Building Connection in a Remote World with Sheila Kelleher - The Work Well Project

Understanding Key Trends in Remote Employee Well-being Welcome to the Work Well Project, the podcast that unpacks what it really takes to build a healthier, stronger and more human workplace. I'm Sierra, founder of The Work Health Experts, and every week I sit down with the people shaping the future of work. From chief people officers to learning and development leads, we will explore what's working, what's not, and what's next. We go beyond the buzzwords and get into the strategies that actually move the needle on well-being, culture and connection. So whether you are driving the DEI agenda, building belonging into your team rituals, or rethinking employee experience, this space is for you. Let's get into it. Speaker 2 My name is Sheila Kelleher, I am the head of HR for Cognitive Inc and my company that I work for is On Demand support for work day customers. Speaker 3 OK, Fab. So what are some of the current trends in the market that you're aware of when it comes to employee well-being? Speaker 2 Current trends I would, I would say is definitely about making sure that your employees are feeling valued, recognized. I think it's a really competitive workforce right now and you want to make sure that you're retaining that top talent that you have. And in a remote work world, I think it's really difficult sometimes. And when I do like polls and I ask for feedback, one thing I will say is I noticed people saying that they sometimes can feel siloed. And that's something that is really important to me to make sure that I fix that because I see that being an issue. You don't want to have people just feeling like they're coming to work. You want them to feel like they are part of a company that they can grow in. And I think having that well-being, a physical, mental, emotional, that's all super important. And I think sometimes that can, some companies can see that not being as important. I will say that we do a good job making sure that people do. Speaker 3 So I completely agree. And interestingly, I've actually always been remote, so I know the importance of feeling connected to the people that you're working with. Could you share a little bit about how you enable that connection? Creative Ways to Build Connection in a Remote Company Absolutely. So we liked we're a big Slack company. So in our Slack channels itself, we have Cog pets, we have Cog travel, home and garden recipes, fitness. We have all these different channels. And it's amazing to see because we are worldwide to see the different trends that people do, you can see inside their homes because of their pets. And it's just this way of feeling this connection. But we also, we have, we use pecan and with pecan, we ask about feedback trends, like what people want to see, what they're missing, what we could do better. And we really value that type of feedback and honesty. But we also do a really good job at making sure that we have fun little games that people can play. We do fantasy football, we do March Madness. And so there's this competitive competitiveness too that we have that just you're not just on your teams, you're engaging with everybody in the company, which I think is super important that you're not just you don't just know your team. And we actually this past year we've done different type of traveling where it was a company outing, it was once team travel. This past year we did regional travel, which was really great because people got together that don't typically work together. And I started these Slack channels like Baltimore regional trip was one of them. That channels been going off since August and it's people that don't typically communicate throughout the day and they've formed this bond that's been really beautiful. I mean, I wasn't there, but like, I feel like I was because of seeing how these connections just built and are thriving now. And I think it's that's important too, just to make sure that, you know, are connecting with not just the people that you talk to on a daily basis, but everybody within the company. Speaker 3 It is fascinating. You can be intentional about bringing people together and giving them things that are similarities so that they can build communities. So I love that. Sounds like, yeah, the Baltimore Team Baltimore contingent has it. Is it going on? So how easy is it at the minute to attract and retain people? Speaker 2 I will say our turnover right now is very low. I do see, you know, on LinkedIn, people getting new jobs throughout the, you know, the LinkedIn world, and I can say that I don't see that much when it comes to cognitive. The way that we thrive in our workplace ecosystem, like I said, is making sure that people do feel valued and that they have that career growth and that voice and that that they're being heard. And then just like the little added on benefits that we offer pretty amazing. And so when you have that ability to grow your career, I mean, I did here, but when you have that ability to grow your career within a company, that's really what people want is to know that they're not just coming in, working that job title that they came in at that there is the next level. And we help support and guide people get there. And that's another thing is just making sure that everyone here just has that support system that's huge. And if you don't have that, then it's really hard to just go in day-to-day feeling like you are being valued, yeah. Speaker 3 Absolutely. So the short answer to your question is you find it quite easy to attract and retain people at the minute. Speaker 2 I will say I