07/02/2024

Transforming workplace culture through our people

JELD-WEN is creating the conditions for success in its workplace culture. At the heart of this change are 300 dedicated employeeswho inspire foundational traits such as trust, transparency, respect and accountability. Meet a few of them and see how they're inspiring a new way of working at JELD-WEN.

At JELD-WEN, understanding and shaping workplace culture is much more than a theoretical exercise. With several locations in various countries and regions, it is important to connect and engage through each location’s distinct personality, such as preferred languages, customs and norms. From differences in communication styles to varied beliefs and competing priorities, building a cultural framework is complex. However, the core purpose remains the same: producing quality windows, doors and other building materials with an approach that’s informed by our values-led culture.

JELD-WEN CEO Bill Christensen and EVP and Chief Communications and Human Resources Officer Wendy Livingston routinely emphasize their commitment to transformation, steering JELD-WEN back to embracing the "golden rule" to treat others as you would like to be treated. This principle supports a values-based culture that resonates well with the sentiments expressed by associates in an internal survey and internal meetings.

Despite widespread agreement on the importance of a values-driven culture, change isn't straightforward. It's a complex, multi-year journey that involves the collective effort of JELD-WEN’s associates. Central to this transformation is the associates who are committed to culture change as an effective pathway toward improved performance and business value.

Meet the people inspiring change

About 300 JELD-WEN employees have been identified to bring forth a new, better workplace culture. They were recognized for their trustworthiness, influential capacity and alignment with the company's core values. The group is tasked with a special purpose: to model and inspire the behaviors and values crucial to the organization’s success.

These associates, spread across five departments and eight locations throughout the company, are instrumental in building values-based micro-communities within the company. Their roles involve cutting through cultural differences and focusing on key people priorities, such as safety and collaboration.

By modeling desired behaviors and demonstrating the company’s values, these change agents play a pivotal role in accelerating cultural change and creating healthy networks where associates are encouraged to share ideas, provide honest feedback and drive innovation.

Through them, more than 20 innovations were tested in Spring 2024, supporting the values-drive principles of trust and transparency. These test-and-learn strategies were deployed locally and submitted for enterprise-level adoption, giving employees at every level the tools to transform how the company influences culture at JELD-WEN.