FUNCTIONAL FOCUS
A Focus on People
KBR’s functional departments keep the business moving. Typically in Functional Focus, we highlight several of these departments, telling you about how their projects affect you and how they will benefit KBR. This quarter, we’ve decided to do something a little different and feature some of the amazing work being done across KBR’s Human Resources (HR) department. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, our HR teams have been firing on all cylinders, using new recruiting methods to attract the best diverse talent, supplying our people with the resources they need to continue developing professionally, and providing tools and support to help navigate this unprecedented time.
Talent Development
Like many other things, COVID-19 disrupted the way that KBR has traditionally provided trainings and professional development courses for employees. With in-person learning methods now impossible, KBR seized on the opportunity to reimagine learning by accelerating the use of virtual tools. This included creating the Reimagining intranet site, which pointed employees to both public resources and those available at KBR. The site also addressed things such as virtual working, maintaining communication and personal care while working from home. Talent Development also launched virtual instructor-led training (VILT) courses and Virtual Coffee for Leaders. More than 150 executive-level employees and high-potential individual contributors from all over the world participated in two pilot VILT sessions. The 90-minute to two-hour interactive courses focused on topics such as leading, coaching, and performance and productivity in the virtual setting, and the response has been very positive. The monthly Coffee for Leaders virtual sessions also cover a variety of topics, from personal resilience and mental health to how business unit and functional leaders are addressing KBR’s Reimagining efforts. The community has already grown to over 250 members.
Global Mobility
The ability for employees to travel freely between international locations to live and work for extended periods has always been a normal part of business for KBR. Supporting our people at every step of this process has been our Global Mobility team.
As the spread of COVID-19 became a global event, governments around the world responded by closing borders, restricting travel and implementing quarantine measures for visitors, as well as residents who might have been exposed to the virus. In many cases, KBR employees were unable to return to assignment locations. Others were asked to remotely support projects from home or other alternate locations. Many of our customers were forced to delay or even cancel projects. In some instances, clients had to enforce “essential personnel only” policies, which meant that occasionally, KBR employees were asked to repatriate until conditions improved.
Despite disruptions, KBR’s Global Mobility team has worked around the clock to ensure our people are supported. Global Mobility has worked closely with employees, businesses and projects across business units in countries all over the world to provide guidance regarding immigration, employment and personal income tax, employment laws, and regulatory concerns. Throughout the pandemic, Global Mobility has monitored and provided support on travel restrictions, embassy operations or closures, immigration requirements, medical tests and other health requirements, quarantine orders, and more. Additionally, the team has worked with other HR teams and HSSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environment) to provide resources to relieve the heightened stress and anxiety our international workforce and their families may be experiencing.
There is no doubt COVID-19 has changed the way we live, travel and do business globally. However, it has also motivated us to think about how future events could have a similar impact, examine how we can better prepare ourselves to respond, and reimagine how we can deliver for our customers and support our people. Regardless of the circumstance, KBR’s Global Mobility team will always be ready to respond.
Recruiting – Government Services U.S.
Recruiting the specialized talent our clients need to support their most critical missions and objectives requires full engagement of our hiring managers and recruitment teams. COVID-19 has created significant challenges, but the actions the Government Services U.S. (GS US) recruitment team took prior to and during the pandemic have provided continuity in the recruitment of personnel, so that they’ve been available when and where needed.
The GS US Team hires more than 3,200 new employees each year — approximately 61 hires a week. Despite the effects of the pandemic, the team has still averaged a weekly rate of 47 new hires. This is a significant achievement, given widespread uncertainty with both customers and candidates, restrictions on travel and the necessity for transitioning to a 100% virtual model. The following highlights reflect several aspects of the GS US recruiting strategy, which has allowed KBR to achieve customers’ talent requirements irrespective of the challenging circumstances.
- Hiring managers and recruitment teams showed extraordinary flexibility and dedication in adopting new procedures and practices.
- GS US maintains more than 600 open requisitions reflecting approved hiring and hundreds more that are used to attract incumbents of potential new contracts.
- The pandemic necessitated expanded and enhanced use of virtual activities, including social media advertising, virtual job fairs and engagement with professional and technical organizations.
- GS US expanded its social media presence, reinforcing KBR’s image as a dominant player in the government services space and highlighting our diverse workforce and possible careers.
- The KBR Careers site, enhanced in 2019 as part of the broader KBR branding and website redesign, better highlighted our opportunities and created a better candidate experience.
- GS US’ presence was enhanced on heavily trafficked job boards, creating greater visibility of KBR’s capabilities.
- Employee referrals have become an increasingly effective tool, leading more employees to help attract highly talented people from within their professional and social networks.
- In addition to typical hiring activities, GS US has effectively recruited more than 1,000 new employees, who will be onboarded over the remainder of 2020, and teams are conducting contingent hiring activities for many other new business opportunities.
