In FY22, we initiated programs and initiatives with the objective of being at the forefront of the future of work.
We initiated a hybrid working week, a mixture of in-office and home working across teams and the network. We consider these communal workspaces integral to developing our culture of collaboration and community. Reflecting employee feedback, we remain committed to our existing hybrid office working philosophy and to providing as much flexibility as possible.
To support our hybrid environment, we provide a 30-day Work from Anywhere benefit as well as a Full-Time Remote Work benefit that delivers additional flexible work arrangements. Our goal: to be at the forefront of the future of work.
In FY22, our People programs and initiatives included:
- World Mental Health Day: We closed all offices on Friday Oct. 8 in advance of World Mental Health Day (which fell on a Sunday) so employees could focus on their own mental well-being. Messaging was shared with clients and partners, and the acknowledgment of the importance of mental well-being was appreciated by the Edelman community across the world.
- Our Livewell wellness commitment expanded to provide a comprehensive and holistic approach to well-being, and programming and initiatives broadened to include mental, physical, financial and nutritional well-being. In March, Global President and Chief Operating Officer Matt Harrington shared this expanded focus during a ‘How do I Livewell?’ session. In April, the Livewell team concentrated its programming around financial wellbeing to align with Financial Literacy Month. In a conversation with Farnoosh Torabi, a personal finance expert, she offered certain mindset shifts that help generate financial success. Each region also hosted one financial well-being event.
- Mental Health Awareness Month in May included a Livewell LIVE discussion with Jennifer Moss, an authority on workplace well-being who emphasized the importance of reinstating authentic connections, as we navigate and readjust to a new phase of our work life. On May 19, a webinar with partners from Calm and ComPsych explored how these partnerships benefit our community. Throughout the month, Employee Compassionate Leadership Trainings took place in each region to deepen the understanding of how to help bring compassion to teams operating in a fast-paced environment. And curated content on the Livewell Workplace channel emphasized mental well-being.
- In the U.S., we hired 119 interns for summer 2022. Forty-five percent were from underrepresented groups. In the UK, Corporate Practice members are involved in intern mentoring programs, including the 10,000 Black Interns program in which Edelman UK participates.
- The Growth Academy celebrated its second year, and the peer-based, community learning program provides tailored, online, individual and blended group learning experiences, with on-the-job learning and support of senior leaders as mentors. It has delivered learning to over 450 client leaders, focusing on enhancing client relationships, creating collaborative teams and managing the business as one team.
- Building an environment of learning, employees participated in over 50,000 hours of learning.
- Our Global Peakon engagement score – a tool for measuring employee engagement, inclusion and growth – increased by +0.2 points to 7.6 since FY21. Our Global Well-being Peakon score also increased by +0.2 to 7.3. As for our membership in Calm, a meditation app, 2,359 employees have signed up with a 77% engagement rate.
Edelman’s citizenship program has benefitted from a deliberate alignment among the People Team, Citizenship and DEI. Through the regular engagement with the Global Citizenship Advisory Council, leaders from the business are involved actively with initiatives around citizenship and how it directly impacts their markets, regions, and client teams.
Edelman’s eight Employee Network Groups (ENGs), including two established in FY22, have been especially active continuing to help employees stay connected and support each other through the pandemic and other unsettling societal events.
Increasingly, the groups are collaborating on initiatives that recognize their diverse cultures and perspectives and enable what we call Brave Talks and Courageous Conversations about difficult issues that can impact us all.
While many of groups have been U.S.-centric, we have launched a framework to revamp and globalize the groups providing more support, greater resources and consistency for all. Through this effort, the groups can build even more community among our 6,000 employees and ensure greater impact.
Comprising our ENGS are:
- Edelman Boundless, a collaborative network for employees of Asian cultures and their allies
- Edelman Equal, our LGBTQIA+ network
- Edelman Forward for veterans and military ex-servicemembers, National Guard and Reserve employees and their families
- Edelman Griot, our network for Black employees
- Edelman Inclusivo, for Hispanic, Latino/a/x/e Community & Allies
- Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN)
As well as the new groups: DCN (Disability, Chronic Illness, Neurodivergence) focused on communities with apparent and non-apparent disabilities, and Uplift, for diverse faith communities.