think we do, yes. I think we have a great job, do a great job. Sorry, I went way too into that. I think we do a great job because we we do. I don't know, we just like we're a great community of people. Like I said, it is worldwide now. It's kind of beautiful just to see how people get along here. So I would say yes, we do. A great short answer, yes. Seamlessly Integrating New Employees After an Acquisition And your role is Head of HR? What are you currently responsible for? How do you spend your day? Speaker 2 Great question. So we're in our open enrollment season. So currently I'm working on making sure that our US benefit rates aren't increasing too much. They increase every year, but that's a big deal to me is making sure that our employees have great benefits that, you know, that aren't, you know, bottom tier or anything like that. And I want to make sure that their rates aren't increasing too much to, you know, affect them in any way shape or possible. And so that's what I'm working on right now. But my day-to-day, on top of doing that, I work with a lot of the directors and the leadership teams here that cognitive to check in with them on a daily or weekly basis, I should say how their team is doing, who's thriving, who might need a little pick me up, any challenges that their team is facing, if there's any support that I can give them. I'm big on communication when it comes to my company too. So I work with some employees where, you know, if they said something that might not have come across the correct way or someone could take it a different way, I work with them on, you know, flipping that perspective and saying, if you said it this way, how do you think it would have come across? And so I've seen that really impact a lot of relationships at cognitive as well, which you know, is great. And then on top of that, we are coming into our work day rising EMA conference, which is in Barcelona this year. So I'm helping the marketing team when it comes to events and swag and stuff like that on a daily basis too. Speaker 3 Awesome. That communication piece on coaching and helping people navigate that is so important. And yeah, I think back into some of the early days of career when somebody gave me a bit of guidance on like, you know, maybe approach it this way or have you looked at it this way and it makes such a big difference in stakeholder management and, you know, getting people on side before making decisions type thing. So that's really important. So what are some of your goals for the next 12 months? Speaker 2 So we actually just recently acquired a company within the last couple months and my goal in the next 12 months is to really make sure that the employees that came over with this acquisition really feel like they are part of our team now. I want them to feel like they have been here and part of this culture the whole time. And the first thing that we did was the company name. I felt as though that it was making them separated by calling them their old company name. So we made sure to do a COG EU so that, you know, they were part of cognitive just in the EU. It's really important for me within the next 12 months to make sure that they are fully immersed in our cognitive culture. Speaker 3 Such an important piece. I can also relate to that. I went through a process by my former role. We went from one to five companies and for a year we were saying legacy. This legacy that, you know, I'm very independent cultures and views and personalities before rebranding and coming together. And I think even on that bringing them in, it does take significant effort and time to really feel unified in that approach. Speaker 2 So I actually went over to Estonia when their whole team found out about the acquisition. And when I did that, I brought 2 suitcases with me and one of them was filled with so much cognitive swag that I had all of their names on these bags and they all had all these really great goodie bags. But also what I ended up doing is setting up each single person from that team with a buddy from Cognitive that meets with them once a week that can get to know them and help them answer any sort of questions that they may have. They've already now been integrated into our systems, which is all of our Slack channels. I do a monthly newsletter. So I've been recently I had someone join my team from from the acquisition and I had him write up what this acquisition meant to him, how he was feeling. So I wanted everyone to get his perspective and I'm going to be doing that for the other folks as well so that they can have this little spotlight on talking about themselves, their history that way, not just their buddies getting to know them, but the entire company. And I think that's really important just to get to really know people and how authentic everybody is. And so that's a goal of mine because it comes out once a month. So that will be for the next 12 months. We also have a couple people from that team going over to the rising in, in EM as a big deal. And it honestly is a huge honor to be asked to go from the company because it is a smaller pool of people than the one in the US. And so we actually asked a couple of folks from the acquisition to also come and represent Cognitive, which I hope that they find as a big honor because we have this trust in them and they are great folks. We've already, like I said, we've, we've talked with them, met with them and so that's another bit of it. And then when we do our regional trips next year, they'll all be included in the different regions as well. Speaker 3 Yeah, that's incredible. So yeah, top tips are get everyone swag. Also, startups