Never stop improving.

On today’s special Thursday edition of Up To Speed Live, host Diana Alvear was joined by CEO Hans Vestberg and CHRO Sam Hammock who shared the following updates:

Update on the situation in Ukraine

Hans started today’s Up to Speed acknowledging the situation unfolding in Ukraine and Russia.

While we have a small number of employees in Russia and surrounding countries, we are working to ensure they have the support they need to stay safe. We are also in daily contact with government partners and taking proactive measures to maintain our business operations and care for our customers. However, we also recognize that V Teamers may have family and friends in those areas and extend our thoughts to anyone impacted.

As a reminder, we have resources available like our EAP program if you need any assistance, and, of course, feel free to reach out to your leaders or HR.

VZPulse Survey results

Heading into the VZPulse Survey results, Hans thanked the V Team for their strong participation this quarter with an 87% response rate — our highest since the second quarter in 2021. Sam also shared that our score for overall satisfaction is back to 4.16 — which matches our results from the third quarter of last year. Those types of improvements — even incremental improvements — are exactly the response we are looking for, an upward shift.

Here are some next steps for the V Team:

• People leaders received their team results on Tuesday and are taking a closer look at the data to gauge where they can strengthen and improve.
• Following their review, they will schedule a discussion with their team to dive deeper into the results.
• As part of this discussion, it’s important to revisit your action plans and make sure they reflect the most recent feedback. Action planning should be an iterative process and an opportunity to translate the data into strategy and solutions.

“These surveys matter because they help us identify where and how we can strengthen our workplace,” said Sam. “Work Forward was born from employee feedback after V Teamers asked for greater flexibility and work-life integration.”

Work Forward

Speaking of Work Forward, here’s a recap of what was shared last week:

• For our hybrid V Teamers in the U.S. starting in March, please come into your Verizon work location and start building up those office muscles. This is the perfect opportunity to feel out your routine and make any adjustments to maximize the value of being on-site.
• Effective April 4, we will officially activate our U.S. hybrid plans, and V Teamers will follow the in-office cadence they set with their director.
• There are no changes at this time for our associates working from home, and any changes would be discussed with the unions. Also, for our international teams, updates related to Work Forward will be communicated on a location-by-location basis.

In the meantime:

• If you are a hybrid V Teamer in the U.S., make sure to speak with your leader and work together to determine when there’s value in coming into the office.
• Again, now is the perfect time to test things out, see what’s new and what works for you, and make adjustments as needed. That way, you are ready to go in April.

Also, we just published a “know before you go” article on what to expect when heading into the office.

Manager of the Year: John Hollinger

In 2021, we received the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award and, more recently, participated in Gallup’s Manager of the Year Program. Over the past few months, we identified finalists from band 5 and below based on their VZPulse+ engagement scores in 2020 and 2021. All V Team finalists achieved the 90th percentile with year-over-year improvement. Team performance, employee feedback on their experience on the team and how the leader lives the Credo were also factored in.

Each business group named a winner for their respective team. Today, Sam was happy to announce our overall Manager of the Year winner: John Hollinger, Senior Manager, Contract Services in our GN&T group. His Director, Cara Oleksa, surprised him earlier this week with the news that he was selected as Verizon’s Manager of the Year. He will also be in the running for Gallup’s Manager of the Year, which will be named in June.

“All I can say is thank you,” said John. “I love my job. I love the people around me. It’s exciting. We’re so fast paced that there’s never a dull moment. Every day I grow and I learn.”

If you have any questions, email them to live@verizon.com.

Click here for a transcript of the webcast.

Tell us what you think of Up To Speed.

V Team, go to VZWeb to join the conversation