Forget the Rest and Go With the Best: How Simplicity Created Access to Culture Change

How do you build trust and a desire for learning in a 120-year-old company that has never had an L&OD department? You step back and make it simple.

With more than 47 locations — many in rural communities — bringing folks to headquarters doesn’t always work. Plus, employees in the same function may not know each other. Our challenge was to develop managers during a pandemic. Our current vision includes innovation and growth through technology and people. We created coaching circles, and WOW, we have a winner in many ways. First seen as a means to keep the momentum going for developing managers, it has quickly become a significant pathway to our change efforts around culture and engagement. Creating opportunities for collaboration, building relatedness and trust, and emphasizing vulnerability, we aim to create a culture that leads the way in our industry.