From Clock-In to Buy-In: Building a Culture That Inspires

Called to Coach Webcast Series -- Season 12, Episode 17

Below are audio and video plus a transcript of the conversation, including time stamps.

The iHerb company mission is "to make health and wellness accessible to all," and "part of that mission and caring for our customers is ... caring for our team members." During the past four years, iHerb has sought to fulfill the employee promise of its mission by building an engaged global workplace culture. What does it look like to build such a culture with intentionality? Ask iHerb's Elizabeth Luzardo. Elizabeth will tell you how iHerb has navigated times of change, including COVID, and has kept the engagement conversation going -- including the conversation on having a Best Friend at Work. And iHerb's participation rates show how much the Q^12® engagement survey matters to iHerb and its leaders and employees and has become an integral part of its culture. Join us and see how the organization at which you manage or coach can see success in making its employees more engaged.

Thinking about organizational changes and maybe the hesitation that companies or teams could have when you are going to launch a survey, I always recommend, Don't hesitate!

Elizabeth Luzardo, 3:59

If we're hiring for people leaders, we want them to know how important this is for their role and how the managers create the environment for engagement to happen each and every day.

Elizabeth Luzardo, 20:24

Keeping the survey short, and again, helping everyone understand that each one of these questions was selected for a reason, I think, really helps with overall participation and the buy-in.

Elizabeth Luzardo, 29:11

Jim Collison:
[0:00] Hi, I'm Jim Collison, and this is Gallup's Called to Coach, recorded on November 21, 2024.

Music:
[0:06] Music

Jim Collison:
[0:18] Called to Coach is a resource for those who want to help others discover and use their strengths. We have Gallup experts and independent strengths coaches share tactics, insights and strategies to help coaches maximize the talent of individuals, teams and organizations around the world. If you're listening live, we'd love to have your questions in chat. Or if you're listening to the podcast or YouTube video after the fact, you can always send us your questions: coaching@gallup.com. Don't forget to follow or subscribe to the podcast app or on YouTube there, so you never miss an episode. Katie Humble is our host today. Katie is a Senior Workplace Adviser here at Gallup. And Katie, it's always a great day to be around you and always a great day to have you on Called to Coach. Welcome!

Katie Humble:
[0:57] Thank you, Jim. Excited to be here.

Meet Our Guest on This Episode

Jim Collison:
[0:58] Great to have you here. We've got a fabulous guest today. I'll give you a second for you to introduce her.

Katie Humble:
[1:04] Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. I am excited to be announcing my guest today, who's Elizabeth Luzardo, who is the Senior Director of Talent Strategy and Operations at iHerb. Elizabeth leads with her Top 5, which are Positivity^®, Empathy^®, Strategic^®, Belief^® and Responsibility^®.

Katie Humble:
[1:21] And Elizabeth, iHerb has been partnered with Gallup over the past four years in many different areas, mainly employee engagement, but also CliftonStrengths^®. I would love if we could start our conversation today talking about what prompted you to reach out to Gallup originally and what the past four years have looked like.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[1:39] Thank you so much, Katie. And thank you, Jim. It's such a pleasure to be here with all of you. And engagement is my favorite topic, so I'm really excited to discuss it with you today. And it's been an absolute incredible journey with Gallup and iHerb over the last four years. We've really come a long way working together, learned a lot about our team members and really how to best serve them. So iHerb is on a mission to make health and wellness accessible to all. So a part of that mission and caring for our customers is starting with caring for our team members. So when we were on the exploration of figuring out how to learn more about our team members, the Gallup-backed data, the way the survey is constructed, really spoke to us and how our culture is constructed. So prior to partnering with Gallup, you know, thinking about clocking in, logging in, we were really having a conversation around satisfaction, which really only got us so far. So, moving into implementing the survey and then discussing engagement, again, brought us to a new level of conversations with our team members.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[2:48] So thinking about the very first year, we achieved a lot. It was right during the time of COVID. And prior to partnering with Gallup, our satisfaction surveys had about a 22% response rate. So when I went into our results for the very first time, I honestly was floored, seeing that we had a 93% response rate across the globe. So instantly, our team members really showed us that they trusted the survey, that they knew that the confidentiality was there. They really felt that they could honestly answer the questions and then share a lot of feedback through the open-ended comments. So confidentiality was one way that really helped our team members buy in with that trust at the first and front part of the survey experience. And then, when we went into the second year, we were experiencing a lot of different organizational changes.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[3:40] We, again, were opening the conversation about the importance of the survey, how we really wanted to know what was going on. And we had a 96% response rate that year. And we actually saw an increase at a time during the world, a lot of people were decreasing still. So thinking about organizational changes and maybe the hesitation that companies or teams could have when you are going to launch a survey, I always recommend, Don't hesitate! Take the survey because you want people to know and feel that you care about their opinion, you care about their feedback, no matter what's going on in the organization. And we had a lot of transparent conversations through those org changes. And that's what we got to see and realize through the engagement survey feedback and having an increase in a year where we may have potentially thought, prior to the survey, that we might not see that result.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[4:38] Going into last year, which was our third year, we had a stabilization of our scores. And that's where the Gallup benchmark data really helped us advance the conversation. So we had already had really open conversations about the importance of the survey, trusting the survey -- we want you to participate. We want you to answer the questions you feel comfortable answering -- where getting results that were stable made me take a step back again and say, OK, how do we interpret these? So Gallup partnership, all the database comparison helped leaders and teams gain more confidence in knowing, you know, how, how should we approach this? And are we following the trends that we're seeing in the U.S.? Are we following the trends that we're seeing across the globe? Is there something that we could be doing or should be doing a little bit differently?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[5:29] And I'm happy to announce that we just finished year four. So we actually completed our fourth-year survey just a couple of weeks ago. We had another response rate in the 90th percentile, which we're so proud of, and we want to continue. And then we ended up having another increase this year. So I love statistics. It's, I think, a part of my genes. And when I saw the trending data, I just was, again, floored and really proud of the team in taking on the ownership of engagement, which is really where I think the collaboration piece comes into the conversation.