just love wearing their branding. It's just a thing You're you can't see her shirt at the moment, but she has a cognitive shirt on representing. Yeah, spotlight the audience, get them to conferences. I do think that's an honor. And like, how great to go to Barcelona. There's no bad weather there, so that's also great. And then including them in the regional trip. So that's yeah, that sounds like great integration and and team building there. Why Employee Recognition Drives Engagement and Performance So what would you say matters more than anything else right now to? Speaker 2 You and why the most important thing for me that I focus on is employee relations. Making sure that employees are feeling valued, recognized, and really a part of the team and not just an employee is so important to me because when you do that and you, you focus on the, you know, what people can bring to the table and that just promotes, you know, higher engagement. There is lower turnover. I know we spoke about that. And then there's a strong performance overall. And so when I hear when I meet with the directors and I ask them, you know, who on your team is thriving? And when they give me a name, I actually go to our president and our CEO and I say, hey, I just heard this feedback. I think it'd be really great if maybe you would, you know, send a quick slack saying, hey, this came across my table. Just want to let you know, awesome job. It really makes a difference. So I always make sure to give that feedback. Sometimes a thankless job when you're just current constantly, you know, working with clients, your head is like buried deep into your computer. You have your calendars so full of meetings that all it takes is just such a quick little mess message of saying, hey, this person's doing a really good job. I think that maybe it would be mean be meaningful. Totally just send them a quick message. So that's really important to me is to just make sure that the employees know that we're here. I always say I'm not an scary HR person by any means. I want people to feel comfortable coming to me when I do have these conversations with directors. And I asked like, you know, if there's anybody that needs like a little bit of like a little attaboy kind of thing. Like I, what I actually do is I'll look where they look up. I look for local businesses around them and I'll send them like a quick $15.00 gift card to, you know, go get a coffee, go get a sandwich or something. And I have it come from the manager to be like, you know, hey, I know you've been going through a lot here is like a, you know, go get a coffee on me something. And I, I do that by trying to support local businesses as well. But that's, you know, that's important to just have know that employees have that their managers in their corner, their HR in the corner, their president and CEO is in their corner. I don't ever want anyone to feel like that's ever lost. Speaker 3 I, I absolutely love everything you said. And I think again, just the recognition that you're willing to give people and it coming from meaningful channels outside of the people who see day-to-day really does make a difference. Addressing Burnout Through Accountability and Boundaries So moving on to if you had a magic wand and you could wave it around to solve one thing, what would that one thing be? Speaker 2 Wow, really great question. I'd say I'd probably say employee burnout. I think a lot of companies kind of struggle with that. I also think sometimes though that it's not just the company's fault. I think employees kind of need to take that accountability as well because sometimes they feel too nervous to speak up when they are feeling tired or overwhelmed and starting to get that burnout. It's a, it's, I hear that word so often during the week of I'm nervous about them feeling burnt out. I'm nervous about them getting burnt out. And I always say, did you ask them about if they're feeling getting to that point of feeling burnt out? And I also think it's super important. I always end my conversation by saying, so when's your next day off? When do you have PTO? And making sure that like they don't get to the point of having a burnout moment. So opening up that conversation more I would say and fixing the the burnout would be my magic wand wish. Speaker 3 Yeah, good. Wish it is a good fix and there definitely is easy things to implement that I think people don't realize could be so preventative from a personal standpoint. And one of those things is boundary setting. It is really difficult in this world where we're on 24/7 and emails are going through all different time zones. And especially if you're a global company, inbox is just going to be like or the Slack, you know, little things, they're going to be consistent. So like, you know, our recommendation is always like, if you have your working hours, turn off your notifications once you're out of office because it is even if you know, you don't have to respond to them or there's no expectation, it is triggering nervous system response to get that Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding. And it builds up for for tomorrow. So there's yeah, it is something that I wish also I could wish magic wand and help people with. And that is what we try and do. But as you said, and I completely agree, people need to take ownership and it's not the organization's responsibility fully, although they do have some responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, but it is on the individual to also put things in place to make sure they're taking care of their health. Speaker 2 Absolutely. We actually, we, we will hire contractors