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From employee nicknames to flexible ways of working, people leaders are often tasked with coming up with new ways of creating culture, and connecting their workforce to it.
At consultancy KPMG, the people team has a platform that aims to connect its 36,000 US employees to company culture efforts, according to Sandy Torchia, the firm’s vice chair of talent and culture. Called the Culture Champions Network (CCN), it was created in 2019 and is actively used by about 9,300 employees, or 25% of the company’s workforce.
“It brings together people that raise their hand…and [are] really committed to leading the way as it relates to culture, and being an ambassador, and a role model for culture,” Torchia said.
She shared with HR Brew how the platform is used to enhance the company’s culture, and what other people pros can do to connect their own employees.
What does the platform do? The CCN platform is gamified, so as employees participate in qualifying virtual and in-person events—such as business resource group events, mentoring sessions, volunteer work, nonprofit board service, and learning and development courses, Torchia said—they can earn titles ranging from “enthusiast” to “catalyst” and eventually “legend.”
“We wanted to give people the path and recognize them for the things that they’re doing, and also it’s helpful sometimes to have a reminder of what else you might want to do to not only achieve status along the culture legends journey, but also just to make KPMG a great place to work,” she said.
As employees struggle with disconnection and loneliness, Torchia said it’s imperative for HR teams to find ways to engage employees.
“We also view the Culture Champions Network as a way to activate culture on the ground. Culture exists around every single one of us, and our KPMG culture is a sum of the individual culture[s] that we all contribute to the firm,” she said.
How others can spark culture. For other HR pros who want to get employees more involved in their company’s culture, Torchia said helping to establish workplace friendships is a great place to start. Encourage employees to regularly talk about non-work topics, she said, and host events—beyond happy hours and dinners—unrelated to their jobs.
“I’m a big believer that, if you have a team meeting and you want to do something with your team afterwards, I stray away from having a dinner where we all sit around the table, and you can only talk to the person to your right or to your left,” she said. “We go bowling. We go mini-golfing…Things that are more interactive with the team…You’re having the opportunity to connect over that purposeful thing that you’re doing together.”