In FY22, these were many of the activities and initiatives of Edelman ENGs active in FY22:
Four Edelman team members – Grace Hashiguchi Star Lee, Emily Lo, and Allen Pham – were panelists during an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month discussion of the AAPI employee experience and ways to help cultivate and advocate for AAPI colleagues, with Sharon Cho serving as moderator. Boundless and GWEN partnered in a panel discussion with Asian and Pacific Islander women leaders at Edelman providing insights into their career journeys.
Panelists were Global Chief Creative Officer Judy John, Global Chair of Employee Experience Cydney Roach, and Shan Bati, former General Counsel. Moderators were Shadya Tuason and Jessica De Jesus.
Two Axios reporters, Hope King and Shawna Chen, joined Edelman’s Sujata Mitra and Jane Chung in a conversation focusing on a new generation of mainstream journalists of AAPI descent. And in a Zoom session, Clare Kleinedler and Jonathan Jordan demonstrated how to make Okonmiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake, after Boundless offered a history of the pancake and provided a list of ingredients and cooking tools to use.
It expanded its network into the Netherlands and Germany, hosted conversations on workplace inclusivity and allyship as part of Edelman’s global recognition of June Pride Month, and debuted Out Front, an Edelman network across disciplines that helps counsel clients on LGBTQIA+ issues.
The ENG also supported global LGBTQI+ advocacy initiatives, including helping to advance transgender rights in the U.S.; expanding the reach and impact of The Trevor Project in Mexico; amplifying LGBTQ+ role models and leaders with the Launch of Rainbow Generation in Germany; and assisting the agency’s work creating Cannes-nominated #REALVOICESOFPRIDE that gave voice to LGBTQIA+ people silenced in their countries from expressing their identity. Equal members also helped Edelman achieve top marks on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index.
It hosted a global service commemorating Veteran’s Day and Remembrance Day, with members Jack Flaherty, Meaghan Smith and Meike Wolf sharing their personal experiences as veterans and veterans’ family members. Forward also held a panel discussion exploring the effects of military service on mental health with representatives of Team Rubicon, Soldier On, and Mission 22, and also a conversation at the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on members. Forward DC presented a conversation with Kiefer Bohn, a Hiring Our Heroes Fellow who discussed veterans’ transferable skills relevant to Edelman’s work. Edelman partners with Hiring Our Heroes.
During Black History Month, certified yoga instructor Luisanna Tejada guided members through a mindfulness-focused meditation and yoga session that reflected the month’s theme of “Joy-full: Manifesting Wellness and Unity.” They also hosted a powerful conversation about Wellness & Advocacy with Terri Jackson, Executive Director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNPA), and Tamika Tremaglio, Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). The group also shared their annual curated playlist of songs representing Black joy and empowerment.
As part of regular programming throughout the year, the network also assembled a panel of Black creative entrepreneurs who spoke about channeling one’s talents and interests to blaze their own trail. Panelists included Oneika Raymond, Emmy Award-winning journalist, Stevie-Mari Starks, wellness and lifestyle influencer, and Mylan Cannon, Edelman’s Associate Creative Director of Executive Communications, and moderator was Chanel Lake, Vice President of Influence Marketing.
Continued its monthly Hispanic Star by Inclusivo series on Hispanic and Latino employees that is published on Workplace, and its quarterly “Inclusivo Hablemos” guest speaker series that shares the stories of success and challenges of guests who included Edelman New York President Oscar Suris. The network launched a monthly Courageous Conversation series, “Circulo Familiar,” where a member hosts a half-hour discussion of world events and attendees share experiences about their identity and culture. It also introduced a quarterly newsletter, “Pa Que Tu Lo Sepas,” that highlights restaurants, artists, historical figures and current news and events, and created a weekly virtual talent show with videos of Hispanic and Latino employees showcasing musical and culinary talents.
