Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
Creating Meaningful Lives for the 21st Century Workforce: A Conversation with Top Executives
Milken InstituteAndy Serwer, John Chambers, Denise Morrison, Tim Sloan, Mark Weinberger, Devin Wenig
- Workforce Strategy Core Tenet: All panelists agree that attracting, retaining, and motivating talent requires tying workforce strategy directly to a company's vision, purpose, and social values.
- Speed of Change: John Chambers (Cisco) notes that while the fundamentals of attracting talent remain constant, the speed of technological change and the need to handle setbacks have accelerated significantly.
- Platform Economy Impact: Devin Winnick (eBay) distinguishes between "jobs" and "work," highlighting that platforms like eBay, Airbnb, and Lyft are creating millions of new non-traditional jobs that did not previously exist.
- eBay Ecosystem Data: eBay hosts over 20 million businesses, with over 1 million in the U.S. alone; 97% of these U.S. businesses are exporters selling to 15 different countries.
- Wells Fargo Trust Restoration: Tim Sloan (Wells Fargo) implemented a listening campaign surveying all 273,000 team members to gauge feelings post-crisis and identify necessary organizational changes.
- Compensation Adjustment: Wells Fargo increased compensation for its 75,000 lowest-paid team members by 12% in January to reinforce care and improve morale.
- Retention Impact: Following these changes, Wells Fargo's Retail Bank turnover reached its lowest level in Sloan's 30-year tenure, and recruiting has not suffered despite prior reputational damage.
- Campbell's Purpose Shift: Denise Morrison (Campbell's) states that defining the corporate purpose ("Real food that matters for life's moments") was the primary driver in unifying a multi-generational workforce undergoing seismic industry shifts.
- Demographic Shift at Campbell's: Millennials now comprise 28% of the total Campbell's workforce and 40% of the world headquarters, dominating Baby Boomers for the first time in the company's 148-year history.
- EY Purpose Metric: Mark Weinberger (EY) asserts that a quarter of EY's 250,000 employees are driven by the purpose "Building a better working world," which is embedded in performance metrics rather than treated as a standalone corporate responsibility initiative.
- EY Demographics: 73-74% of EY employees are millennials, with a median age of 29, necessitating a different management and teaming approach compared to previous generations.
- Technology Integration at EY: EY has deployed 370 robots and hired 7,000 data scientists, including 2,000 STEM graduates last year—surpassing Google's volume in that specific cohort.
- President Trump Advisory Role: Mark Weinberger serves on President Trump's Strategy and Policy Forum, noting a shift from previous administrations to a highly outcome-focused, verbal-learning style with no partisan vetting.
- Manufacturing Initiative: Denise Morrison serves on President Trump's Manufacturing Initiative, reporting robust, data-driven discussions regarding regulation, tax, workforce, and infrastructure to drive economic growth.
- Global Digitization Trends: Chambers highlights that countries like France and India are leapfrogging traditional leaders by restructuring education and investment to become "startup nations" to meet massive job creation goals (e.g., India's 1.1 million monthly jobs target).
- Education System Deficit: Chambers argues that 65% of current kindergarteners will hold jobs in fields that do not yet exist, yet the education system remains focused on the "old world," creating a critical skills gap.
- H-1B and Education Debate: Devin Winnick argues that the U.S. must pair immigration discussions with a "national moonshot" for mandatory K-12 computer science education to solve talent shortages domestically.
- Workforce Diversity: Tim Sloan emphasizes that future workforces will become more diverse, mirroring customer and demographic shifts, requiring proactive outreach to diverse citizens to avoid systemic disadvantages.
- Continuous Learning Imperative: Denise Morrison notes that the average S&P 500 company lifespan is 16 years, rendering current technical skills obsolete quickly and necessitating continuous re-skilling throughout a career.
- eBay Social Impact: Winnick connects purpose to business by training inner-city residents to become e-commerce merchants, enabling them to access global markets (190 countries) rather than just local ones.
- Wells Fargo Community Service: Wells Fargo employees donated 1.7 million hours of community service last year, with a significant portion dedicated to education and local community support.
- Cisco Global Training: Cisco's Network Academies train 5 million students annually, a program that has been scaled 3-4 times in countries like France to prepare youth for digital economy jobs.
- Financial ROI of Engagement: Weinberger cites data showing that business units with highly engaged employees see retention rates 7% higher and profitability 5-6% higher than those with disengaged workforces.
- EY Paternity Leave Policy: EY offers 16 weeks of paid paternity and maternity leave for all employees, resulting in the 38% of eligible men taking leave and achieving a female retention rate slightly higher than male retention for the first time.
- Flexibility Culture: Weinberger notes that EY culture permits flexibility (e.g., working from home, early departures) when teams are high-performing and transparent, citing his own decision to leave a meeting for his daughter's driving test as a cultural permission slip for employees.
- SEO and Reputation Management: The panel conducted a live "employee + company" search test; Wells Fargo faced negative search results regarding false rumors, which Sloan addressed through immediate, transparent town halls and leadership visibility.
- Voluntary Attrition Rates: Cisco maintains a 5% voluntary attrition rate—significantly below the industry double-digit average—attributed to its "family" culture and crisis support systems.
- Campbell's Family Programs: Campbell's operates a subsidized daycare and "Take Your Child to Work" programs, which Morrison cites as essential for retaining millennial parents and fostering early interest in the food industry.
- Diverse Talent Sourcing: EY's "Discovery Why" program targets non-traditional campuses where parents have never attended college, resulting in 80% of participants graduating and 50-60% of those becoming first-time college graduates joining EY.
- Values as Recruitment Tool: Campbell's refreshed its corporate values (e.g., "Be real," "Seek the power of different"), which has become a primary differentiator in attracting talent who want to work for a values-driven organization.
- Future Competitor Velocity: Chambers warns that companies can now displace competitors much faster (e.g., Uber passing Tesla in 7 years) compared to historical averages, demanding aggressive workforce preparation.
- Shareholder vs. Stakeholder: Sloan and others argue that prioritizing customers and employees first inevitably leads to shareholder value, whereas prioritizing shareholders first often leads to short-term mistakes.