Keeping the Engagement Conversation Going at iHerb

Katie Humble:
[6:06] Absolutely. And thank you for sharing in so much more detail about what that year-by-year process looks like, because sometimes on that engagement journey, of course, you see increases. Sometimes you see stabilization, like you said. But taking all of that information into account, knowing that it's still a representation of where your employees are and what they're needing at that particular point in time, is what really needs to be at the center to keep going. I'm curious, though, of course, we know through our conversations, it's not about just launching the survey; it's about the strategies that are implemented pre-, during and postsurvey that open the door for those productive conversations and for the opportunity to take that step forward. What were some of the greatest things that you did pre-, during and post-survey to continue on that upward trajectory?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[6:51] Thank you, Katie. So our HR team here at iHerb works really hard throughout the whole year to keep the conversation going about engagement being a daily choice. So it is up to all of us -- when we clock in, when we log in -- if we're going to be engaged, or not, today. And when I think about being engaged, it's about being open to those conversations, expressing how you're motivated, how you're inspired, what do you need that day?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[7:16] Do you have questions or concerns about something? So we really, in HR, role-model what it means to make that choice. And then we empower our team members and our leaders to role-model that as well. So before the survey specifically, we do a lot of workshops. We have special workshops for people leaders where we talk about the survey itself, any frequently asked questions. We really encourage people leaders to share the list of questions and remind everybody why we're taking the opportunity to do this, how it really helps us strengthen our culture, empower our team members. We have special workshops that we invite all team members to.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[7:58] So, especially if it's their first year with us taking the survey, they might want to have some more information, more details. So we, again, give that opportunity to them. We put on-demand content for all of it. We leverage our CCTV systems in our distribution center and fulfillment centers. So when people are in the lunch room or taking breaks, again, clocking in, clocking out, we have all of the statements, all the questions, and we put the behaviors that we're looking for each question. You know, why would we ask you why we care about you knowing what's expected of you at work that day? Why do we want to know that you have the right materials and equipment to do your job right? So we really go beyond, Hey, this is a survey. It's important to us. It's important to you. And we say, "This is why it's important to you, and this is how we're gonna use that information," because we really, truly want to make this the best working place that we can make it.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[8:52] We also talk a lot about engagement in our town halls that we do each quarter. We have a lot of senior leadership communication regarding engagement and the importance of keeping that conversation open throughout the year. And, again, it's all about being transparent about why we are conducting the survey and, most importantly, why engagement is a topic that we should all be accountable to each day.

Engagement in a Global Workforce

Katie Humble:
[9:20] Absolutely. And so what I'm hearing you say is it's not only about that top-down approach when we're talking about our executive leadership team and the understanding of why are we doing this, but it's also that understanding that this is infused into the each and everyday practice. It's infused into conversations at the local level. It's infused into the manager experience and the individual contributor experience as well. And there's an accessibility piece of bringing it up as frequently as possible. One thing I want to double-click into that you specifically have worked on over the past few years has been bridging the gap for those managers who are leading international teams. Perhaps a manager and a few team members are sitting in California, and the rest of their team is across the world. Would you mind sharing a little bit more about how you ensure that conversation can span across cultures and different geographic locations?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[10:13] Great question, Katie. So being at iHerb, we are a global organization, and we have leaders spread throughout most of the continents. And this, again, was a big reason for why we leaned towards Gallup and ended up partnering with all of you on the survey. The survey allows people, regardless of where they are in the globe, to take the survey in their native language, so that they do feel comfortable and confident in what's being asked of them to rate and how they're going to make that appropriate selection. We also leverage a lot of custom translations, so that we, again, can open up the conversation and allow people to add those open-ended comments or open-ended statements. And one thing I also really like is the data benchmarking, just the comparison data, so that, for example, one of our largest teams is located in China -- they can understand, OK, what is maybe the strength that we're seeing with most teams in China? What is that area of opportunity that we want to continue to explore in China? And how does that cultural difference come into play, when we have managers that are in the U.S. or in another area of the world, and their team members are in a different part?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[11:29] So it, again, really helps you figure out how to approach that conversation in a comfortable, confident way, whether you're answering the survey or you're a leader supporting that team member and understanding what a 3might mean to someone in one part of the world versus a 4to someone in another part of the world. And embracing diversity, inclusion is one of our shared values here as well. So we really want this to, again, be an opportunity where people feel included, that they feel heard, and that they have that opportunity to really have the conversation that they want to.

Engagement With Intentionality

Jim Collison:
[12:06] Elizabeth, when you were setting this up, it sounds to me, I think sometimes, when people think about surveying the organization, it's like, let's get a few questions, we'll send it out, hopefully we get a response. But it sounds like you guys did a lot of, a lot of thoughtful prework into, How do we set this up to be successful? Of the few things that you did, what, what are you really glad, what did you learn through those -- you've done this four times now -- what, what works best for you in that? Maybe one or two things that you would say -- because I don't think it's natural; I think we just want to set, blast that thing out and hope we get responses -- where you really approached it from an intentional standpoint. One or two things that you just say, yeah, we do this every time.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[12:48] Thank you, Jim. So we make this an exciting event during the year. So we really do a lot of that precommunication weeks leading up, again, focusing on the empowerment of our team members and how this is a great opportunity for you to share that feedback. We want to hear it all year long. We want you to share it in one-on-ones and team meetings with your business partners, with your fellow team members, but please take this opportunity to give your feedback. So we make it a celebration. And then I think that No. 1 thing goes back to the workshops. It really, again, allows some of those questions to come up that perhaps, when you get the survey invite, or we use a QR code system for our hourly operations team members, we prevent some of those questions that perhaps people would have asked, once opening the survey. Maybe they have, you know, figured out that dedicated time in their schedule to take the survey, and they feel that time pressure. Well, because they heard from the workshop why we would ask that statement, they're able to properly complete or properly answer those statements and not just decide, Oh, I'll get back to this later, and then maybe forget it. So all of the transparency in what the statements are, why we ask these, giving that opportunity to ask questions prior to opening the survey -- I think that is one of our key success indicators.

