Well-Being and Its Role in Engaging Talent

Cristiane Fiorezzi Is Director of Human Resources for Latin America at Otis, a Global Leader in Manufacturing, Installation, and Service of Elevators and Escalators

There are many factors that contribute to attracting and engaging talent. For some, it’s the work they do, and for others, it’s the culture and purpose. While these factors are important, an emerging trend in a post-COVID world is the importance of offering robust wellness programs.

Studies from the University of California in the United States report that a happy worker is 31% more productive and 300% more creative. Achieving such results demands high dedication and a complex journey from Human Resources and the entire company leadership. And I believe the best starting point is to learn as much as possible about what it’s like to be part of your organization: programs and actions will only be effective if we actively listen to our colleagues’ perceptions and expectations.

At Otis, for example, we have a workforce made up of professionals who work in our administrative office, in the factory, at branches, and in the field maintaining elevators and escalators, scattered throughout the country. In other words, what we offer must be inclusive and accessible from a geographic standpoint.

To build our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), we take the solutions we implement seriously, partnering with strategically chosen partners to ensure alignment with this diverse audience, with national and regional coverage. This way, our colleagues can access the services and programs offered by the company regardless of their location. Flexibility in scheduling is also a key point, and we have adopted online services that allow autonomy and are easy to activate. 

At the same time, we pride ourselves on being a company with a global presence and, consequently, we follow a well-defined global people strategy. We orchestrate global and regional spheres, and we strive to provide equal opportunities for everyone to grow and contribute. For example, one of our global ESG goals is to expand the availability of wellness and resilience services for all colleagues worldwide through the EAP by 2023, and this goal was already achieved last year.

Thinking about health holistically, we enhance our programs with high-quality telemedicine, a clinical center, nutritional coaching, sports coaching, and prenatal care, which operates via app or phone, and some services are in-person at our headquarters where we have the Otis factory for Latin America.

Engaging family members in the programs is, in fact, a great strategy to further enhance the initiatives implemented, whether by covering the service or facilitating access at low cost. Although including family members may increase the overall cost for the company, the increase in team engagement proves that it is worthwhile. One of the benefits we offer for physical activity saw a 25% increase in participation in less than a year, with family members representing one-third of the total participants.

And the basics should also not be forgotten: we encourage our people to take their 30 vacation days so that our teams can enjoy their families, recharge their energies, and be ready for more months of dedication and customer focus.

It is the people who make each company unique, and as HR professionals, we have the noble mission of caring for our talents and retaining them. Each challenge overcome can be rewarded with the success of initiatives and the progress of productivity, health, turnover, and engagement indicators. Taking care of people makes a difference!