Kodak Snapshots

Workforce, June, 2000 by Caroline Louise Cole

She also encourages High to publicize her successes. "Don't underestimate the value of telling stories, what exactly you are doing to attract top talent," Britt says, pointing out that a manager in a key position in Singapore was offered special travel and vacation allowances so she could spend time with her husband and child. "The stories are what people remember."

Britt excuses herself for a private meeting, sending me off to lunch with Greg Giles, her senior human resource manager for consumer imaging.

1 p.m.

Salad in hand, Britt is back in her office to meet with Paula Dolan, the company's director of worldwide compensation. Dolan has come by because she needs something from Britt, specifically her comments on a new stock ownership plan being offered as performance-based compensation for exempt non-management employees.

Britt notes that this type of bonus system is relatively new at Kodak and is part of an effort to align Kodak with high-flying "Silicon Valley dot-coms." Although Britt protests that her recommendations are not as complete as she would like, given her newness in the job, Dolan is delighted with her effort, pointing out that several veterans haven't yet gotten the hang of this reward program.

2 p.m.

After taking a few minutes to listen to her voice mails that have accumulated during the morning, Britt is off to a roundtable discussion with eight members of her human resource staff. They have signed up to talk about their jobs and to hear about company initiatives. Because Britt is new in the position, the man whom she replaced, Bob Berman, joins her as a co-facilitator. Berman, now the human resources director for global operations, brings with him that broader perspective. Also present are two members of the human resources education team, two secretaries, and four human resources managers.

Berman begins the session by tackling the prickly topic of employee advocacy on the part of human resource managers. He argues that HR staff can serve as important intermediaries, bringing employee concerns to top management. They also can intercede before a problem becomes a crisis.

The challenge, notes Jody Dietz, a senior educational consultant, is gaining an employee's trust that his or her concerns will be held in confidence. "We are not lawyers, but we can create a model, for instance, showing that it is just as important to return a call from an employee as a manager," she says.

Dietz also talks about her visit to a high-tech company, which gave her a new appreciation for what could be done to improve Kodak's workforce. "I saw a lot of energy and creativity, a place where the word failure is not considered a bad thing."

Asked about her plans for hiring a new diversity director, Britt replies that she is looking for someone with global experience.

The session ends with brainstorming ways to encourage more members of the human resources team to sign up for the roundtables, among them improving the visibility of HR News, which is published on the company's intranet.