Adding Other Surveys That Support Workplace Engagement

Katie Humble:
[14:12] Yeah. Figuring out how you can get ahead of those questions so people feel teed up to be successful during survey and after survey certainly helps that flow of conversation and, to your point, makes it more of a celebration and not an anticipated, stressful experience. I know outside of the engagement survey as well -- talking about events throughout the year and how we can ensure people are comfortable -- I know outside of the engagement survey, outside of the Q¹², you've also done other surveying throughout the year, whether it's through pulse surveying or 360s. Tell me a little bit more about what that additional survey experience has been like and how you are using additional surveying to add new touchpoints to the talent experience at iHerb.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[14:55] So we really like the Gallup database of questions. And when I discovered those, and specifically the leadership-effectiveness grouping of questions, I had one of those light bulb moments of, Oh, we need new leader transition surveys! So we started piloting with directors and above at iHerb first, and then expanding it from there to have new leader transition surveys after a leader has either joined iHerb or taken over a new team, about 90 days to six months after they've joined, to really give them that good pulse point of, you know, How is my intended personal brand matching the impact that I'm making on my team? Where are those areas that I have discovered information about them regarding engagement? Where might they be holding back information, since this is a new relationship that I should explore or learn more about?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[15:50] So new leader transition surveys is where we started first. And then it became a, "I want a survey. Can I move into a 360? Can I get a pulse survey on my team?" We just went through this change where we're really going through a very major project. And I am a little nervous about burnout. I want to know if my team is feeling burnt out, and how we might be able to best address that or best support the team moving forward. So then, we started to explore some of the other pulse survey capability for 360s. And we always use the pulse survey capability for leaders after the annual engagement survey. Specifically, any leaders that have a score in the lowest 25% of the Gallup database, we have one-on-one coachings with them in a way of partnering. So all of the leaders, the talent team, HR business partner come together. We look at the scores. We talk about them and figure out that one area to keep focusing on. And then we do a pulse survey. And most of the time, we do see a lot of that great fulfillment of, OK, you know, we're, our action plan's on the right track. We want to keep navigating in this direction. It gives a lot of comfort and confidence to leaders to then get ready for that next annual engagement survey.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[17:09] We don't just use the pulse survey capability, though. We also use the onboarding and exit interview capability with Gallup, and we actually integrate all of that with Workday as well. So whenever we have these automatic job changes or tasks, it makes it really easy for the team member to then move into a Gallup survey, which helps us map out engagement and all of these different times of the employee life cycle, which, again is really interesting to look at from a trending perspective and thinking about, OK, this is a vulnerable point for our team members. What's going on at this point? Are we able to support them in a different way? Should we be talking about something prior to this tenure point so that we can increase engagement and we can kind of eliminate some of this up and down that we see throughout the employee life cycle? So if you're able to incorporate surveying at onboarding, through engagement, pulse surveys, new leader transition, they help with that development side. And then the exit interviews, again, give you a lot of great data to think about how to attract potential data and also to continue to grow and retain the talent that you already have at your organization.

Engagement "for a Better You"

Katie Humble:
[18:22] OK, I just want to do an instant replay quick and give some recognition, because the idea of surveying being used as an anticipatory tool versus a reactionary, Oh gosh, iHerb just sent me a survey. They're trying to look for something. That cultural shift is one that a lot of our clients and partners out there are kind of beginning to ideate about how can we start to drive managers, leaders alike to see this as a tool to get ahead, to put their individual contributors ahead, and not necessarily as a tool that we should be nervous about leveraging over time? And so I just want to give the biggest kudos to you, because that's a hill that many are trying to climb. And the fact that you're already seeing this, not only acceptance, but excitement around, OK, I think I'm seeing conflict. Let's double-click into this right now, while I'm at the beginning stages, and not when it's too late and we have a lot to figure out.

Katie Humble:
[19:16] I want to also talk about this employee life cycle. One thing you and I have talked about specifically outside of an employee's experience already working at iHerb is what happens before they work at iHerb, while they're in that hiring experience? Can you tell me, How are you using employee engagement before somebody joins your team?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[19:38] Great question. So I love our employee value proposition, which is, "For a better you." The team members at iHerb hear me say that countless times throughout the day and the week; every workshop we end with, "For a better you." So that employee value proposition actually came from all the discovery when we first started with engagement surveys. We were still defining, who are we as an organization? What are our shared values? How do we talk about our culture with others? So the feedback really was a gift for helping further define that part of our culture. And in our interviewing process, engagement is one of those items that we are looking for, in terms of skills, experience. Specifically, if we're hiring for people leaders, we want them to know how important this is for their role and how the managers create the environment for engagement to happen each and every day. So we really want to know how people have already done that, know that it's a part of who they are.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[20:41] One thing that I also talk a lot with our team members about, in terms of engagement, is finding those habits that you incorporate into your day-to-day so that engagement is not just a checklist item; it's really something that becomes a part of you and almost becomes an autopilot item. So we really talk about that during the interview process. We want people to know that the way that we navigate decisions here, the way that we approach projects is really "for a better you." So if you go to our Career website, careers.iherb.com, you'll see all of our shared values. You'll see engagement. You'll understand more about our culture. Certainly, again, a part of the interviewing process to be transparent about so that team members and people leaders know, when you join iHerb, we want you to be engaged. We want you to have open dialogue, have open conversations with your leader. One of our shared values is "Be entrepreneurial and pivot quickly." And I always think about that one with engagement. If we are not engaged, we are going to lose out on some great ideas that can help our customers, that can help our business, that can help our team members. So that's what we're looking for when we're going through interviewing.

