Workplace supported 'the perfect storm' of organizational challenges
Parsons Corporation, a digitally enabled solutions provider, are headquartered in Washington DC and enjoy a position as a world leader in defense, intelligence and critical infrastructure.
In 2018, in preparation for IPO, Workplace by Meta was selected as an organization-wide communications tool to intended to reach and engage their 16,000 strong global employee base.
Melissa Kletzker, VP Internal Communications recalls “We had just formed a new communications team in preparation for going public, we were also preparing to relocate our corporate headquarters, and we adopted a new company-wide communications tool, all at the same time.”
“Looking back, I don’t know how we would have encountered a two year period of transformation & change and brought our employees along with us, without Workplace. Being able to gauge dialogue and reaction, to really dial into employee sentiment, amidst all of the change, was invaluable”.
Workplace Results
15700
Invited employees
83%
Claim rate
65%
Monthly active users
A culture of communication
When the pandemic hit in spring 2020, Workplace made it easy for Parsons to stay connected with their global base. The CEO would go live on the platform weekly, which naturally caused the engagement statistics to soar. This in turn caused a ripple effect – business leaders followed suit and engaged with their organization on a weekly basis, keeping everyone connected and engaged. This served two purposes – connecting leadership to their teams, as well reinforcing Workplace’s status as the communications tool across the global organization.
Navigating the onset of Covid within a global organization, Melissa and her internal communications team relied heavily on Workplace for weekly updates, which enabled them to respond to changing scenarios and guidelines a lot faster. The comments, questions and concerns expedited the conversations and allowed the organization to flex in response to changing situations. “This was everything we could have asked for – in effect, crowdsourced information that allowed our leadership to look at and respond accordingly”
In May 2020, the death of George Floyd was the impetus for a very successful ‘Let’s get awkward’ DE&I campaign. A business leader made a statement on his own, sharing his thoughts. The corporate approved CEO statement, delivered shortly after, didn’t have the same effect in terms of being viewed as authentic. Black leaders soon initiated the conversation with regard to doing more on the topic of diversity, inclusion and justice.
What may have been watercooler talk – or not talked about at all – became very prominent, very quickly. The “Let’s get awkward’ campaign generated a huge conversation. When senior leadership added their voice to the cause, this served to support a more transparent corporate culture, allowing Parsons to show more of their authentic self.
The value of Workplace was once again in full view across the organization, reinforcing the idea that bottom-up, employee driven communication is a fundamental component to a healthy employee culture, a positive employee experience overall.
Connecting the organization to executive leadership
Like every organization, Parsons are mindful of the war on talent – therefore becoming, and remaining an employer of choice is a journey.
A key indicator to achieving the admirable 75% favorable rating taken for at their annual employee pulse check, is measuring team engagement and sentiment through the comments, to really ascertain how the teams hearts and minds are feeling, and how connected they’re feeling to leadership. Destination employers such as Parsons put their people first, drive innovation using technology and provide best of breed tools to facilitate a world class culture.
Workplace insights allow Melissa and her team to see how culture scores are correlated between particular groups and overall culture scores. This data prompts and guides leadership and teams on how to adjust when needed, ensuring consistent alignment with favorable scores.
Next steps for Melissa? “Workplace compliments our innovative culture. Looking ahead to the next year and beyond with Enablo, our capabilities are evolving at pace and we’re continually exploring new ways to drive engagement worldwide. With the new hybrid working model, which is here to stay, as well as having a global employee base across multiple time zones, there’s never been a more critical need to have a tool that ensures our culture and conversations are front and center. We’re excited for the future”
“What happens without Workplace? We lose the conversation”
Melissa Kletzker, VP Internal Communications, Parsons Corporation
At Enablo, we believe work is no longer a place, it’s an experience. We’re digitizing the world of work and enabling new work experiences that are accessible to everyone, anywhere. Through our partnership with Workplace from Meta. we’ve helped hundreds of organizations transform their culture and the way they work. Contact us today to understand how we can help you begin that journey.