Workday Podcast: Chevron's Approach to Employee Experience

Katy Colletto: Hi, everyone. I'm Katy Colletto, vice president of oCHRO product marketing at Workday. I'm thrilled to be sitting down with our amazing customers and forward thinkers, Heidi Groot and Dave Warren from Chevron. Heidi is the general manager of HR for Functional Strategy and Planning, and Dave is the HR digital portfolio manager at Chevron. Today, we're talking about employee experience, why it's important, how you can better understand it, and how skills and AI, among other things, play a role as well. We are here on site in San Ramon, California, on our Forever Forward bus, which has been touring the country this summer to bring Workday's energy and expertise directly to our customers. Heidi and Dave, thank you so much for being here. Let's get started.

Heidi Groot: Thanks, Katy, for having us here today, and the setup on this bus is really incredible. And just a little bit about myself. I've been with Chevron for 22 years in a variety of primarily business-facing roles across our streams from our exploration to products and midstream. And then also, in the recent years, in our kind of operational side. And then my current role really into the center of expertise for functional strategy and planning, which we like to say is the heart of our function, and so just happy to join you here today.

Colletto: Excellent. Well, we're thrilled to have you. And Dave, can you tell us a little bit about your role?

Dave Warren: Sure. So I've been with Chevron for about 12 years.

Colletto: You're a rookie.

Warren: Yeah, of course. Joined through their HR development program and have worked in a variety of roles, in the center, compensation, and then also in business-facing HR roles. I've been in my current role for about eight months now. Immediately prior to this, I was the manager of our business supporting company-owned gas stations in the US.

Colletto: Oh, wow. Cool.

Colletto: So we're talking about employee experience today. And we know that a positive employee experience is important for many reasons, including promoting employee well-being, avoiding burnout, retaining talent. Can you talk about why it's so critical at Chevron?

Groot: So you heard from our introductions we've been with Chevron for a while. And so in terms of attracting and retaining, we've done really well in that respect. And we've got four generations in the workforce. So how do we, you know, help ensure that we've got a positive employee experience for a diverse set of employees? And people are really central to that experience and, and the culture that we have for employees. If I think about employee experience, too, it really also— we have a people strategy. And that people strategy is about, how do we engage the full potential of our employees to deliver the future of energy, right? How do we provide that purpose to them so they feel they can come and drive, you know, results, performance, and we know that those are going to be really tied to a few things, right? Do we have a culture that's inclusive? Do we have a place that people can go? You know, again, that employee experience driven from a culture that people feel comfortable. Do we have the kind of careers, like a purpose-driven career? You, again, heard from us that we've worked across different business lines. And do we feel like that purpose to, to deliver is there? And then the industry that we're in. And then what's really, I think, important to this conversation is around the skills, right?

The investment in our talent. The growth and development that folks want as part of an important part of, of experience. And that's really all to stay, you know, committed to driving those business results. And, you know, in terms of delivering affordable, reliable, ever cleaner energy, that really is our focus for Chevron. But then how does our strategy and our people and the positive employee experience really drive us there.

Colletto: Yeah, absolutely. And I'm curious about how you look at employee experience around the globe. And I mean, you have people literally in probably almost every country. Is that something that you think really intentionally about, of matching the employee experience to the country that people are in? Or is it more of a Chevron culture of employee experience?

Groot: I'd say it's a combination of both, right? We have our employment model is really looking at kind of a long service career for the most part. And I'd say that generally does apply across the majority of our locations. So it's about 50 countries, right, that we're talking about. I think we also look to understand what that local— that local need, that local environment is.

We look externally to understand what those needs are. So if I'm looking at our shared service center in Buenos Aires, that is delivering a certain set of services, it's going to shift a little bit to what is going to be relevant, right, for that those services in that business versus in the United States where we've got about half of our population, it really is more of that kind of longer career model.

Colletto: Very interesting. And so I think at the heart of employee experience often is data. And it's clear that HR leaders are using data more and more to shape those decisions and strategies. So I'm curious about, in your experience, how a data-driven kind of understanding of employees helps Chevron. And how does that help you keep a finger on the pulse of your employees?

Warren: Yeah. So Heidi talked about supporting our business predominantly from shared service centers. So one of our sources of data is our shared service organizations. When you look at the total number of cases opened, case deflection rates customer satisfaction after a case is closed. And we also have broader sentiment surveys like our annual employee survey, which is a source of sentiment data for us as well.

