No company can escape the fatigue that creeps in during long meetings. But at enterprise software company ServiceNow, there’s a secret weapon to combat this.
“We have a successful consultant who is part of our sales organization but is also a yoga master,” explains Christine Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer, VP of AMS solution consulting. “So when we have a long meeting and people are tired, we say, ‘Hey Barbara, can you go to the top of the screen?’ And we’ll have a five-minute yoga break for the entire organization.”
Barbara’s growing excellence isn’t incidental to her work, but ServiceNow still takes time to celebrate it — and she’s not the only one.
“We have people in the company who are hobbyist photographers who bring their cameras to sales kickoffs, take pictures because it’s fun for them and others – and we use those pictures in our collages and social content,” Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer said. “It feeds their soul — it’s part of who they are.”
Ultimately, this is what “Living your best life” means at ServiceNow: Making sure employees are feeding all parts of their soul. Dedication to this maxim allows the company’s employees to feel comfortable being their true selves at work — in a way many of them haven’t experienced in previous jobs.
“I introduced my daughter to a woman on our solution consulting team in DC who came from one of the top consulting firms,” Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer said. “And he said to my daughter, ‘I can really handle myself here.’ We assigned her to an innovative new client and showed her through new-hire training and she’s killing it — a bundle of infectious energy.”
Unbelievably, this passionate salesperson was told to slow his roll and calm down at his old company – they thought his enthusiasm was hardly professional. At ServiceNow, his enthusiasm is recognized as a positive, and when shown, is viewed as magic.
If you can’t be fulfilled, how can you contribute to your company’s culture?”
“The culture at this company is to take people’s uniqueness, their superpowers — who they are at their core — and figure out how to elevate them for their benefit and the company’s benefit,” Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer said.
Through a dedicated company-wide wellness day, team efforts in employee engagement and a culture that encourages people to engage in what keeps them happy and healthy, ServiceNow strives to help its people to live their best lives, in and out of the workplace. This in turn causes them to be more focused on their jobs.
“If you’re not fulfilled, and you don’t feel empowered to enjoy your life, how can you contribute to your company’s culture?” said Angela Brownlee, Senior Manager of Digital Sales. “And that translates to the customer. It’s all interconnected — you’re a direct representation of your company, so you have to take care of yourself and that will show in your work.”
Time Off
Both Brownlee and Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer cite ServiceNow’s wellness days as a way the company enables employees to live their best lives. These are days off for the entire company, strategically placed to extend a weekend or provide breaks at the most efficient times.
“I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate having Friday off and having a great long weekend. Sometimes you just need to unplug and have a four day work week. I really appreciate the thoughtful intention behind it – quality of life top of mind brings positivity and increased productivity,” said Brownlee.
“It’s different from a day off,” Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer added. “You don’t have pressure to go online, because everyone else is also off. You can get to that project you’ve been planning or take that four-day trip you’ve been wanting without feeling guilty.”
During the past few days of the event, some of the ServiceNow employees enjoyed entertainment or went for a walk, while others got together and played a round of golf. However, Brownlee had a quieter day.
“My little rescue dog, Sadie, is almost 13 years old, and likes to sleep late after basking in the sun after breakfast,” Brownlee said. “So instead of waking her up early for a walk, as I usually do on a normal work day, Sadie is able to wake up at her leisure, then bask in the sun in our backyard while I sip my morning coffee and soak. a few days myself.”
While his friends and family at other jobs began their workdays, Brownlee relaxed comfortably in his yard, appreciating the extra quality time this particular day of well-being afforded him and Sadie. On a Friday morning like that, knowing that the entire long weekend still lies ahead, it’s hard to imagine that Brownlee won’t be refreshed come Monday.
Time to
However, feeding one’s soul does not stop when the work clock starts. In fact, ServiceNow’s employee engagement team is fully committed to ensuring that its employees have opportunities to engage in group activities with co-workers who share their interests. Recently, there has been a challenge in moving across the sales org.
“The leadership team got the entire organization moving together, tracking everyone’s steps and goals,” Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer said. “And they have a channel of online teams called ‘live your best life’ which allows us to create a community around it – we can see what people are doing to stay healthy.”
At the end of the challenge, management proudly presented the results in a series of slides. The unique graphics showed that ServiceNow employees collectively walked nearly the circumference of the world and burned over a thousand Big Macs worth of calories. “Isn’t that hysterical?” asked Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer. One slide is filled with photos of smiling employees on bikes or walking, screenshots of maps tracing incredible distances, and beautiful views.
Whether an employee enjoys a variety of activities, whether it’s physically engaging or more mentally focused, and anything in between, there are all kinds of options to choose from. ServiceNow has indoor games, book clubs and outdoor events like charity golf tournaments. There are also ways to get involved in the community, including office-wide volunteer efforts and team-specific activities. Individuals are also empowered to apply company-sponsored volunteer hours in their preferred way to give back to the community.
“We recognize that there are several ways to interact with others, so we’re always looking for creative ways to offer a little bit of everything,” Brownlee said. “When talking to candidates, it’s always exciting to see what they include on their resume that shows their own personal interests in addition to software sales. We can all contribute different ideas and efforts that will help create a dynamic employee experience.”
As someone who is passionate about health and wellness herself, Brownlee is ready to sign up for the next health event to be announced.
Service through Software:
- Brownlee: “In a previous role at a tech company I worked for, I would work with ServiceNow customers — and the conversation was always about how to make things work with ServiceNow, rather than replace it. Doing everything with the customer in mind, has always been important to me, so being a part of a company with that pillar is very rewarding”
- Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer: “If you work for a car company and make cars, that’s cool — but maybe not as cool as helping soldiers stay connected to their families through work flow, or connecting with patients to their nurses in their hospital rooms and saving lives. Our software is doing good in the world. That’s what feeds me every day. We make people’s everyday lives better and better. It’s more than any other software company can do— it’s crazy sauce.”
Good weather
Ehrenberger-Stegmeyer has worked at several large tech companies in her decades of experience, so she can see the difference ServiceNow’s culture makes in its employees’ attitude to work.
“Take the example of our very early-career consultant. He sells as much software as any more experienced consultant. We didn’t just put him in front of customers because we knew that was his strength, put we also have him at our new hire boot camp to get them excited about their new job and company. His passion fuels the way we build momentum, for the entire organization.”
That new hire boot camp is part of ServiceNow’s excellent onboarding program. It uses the company’s own software to track every step of the onboarding process, and effective training and mentorship means new hires can quickly gain knowledge of the software and build community. Because that knowledge can be learned, ServiceNow can focus its hiring on motivated people with unique strengths and helping them find their business voice.
Life comes first, and then work follows.”
“We touch people’s lives in so many different ways,” Brownlee said. “Our CEO talks about the number of ways we’re impacting businesses today, but also how we’re working to impact our employees and their experience. ”
“Living Your Best Life” can be seen in many ways and places, but each aspect of it serves the same purpose. Whether you’re leading a yoga session during a meeting, performing a song about your internship or sitting outside with a hot coffee and a happy pet, the ServiceNow team wants you to feed your soul.
