Attendees from FritoLay pose in front of their trailer during the 2024 Accelerate! Conference & Expo
The importance of corporate culture to the success of an organization has evolved in recent years. Today’s corporate culture is driven by a set of values, beliefs, and behaviors that define a company and guides interaction and the human connection among its management and work force.
But this human connection has a significant impact beyond the bottom line. Companies thrive when employees feel valued and heard because the corporate environment is energized and high productivity and innovation become the norm. Successful companies in transportation foster a connection culture, emulate best practices of connected workplaces, and boost vision, value, and voice within their organizations.
A company with a “Connected Culture” likely will generate many positive outcomes, including higher productivity, strong customer loyalty, reduced safety incidents, reduced absenteeism, better employee wellbeing and stronger employee participation.
This article highlights best practices of organizations that have been named as 2024 “Top Companies for Women to Work in Transportation” by Redefining the Road, the official magazine of the Wnbaz (WIT).
7 Steps to Building a Connection Culture
Many companies named to this year’s list have strategically developed a company culture that creates a competitive advantage in several ways. Based upon this year’s nominations, here are seven areas in which companies in the transportation industry can build a “Connection Culture.”
1. It Starts At The Top
A corporate culture where diversity thrives can only be achieved with leadership who understands and supports gender diversity. These executives oftentimes lead by example and demonstrate to other women that “they can achieve it if they believe it.” Prime examples are strong leaders and recent winners of WIT’s Influential Woman in Trucking award: Shelley Simpson, President and CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport Services; Trina Norman, former UPS Operation Manager; and Lily Ley, Vice President and Chief Information Officer with PACCAR.
2023 Influential Woman in Trucking Shelley Simpson, President and CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, shares her story during a panel discussion at the 2023 Accelerate! Conference & Expo
2. Attract Top Talent
A strong culture can help a company attract highly qualified candidates and gain an edge over competitors in hiring. Goodyear, one of the world’s largest tire companies, has created the Goodyear Women’s network ERG, which is dedicated to attracting, connecting, motivating and retaining top female talent.
3. Retain Top Talent
A winning culture nurtures, challenges, and empowers employees, helping to keep them around longer. One way this is accomplished is through strong benefits. For example, Air Products & Chemicals, a world-leading industrial gases company, offers impressive paid parental leave, as well as childcare benefits through a vendor partnership and dependent and childcare spending accounts. In addition, Estes Express Lines, retains top talent through flexibility in hours and work requirements, competitive compensation, and a quality benefits package that includes paid maternity leave, training, and career advancement.
4. Create Jobs Conducive To Women’s Needs
Averitt, a provider of freight transportation and supply chain management solutions, makes it a point to be a great career destination for female professional truck drivers – and the company purposefully makes safety, home time, strong benefits, better equipment and opportunities for growth a priority for them.
Daimler Truck Product Validation Engineering team at the High Desert Proving Ground location
5. Increase Employee Engagement
A positive culture can lead to higher employee and customer engagement and loyalty, which can translate to greater growth and profits. For example, at Daimler Trucks North America, this major heavy-duty truck manufacturer offers 21 employee resource groups (ERGs), prioritizes women in leadership roles, and hosts Executive Women Roundtables that encourage a culture of respect, belonging and inclusion.
6. Encourage Innovation
A positive culture can impact organizational innovation, especially when it also affects knowledge sharing. International Motors (formerly Navistar) has intentionally championed women in such important initiatives such as designing and manufacturing International Trucks and IC-Buses that bring joy to female as well as male drivers.
7. Align Employees With Your Organization’s Goals
A positive culture can help align employees with the organization’s broader goals, encouraging everyone to work toward a shared vision. An effectively articulated vision allows opportunities to set appropriate expectations for desired accomplishments of workforce members. While vision is the starting point, it must tie to people’s day-to-day work.
Attendees of PACCAR accept their 2024 Top Company for Women to Work in Transportation award plaques
Defining and Routinely Supporting Your Culture
When building a Connection Culture, it’s critical to clearly articulate the values to your corporate culture. But defining and reminding your workforce of your culture isn’t just a poster on a wall; your company needs to “live and breathe it.” Again, this is communicated from the top down and oftentimes is heavily driven by key departments such as Human Resources/ Talent Management and Marketing/ Corporate Communications.
Many companies in transportation intentionally and routinely maintain a culture of diversity and support. Consider these examples of initiatives and best practices:
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, a Fortune 300 company driven by its people, technology and capacity, has a content series called “Real Talk” that centers on conversations about different facets of bias.
The Kenan Advantage Group, North America’s largest tank truck transporter and logistics provider, launched EmpowerU, a pioneering women’s employee resource group that provides networking, support and development opportunities to females.
Old Dominion Freight Lines, a leading less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier, has incorporated transparency in pay scales and promotion processes for equity in compensation and career opportunities for women.
Follow these practical steps and best practices and invest adequate time and resources in building a strong, thriving “Connection Culture,” and your organization will reap the benefits.
A version of this article is featured in Edition 3 of 2024 in our official magazine, Redefining The Road. Download it here.
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