For all U.S. employees, Inclusivo leaders Ana Ceppi and Carla Santiago joined Richard Edelman and EVP Jackeline Stewart in a special edition of Edelman Trust Barometer Latinx insights and Q&A, and the ENG hosted a panel, “The Diversity Within Our Latinx,” featuring four Hispanic/Latino employees from various offices with a special closing from U.S. CEO Lisa Ross.
Regionally, D.C. members held a virtual trivia game on U.S. Hispanic passion points; Miami members hosted a Musicasa virtual concert with a Latina artist; Edelman West held a happy hour at a Los Angeles Mexican restaurant; and Chicago members held a dinner.
In another active year, it celebrated Women’s History Month by partnering with Griot at a leadership panel centering on the International Women’s Day theme of #BreakingTheBias and separately, Edelman leaders shared how they have overcome biases in their careers and how they define success. GWEN South hosted a charcuterie board workshop with members of the Atlanta and Orlando offices.
During the French presidential election, women’s rights organization Fondation des Femmes shared its campaign to mobilize France to act against gender inequality with GWEN to amplify its impact. The network also held a global panel about the importance of mentors and sponsors in a career with Edelman leaders Lisa Kimmel, Adrian Warr, Corazon Sefu, and Lisa Sepulveda. GWEN also engaged another panel of four women leaders to discuss gender equality in the workplace and what organizations must do to achieve goals.
Week of Belonging
With its “Building Trust and Connection” theme, Edelman’s second annual Week of Belonging in May featured programs and activities centered on aspects of DEI. Several hundred employees participated during the week, developing a greater understanding of:
- How to better navigate the complexities of cultural differences in a global world.
- The importance of earning trust to build connections.
- Ways to actively engage in driving cultural curiosity and understanding and driving belonging at Edelman.
- How the power of connections leads to partnership, collaboration, mentorship/sponsorship and new opportunities.
During the week, Employee Network Groups gained a platform to boost their outreach to employees and invite new members to join them on Workplace. Within a week, each ENG saw an increase in membership.
Regions and local offices invited employees to engage in more personal events during the week. One was a push for employees in EMEA to share the story behind their names on workplace, which highlighted the value of a #MyNameIs ‘Fuh-Net-Ic Filter.’ The Edelman-powered podcast, Authentic 365, hosted an insightful live conversation that inspired employees to build bridges with one another, and the launch of the DEI survey closed the week.
Day One: Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer Trisch Smith, President & Chief Operating Officer Matthew Harrington and Paul Saeidi, EVP of DEI, hosted a discussion on the importance of DEI. The session highlighted DEI work in FY22 including the impact of building community within Edelman, work with clients, and progress in Edelman’s DEI strategy.
Day Two: Rachel Botsman, Trust expert and author, hosted a discussion centered around building trust and connections. She encouraged employees to find ways to earn trust within their teams and with the community at large. A Q&A session followed with DEI Council members and Stewards Amira Barger, Juan Camilo Davila and Fatima Qureshi.
Day Three: A moment to recognize the power and progress of our ENGs and celebrate the launch of Edelman DCN (Disability, Chronic Illness and Neurodiversity) that centers on disability inclusion and Edelman Uplift, which focuses on religious tolerance and interfaith respect.
Day Four: This Regional Day of Action enabled regions and local offices to hold local activities that created a safe space for colleagues to build trust and foster a culture of inclusion, not only in Edelman offices but also within client engagements and within the local community. Regional events occurred in APAC, Canada, EMEA, LatAm, and the U.S. Local offices hosting activities included Brazil, Columbia, Italy, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Day Five: The Edelman-powered podcast Authentic 365 hosted an expert panel discussion on how connections take many forms to build bridges to partnerships, sponsorships, mentorships, and new opportunities. Panelists were Carlos Correcha-Price, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at eMed Digital Healthcare; Janaye Ingram, Director of Community Partner Programs and Engagement at Airbnb; Donald Knight, Chief People Officer at Greenhouse Software; and Natalie Rizkalla-Kamel, Intellectual Property Lawyer, Partner and Registered Trademark agent at Gowling WLG. Leading the discussion were Authentic 365 hosts Dani Jackson and Delicia Tan.