People Power: KBR’s People Strategy 2021
“Our people are the heart of KBR. We aim to inspire them through our purpose, culture and values, and to offer them fulfilling careers and an exceptional employee experience, all underpinned by compelling and competitive rewards.”
JENNI MYLES, CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
It’s no secret that KBR’s diverse, passionate and highly skilled people are its biggest strength. Our employees’ expertise, knowledge and leadership capabilities enable KBR to provide world-class science, technology and engineering solutions to thousands of clients around the world. KBR, like many other companies, faced difficult business decisions in 2020, particularly due to the downturn in the energy market and COVID-19 pandemic, which unfortunately led to staff reductions. However, KBR’s goal is always to position our business to ensure we remain competitive, retain key talent and deliver on our ongoing project commitments, while providing better stability and job security for our people — all objectives which are reinforced by KBR’s new People Strategy. In 2020, we renewed our global people strategy to more effectively harness the power of our people and to align with our core business objectives. This strategy, driven by KBR’s Chief People Officer Jenni Myles, has been shaped by employee feedback, solid analysis, research and best practice, and aims to make KBR the best place (and an exciting place!) to work, while also supporting sustainable business growth and performance.
Additionally, the enhanced strategy better aligns with our ONE KBR culture and supports global initiatives. Here are a few examples of our 2020 progress:
- The Global Mental Health and Well-being Committee has been firmly established and continues to successfully roll out our strategy.
- We launched the Reimagining initiative, which has helped modernize our work culture, work practices and workplaces.
- We unveiled our enhanced and unified global Employee Support Program in partnership with Workplace Options.
- We launched the Pride & Allies U.K. employee resource group, which will soon be going global.
- We have modernized our onboarding materials, including the development of a new employee guide called The Source.
- We completed a high-level pay equity review, confirming there is no overarching gender bias in our pay practices.
- We prepared Inclusion & Diversity Improvement Plans for every business/function, with tailored activities and targets for 2021.
People Priorities
KBR’s people strategy has been built around four core areas that will support our employees and the business today and in the future. Each of the four areas have measurable targets that will help indicate the effectiveness of the strategy.
CORE 1:
BUILDING OUR REPUTATION AS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK
Employee Value Proposition (EVP): During 2020, we began to refresh our EVP and to research how our internal and external perceptions match up to that promise, which will inform how we articulate, promote and measure our employer brand in the future. This year, we plan to build on our local survey processes and to develop a global employee survey. This will help us to understand whether our EVP matches the employee experience and to identify both areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. This will be a fundamental building block for understanding how we can continue creating a culture and environment where our people thrive and equip them to do the amazing things they do.
Workforce Agility: Earlier this year we launched Agile Work Weeks, a new human resources policy that allows the employee to have greater flexibility in the way they work. This will contribute to an improved work-life balance and will appeal to a broader, more diverse group of candidates. Employee Benefits: Competitive compensation and benefits is an essential component of our EVP. To attract and retain the best and brightest talent for the future, we must offer compelling reward packages for diverse populations across the globe, and we plan to build on recent improvements (e.g., new EAP/AWW/PTO enhancements in U.S.) with further benefits in 2021 — details to follow.
CORE 2:
CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR PEOPLE TO FLOURISH
Mental Health and Well-being: Through the work of the Global Mental Health and Well-being Committee, we will create a supportive culture and equip employees and managers with the right tools to help improve mental fitness. We’re currently rolling out the first phase of bespoke manager training, which will help managers understand how to spot potential issues early on and how to signpost support. Further plans include promoting access to themed training and resources, the global expansion of our Well-being Ambassador program — supported by OK NoW (Network of Well-being), our global employee resource group (ERG) focused on mental health and well-being — and the launch of a new app that will provide employees with 24/7 access to a personalized mental health and well-being platform.
Inclusion and Diversity (I&D): In 2021, we will be accelerating our diversity focus into other areas, in particular race and ethnicity. The I&D Council will be researching and recommending continual improvements in this area, as well as reviewing our internal targets and using data to track lead indicators and performance outcomes. We will also work with ERGs (ASPIRE/Pride & Allies/Global Parents Network) to expand reach and align with our I&D Improvement Plans for each business and function.
CORE 3:
CAPITALIZING ON CAPABILITY
Talent Development and Succession: In addition to identifying potential successors, in 2020 we introduced a robust talent review process at senior management levels. We have plans in place to cascade this talent calibration process to the next level during 2021, bringing greater visibility and breadth to succession planning for other key roles. We are continuing to work on development programs for first-time leaders and technical talent through groups like IMPACT and a new KBR Fellowship Program. Our goal is to make this available to our target audience toward the end of 2021.
CORE 4:
TOGETHER, HELPING REALIZE THE POTENTIAL OF ONE KBR
Culture and Values: At the beginning of the year, we introduced the refreshed ONE KBR Values. These values capture who we are and guide everything we do. Our managers across the organization have been busy cascading the ONE KBR Values through a variety of discussions with their teams and will continue these conversations throughout the year. These discussions will help identify gaps between our new values and how our people and customers see the business, what support is needed to embed the values, and the steps they will take as a team to bring the values to life.
People metrics: By capturing and analyzing data, we will be able to gain insights into our performance as a business and as an employer. Insights will help us anticipate and mitigate risk and recognize and act on continual improvement opportunities across KBR for the benefit of employees as well as the business. For example, we are soon launching a new I&D Dashboard for managers, which will allow managers to see current team diversity and understand how new hires and promotions impact that in the future. Additionally, reminding employees to update personal information in Workday is another way we’re gaining valuable insight across the organization.
People Promise
Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and the renewed people strategy reflects this. We are committed to delivering these key elements now and in the years ahead, creating a diverse and inclusive work environment where everyone is given the opportunity to grow and reach their full potential.