All these different elements of data paint the picture for how we're doing with employee experience. And we look at that to make tweaks to our data foundation or our HR ecosystem to improve that employee experience and further enhance how employees are getting services from us collectively as HR.

Colletto: That's great. Let's move to AI. Hottest topic in HR today, and we would certainly be remiss not to talk about it. So how are you leveraging AI to improve efficiency, employee engagement, and, and how are your employees responding to this?

Groot: Well, we've invested a lot, I think, first of all, in terms of building a foundation of, of awareness and utilization. So we have about 20,000 Copilot licenses through Microsoft. And really helping drive examples of, how do we become more efficient, in the way that we do our day-to-day work? I think we also look at ways that our kind of anchor applications like Workday— we're looking for our key partners to be bringing in that AI, which we know a lot of them do, but really evolving it within those applications that we have to improve the customer experience. Because we know our lives outside don't always mimic inside the workplace. We don't go into a bank as frequently, if at all, and we know we have applications we can fully utilize, but do we have that same experience internally? And how can AI and gen AI help us? I think we're, again, making those investments, but we're wanting to continue to evolve what that employee experience looks like relative to those technologies and AI, gen AI, as examples. Dave might have some other good ones.

Warren: Yeah, and I would add to that, we want to bring information and processes to employees where they work. So my personal working style is I use Teams chat heavily. And if I can do everything I need to do through a Teams chat with a Copilot, as an example maybe I never have to go to ServiceNow or maybe I never have to go to Workday.

Using AI to connect all of these systems on the back end to bring a consistent employee experience to whatever front door that employee is using, whether it's Teams chat through Copilot, whether it's Workday's virtual agent, whether it's the ServiceNow portal we want to have a consistent experience with consistent information, accurate gen AI responses and ability to bring all of that to the employees wherever they want to get work done.

Colletto: That's great. And, and do the employees talk to you about AI, or is it really just they want to get work done and whatever is making that more efficient in the background, they're going to kind of naturally adopt?

Warren: You know, it's interesting. This is something about our company culture. Chevron's very, at times, risk averse when it comes to leaning into new technology. There's a lot unknown with AI. What I'm hearing from employees is that they want technology as fast as they can get it because they see the potential for it to make their lives easier, to give them more accurate and timely information. And so it's a little bit of a, a pull from the employees, a pull from the business, which we're continuing to take a look at and manage the risk accordingly.

Colletto: Yeah. And, and as you talk about risk, is there anything particular that you're looking at from a risk perspective with AI that you'd want to share as kind of a best practice with the listeners?

Warren: Well, I would say in HR, it's absolutely imperative that employees get accurate information. If they're asking policy questions to an AI bot that policy response needs to be accurate. It needs to be based on the right policy, where that employee is located, what their, you know, eligibility is, which policies apply. So there's a lot of learning that I think still needs to happen in the AI space for us to feel really confident that employees are going to get the same information that they would if they were interacting with an HR business partner in their office or on the phone.

Colletto: That's a good— and a, a good measurement, or a good bar.

Groot: And, and I'd add to that, right, just the criticality around data privacy and managing sensitive data and how we make sure— you know, we want to make sure that anything we're using is going to be responsible, and we actually look at the guardrails to, to make sure that we're working and managing that sensitive data responsibly.

Colletto: Excellent. Thank you so much for sharing that. All right. Let's move a little bit toward international and looking at other countries. So you've both had roles in Chevron, which I want to hear more about, actually, in Kazakhstan and Argentina. How have your experiences working closely with other cultures affected your understanding of employee experience and engagement here and around the world?

Groot: Yeah, I mean, so one of the benefits that we've had is, is international assignments. And those are a couple of spots I mentioned a little bit about Argentina and employee experience. When you've got a population you're— you know, from a services— it's not exploration. We're, we're, we're delivering shared services for finance, IT, HR, supply chain, etc. So employee experience is really looking at who that population is, what's externally competitive to be able to attract and retain within what is appropriate in that location. It looks different than the profile here. So again, understanding a little bit, again, of, like, an employment model of what is going to apply there. How do we make sure that we talk to them in ways that understand what they want? I mean, simple things.

Birthdays are holidays in Argentina. Having mate, right, the yerba mate that they drink in the office in terms of an employee experience from a cultural perspective that people appreciate. So it's sort of understanding what those local needs are, that you understand what they are as well as looking at— in our case of Chevron, as a brand that maybe didn't have as much recognition, but they understand that we are an employer of choice. But then locally, that we understand what are the things that drive a positive employee experience.

