Update, set and get ready!

On today’s edition of Up to Speed Live with host Raquel Wilson:

• Get the latest HR updates with CHRO Sam Hammock. 🆕
• Look back at our whirlwind week at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. 🏈
• Love is in the air this Valentine’s Day, and Verizon’s got the perfect gift idea. 💝

The latest and greatest from HR with Sam Hammock [1:46]

A great customer experience starts with a great employee experience. Sam – a regular guest star of Up To Speed and Verizon Chief Human Resources Officer – joined the show to share the latest HR investments to ensure the V Team can thrive at work and in life.

HR’s core pillars:

• Pillar 1 - Building a superior digital employee experience - Launching V Team Central and HR Answers was just the beginning. We’re now using AI and other digital tools to create a better employee experience.
• Pillar 2 - Strengthening Journey Forward - All about your career. Last year, we introduced Journey Forward. Now we’re:
  • Improving Talent GPS to dial up our internal mobility
  • Moving to a 5-point rating scale this year and deepening our focus on feedback.
  • Introducing more resources and tools for our leaders to elevate their skills, including our new leadership development program Raise the Bar.
• Pillar 3 - Deepening inclusion - Continuing to ensure Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are part of everything we do at Verizon
  • Continuing to drive access to opportunities for communities around us through Citizen Verizon.
• Pillar 4 - Activating Your Best You - Great resources to support mental, social, financial and physical well-being are now under the banner of Your Best You. Our recent investments include:
  • U.S. employees have Virgin Pulse as a one-stop well-being resource, with rollout to international planned in the coming months.
  • We introduced Secure Your Future so U.S. management employees can turn student loan repayments into long-term savings.
  • U.S. management V Teamers can save big on gyms, studios, and the best well-being apps through Gympass. Verizon recently stepped in to further subsidize memberships.

And there’s so much more in the works! In fact…

This year, we’re putting mental well-being first. [8:04]

🫶 On March 1, Spring Health will launch as our new U.S. partner for mental well-being and employee assistance. Through the platform, U.S. V Teamers will have:

• personalized resources,
• digital self-guided, self-care modules
• dedicated support through a care navigator, and
• six free counseling sessions, and six free coaching sessions for employees and their dependents every year,
• and an app to take care everywhere.

Check out our Your Best You monthly newsletter for all the well-being happenings and resources, and download the Inside Verizon app to receive weekly tips.

Management employees can stay up to speed through the #VTeam-Wellbeing Slack channel.

We’re evolving VZ Pulse to focus on action planning. [10:06]

VZPulse is our employee survey to voice thoughts and opinions on our business and V Team culture. Last week, Sam announced we’re evolving from quarterly VZPulse surveys to two per year – the VZPulse+ in 2Q and a check-in during 4Q in order to:

• Give the V Team breathing room to make more meaningful progress on creating a great employee experience
• Encourage V Teamersto provide feedback directly to managers and leaders, HRBPs whenever something is on our mind, and to offer feedback consistently.
• Make leaders responsible for connecting with their team on a continuous basis, and there will be more accountability to ensure we’re actioning on feedback.

👀 Read Sam’s full note on Inside Verizon.

WOW Connect [11:49]

In the fall, we piloted our WOW Connect program, the evolution of our legacy WOW program that allows us to serve even more participants with workshops, live conversations and Power Crews for peer-to-peer support. Our new season of WOW Connect is launching soon and we are continuing to deliver the program in partnership with our WAVE ERG, who have been pivotal in ensuring that the content serves the needs of the women of the V Team.

📌 Keep an eye out: Tomorrow, current WAVE members will receive an email to opt in for this next season of WOW Connect and be notified when enrollment opens on March 5. And if you’re not already a member, sign up for WAVE today to receive an email soon with WOW Connect program details and opt-in info. Space is limited, so act quickly!

2023 Year-End Reminders [13:20]

📅 Mark your calendars: The 2023 year-end process wraps up on February 21.

• Leaders: set aside dedicated time to discuss your team members’ 2023 performance and their goals for 2024.

• Everyone: update your career profile so you are ready for the continuing evolution of Talent GPS and all of the career initiatives that exist under Journey Forward.

Verizon scored a major touchdown at the Super Bowl. [14:29]

🏈 Kansas City may have won the game, but Verizon won the night. 🏆 On Friday, Up To Speed Live traveled to Vegas with host Jess Bonardi, joined by members of our local Test Force, retail teams and leaders Hans, Leslie, Kyle and Joe.

Our Super Bowl ad with the Queen herself was the talk of the town – and if you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check it out. In fact, Billboard and Rolling Stone named Verizon’s ad the #1 Super Bowl ad of 2024. 🐝

The Queen could break the internet, but she couldn’t break the Verizon network, which, on game day, saw a jaw-dropping amount of data use in and around Allegiant stadium – that’s to the tune of 52.34 TB! For reference, that’s the equivalent of playing HD video continuously for 3.3 years.

Data usage by Verizon customers was up 9.4% over the 47.8 TB used at Super Bowl 57 in 2023 and 70% of customers were using 5G UltraWideband, up from 63% last year. 📈

A few more Verizon Super Bowl highlights:

• An exciting LinkedIn Live where Hans, Joe, and Kyle spoke with Eli Manning, the New Head Coach of the Los Angeles Chargers Jim Harbaugh, and more
• Partnering with Goodr, a mobile Grocery Shop, to deliver groceries to those in need and surprising small businesses like Brauds Funnel Cake Cafe with the Small Business Digital Ready grant.
• Hosting exciting events at our Verizon Live takeover of the Jimmy Kimmel Comedy Club with celebrity guests from fan-favorite Netflix and HBO Max shows.
• Kansas City Chiefs RB, Isiah Pacheco, makes his first call to celebrate his SuperBowl victory thanks to Verizon. Check out this EPIC moment.
• Two Spanish-language ads running on Univision, one for our Total by Verizon brand and the other with J Balvin, who put our network to the test by sharing his number with fans across the globe!

Thank you to the Test Force for all their hard work prepping Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium. In fact, we caught up with one of our very own Test Force engineers, Brad Frank, who gave us a tour of Las Vegas and all the lasting improvements the team made to the city. Be sure to check it out!

A Verizon valentine’s idea, packed with value. [16:49]

💝 It’s that time of year again, and if you’re still searching for a wonderful gift for your Valentine, we’ve got a great suggestion.

📱 Everyone goes for chocolates and flowers, so how about you blow this holiday out of the park and surprise your special someone with the new iPhone 15 Pro with titanium, on us!

You can score this awesome deal with any iPhone trade in – any model, any condition – guaranteed with a new line on Unlimited Ultimate.

Plus, U.S. employees can definitely treat their loved ones right with plenty of last-minute deals through our perks at work employee discounts site.

Click here for a transcript of the webcast.

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