Bringing Strengths Into the Employee Conversation

Katie Humble:
[21:57] That is fantastic. And I absolutely love the value proposition of "for a better you." I also love what you said, that feedback is a gift. I feel like I'm really sensing your Positivity coming out and putting the positive spin on the fact that people share feedback because they want to invest in you and see a brighter future and outcome for yourself, for the team, for the project you're representing. So I know outside of engagement, you also are a Certified Strengths Coach, and you've worked over the past few years to bring CliftonStrengths to iHerb and also infuse it into conversations, whether it be about the values, your culture, about where you're going in your career. Tell me more about how you knew it was time to bring strengths into the conversation and what it looked like to expand that team by team.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[22:39] Thanks, Katie. So after the very first year, after we had that great participation with engagement, I knew that iHerb was ready for strengths. So we identified specific teams and leaders; we actually started with our largest group within iHerb, which is our operations team. So they're spread out throughout the United States. And we have hundreds of operations leaders helping, you know, create that wonderful customer experience. And so, starting with the largest group might not be where everyone goes to on this call, in thinking about piloting; it was the best way to really help show and tell the story of the power of strengths. And when I think about how strengths assists engagement, it helps you bring authenticity into the conversation that you're already having. So how can I be engaged at work? How can I be motivated? What inspires me? What do I need? What do I want? When you add in the layer of strengths, it then brings authenticity and genuineness into, This is me. This is how I'm my best. This is how I am going to operate. I have had a lot of conversations with my team members, specifically, that have some dominant strengths that are my lesser strengths. And I tell them, "I'm so thankful for you. I'm so thankful you're on my team." And sometimes, we know, with certain strengths, there can be a little natural tension or a little opposite effect that happens. And I think, when you get that information about yourself and your teams, you can alleviate or remove some of those assumptions that all of us as humans try to make when we're trying to understand someone better or trying to work through something.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[24:24] So we talk a lot about intent versus impact. And really, again, this is where I'm going to be coming from. Don't move into this assumption about me. Let's focus on that shared purpose. Let's focus on that shared goal. And if there's something that really creates unnecessary stress for you -- I'm always talking about that with my team too, especially with question Q02 on the engagement survey -- I'm like, I want to know about that. If you're not a morning person, then I want to know because that's something that we can easily work through that maybe the rest of your day is going to be a lot smoother, a lot better. And therefore you're going to perform at a higher level. You're going to be more productive, and you're going to be more engaged. And you're also going to be happy. So we really want people to feel fulfilled here. And that's where strengths comes into play too. Again, it gives you comfort and confidence to say, This is who I am. This is where I'm at. And then you can have those open career conversations with your leader about how you apply that to the job that you're in right now, how you explore new skills or new areas of opportunity within the company. So that's where the conversation has also shifted, moving into the third year of strengths and allowing more team members at iHerb to have strengths, we can then incorporate it into those career conversations.

Dealing With Survey Fatigue

Katie Humble:
[25:39] Yeah, that's what -- I was just thinking, top of the pyramid, thinking about Q11, Q12, even Q03 -- I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day -- and bridging that gap between what you're intending someone to do and what they're actually experiencing. I want to bring it back to surveying for a moment. Jacob actually put a great question in the chat here for us: Do you ever experience survey fatigue? And if so, So how do you tackle that?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[26:05] Great question, Jacob. I just saw that too, Katie, so I'm glad that you picked that up. And I have been a part of different teams and organizations where we were surveyed quite a bit. And when we started this process with Gallup at iHerb, we did really focus on that one annual survey first, getting the buy-in, getting the trust there, and then moving into pulse surveys just for specific pilots of the organizations. And I think, whenever you move into pulse surveys, you really have to make sure that people know the direct reason why. No, this is not just another survey; this is a survey to help you with x, y and z. This is to help you as a leader, specifically. This is to help you really measure the change that you just went through, for you to see and understand if your action plan is on the right track.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[26:56] So right now, all of our team members just have the one annual survey that we navigate through each year. And then the pulse surveys are all of those specific pilot groups. Now going to oversurveying, I can think about onboarding and exits -- those are very specific points of the employee life cycle. And we actually did start with quite a few surveys when we first started onboarding. So week one, month one, month two, month three. And that's where, when we evaluated that program, we took a step back and said, well, maybe we can change that up a little bit. So I do think it's an important conversation, Jacob. And I think it's best to get the buy-in with the annual survey first, go through the very specific populations that could benefit from a pulse survey. And then if you do those ongoing surveys, such as onboarding or exits, be really strategic about how many you're doing at those touchpoints, so that people don't just X out of the survey and say, "Well, I've already taken this before."

Jim Collison:
[27:58] Well, and let's be really clear: Survey fatigue happens when you ask questions and nothing happens, right? Or things don't get done. No one complains when they give their opinion, and then things start to change, or they see, they see, you know, active action-planning or things happen around that. It sounds like you're in tune to that now, and that, you know, you're able, because you can, I mean, if you ask the questions, and you're not expecting to do anything about it, people are like, Well, why did I answer that, right? But if it can be actionable, I don't know, any, Elizabeth, any additional thoughts on that?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[28:33] Yeah, I'm glad you said that, because when we first started with onboarding and exits, it was really hard for me to follow up specifically with exits. We have really strong retention here, which we're really proud of. So going into those reports and not being able to have the same kind of follow-up and action-planning that we did with the annual engagement survey did kind of slow that project down a little bit. And then, in terms of survey fatigue, one thing that I think helps with that is the length of the survey too, which is why we really like the Q¹² -- and we just started doing the Q¹² plus; we really want to learn more about meaningful feedback and wellbeing. But keeping the survey short, and again, helping everyone understand that each one of these questions was selected for a reason, I think, really helps with overall participation and the buy-in.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[29:22] So going back to the onboarding surveys real quick, we keep them very short, and we really leverage basic needs for the first part of the onboarding experience. That's what you should have a lot of comfort with when you're first starting your role. And then we start to add in some of the other Q¹² questions to monitor, as they get closer to the 90 days. Because at that point, you should know a little bit more about feeling your best at work and knowing more about your team. We know the growth and development questions 11 and 12 will take team members some time. So we keep those off the onboarding surveys. But thinking about the hierarchy of engagement is a great way to kind of split apart questions, to think about trends, and also those really prime touchpoints of the employee life cycle, especially when somebody's onboarding and first starting with your company.

