Serving our team, our customers, and our community through crisis

When we were putting our 2020 plan together, “global pandemic response” was neatly tucked away as part of our business continuity process documentation. Within a matter of days, however, shifting our business to a new work reality became a requirement—for us, for our customers, and for our communities.

Using our own software to coordinate and manage the collaboration and execution required to adapt to our new world of work, we have centered our response around three key areas:

• Team members—Prioritizing workplace safety and employee well-being.

• Customers—Ensuring service continuity on behalf of our customers.

• Community—Supporting our community in this time of need.

Here’s a bit more detail on the specific actions we have taken so far.

Supporting team members.

In her email to all team members early in this crisis, Workfront SVP of people and culture Laura Butler encouraged everyone to prioritize family and well-being as we navigate this new normal together. She emphasized the importance of finding balance and communicating regularly with leaders and teammates. 

Providing clear direction to team members on expectations reduces stress in trying times. Here are additional actions we’ve taken that reflect a put-your-own-oxygen-mask-on-first sentiment:

• Acting in advance of state and national leaders in transitioning to a remote workforce and cancelling travel. All employees have been offered Internet stipends to offset the additional cost of connecting from home.

• Transparency from the top. Following business continuity team calls with video updates from Workfront CEO Alex Shootman to keep all team members informed and connected, and honor our commitment to their safety.

• Communicating with our team members. Laura’s company-wide email emphasized Workfront’s commitment to self-care, flex time, and compassionate, people-first leadership. Her encouraging suggestions included:

  • Working from home does not require being online at all times. Set boundaries and sign off. Take care of yourself. 

  • No need to apologize for children and pets making appearances on your Zoom calls. We’re all in this together.

  • Consider changing any vacation plans to a staycation to recharge instead of cancelling and working through it. Time off is important.

  • Being in service to others can reduce stress and boost happiness. Consider using PTO hours to go shopping for an elderly neighbor or participate in other volunteer opportunities in your area.

• Advocating for mental health and connection. We have promoted our employee assistance program, made leaders available for drop-in Zoom conversations beyond one-on-ones, hosted virtual exercise classes, and more.    

Obsessing over customers.

Obsess over customers is a core value at Workfront—and it’s why our customers are top of mind as we navigate this uncertain time together by:

• Transforming our annual in-person user conferences in Orlando and London into one global Leap Virtual Conference—because we care about the health of our team members, our customers, and the communities we’d be visiting.

• Offering free consultation sessions to help our customers manage virtual work at scale. Customers can take advantage of unlimited Collaborator licenses to connect remote employees and teams, and our account teams have been given flexibility to offer expanded use of Workfront to support our customers through a crisis response. (Contact your account executive for details.)

• Communicating our business continuity plans with customers and team members, sharing how we leverage Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Google Cloud Platform (CGP) to manage critical systems worldwide and provide customers with secure, highly reliable access to our solutions.  

• Sharing best practices on digital, distributed, and borderless work based on our experience with over 3,000 global companies:

  • How to cultivate resilient leadership in times of crisis.

  • The importance of focusing on culture and technology to build connection and trust.

  • A curated collection of work management resources to help teams stay connected and achieve results, in the midst of upheaval.

  • A checklist for transitioning employees to remote work.

  • Conversations with customers who are adapting to remote work on the fly.

Lifting our community.

A strong sense of responsibility to be good global citizens drives us to address needs in our immediate environment—as well as those around the world—in several ways:

• Joined #StopTheSpread, “a coalition of volunteer CEOs working to unlock the collective potential of U.S. businesses to catalyze action and bolster the public sector in response to COVID-19,” including assisting in the production and distribution of high-quality ventilators and other supplies at scale.

• Hosted a virtual service project, inviting team members to record videos of hope and joy for children in the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Wishes Are Waiting program, who have seen their long-awaited wishes put on pause indefinitely during social distancing measures. 

• Boosted charitable efforts on Motivosity, giving team members the opportunity to donate to organizations that are close to their hearts, including: Make-A-Wish, Naomi House, Off the Fence, One Refuge, The Trussell Trust, Utah Food Bank, Utah Youth Village, and World Vision.

• For years, we had food trucks on our Lehi campus every Friday to treat our team members to lunch. We reallocated a portion of food truck funds to Utah Food Bank, which can convert every dollar donated to $7.34 in goods and services for the most vulnerable among us. And to support our local food service community, we’ve also paid stipends to the food trucks that have served us faithfully.

• Donated food savings from our international locations to several global organizations, including World Vision. 

Remembering resilience and committing to core values in times of crisis.

Humans are resilient—this is difficult to remember in the middle of a pandemic, but it’s been true throughout history. Our greatest challenges have brought about our greatest innovations, creative works of staggering genius, and opportunities to reconnect to ourselves, to each other, and to what’s most important in work and in life.

During this unprecedented era, we hope our team members, our customers, and our communities will summon resilience, determination, and positivity, and let their core values guide them through the difficult times ahead.