Keeping people employed through People + Work Connect

In order to keep people employed amidst the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, a group of global companies from multiple industries has formed People + Work Connect. It is an employer-to-employer initiative that brings together companies laying off or furloughing people with those companies in urgent need of workers.

With no cost for employers to join and participate, People + Work Connect was designed by chief human resources officers (CHROs) from Accenture, Lincoln Financial Group, ServiceNow and Verizon, while Accenture built the platform. From idea to launch in 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. Going forward, more than 250 companies are expected to onboard over the next week, and the platform will soon add public sector jobs.

Also read: Foodpreneur says our people need us the most now

“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,” explained Ellyn Shook, Accenture’s chief leadership and human resources officer.

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.

“As large companies in many industries had to start letting people go due to the impacts of COVID-19, CHROs from all over the world started checking in with me to find out who was hiring, beyond the obvious industries like essential retail and healthcare services. There was no central place you could go to find out, and the People + Work Connect is now that place,” said Larry Emond, managing director, Gallup and the CHRO Roundtable.

The platform is global and cross-industry to maximise 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.

On behalf of Walmart, chief people officer, stated, “Walmart is committed to helping put Americans to work, while also helping better serve our customers during this unprecedented time. We’ve set a goal to hire 150,000 new associates by the end of May and right now we’re adding 5,000 people every day. We’re thrilled to be a part of People + Work Connect to help us continue finding great talent to add to our team.”

“As one of the world’s leading food companies, we’re playing an important role in maintaining food supply. Our top priority is caring for our employees while creating a strong workforce to serve our customers and consumers in these times of need. With increased demand, we’re looking to reach potential workers displaced from their roles and believe this unique partnership will help us fast-track that process to the benefit of all those involved,” added Paulette Alviti, executive vice president and chief people officer, Mondelēz International.

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