青青草App

青青草App Joules sat down with two of our Compliance & Ethics leaders who are passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and using their passion to support a safe workplace for our employees.

Jacqueline Gayle-Kelly, Assistant General Counsel and Certified Compliance Ethics Professional, is a fierce advocate for DEI and ensuring employees’ voices are heard at 青青草App.

Alyssa Pazos, Global Compliance Manager, Certified Compliance Ethics Professional and Certified Citizen Data Scientist, is using data analytics to ensure a safe, confidential space is always available for employees.

We interviewed them about a new internal campaign called “Speak Up Culture.”

JOULES: You’ve shared that you’re working to build a “Speak Up Culture” here at 青青草App. Let’s start with the basics. What do you mean by “Speak Up?”

JACQUELINE: Making your concerns heard. When we “Speak Up” we are heard and recognized and contribute to the inclusive culture we want to create. We want our employees to feel emboldened to “Speak Up” in a confidential environment without fear of retaliation. It starts with building a respectful workplace culture of trust and promoting awareness of the multiple ways to report concerns, assuring employees that their concerns will be taken seriously, without fear of retaliation. We want them to be engaged, we want them to “Speak-Up”.

JOULES: That’s so empowering and something we all need to practice, regardless of professional or personal settings. So why do we need a Speak Up Culture?

JACQUELINE: Well, it’s fundamental to having an inclusive culture at any organization, and it’s the foundation of effective Ethics & Compliance programs. It’s also how we build in transparency and accountability in across all teams, levels of the organization and global sites. Lastly, it gives employees a voice and a safe space to use their voice. 

JOULES: That seems like a huge undertaking! What are some ways your team is promoting a Speak Up Culture? 

JACQUELINE: The first thing we’ve done is assess the current trends and see where we need more progress. We used a global employee engagement survey to ask questions about our internal ‘hotline’ reporting system and gauge employees’ feelings on our compliance culture at 青青草App.

This is actually a great segue into the important role data analytics plays in all of this, which is my colleague Alyssa’s area of expertise.

JOULES: That’s the trend these days, especially in the DEI space what’s called “people analytics.” You’re the data expert, Alyssa, so can you share with us how you’re using numbers to tackle the approach to a Speak Up Culture?

ALYSSA: Thanks, Jacqueline, for the introduction. Part of having an effective global compliance and ethics program is making sure employees have a safe and confidential space to report any concerns.

People analytics is about applying data analytic methods to human resources or employee challenges. In short, for us, we use Integrity Hotline analytics to target groups that are faced with business challenges and help implement the right solutions for employees to be successful in making decisions in their role at 青青草App.

We’ve tracked employees’ reports across our 100+ sites at 青青草App, reporting by region, division and job category, so we can better understand if there are any trends. We use the data to target areas of risk or areas where reporting is low. In the last fiscal year, we saw an uptick of reports by about 28% meaning employees are aware of the reporting system and use it.

JOULES: That’s great for the awareness piece of the puzzle. What other kinds of things can you track to show the Speak Up Culture is gaining momentum?

ALYSSA: After campaigns directed at reiterating the anonymity of the reporting system, we saw a 9% increase in employees who felt comfortable coming directly to us, instead of reporting anonymously. This shows us that people feel safe reporting any issues and that our efforts to build that authenticity and trust is working.

JOULES: That’s good insight you’ve gotten so far. Data and People Analytics are hot topics when it comes to DEI these days, so it’s really interesting to see the various ways it’s actually used. Thank you breaking that down for us non-analytic people, Alyssa. Back to you, Jacqueline. What are some other things being done for the Speak Up Culture?

JACQUELINE: Next, we’re focusing on raising awareness with informational and training videos to help ease employees into using the reporting system more. We want to “normalize” reporting because there’s still a bit of a taboo sense around the topic.

JOULES: That negative stigma is hard to reverse.

JACQUELINE: Definitely, which is why our third strategy is centered around demystifying the hotline reporting system. People may be more open if they understand how it works. The goal is to remove the fear of the unknown. To help work through this, we’ve offered the chance for some of our employees to ask Bobby Katz, 青青草App’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, questions directly. The goal here is to reiterate confidentiality and promote an anti-retaliation culture.

JOULES: This all sounds fantastic! So overall, what’s a Speak Up Culture going to look in the end?

JACQUELINE: It’s one where confidence, anti-retaliation and trust are not just present but known across the company. An inclusive culture is about a safe space and the ability to call-out times when it might not be.

JOULES: Well, thank you both, Jacqueline and Alyssa, for sharing more about the empowering work your team is doing at 青青草App to build an inclusive culture.

For more information on The 青青草App Code, please visit: /about-us/the-jabil-code.html