And in Kazakhstan, I would say it's sort of understanding the nuance of where we do business is a joint venture that we have there. And so we're one of the primary tax sources for the Republic of Kazakhstan. So when you talk about brand—that is one of the premier employers. So it's a completely different situation.

You don't have to work from an employee experience in the same ways that you have to do in countries without that same brand recognition. So there, just our existence drives a lot of people to be attracted to, to work for and kind of that pride. But then again, how, from an employee experience, do we look at the way that employee base again, looks different from a technology side. Employee experience has been a little more manual, I'd say.

You have a larger population. You have a lot more resources and, and people there supporting that enterprise. But employee experience is still the direction that they want to go. They still want the same systems. We also have implemented Workday with that joint venture. And so again, they're looking to leverage the same kind of experience that we have, but also accommodating what their local needs and requirements are there.

Colletto: Interesting. We kind of touched on it earlier, but let's kind of dive into the tools and technology. So what do you use at Chevron to understand how your employees are doing, to create a consistent experience? You know, are you using different technology in different countries or is it pretty standard around the globe?

Groot: It's pretty standard, you know in terms of the Microsoft suite in terms of Workday. Dave knows better than I do. You know, again, we used to have disparate, you know, systems across the globe. And the fact that we have everything in one system now is a huge improvement from where we were, you know, five years ago. And so the ability to have everything in one system and then how do we evolve that journey around employee experience, whether it's the users, whether it's the data that we're looking to get out of it to maximize that. I think that, you know, that we've got to just really focus on those foundational elements to really keep that experience front of mind—

Colletto: Right.

Groot: — so that we can just make it as easy and as representative— I like the way Dave said it, where people are.

Colletto: Yeah. Meeting them where they are.

Warren: Yeah. And I would add we use this same employee sentiment tool for gathering employee feedback globally. So twice a year, I think it is, we do an employee survey. And there are questions on that survey specific to different points of feedback, whether it's employee experience, whether it's technology specifically. We want to hear from employees. We'll bring all that information into a central repository. We've got teams that will analyze that and then pass it off to organizations like ours that can interpret that result and then make decisions based on how our employees are feeling.

Colletto: That's great. And so switching again. Another aspect of employee experience I think that's super critical that we haven't touched on is around growth and development. And looking at how do we create an environment where people can grow? And of course, skills tends to be at the center of that these days as well. So how are you thinking about using skills and, you know, using skills to address skills gaps or using skills to foster growth and development for your very long tenured employees? It's so impressive that people are here for, like, 20 years. I love it.

Warren: So maybe I'll start and then I'll pass it to Heidi. So what I would say is we've focused on the skills foundation right now. You hear a lot in the industry about companies need to move to a skills-based organization. SBO is the acronym they like to use. And that starts with a data foundation. So we're looking at, what systems can we set up? What work can we do behind the scenes to set the foundation that will unlock AI's ability to improve employee experience as it relates to skills? It starts with the HCM but it extends to other systems like our ATS, our applicant tracking system, our learning experience system. All of those have to talk to each other in order for the identification of skills and learning opportunities to be flagged through the AI. So we're working on setting the foundation now. And then once we get that, we'll really be able to, to take off.

Groot: I mean, we invest a lot in our people. I mean, as you can imagine — from attracting and developing— the level— the types of programs that we have. The range, whether it's mentoring programs, it's gigs, it's the, you know, work and the different project opportunities that people get. We invest a lot in the programs that we provide to, to support their development. But definitely technology is, is the, the prime opportunity there because that's going to cut across and, I think, help us just be more efficient and effective at accessing our broader employee base and that experience that they're going to have to develop in whatever skills are required for their function or across the enterprise.

Colletto: Well, and it strikes me as interesting with the long careers that people have here and the change in just underlying skills that ha— are happening in the marketplace. You know, AI skills are a great example. Are you looking at kind of internal development of those skills? Are you looking at bringing in those skills from the outside or some kind of combination of the two?

Groot: I'd say definitely a combination. Again, the investment that we made in the number of licenses. There's a ton of different initiatives going on right now just to really drive that fluency and the comfort and the value in using AI, gen AI, and just, like, the way that we talk about it amongst each other. It's just— I think we've really built some fluency up really quickly. H-how do we continue to look at that and also with the return on the investment that it's going to take to create real efficiencies? I think that's going to be the challenge that we have ahead of us. But I think it's going to be a combination.

