As unemployment surpasses record highs due to COVID-19, a group of leading companies from multiple industries has formed People + Work Connect, an employer-to-employer initiative that brings together companies laying off or furloughing people with those companies in urgent need of workers. There is no cost for employers to join and participate.
People + Work Connect was designed by CHROs from Accenture, Lincoln Financial Group, ServiceNow and Verizon — and Accenture built the platform. From idea to launch in just 14 business days, the initiative is rapidly attracting a range of companies.
To date, participating companies include ADM, Baxter, Blue Apron, Cargill, Frito-Lay, Lincoln Financial Group, Marriott, Mondelēz International, Nordstrom, ServiceNow, Walmart and Zenefits. Additionally, more than 250 companies are expected to onboard over the next week, and the platform will soon add public sector jobs.
People + Work has been able to quickly scale the participation of companies due to the invaluable support and commitment to help put people back to work from Business Roundtable, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies in the ILR School at Cornell University, Center for Executive Succession at the Darla Moore School of Business, Gallup and the CHRO Roundtable, HR Policy Association, Institute for Corporate Productivity, National Academy of Human Resources, Society for Human Resource Management and World50.
The business-to-business platform enables companies that are best positioned to rapidly share the experience and skills of their laid-off or furloughed workforces to connect at no cost with other companies on the platform that are seeking workers. The platform is global and cross-industry to maximize the ability to deploy people with similar skills in one industry into other industries where jobs are being created. Ultimately, this will shorten the complex, often lengthy cycle of unemployment for people. The analytics-driven platform pools non-confidential and aggregated workforce information by categories such as location and experience.
The CHROs who are leading People + Work Connect came together to create a collaborative, inclusive community to help put people back to work quickly in areas of new opportunity.
“By providing real-time visibility into which companies need people and where, People + Work Connect is designed to lessen the economic and societal impacts of the virus and help us work together to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people,” said Ellyn Shook, Accenture’s chief leadership and human resources officer.
“Life is filled with many moments that matter, including some that are tougher than others. People remember who shows up during those tough times to help them through,” said Lisa M. Buckingham, executive vice president and chief people, place and brand officer for Lincoln Financial Group. “A small group of CHROs came together because we share a passion for making sure that we—and the companies we represent — are remembered for addressing this tough moment with compassion and a sense of responsibility that transcends the business we do every day.”
Pat Wadors, chief talent officer at ServiceNow, said, “This crisis has created massive job loss and people need help finding work. By connecting companies that are hiring with a talented and available workforce, technology is truly acting in service of people. Working together, we can quickly make a meaningful impact on the people who need it most.”
“While the current pandemic has been the impetus for People + Work Connect, we expect this type of collaboration to become the norm going forward,” said Christy Pambianchi, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, Verizon. “Now is the time to build a more resilient workforce — for today and tomorrow.”
