Empowering Authentic Workplace Cultures

March 2022 marked two years since the world went into lock down, and today, we continue to discover new ways of working – whether remotely or in the office or some combination. I recently sat down with other business leaders during the Economist Innovation@Work event to discuss how to maintain a positive culture as the future of work continues to evolve.

Four universal takeaways from our conversation were:

• Companies must be more intentional in creating an authentic culture.    
• People managers play a key role in fostering well-being, sustaining performance and cultivating belonging.
• Employee-led forums foster open communication and hold leadership accountable to listen, learn and act.
• Finding ways for in-person connections continue to be important even in a fully remote workplace.  

AMD is a 53-year-old company that has undergone many transformations and has always led with a People-First, Multi-Voice culture – one underpinned by transparency, communication and flexibility. The past two years, we have had significant growth under the backdrop of the pandemic. Our traditional culture, largely defined by the four walls of the office, quickly evaporated and those values were put to the test. The abrupt shift to remote and hybrid work has presented a massive opportunity to intentionally communicate what we stand for as a company and our shared purpose. Not only is it important to continuously live our values, but it’s also important to clearly communicate those values to employees.  

People managers serve as key agents to creating connections and actively ensuring employees continue to feel included as traditional office environments change. Remote work has led to digital exhaustion as lines blur between work and personal life – employees are dealing with stressors at home and broader societal issues while navigating the ebb and flow of the pandemic.

At AMD, we identified ways to support employees and equipped our leaders with the necessary tools and resources to facilitate a variety of conversations – from virtual professional development trainings to well-being practices that prioritize mental health such as dedicated Recharge Days where the entire company is encouraged to take the day off and no meetings are allowed.

Beyond these, Employee Resource Groups continue to serve as the backbone of our culture, allowing employees of similar backgrounds and lived experiences a forum to support, encourage and empower one another. With these programs, employees have an outlet to learn and grow, as well be a direct megaphone to voice their passions and concerns.

Even though leaders quickly learned how to manage remote teams, in-person collaboration is hard to replicate. As we plan to officially welcome AMDers back to the office in the coming weeks in some regions, we believe we will mostly operate a hybrid model which allows employees the flexibility to choose and shape their work environments. A common observation among my peers was that regardless of what the future of work looks like for their company, fully remote or hybrid, in-person forums will be a priority. Not only does it help teams invest in each other’s growth and happiness, but human interaction is an important element to building trust and innovation.

All of us have a role to play in fostering a healthy and engaged environment. At AMD, we are on an important path of evolving our culture to ensure that our broadly dispersed employee group thrives in the transition to hybrid environments. As I reflect on our progress, I look forward to the opportunities this new era provides in living our values and contributing to the culture of innovation.