A People-First Approach: WM’s Success in Employee Engagement and Retention
WM, headquartered in North America, is an extensive environmental solutions organization that offers services across the United States and Canada. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, WM was considered an essential business, and its frontline employees continued to report to work every day. In response, the Learning and Leadership Development (L&LD) team at WM developed a people-first learning culture to provide leaders with the skills and psychological well-being to support their 33,000 frontline workers.
THE CHALLENGE
The impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to WM’s operations. However, the collection and disposal of trash, recycling, and composting had to continue, necessitating a human-centered leadership approach. The L&LD team sought to create an environment of empathy, vulnerability, social connection, self-reflection, and honest conversation. To care for their 33,000 hourly workers, the L&LD team focused on empowering the frontline leaders who were motivating and guiding those employees. Strong, healthy, and connected leaders drive employee retention and trust. The L&LD team leveraged the latest technologies and led a large-scale workforce transformation to empower their leaders and meet the immediate challenges facing WM.