Finning

Finning is a global company with over 13,000 employees that sells, rents and provides parts and service for industrial equipment to customers across a wide range of industries, including mining, construction, petroleum and forestry.

The challenge

Finning wanted to build on the work the business had already done promoting inclusion by helping managers to self-regulate, facilitate conversations and help shape a respectful culture. However, with a large, globally distributed workforce, the company faced a real challenge in changing attitudes and behaviors at scale.

The solution

Finning's focus on Respect & Inclusion began with face-to-face and virtual sessions for leaders and managers, focusing on practical ways to create a climate of respect and psychological safety.

To reach the large population of individual contributors, live and virtual face-to-face sessions were not viable. The solution was instead to use digital eWorkouts that used accessible language and concepts for all levels of literacy, available on mobile phones for people without access to computers.

These eWorkouts created an opportunity for people to explore scenarios that were familiar in their workplace and to consider some recurring issues, such as: What is a joke and what is too far? What constitutes ‘constructive’ criticism and when does this border on disrespect? And how can we build mutual respect, especially when there have been mistakes and missteps?

The digital route proved effective because:

1. It was possible to ensure total consistency of messaging on a sensitive topic, across both Spanish and English (their two principle languages).
2. With employees distributed across different countries and environments (for instance the shop floor, on the road, in an office and so on), a digital approach ensured that everyone could be reached.
3. The approach gave people the privacy to privately and honestly explore a sensitive topic, without being influenced by colleagues’ perceptions. Taking the digital approach also meant that people were just one click away from seeking further assistance (from the assistance program) or reporting an issue (to HR).
4. The eWorkouts were punchy and engaging (just 10 minutes long), which helped to ensure high take-up.
5. It was easy to track that 100% of employees had completed the learning and collect real-time feedback.

The impact

After the program, Finning's internal all-employee Inclusive Culture Index reported that Finning was:

• 7% higher than the average for global high-performing organizations.
• 16% higher than the industry norm.
• 92% of employees said they felt safe responding appropriately to incidents of harassment after the training. Reporting of non-respectful incidents increased post-program, showing that people felt more confident about calling out behavior.

The employee experience survey question “People at this organization treat each other with dignity and respect” made the list of the top five key drivers of employee engagement in 2019.