Surveying Employees in Times of Change

Katie Humble:
[30:14] Absolutely. I want to talk a little bit more about the trend over time, as Chad was highlighting in the chat, to have 90% and higher participation is extremely impressive. But let's be clear, and I want to circle back to what you said when we opened our conversation today: Organizational change has surrounded iHerb for a couple of years now. It's not necessarily been smooth sailing or a guarantee that status quo is a "Go" each and every single year. So as you've navigated change each year, made difficult decisions that have impacted the experience employees may or may not be having, can you talk me through your perspective and your decision to continue surveying during those times, and not necessarily put engagement and surveying on the back burner when you might be anticipating receiving negative or decreased results?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[31:02] Thank you, Katie. And thanks, Chad, for sending in that question. One thing that came to mind for me, first and foremost, is, Don't be afraid to keep focusing on those basic needs. So going back to the hierarchy of engagement, a lot of our teams, even moving into this fourth year, are continuing to stay committed to question Q01: "I know what's expected of me." So I think one thing that can happen as you navigate through the survey year after year is you think, Well, I got to get to the next level. I have to get to the next question. But we can never take for granted Q01 or our basic needs, especially when you are going through changes within the organization. My team combined with the talent acquisition team a couple of years ago, we became Talent Experience. It was another opportunity for me, specifically, as a leader to understand, OK, how is the team assimilating? How are we collaborating? We really have to take things back to the start. We can't just assume people know what's expected of them. How do we start from the beginning and build from there? So I think based on the participation, based on follow-up, it's always bringing yourself back to those basic needs first, making sure that you are reinforcing and continuing to stay committed to those actions and behaviors that the team members are receiving very well. And when you go through a change -- we all navigate change differently, and some of us are going to take a little bit more time than others to navigate certain change -- don't be afraid to go back to basics. And leveraging the great resources in Gallup Access can really help with that, too.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[32:40] Regardless of how many years you've been in the position you've been in, those are great starting points to say, OK, how can I have this conversation with team members in a new way? Or maybe this is my first time being a people leader, and I don't know how to approach it. What are some of those great options that can help me get the information I'm looking for, to really figure out those actions that are going to make a difference here? So one is, go back to basic needs. Don't be afraid to do that. And then, two, leverage all those great questions that are already in the database, to help you open things up. One thing that I tell leaders -- and I've said this a lot this week -- is pick your question of the week. Pick your question of the month. It doesn't have to be just that week, but whether you're at a distribution center walking the floor, ask that question. Find out more about it. Or if you're in a remote or a hybrid setting, make sure that it's a part of your team meeting coming up. And figure out what's behind the number that you're seeing on your engagement survey.

Seeing Stronger Results for Q10, Best Friend at Work

Katie Humble:
[33:41] I am absolutely loving the intentionality in your coaching here, pointing out that it's the difference between asking one or two questions and not asking anything at all; pointing out that the resources already exist, and sometimes, it's just amplifying that golden nugget for somebody to take and run with. But then also, reassuring your team members that to focus on basic needs in year 4 is not a loss; it's actually critical. And it will set you up for greater success long term. Oh, and by the way, that conversation very well may change month over month. So you need to circle back. And it's normal for it to change. And it changes regardless of your industry, the changes you're experiencing or the consistency you're seeing. One success that I do want to make sure we highlight during our conversation today, and I know we're going to hear a collective sigh from the audience, about Q10, Best friend at work. Specifically, Elizabeth, you all saw a major increase in Q10 going from year 2to year 3. It was a 0.21 increase. So for anybody tuning in, iHerb exceeds 1,000 people. So what we would classify as meaningful change is a 0.1 increase. So not only did they see meaningful change, they doubled it -- for some context. Many organizations we know are intimidated by Q10, I have a best friend at work. And they often see decreases as an effect of maybe being intimidated by that question. How did you manage to drive such meaningful change, and what does it look like now?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[35:07] I'm so glad you're asking this, because I do think it's almost everybody's favorite question to talk about, especially before, during and after the survey. And I remember going through Engagement Champion training and also thinking, Well, how am I interpreting this question? Do I have a best friend at work? And I think, when we approach this question and we talk about it with team members, that's one thing we really make clear is that the way I think about Best friend at work might be different than the way you think about Best friend at work. And a best friend at work is probably going to be a little bit different than maybe your best friend at work -- or outside of work, excuse me. So what we did differently, when I reflected on that data shift, I also took one of those pause moments of, How did we do this? You know, this is incredible. This is statistically significant.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[35:59] It was all going back to that presurvey communication. So in that year, we did more marketing, more communication about each statement and why we were asking it. So going to the CCTVs in our operations locations, we had individual slides on every single statement. And this was one we made sure was displayed. You know, This is the statement, and this is why we're asking it. We want to know, Do you have mutual trust at work? Is there someone that you're looking forward to seeing, someone that you feel comfortable talking to? Maybe it's venting. Maybe it's asking a question. Maybe it's sharing an idea with your best friend at work before you feel comfortable or confident sharing it with your people leader or your business partner. So making sure that people know that Best friend at work is going to be different for probably every single one of us is one way to start.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[36:55] Two is going back to the presurvey communication of, Why would we even ask this question? You know, this is why, and this is what we want to know. And then, three, I think one thing that we did better that year as well was just making sure people know that every statement is optional to answer. So that's one thing that I really like about the Gallup advice with the survey too, and I know that it really helps with that overall participation drive. So when we make sure that people know, you don't have the pressure to answer this statement if you don't have all the information just yet, I think allowed people that less pressure to actually answer it moving into year three after they had heard us say that a couple years. And we do see that as the statement with the lowest response rate, but it's almost in line with all the other statements now, with how much we talk about Q10.