if we do feel that we need that extra support, if we notice that, you know, we are utilization target billable consultants. And so when we see that our consultants are really getting over their billable target, we'll hire contract workers to come in and, and support. So nobody is feeling that burnout, but sometimes it's, you know, people try and outdo themselves so. Speaker 3 Absolutely. And it is also people and I classify, I say, I always say I'm a recovering workaholic. Like I do enjoy working, but then you also have to be like go for the walk, take a breather, take some time off, disconnect. I think this summer we went away for 10 days and I think I was on day 7 before I truly could switch off and then I'm like and now I only have three days left my holiday. Speaker 2 I actually put on my Slack message 4 times a week from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Eastern Time. I put a little workout emoji and I say, you know, be back at 10. And that way people can see that I'm actually like taking the time for myself being head of HR to focus on my well-being, and I want to promote that and show that it's OK to do that. Speaker 3 Also a great, great insight. So is there something that, and it doesn't necessarily have to be your current role, but is there something that you have tried to implement when it comes to promoting well-being that didn't work? And in hindsight, can you see why it didn't work? Speaker 2 So one of our benefits that we offer is a monthly gym reimbursement. And I see the people that actually take advantage and I'm actually surprised that there aren't more people that take advantage of the reimbursement. I think sometimes people do have a hard time stepping away from their computer, which is also why I try and role model of, you know, going to a gym and, and working out. But I just think that sometimes people, you do have the people that are come sit work and then they, you know, clock out and you have so much of a busy life going on outside of your work too. And sometimes people don't focus on themselves, which is tough. I have a daughter, I have a husband, I have a dog. There's a a lot of things that are going on and my daughter's 5, she's in all these activities now. So it's really about taking the time for yourself. I don't know how to change that. I can't force people to go focus on themselves and, you know, focus on, you know, exercising their physical, mental well-being. I wish I could. I think it works wonders for people. However, that's just something that. I don't think I have control over and I, I do wish I, I, I could a little bit more because I do think that it is super important to focus on yourself and think about have a selfish moment and take care of yourself before you have to take care of other people. Speaker 3 Yeah, absolutely. Finding Balance and Filling Your Own Cup First I don't think it's unique to your company, this underutilized gym membership benefit usage. I hear it all the time and I think it's cultural, societal. There's lots of factors from my perspective is the role modeling, encouragement, and then you have to let people lead themselves in a way to these things. But yeah, I agree. It does so much for so many aspects of of your life. And you know, a lot of people are young, healthy people at the minute, but not having that built into your routine as you get older becomes even more and more critical. Speaker 2 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I just started taking Pilates classes in March. I was like an avid go outside Walker. But this has been something that's so important to me now because you you totally have to disconnect. If you don't, you're going to hurt yourself. And so it's been really good for. Speaker 3 Me. My last question to you is what does well-being mean to you? Speaker 2 Great question. well-being to me is truly just a balance in your life when it comes to mental, physical, relationships, organization, just making sure that you are, like I said, focusing on you. You're not just surviving, you're thriving and you're putting your best foot forward every single day, but it's for you and it's for your Peace of Mind, your gratitude to yourself. And when you have those strong relationships as well, which you know, I'm older now. I don't have as many friends maybe as I did growing up, but I have my core group of friends. And you know, to know that I have that support, I value my friendship with them more because I know that there are people that are in my corner. And for my physical and and mental well-being, like I said, it's about making sure that you feel good about yourself. It's you always have to ask yourself like what fills your cup and fill your cup? Because that's you can't fill other people's cups until yours is full yourself. And that's, I think, very important to make sure that your happiness, your health, and the right state of mind is a top priority and a top focus to start your day every single day. Speaker 3 Beautifully said. Thank you so much for hearing that, and thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Speaker 2 Well thank you. This was so fun and such an honor. Speaker 3 That's it for this episode of The Work. Speaker 1 Well, project if something sparked an idea or even. Speaker 3 Made you pause. Speaker 1 For a second, pass it on. These conversations are how change starts. And don't forget to fall and subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you're loving what you're hearing, a quick rating or view helps us reach more people who care about creating better workplaces. Thanks for listening. Keep leading with care and we'll see you next time.