At Leggett & Platt, we are committed to building a culture of belonging and workplaces where everyone feels that they are accepted for who they are and for what they bring to L&P.
To help us accomplish this, we launched our People First learning series, which is designed to enhance our leadership skills and strengthen inclusion by putting people first—our first company value. After a successful launch in the U.S., we’re excited to announce that People First will be rolled out to our international teams starting this summer.
We are confident that this multi-year, four-module series will help us promote great relationships within our teams at L&P. The first module — INCLUDE — helps us build inclusion in our workplaces by teaching us how to discover commonalities with our coworkers, ensure everyone feels valued and respected, and inspire confidence in one another.
To help facilitate conversations around what these habits look like at work, we created a People First Champion Network. Our People First Champions are L&P leaders who host local conservations with their co-workers to discuss how we work together and how we can make our workplaces better.
We invited a few of our People First Champions to share their experience with the learning series.
“Creating a safe space for different opinions and open dialogue”
The People First learning series is important because it gives everyone a voice. No matter what department you work in, what position you hold, or how many years you’ve been working at L&P, this series provides essential tools to help everyone feel heard and accepted. If we can become better individuals in our workplaces, we can become stronger teams.
Since starting People First at my branch, I’ve seen a positive impact on our communication. We are seeing the benefits of recognizing each other’s strengths and using words of encouragement and affirmation.
We’ve also learned how some of us work differently. Whether this is how each one of us approaches a project, assists customers, or troubleshoots an issue, we have all grown in understanding that we have individual methods that help us thrive. Creating a safe space for different opinions and open dialogue has greatly benefited our daily work.
Abby McWilliams, Administrative Assistant
“We build better teams by developing better relationships”
I think that learning about People First is important because it shows employees that supporting each other and listening to different viewpoints improves teamwork and collaboration. We build better teams by developing better relationships. It also makes us aware that it‘s ok that we are different, and that by sharing certain behaviors, we can thrive and reach higher levels of performance and productivity.
I think that People First actions fit nicely in our branch and reinforce common behaviors that we have developed over the years at Gribetz International. I have been with Gribetz for a while now, and I’m confident management is committed to building an inclusive environment and making People First work. There is a reason why the word “International” is a part of our company name—more than half of our workforce comes from a place other than the U.S., so I think this initiative sends the right message, and it is something we can all relate to.
Jorge Lozan, Facilitator
“Issues are resolved in a much more collaborative manner”
Our meetings are allowing us to have open and safe dialogue and helping establish basic guidelines that can be summarized as “treat people with respect and the way you would expect to be treated.”
The meeting formats have made interactions between team members more positive and have improved tolerance and understanding. When problems arise, the issues are resolved in a much more collaborative manner.
Everyone should get the opportunity to contribute and should know that they are an important part of our team. Inclusion creates a more dynamic and friendly work environment for everyone, and having everyone’s contributions makes us better.
Mike Dock, General Superintendent
“These techniques have brought me closer to my crew”
These conversations remind us that, if you include people in daily conversations, diversify team settings for better results, and treat people fairly with equal chances for advancement and promotion, everyone will benefit. This sounds basic, but in the sometimes-hectic world we live and work in, these simple and effective approaches are easily overlooked.
These techniques have brought me closer to my crew, and I believe they are more comfortable coming to me with issues and ideas to improve our workplace. I feel that the first conversations we’ve had have already led to greater communication in our branch.
Perry Lobitz, Production Supervisor