Katie Humble:
[37:51] Yeah, starting with the why, educating around, What is this actually asking? And then letting people know, Hey, if you don't want to answer it, that is completely fine. It starts to build up that mutual trust, because then, if you skip it on this survey, and suddenly you see your team member talking about it over there, you start to ask yourself, Well, why did I skip it? Maybe I do actually have thoughts about this and opinions, or maybe I actually do feel like I have people I can trust, and I should give my feedback around that.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[38:18] And when we're looking at the survey data -- all of our managers at iHerb right now are talking with their teams about their reports -- the eyes always move towards Q10, especially if you see the colors changing a little bit around that point. And I just encourage our leaders and teams to, one, recognize where it's at. But two, remember to spend your energy and your resources to figure out that question to keep building the pyramid. And it is going to take us a lot of time to get to Q10 in the Hierarchy of Engagement. So a lot of our teams have been focused on Q01, Q02 over the last couple of years. And just last year, we started to see more teams action-plan on Q03 and Q04. And then as an organization, our low- and high-ranking items just moved to Q05 and Q06. So I also, you know, again, had one of those pause moments of, Whoa, we're going by the playbook here. We're kind of navigating through question by question. This is, this is ideal. This is great! But it's important to note that that's not going to be what always happens with your organization or with your teams. There's constant change, whether it's role changes or leader changes, project changes, goal changes.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[39:34] So if you create and invest in these really wonderful, impactful habits as leaders and as team members, you're going to be able to have that higher level of agility to navigate through and to keep engagement as a part of the conversation, rather than waiting for a survey in the future and being surprised by what people said or how they felt. So I think that's another thing that goes back to transparency. With openness before, during, and after the survey, you get a lot less surprises, which really helps you feel more comfortable and confident in action-planning. It lets you get to that next level of actions to take and different action-planning, you know, enhancements that you can make as well.

Jim Collison:
[40:22] Elizabeth, it reminds me, you know, I think over the last four years, Q10 is just one example of this, but for me, personally, that, I've answered that question a little bit different each year, because of my work situation. Four years ago, I was fully remote. Three years ago, we were half and half. Two years ago, I was making a shift to coming back in. And then even the people I interacted with -- Katie, you're a part of this group -- a couple of years ago, I started coming in and having lunch every day with, with, with our team, with our, our, our solutions teams. And that changed the group of people I hang, I hung out with. Have you experienced, from an organizational standpoint, has that, have you had an effect like that, where the situations changed too, and those Q10s may morph or change or float around a little bit? I don't know, talk a little bit about that.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[41:15] Yes, I certainly think so. And Relator^® is one of my Top 10 strengths. So I also reflect on that quite a bit, in thinking about my openness to relationship-building, yet with Relator, the need for depth of connection. So when I do have someone that's joined the team or a new business partner, I try to be very intentional in thinking, What do they need to know about me? What do I need to know about them? And how can we really figure out what this mutual purpose, this mutual goal is, so that we can have that strong working relationship? So I think especially if you're a Relator, when you have those changes at work -- maybe your best friend at work isn't on your team anymore or maybe isn't at the organization anymore -- be self-aware, in understanding and knowing yourself, in what you need and what you want from the relationships that you have at work. And don't be afraid to be a little vulnerable in sharing information about yourself, so that you can open that door to relationship. So, especially as Relators, we might want that depth of connection that we think, Oh, we're going to have a hard time finding this again. Well, there is commonality. There is trust that you can build across the organization. And there is a good place for you to start, where you can be vulnerable and you can get to that depth quickly. So, just based on your comfort and your vulnerability.

Jim Collison:
[42:45] Katie, you, you advise, you consult across organizations. Any thoughts to that, to this idea, as well as, I mean, over this course of times, things have changed, and we're constantly adapting to these questions. That's what, that's kind of why we do it on a regular basis. Katie, would you add any wisdom to that as well?

Katie Humble:
[43:05] Yeah. I would just add on top that remaining open-minded, it's similar to what Elizabeth said, but about all 12 of the questions, but specifically open-minded to the fact that everything could be changing in your personal life. Everything could be changing in your current role, yet nothing could be changing at the organization. And starting to accept change as an opportunity to evolve yourself and not necessarily as something that warrants major course correction. It could be changing in the right direction, but your mindset towards accepting and being open to that, to open doors for yourself, for your team, for the goals that you're trying to achieve and that you're chasing year after year -- that's how I think you start to shuffle through, OK, maybe my best friend doesn't work here anymore. Or, OK, we just added three new team members. Maybe I already have my best friend at work, but maybe one of those new three team members, they can be some of my additional best friends at work. As Relators, I definitely lock into the sentiment of, maybe I have that one, but what does it look like to add two or three or four more, and be somebody else's go-to person? But the open-mindedness certainly is what comes to mind.

Jim Collison:
[44:12] Yeah, well, and it doesn't need to be just about Best friend. Materials and equipment changed during those times for some people, right? Not everybody, right? The, the, I know what's expected of me, Q01, that changed for some people during those times. So, Elizabeth, I think, what I hear you saying is you're constantly having a finger on the pulse of Where are we at today? What are the needs today, and how are we adapting and changing to that as well?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[44:40] And emphasizing -- oh, sorry, real quick, emphasizing that importance of participation is really where I think we alleviate some of the pressure of people taking the survey. And really, for leaders, knowing and being clear about, we're going to see some changes here, because I'm different today than I was yesterday. My team is different this month than they were last month. So you're correct, Jim, where, you know, when we're looking at the data, we all default, I think, as humans, saying, "Is this good? Is this bad?" You know, "What am I going to do with this now?" where we've tried to change the conversation from "good" and "bad" to "This is where we're at right now. So what are we going to do about it?" And that also helps with the team accountability, the self-accountability that comes with engagement. And that's also been really fun to move into, as we've moved into this fourth year with Gallup.