Colletto: Yeah. It's fascinating just to think about the rich career that someone can have at Chevron, and they could start, you know, in one corner of the business and the world and then make their way through tr-training and learning and development to, you know, modern technical skills or— yeah, fascinating.

Warren: And, and we see the opportunity for skills foundation. Unlocking hidden skills is a concept that's very hot right now. So I'm a career HR employee. But when— i-if the AI says, "Hey, Dave, you've got the skills to go do a marketing job or maybe a communications role. I may not think of that. You know, Heidi, my boss, may not think of that. But if the AI says, "Hey, Dave checks all the boxes, and it aligns with this other role, which maybe doesn't align with his discipline, but he's got potential because of the transferable skills there." That's the power of AI, and I think that's where we're headed.

Colletto: I can't wait to watch. That's great. So along with skills and AI and experience, do you have any real-world advice for other HR leaders who are just kind of starting their journey?

Groot: To me— you know, we just talked about skills and learning and how quickly the landscape is evolving. So to me, it's about learning and flexibility. I mean, it has been the extent of my career, coming in with a business and HR background, but then how much it's evolved over the years. I mean, and most of us know or have friends or family that think we, you know, are hiring, you know?

Colletto: Yeah, exactly.

Groot: And it's really something that we're— you know, not to say that it's not a critical activity for our function, but it's not really where the value is that we have for the business. So I think it's about really understanding the business that you're supporting first and foremost, right? How, how is this company going to be making money, and how is my role going to support that company to be as effective with the talent that it has to, to drive those results? So I think it's about business focus, it's about flexibility, and it's about just continuing to evolve and learn.

Warren: Yeah, I would agree with that. Base business is always going to be priority number one. So if you're another company out there, you got to be able to deliver on your base business. For the HR department, that's making sure that you're delivering on your base business needs from an HR standpoint. I would say priority number two is employee experience. I think it's that important. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to go out and buy the latest AI technology. But some of this foundational work that I think is absolutely critical to enabling long-term success is where I would put your focus.

Colletto: And then how about skills? You guys have obviously started that journey and are on your way. What advice would you give to people who are just starting that journey?

Warren: So in Chevron, we call it job architecture. I think that's the Workday term.

Colletto: We know it well, yes.

Warren: Right. And that's an objective framework for how your positions in your company are organized. That's a great example of data foundation on which skills and AI can feed. So get your job architecture set up. That's going to unlock your ability to move quickly when skills technology advances.

Colletto: Excellent, thank you. Finishing up, any insights that you would share with other organizations that might not be prioritizing employee experience?

Groot: I mean, I think it really is about the data foundation. I'd say, again, Dave is more fluent in terms of being able to describe it. But understanding the way we're going to maximize the work in this space. I mean, the excitement that I have about going across our function, the enterprise, about what are these hidden skills. How do we take, on the basis of roles, what people's skill sets are to be able to deliver across the organization? I think it's going to be a really exciting space, but that foundation work is key. And how do we have a system and the architecture set up to really get that information in there so that we can properly leverage it? Because I think our leaders and our business, they need it. And I don't know that we know how big that gap really is or how much opportunity we're leaving unexplored right now.

Colletto: Yeah. I always think about it as looking at, like, building a house. And it's so tempting to go decorate the living room first or, you know, all the shiny objects. But if that foundation is not stable and, and actually planful in what it's going to support longer term, we're going to end up kind of at some dead ends later on. And, you know, here in California, we have the Winchester Mystery House. We definitely don't want to build something like that. Thank you so much. Any other thoughts, insights, advice that you would give to folks that are just starting out?

Warren: I would say Workday's been a really good partner. We've appreciated the support that you and your team have provided to us. But what do they say? It takes a village, right? So from my lens, I'm looking at Workday. I mentioned ServiceNow. There's a whole suite of systems that we're having similar conversations with to create a consistent employee experience.

Warren:So I think that's the goal, right? Focus on data foundation. Engage your vendors. Encourage them to partner with you to work together towards that common goal of improved employee experience.

Colletto: I love it. Heidi and Dave, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate your time and the insight that you've shared. I think some of these topics are so valuable to HR practitioners around the world, and it's great to have the opportunity to really dig into them. We have been speaking here today with Heidi Groot and Dave Warren at Chevron. Remember to follow us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. And remember, you can find our entire catalog of podcasts at workday.com/podcasts. I'm your host, Katy Colletto, and I hope you have a great work day.