artha Rivas had never met the CEO of JBS USA, the food processing giant she worked for in Grand Island, Neb. So, she had good reason to be nervous when CEO Tim Schellpeper requested to speak with her earlier this year about a new, college tuition payment program at the company’s largest plant, which employs 3,800 workers.
“When I travel to plants, I sit in on listening sessions with team members,” says CEO Tim Schellpeper. Some of these sessions took place before the pandemic, but since then, he says, the company has greatly increased the frequency and the pace of these sessions. “We just wanted to know how our employees were faring?” says Teuila Hanson, chief people officer. It was the honest responses that employees gave to that question, in particular, that resulted in the company taking action to roll out several new employee-focused initiatives, she says.
Then, just two months after she started at LinkedIn, Crawford got the nicest gift of all: one week of paid time off. It was LinkedIn’s annual summer “shutdown,” which typically takes place the first week of July. That’s when the company gives most employees a full week off . She spent the time off in Lake Tahoe with family and friends, kayaking and attending yoga classes. “I am grateful to be at a company that prioritizes wellness,” she says.