Coffee conversation with Sam.
She breaks down her 3 topics all V Teamers should be focused on right now.
In today’s edition of Up To Speed live, CHRO Sam Hammock joined hosts Raquel and Jen to give the scoop on the fourth quarter VZPulse survey results, Journey Forward, performance reviews and more. Also, learn about how we showed up at the NYC Marathon and for Ravens fans.
NYC Marathon
On Sunday, over 50,000 runners participated in The New York City Marathon. And like they’ve been doing for decades, our New York Fios techs have been working behind the scenes to make race day a reality. Starting two weeks out, and until well after the last person crossed the finish line, teams in Manhattan and Staten Island ran tens of thousands of feet of fiber throughout Central Park to bring connectivity for the race organizers, broadcasters, public safety and medical services.
Ravens Purple Friday
Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders, mascot Poe and Marching Ravens band helped celebrate Ravens Purple Friday with customers last Friday at our company store in Frederick.
The Ravens Purple Friday event celebrates the renewal of the partnership between Verizon and the Baltimore Ravens, who will continue to team up to boost connectivity and enhance the fan experience at M&T Bank Stadium and beyond.
Discovery Education Virtual Field Trip
On November 9, Verizon and Discovery Education are partnering to launch a virtual field trip designed to show students the mind-bending world of extended reality. This virtual field trip even showcases the Verizon Innovation Center located in Boston and our very own V Teamers Mason, Chelsea, and Miraj who are revolutionizing the way we interact, play, and learn. The virtual field trip kicks off on November 9 on the Discovery Immersive Learning page and will also make its way to the Verizon Innovative Learning HQ – our free online portal that provides teachers with the tools they need to bring next-gen tech into the classroom.
Learn more, and share the registration link with your favorite teacher in an effort to support our Citizen Verizon goal of providing 10M youth with digital skills training by 2030.
VZPulse Results
Sam noted that the VZPulse survey is “all about you , your feedback, your thoughts on how we can keep strengthening our culture and the employee experience at Verizon.”
She shouted out the V Team for our 86% participation rate, an “amazing response” that reinforces the trust and confidence V Teamers have in VZPulse and its ability to serve as a change agent. Sam provided the following highlights:
- On the whole, we’re doing well. We saw tangible improvements in several areas that elevated our percentile ranking in Gallup's 2023 Overall Company-Level Database.
- In terms of employee satisfaction, we moved up to the 75th percentile, scoring 4.16 out of 5.
- Next, we asked employees about action planning and how feedback is being used. We scored 4.21.
- The rest of the survey focused on employee well-being, and when we asked whether you believe Verizon cares about your well-being, we scored 4.03 out of 5.
- We asked employees if they feel their manager supports their wellness and role models that behavior, and we scored 4.47.
- We also received nearly 44,000 comments. Sam and her team are carefully reviewing each response to dig deeper and translate those insights into results.
Leaders who received at least five responses will gain access to their results today. Teams should meet at least monthly to discuss what’s working and what’s not to stay on top of any course corrections you need to make as a group.
Journey Forward
Sam noted that based on the VZPulse survey and other feedback channels, V Teamers expressed a desire for more space and structure to explore what's possible for their future. As a result, Journey Forward was created, which encompasses all that Verizon offers to help build your career, including training that helps you grow and expand your skills, development planning to create a path forward to reach your goals, performance management to help you remain accountable and tools like Talent GPS to see what's possible and V Team Central to track your progress.
Performance Reviews
The end of the year is here, and it’s time to submit your performance reviews.
Here are a few friendly reminders to keep in mind when filling out your performance review:
- If you’re using V Team Central for your review, you have until November 9 to enter your 2023 accomplishments before your review automatically advances to your manager.
- There will be a second window in January to add final wins from this past year and any other updates that you want to include.
- Remember to share not only what you delivered but how you did it and how your contributions and impact ladder up to our values and leadership principles.
Veterans Day
November 11 marks Veterans Day. And today, Michael McCoy, Verizon’s Head of Military Affairs, testified before the US Congress’ full House Committee of Veteran Affairs on the impact of America’s businesses on veteran employment (the hearing begins at the 9:17 mark).
At Verizon, we support over 8,000 active-duty military personnel, veterans and their families. To all our veterans, military personnel and military family members: thank you for your service and thank you for all that you bring to the V Team each and every day.
Tune in to Thursday’s Up to Speed to hear how we are recognizing Veterans Day.
November also marks Native American Heritage Month, and our NAV ERG will be taking over the episode and sharing how we as a V Team can honor the history of indigenous peoples. Be sure to tune in this Thursday, November 9, at 11:30 AM ET.
3 Things from Sam
To close out the show, Sam offered three suggestions for things to do today:
- Take care of yourself, and that includes your mental health. Your well-being matters.
- Update your career profile and make sure to follow the dates and details for year-end.
- Building Verizon’s future starts with building your career, so keep an eye out for all the ways you can grow and develop. That’s what Journey Forward is all about.
