TECH

A Blockbuster history lesson

Think back to the ’90s: Spice Girls, Beanie Babies, the Macarena, trips to the local Blockbuster Video to rent a VHS on a Friday night. While some things never had a chance to stand the test of time, Blockbuster might have had a better shot, if its leadership made some different choices, according to one former exec.

The Society of Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) president and CEO, Johnny C. Taylor Jr., told HR Brew he got his start in the world of HR—at the ripe age of 26 years old—after being named the video rental company’s VP of HR.

“Even now that I’m CEO of SHRM, it was my favorite job, because the culture there [was] so clear about who we were, the types of people who work there,” Taylor said. “Everyone wanted to work there, and it was intentionally a fun company.”

But Taylor said that at Blockbuster, the prevailing opinion was that technology was not a threat to the business. Fiercely competitive in the movie rental landscape, execs were laser-focused on selecting the best locations for their brick-and-mortar stores, hiring the right staff, and curating that signature customer experience many still remember today. (If you breathe in right now, I bet you could recall the Blockbuster smell.)

Keep reading here.—AD

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HR STRATEGY

Employees take flight

“When we say, ‘We’re people first,’ it’s easy to say, [but] it’s hard to do.”

That’s what Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, told a crowded room at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 10.

Like most airlines, Delta experienced a major downturn after 9/11 that led to restructuring and layoffs. He explained how Delta bounced back and created an employee-first company culture by listening to and sharing successes with its frontline workers.

During that time, he said the company began gathering up to 300 employees at a time for listening sessions. Nearly 20 years later, the listening sessions, dubbed “Velvet,” still happen, and Bastian said they’re key to Delta’s company culture.

Keep reading here.—KP

COWORKING

Coworking with Kristen Shanley

Here’s this week’s edition of our Coworking series. Each week, we chat 1:1 with an HR Brew reader. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

With a background in health and benefits consulting, Kristen Shanley initially joined Cerberus Capital Management because she felt it was the right mix of opportunity for growth in the HR field and the challenge of a fast-paced environment, but she was also drawn to its people and culture. Originally hired to oversee benefits and employee engagement, Shanley said her passion for DE&I and corporate social responsibility (CSR) led her to the work she’s doing today, solidifying the culture that she and her colleagues love about the firm.

It didn’t take long for Shanley to start shaping a more formalized DE&I and CSR strategy for the company, so it was a natural next step for her to lead the work at Cerberus.

From an HR lens, Shanley said it’s belonging that leads to better retention, engagement, and performance outcomes, and for an investment firm, performance matters.

What’s the best change you’ve made at work?

Since joining the firm, I have launched Women @ Cerberus, a professional development and networking platform to support women across our global firm. Women @ Cerberus is providing a global community for our female colleagues through a variety of initiatives, including leadership workshops, mentorship, networking events, volunteerism in support of young women and girls in the community, and access to bespoke executive coaching. The connectivity and growth opportunities offered by this program play a key role in allowing us to attract, retain, support, and advance strong female talent.

Keep reading here.—AD

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