instead of fully returning to the office, while also introducing the enhanced opportunity for part-time work, extended family leaves, and a global pandemic leave program providing additional time off to recover or care for others affected by COVID-19. Understanding our people’s needs is critical for their overall well-being.

Mental health awareness

Mental health and emotional wellbeing have been at the forefront of many of our day-to-day conversations and we are aware of the multiple detriments that a global pandemic, and all that accompanies it, can have on the wellbeing of our people. We have heldZoom sessions throughout the year to bring in outside speakers and educate individuals on successful work-life balance routines, mindfulness and relaxation, and even virtual yoga classes. We have also rewarded our people with a paid company-wide shut down around the December/January holidays and then again in July for rest and recharge. Prioritizing mental health is critical, especially in a time of so much uncertainty.

Showering employees with praise

There’s no doubt that recognition and reward are critical in today’s highly competitive environment. With remote work now being the norm, finding engaging and creative methods to showcase accomplishments has been no easy feat. As an example, we use an online recognition platform for peer-to-peer recognition to nominate people that exemplify and connect to our company’s core values.

We also hand out annual awards such as “Marketing MVP,” “Technical Awards of Distinction,” and “Salesperson of the Year” to celebrate our people’s accomplishments. “Spot Awards” provide ongoing recognition for performance that delivers outstanding outcomes for customers as well as internal colleagues.Many of these awards are peer-nominated.

The key to success

It is important to note that recognizing how our people make a difference can seem simple, but it is one of the most important leadership behaviors we can exemplify. When employees feel appreciated for their contributions, whether it be through a monetary reward or a simple “thank you”, there is likely to be an increase in productivity and engagement, a boost in retention, and an overall positive workplace.

A vibrant and supportive company culture is key to a successful organization. Understanding your employee's needs and celebrating their accomplishments, naturally leads to a culture of outstanding people who have pride in their work, their teams, and themselves.

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