Nurturing Workplace Transparency!
Human resources professionals are at the center as companies increasingly prioritize cultural and operational transformations to enhance employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and safety performance. This evolution reflects a deeper understanding of the crucial link between an inclusive workplace culture and overall business performance. Modern HR practices focus on cultivating transparency, diversity, and continuous development by creating environments where employees feel valued and empowered, ultimately driving better outcomes for the organization.
Diana Sorfleet, an Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, is a leading figure in this transformation. With an extensive background in human resources, she has dedicated her career to implementing meaningful cultural and operational changes within organizations. Her initiatives, such as the cultural transformation project ONE CSX and the OnTRACK 24: Here SHE Grows women’s leadership development program, underscore her commitment to creating inclusive environments and improving service delivery. Diana’s approach emphasizes the importance of transparency, feedback, and investment in employee development.
CSX, where Diana holds her executive position, demonstrates how a company can harness the power of human resources to achieve its strategic goals. The company has made substantial strides in building a supportive and collaborative workplace culture through robust internal communication and mentorship programs.
By aligning technological advancements with cultural transformation and employee development, CSX ensures its workforce is equipped with the necessary tools and support. This approach nurtures talent and strengthens the company’s ability to maintain its leadership in the rail industry while continuously improving service delivery.
Let’s explore how Diana is transforming human resources for modern organizations:
Driving Transformation in Human Resources
Diana has an extensive background in human resources, which led her to pursue a career in executive management. Her passion is driving cultural and operational transformation within organizations, as she believes this leads to a more engaged workforce and better customer outcomes.
Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to creating inclusive environments and improving safety and service delivery. Working in executive management allows her to have a significant impact on the company and on the lives of the people who work there.
Guiding Cultural Transformation in the Workplace
One of the major projects that Diana is helping to lead is the cultural transformation at CSX, known as ONE CSX. The initiative is all about building a workplace culture based on mutual respect and collaboration among employees. The CSX team is focused on increasing transparency, actively seeking feedback from employees, and making significant investments in employee development as well as diversity and inclusion programs.
She is also very proud of the OnTRACK 24: Here SHE Grows women’s leadership development program. This initiative is designed to help women at the company grow in their careers through a series of events designed to build a community of trust and support. The program kicked off this year and is already showing promise.
Aligning Business Objectives Across Functions
As EVP and Chief Administrative Officer, Diana focuses on aligning business objectives across different functions by developing and supporting CSX’s strategic vision. This vision aims to deliver a better customer experience, leverage technology for transformation, and create a workplace culture where every employee feels valued, included, appreciated, and respected.
She is also a strong advocate for investing in employee development initiatives and regularly spearheads pulse surveys to gauge employee sentiment. The more the company can take care of its people and ensure they have the tools and skills they need, the more successfully it will achieve its business objectives.
Enriching a Culture of Teamwork and Respect
According to her, effective collaboration and communication between departments are critical to the success of any company. To accomplish that, Diana focuses on fostering a culture of mutual respect and teamwork. That is what ONE CSX was designed to do. Through that initiative, the aim is to create a work environment where everyone feels empowered to work together towards shared goals. She also emphasizes transparency in decision-making processes and actively seeks input from employees through informal meetings and outreach.
CSX employs several strategies to facilitate this process. They have business resource groups, skip-level meetings, company-wide town hall meetings, and functional area meetings to promote face-to-face interaction. Additionally, their robust internal communications enable them to conduct webcasts and share video content across their teams. There is a continual flow of information and conversations to ensure their team members receive the resources they need to perform their jobs effectively and grow professionally.
Improving Customer Interactions through Technology
When it comes to integrating technology, Diana focuses on using its ability to enhance services, streamline processes, and make interactions easier. At the same time, she ensures that the focus remains on their people and facilities by aligning technological advancements with their cultural transformation goals and employee development initiatives.
Sustaining Performance in the Rail Industry
One of the challenges that Diana and the CSX team face is demonstrating to customers that they can consistently deliver the level of service they demand. They have made significant progress and are providing the best service in the rail industry, but it’s important that they demonstrate they can sustain their performance and continue to improve.
They are also focused on continuing to improve the labor-management relationship that is essential to delivering great service. Here, they have made excellent progress, but she believes there’s more work to be done.
Diana explained, “CSX has made significant improvements over the past few years. We now provide paid sick days to union-represented employees. Additionally, our new attendance policy for frontline employees offers a more flexible approach that builds trust and rewards improvement. We host regular town halls to strengthen two-way communication, deliver leadership training to enhance manager-employee interactions, and organize carnival-style family day celebrations and NASCAR events to recognize our employees’ contributions to our success. Survey data and general workplace sentiment show notable improvements in the workplace experience, but we know that there is still room for improvement as we work to address the needs of our employees.”
Empowering Women in Leadership Roles
When it comes to talent development and succession planning, Diana fully supports substantial investments in employee development initiatives and diversity and inclusion programs.
She is also a strong advocate for mentorship. In her view, mentorship is key to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and ensuring that employees feel valued and included. That’s why she spearheaded the development of the CSX OnTRACK 24: Here SHE Grows women’s leadership development program.
By providing training and support to help more women ascend to leadership roles, the company benefits from a deeper, more diverse talent pipeline. Having a variety of voices and perspectives strengthens the company and enhances their ability to navigate changing business landscapes.
CSX offers a range of internships and multiple development programs, along with active business resource groups. Informal mentoring is also encouraged. Despite the influx of new employee’s post-pandemic, their average employee boasts 14 years of service, meaning there is a wealth of wisdom that can be shared with newer team members. This is especially critical in an environment where safety protocols are paramount.
Additionally, their performance management process plays a crucial role in identifying and nurturing talent. It ensures that employees’ goals are aligned with the company’s objectives, providing regular feedback and opportunities for growth. This comprehensive approach helps them develop well-rounded leaders who are prepared to sustain CSX’s success in the future.
Leading by Example in Continuous Improvement
In her opinion, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability starts with leading by example. She values transparency and supports learning and growth for all employees.
She believes in the importance of listening to employees, making meaningful changes based on their feedback, and showing respect and value for each person’s role. This approach helps create an environment where everyone feels motivated to perform their best and adapt to new challenges.
Investing in Employee Development for Success
The main goals for CSX are to grow the business by winning new customers and encouraging existing customers to ship more freight by rail instead of by truck. This vision is backed by three key strategies: delivering a better customer experience, leveraging technology for transformation, and building a positive workplace culture. For Diana, in her leadership role, the imperative here is simple: invest in the team. Effective recruitment, strong learning and development curricula, and effective diversity and inclusion programs are top priorities.
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