71% feel management shows a sincere interest in them as a person, not just an employee, 68% feel everyone has an opportunity to get special recognition & 73% say management shows appreciation for good work and extra effort: Responses to these questions varied according to business unit and country rather than any other demographics. We want every employee to be recognized and feel valued – without you we cannot possibly succeed – and the survey results show clearly where we have improvements to make, which will therefore be addressed in local action plans.

84% believe people care about each other here: There is a strong sense across KBR that leaders, managers and colleagues care about each other. This mutual support helps us perform at our best and keeps us going when the pressure is on. Comments like “This is the first company that I have been associated with that ACTUALLY CARES about 'we' the employee!” and “What I particularly appreciate is the way we work together, we always act as a team, the employees take care of each other, both professionally and personally” really brought this to life, and we should continue to reinforce this cultural strength.

72% believe management would lay people off only as a last resort: In recent years many markets in which KBR conducts business have fundamentally shifted, resulting in dramatic growth in some areas but also triggering a need for downsizing in others. The survey brought to light that employees working in areas which shrank had a much lower level of confidence in job security than their peers working in other areas of the organization. As the business continues to transform, we are targeting business services and solutions which will provide greater resilience during periods of market uncertainty.

81% feel they make a difference & 75% say their work has special meaning – this is not “just a job”: This is what gets us out of bed each morning and makes KBR such a special place to work. This extraordinary sense of purpose resonates deeply with people across KBR and unites our global teams of scientists, technologists, engineers and support staff, who perform diverse, complex and mission-critical roles for our customers and society at large.

73% say people here quickly adapt to changes needed for our organization’s success: The accelerating pace of change in the world and our markets is dramatic, and our employees’ ability to embrace this change is a great asset for KBR. Lower responses to this question were most apparent in specific businesses where mid-level or senior managers believe the pace of change is too slow and we will explore this further as local results are analyzed and action plans developed.

85% of employees say our customers would rate the service we deliver as “excellent”: As one employee put it: “We have some very clever people working on truly innovative projects for customers”. From serving the warfighter and working hand-in-hand with NASA, to pioneering projects on energy transition and plastics recycling, across KBR our people show huge drive and passion to go above and beyond to exceed our diverse customers’ expectations.

KBR people value honesty, trust, courage, fairness, prudence and tenacity. We believe doing what’s right for the planet, the communities where we live and work, and our people is good for our business. Your responses show we will not sacrifice our integrity, with 84% saying management is honest and ethical in its business practices and 89% reporting they feel safe to report misconduct at work. One employee commented “I have worked for a number of companies and what has stood out the most about KBR is from the bottom to the top we all strive to meet the expectations described in our mission statement regarding integrity in particular. And that resonates with me.”

79% say management recognizes honest mistakes as part of doing business & 67% say we celebrate people who try new and better ways of doing things, regardless of the outcome: We want to have a psychologically safe work environment, and in most parts of KBR employees appreciate the lack of a ‘blame culture’ with comments like “if there is a problem, they don't put us down for our mistakes, instead they have a one-on-one conversation with you and help you understand why that mistake was wrong and what you need to do to fix it”. Regretfully there are some pockets where the view is different – as one employee said, those in charge “save themselves when they mess up and put the blame on employees below them” and we will ensure local action plans focus on changing this culture.

We were disappointed to see that only 69% of respondents feel managers avoid playing favorites. Comments like “Their favorites get all the opportunity and are paid more” are alarming as we want to ensure all employees feel fairly treated. Of course, not everyone is the same, and opportunities will come soonest to those who demonstrate capability or potential, a good work ethic, and who live our values. Nonetheless, being fair is a founding principle of our integrity value, and local action plans will include steps to understand why employees feel this is not the case in all parts of KBR.

Comments like “The trust by immediate line management to get on and do a good job is uplifting and empowering. Micromanagement is non-existent, but still regularly check in with the team” showed up repeatedly in your responses, and 86% report that management trusts them to do a good job while 84% say people here are given a lot of responsibility. With our diverse portfolio of complex businesses, it is very reassuring to see that our talented teams of experts feel they have the autonomy and support to do their best work.

83% say they have the resources and equipment to do their job, a good response overall. Yet there are parts of KBR – within specific business areas and countries – where employees do not feel they are equipped to deliver what’s expected of them. In most cases this is more pronounced at middle management levels, and we are conscious that we rely heavily on this important group so will ensure we pick this up in our local action plans.