How Leaders Can Move From Survey Results to Action

Katie Humble:
[45:34] Yeah, I want to take a moment to double-click into Col's question in the chat. He is asking for some advice around what you would recommend leaders do to move from analyzing employee results to taking meaningful action. And you certainly have that strong coaching background. So I'd be curious to kind of hear how you would lead that conversation and guide somebody in that in that transition.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[45:58] So as soon as we close the survey here at iHerb, I instantly start getting chats. When can I see my report? When can I see the data? And personally, I'm also waiting for the report to be available to me, to say, Well, what is it? What did we get? So again, going back to the excitement of the survey process, it's helpful when you make it that celebration and that anticipation of, OK, I really care and want to know where we're at, to then move into the steps of, What are we going to do about it? So we do give leaders that first-time look at their reports. I encourage all of them to do those self-reflection questions to really take it in and ask themselves, Well, what surprised me? What did I agree with? What did I maybe pause and say, hmm, I need to learn more about that? So having your own list first, I think, is very helpful in taking in the information. And then we really encourage managers to start sharing their reports as soon as possible with their teams. So I think it was that day I chatted my team and said, "These are our results. I can't wait to talk with you about them. I just looked at them. I'm reflecting. I want you to do the same thing so that we can have a really rich conversation when we get together live and through video call to talk about what we're going to do now, because it's up to all of us for what that best next step can be.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[47:18] So reinforcing the team accountability, reinforcing the manager role modeling that you need for the survey to take on a life after you see all the numbers, you know, the numbers help guide you, but you as a leader need to really help with that direction and help make sure those conversations are happening. So analyzing the results, reflecting first, encouraging your team to reflect so you can have really intentional, rich dialogue. And then what we do is the survey is done in every October. We take November and December to talk about it, to think about it. It's our time of year where we also have year-end reviews. So everybody's reflecting on the year, what went well, what could have gone better, what could have done differently. So it really is a nice segue to the new year. So when we all, you know, start the new year in January, we have a clear direction of that one engagement item we are all committed to moving into that new year. So every team member here at IHerb has a goal in our goal-setting process to help support engagement. And they know what statement and what question we're all working on together. So again, the team accountability, the manager accountability, and just the time of year can also really help with the follow-up of surveying and action planning.

Katie Humble:
[48:43] Yeah. And if I'm hearing clearly, some of the success there that I'm pulling out, and I'll put it into my own words, keeping it simple. Very clear direction. Hey, here are our results. Take a look. Excited to hear your thoughts. Often sharing results and anticipating reactions can be a daunting task. And so keeping it simple and saying, Here they are. Let me know what you think. This is what I'm thinking about -- maybe if you want to get special with it -- Here are the three things that are top-of-mind for me. And this is when you can expect to hear more. And then even in that action plan, keeping it simple again, locking into one; not trying to eat the whole entire pie that's in front of you, but saying, This year I'm focusing on Q03. Maybe this is what it means to me, but at the very least, knowing I'm focusing on Q03 and having that clear across the board. Simple is always going to be more impactful.

Advice For Those Starting or Revamping Engagement Initiatives

Katie Humble:
[49:36] Last but not least here, Elizabeth, I have one more question for you. What is one more piece of advice that you have for other talent and HR leaders who are working on their engagement initiatives? Maybe they're just getting started or maybe they're a few years down the journey, and they're ready for a revamp.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[49:54] So first, I want to reemphasize being clear about everyone's role, in terms of engagement. So again, when you clock in, when you walk in, it's up to you if you're going to be engaged or not that day. And it's up to you to share that engagement with your leader. Again, if there's a challenge, if there's a frustration, if there's something you have questions about, being engaged is about being open to those conversations and having the conversations you need to have. So be clear about everyone's individual role is first. The second one is being transparent about all of the questions. So going back to all the presurvey communication we do, we want to make sure that, again, people aren't just hearing from us one time a year on why we're doing the survey and what it is. We really want people to understand there's a reason for every single question.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[50:44] We want you to have that optionality of answering the ones you want, feeling comfortable and confident in what you answer that year versus last year. And then, I think the third part goes to what we were just saying in the follow-up process: being authentic. So really helping leaders, helping teams figure out that one focus area and for everyone to look at the report and say, "Yes, you know, I -- I'm a part of this team. I'm a part of the team that I want to create today. So what kind of team do I want to be a part of? How am I going to communicate with my team members today? How am I going to contribute today?" And that's where, again, engagement starts to take on a life of its own, and you start to really take these action plans and make these great new habits, then it just becomes a part of who you are.

Leaning Into Strengths When Presenting Survey Results

Jim Collison:
[51:38] Elizabeth, you are speaking a lot of textbook. Like, it's great to hear. Listen, Katie and I live this all the time. We do this internally. It's so amazing to hear it come from outside, when people are really embracing it. You've been doing it four years. You couldn't make this up. It's not a, it's not a one-and-done. And, and I want to say, Congratulations for all the great work that, that you've done there. You can kind of feel it in your voice, in what you're saying. Brook asks a question out there to you specifically, and we kind of pregamed this a little bit when we were talking in the preshow. He says, Coming from someone with high Positivity, how do you view or present the results without candy-coating them? And I have Positivity 6, so I do this as well. Thoughts on that, as we, and maybe even advice for your managers thinking about their Top 5 as they bring the results to this as well. Your thoughts?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[52:35] Thank you, Brook. As Positivity No. 1, I completely understand where you're coming from with this and the reaction that you might get at times when you're approaching the reports with others. One way that I think about my Positivity when approaching the results is, you know, not everything on there, you're going to be smiling and happy, like, "Oh, I'm so happy to see that I got, you know, five 3s on this specific question." It's not about candy-coating it. It's not about being happy about everything on the report. Where I channel my Positivity with teens is, "This is how we move forward now." So looking towards the future, looking towards what's in our control. Now that we know what we know, what are we going to do about it? You have that opportunity now. So why don't you seize it? Why don't you do something with it? And look, we have all these proven strategies for what you could try doing. So you don't have to feel the pressure of a blank action plan; you can just look at these bullet points and pick one that sticks out to you first. And if you don't like that one, go to the next one. That's going to be fine.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[53:39] So again, it's not about candy-coating it. We certainly look at all of the data, calling out the low-ranking items, calling out the high-ranking items, and figuring out how to channel that energy of accepting, This is where my team is at. How do I help them all gain that team accountability of being a part of this team and then moving forward? What we have now is the choice we're going to make next. So let's all move into that energy and that choice and do our best and do our best for each other.

