Disclaimer: These communications are intended for the employees of HB Global. We recognize that the general public will have access. The views expressed in these communications represent Bob Whalen in the context of HB Global and may not apply to broader audiences.
Our engagement survey just closed. It was a period of time for us to hear feedback from throughout the organization, and we are eagerly awaiting the results so that we can both celebrate and grow.
We didn’t just go through this exercise to check a box. We did it because we genuinely care about employee owner voices. We view all employee owners as partners, and we want everyone’s voice to be heard so that we can continue to improve.
At HB Global, we’re always looking to get a little bit better each day, both as an organization and through supporting individuals in their growth. That’s why we developed our Learn principle.
Our Learn Principle
“We are a learning organization. We are humble. We know what we know and recognize that we don’t know everything, so we strive to get a little bit better each day. We create an environment where employee owners are able to thrive in the areas that mean the most to them. Our culture encourages the growth of every individual in the organization, which supports the growth of the entire organization.”
Why This Is Important to Us
Our mission is to empower employee owners to make HB Global a great place to work and to create value. Being a learning organization helps us to fulfill this mission.
Let’s first focus on making HB Global a great place to work. Our Learn principle applies to both the organization as a whole and to each individual. We want to constantly improve as an organization in the resources we provide, the value we create, and the culture that we live, which help make HB Global a great place to work. Furthermore, we want to support the growth of individual employee owners by giving them educational and job opportunities to allow them to grow on the path they’re already on or explore new paths. This helps each employee owner feel fulfilled in their work.
The second part of our mission is to create value. When we focus on continuous improvement, we are better positioning ourselves to be able to create more value for the company, which translates to more value for employee owners. Learning may lead to new skills that make us more efficient, new perspectives that help us better serve customers, and more.
Furthermore, when we create a learning environment, we are able to feel more comfortable asking for and receiving both help and feedback. We recognize and accept that none of us is perfect, and so our interactions lead with support rather than ego.
What This Means at HB Global
As a company, we are constantly looking to improve. We’re always looking to grow in the resources we offer, the processes we have in place, the ways we support leadership development, and more. We also recognize that we aren’t perfect as an organization which is why we solicit feedback both on an informal basis and in more formal ways, such as the engagement survey. On an individual level, we also recognize that the feedback we receive is meant to help us grow, not as something to be taken personally.
As it relates to each employee owner, we want to have people on our teams who are motivated to learn and get a little bit better each day. Ultimately, we are each accountable for our own growth journeys. There are habits we can apply each day to improve, such as listening to podcasts, reading books, learning from peers, exploring new skills, and more.
While each employee owner has agency over their growth, we want to support that growth journey. We strive to provide learning opportunities through formal programs, such as PAVE, HBU, and BetterUp coaching, and we also want to provide on-the-job learning opportunities. Our goal is to ultimately help employee owners thrive in the areas most meaningful to them, whether that’s furthering knowledge in an area they already know or learning new skills and areas of the trade.
How We Live This Principle
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Colin Fullmer provided an example of how a willingness to learn was able to open up new opportunities for a new hire, which ultimately allowed us as an organization to grow and improve as well:
“Alex Fuentes originally interviewed for an Electrician position with HB Home Services. During the interview process, it became clear that Alex embodied many of the core values that are fundamental to our culture, including a strong work ethic, humility, love of working with a growing team, and a genuine desire to learn and grow.
At the time, our business needs did not support adding another electrician to the team due to call volume and workload demands in that department. However, we recognized Alex’s potential and believed he could have a successful future with our organization. We approached him with an opportunity to transition into the HVAC field, and without hesitation, Alex embraced the challenge. He was incredibly grateful for the chance to learn a new trade and build a career with HB Home Services.
Over the past six months, Alex’s growth has been nothing short of remarkable. Through his willingness to learn, dedication to continuous improvement, and commitment to delivering exceptional customer service, he has developed into one of the highest-grossing technicians in the division. In addition to his impressive production numbers, Alex has earned a significant number of positive customer reviews, reflecting the trust and confidence he builds with homeowners on every call.”
This Principle and Our Core Values
While the Learn principle most directly relates to Growth, it goes hand-in-hand with each of our core values.
Trust
When each of us embraces a learning mindset, we are better able to trust each other. When we embody the mindset that none of us knows everything, we can trust that, as a team, we’ll be open and set our egos aside to come to the best results and decisions.
Team
When each employee owner is willing to be accountable for getting a little bit better each day, it ultimately makes our teams stronger. We can support and challenge each other to stretch our learning and embrace new opportunities.
Grit
Learning can be a gritty process. It can be tough to try something new and expand out of our comfort zone. We need grit to make it through this initial challenging period and to the other side of becoming an expert in any particular area.
Growth
An obvious connection but worth stating nonetheless, learning helps both individuals and our organization as a whole to grow.
Learning takes place in all shapes and forms. Our goal at HB Global is to always support that both directly and indirectly.
Have your own thoughts or questions about the HB Global Learn principle? Send them to [email protected].