Jim Collison:
[54:11] I love that. Would you give the same advice? Katie asked you about advice you'd give to HR leaders. Do you think you'd give your managers the same advice about bringing feedback, which is, Be clear. Be transparent. Be authentic. And lean into your own strengths in giving this feedback? Any, any additional thoughts on that for managers delivering this feedback?

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[54:35] Great question, Jim. I do think that when you have strengths of the person that you're working with, it can be helpful. I know a lot of our managers here are very Analytical^®. They're very Strategic^®. A lot of them have Input^®, so they want all of the data. I also can go and spend hours and hours and days and days in the Gallup reports if I wanted to. But I think that's one thing to keep in mind with coaching is that there's going to be a pullback point for everybody. Maybe you're centering it on one question. Your Relationship Building is high, so you're like, Oh, best friend at work. Why is that so low? I need to figure that out. I need to care for it. I need to care for my people. Well, you can channel that energy in saying, well, the best way to, for you to care for your people is actually going back to Q01. Or if you're navigating through the data, maybe getting lost in some of the frequency distributions or the trending data or the heat map, you know, as a coach, if you are working through that with a manager or a team, just making sure you're pulling it back and staying simple, like Katie said, you know, there's a lot there. There's a lot of power. But you help your managers and teams focus on that one thing. Once you make that the goal of the conversation, it, again, will help guide you in pulling back and not going down some of those rabbit holes.

Jim Collison:
[55:53] Yeah, good advice. Katie, would you add anything to that from your experience working with other clients?

Katie Humble:
[55:59] I don't think I would. Maybe I would add that if we're looking at a team, like you said, Elizabeth, knowing that many of your managers are analytical, if we're looking at a team that maybe has a lot pooled in one area or, or strengths that are scattered across the board, perhaps working with that manager to tee up their message to meet their audience a little bit better. When I'm approaching these conversations to a team full of individuals with Positivity, my tone does look a little bit different as somebody with high Command^®, versus when I'm approaching a team that is filled with Analytical thinkers, my approach is a little bit more direct and blunt. And so, perhaps providing some of that extra reinforcement to managers who are new to the strengths conversation, if they have that information available. And if they don't have that information available, helping them what I like to call "strengths spot" -- What do your team members typically react well to? What do they react poorly to? And help them kind of pull out their own thoughts, even if we don't have that documented quite yet, for people who are looking for that additional coaching.

Jim Collison:
[57:03] Yeah. And in that strengths spotting, the question to ask is, "Where are you the most productive?" Right? In that. "How are you, how are we the most productive in those? Well, we've had a lot of great things and a lot of great comments out there as well, for those folks joining us live. Katie, let's thank Elizabeth for coming today and wrap this up.

Katie Humble:
[57:20] Gosh, well, thank you so much, Elizabeth! Thank you, Jim, first, for having us. But Elizabeth, thank you for joining us in conversation, sharing all of these details. And thank you for being such a strong representation of everything fantastic that iHerb has to offer. It's been so exciting watching you go on this journey over the past four years and achieve so much through asking insightful questions, being intentional in the way that you're approaching and leveraging the tools, but then also being open-minded in the way that you are exposing team members to new topics and conversations to set them up for success. And then I have to give a last congratulations to all of the team members, leaders, managers, individual contributors at iHerb who have made this four-year journey possible and who have contributed to such impactful conversations that have left Elizabeth and I having a lot of fun, when we're thinking about how we can support improvement over time. So cheers to you all. Congratulations and thank you for your time.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[58:15] Thank you so much, Katie. Thank you, Jim. And thank you, Gallup, for the opportunity. I also really want to thank all the iHerb team members. It's just such an incredible place to work that I am inspired each and every day by the commitment, the dedication and the high quality of everyone there. And it's been wonderful to be a part of this engagement journey. And I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Jim Collison:
[58:38] I always say -- Elizabeth, thank you -- I always say I have the best job ever, but it's mostly because I get to sit and listen to you, both of you, both representing Gallup and the work that's being done, and Elizabeth, you representing an organization who really kind of cares about their people and what they're doing. And it's heartwarming. We hear plenty of stories where it's not. And so thank you for the work that you've done. Thanks for being willing to put all the time in to get this done. Appreciate you and your effort there as well. So thanks for coming on today.

Elizabeth Luzardo:
[59:08] Thank you.

Jim Collison:
[59:09] With that, I'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources, and Elizabeth mentioned this, available inside of Gallup Access. Just log in, and we actually have an area, a Resource area, where you can kind of search on just about anything and, and bring that stuff back. So check it out today. Log in: my.gallup.com. For coaching, master coaching or if you want to become a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach like Elizabeth is, you can send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. We'll get that information back to you and help you do that. Stay up to date with all our future webcasts by following us on LinkedIn or in our Facebook groups. If you want more information about CliftonStrengths, you can do that just by searching "CliftonStrengths" literally on any social platform. We are there, and we, make sure you hit those Like and Subscribe buttons, so you get all of our notifications. Thank you for joining us live. If you're listening to the recorded version of it, thank you for listening to it. We'll have more of these available as well. So make sure you Subscribe, make sure you follow. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.

Elizabeth Luzardo's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Positivity, Empathy, Strategic, Belief and Responsibility.

Katie Humble's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Futuristic, Adaptability, Strategic, Relator and Command.

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