HR in WarAT&T’s six-point plan to help Israeli employees in wartime
HR in War
AT&T’s six-point plan to help Israeli employees in wartime
The company's Israel-based R&D Center has more than 500 employees it needs to help, as the company adopts COVID-era policies to handle the war with Hamas.
“As a company with 500 employees, we do our best to make sure each of them is safe and is doing as well as possible under the circumstances,” said Ella Shelef-Aharoni, Head of People & Culture, AT&T Israel R&D Center. “There is a fine line between keeping a work routine and seeing if an employee needs some space and help. This is true for our employees, as well as for the families of our employees who were called up to their army units.”
HR in War explores how companies in Israel are adapting in unusual times. CTech believes the world should know about the atrocities committed on 7/10 while also highlighting the continued resolve and resistance of the Israeli tech ecosystem.
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Ella Shelef-Aharoni, Head of People & Culture, AT&T Israel R&D Center
(Photo: Nadav Karlinski)
Company name: AT&T Israel R&D Center
Your name and title: Ella Shelef-Aharoni, Head of People & Culture, AT&T Israel R&D Center
Names of founders and upper management: Rinat Zilberstein, Global VP R&D, CEO of AT&T Israel R&D Center
Field of activity: Technology & Communications
Number of employees: ~500
Office location: Airport City, Lod, and ToHa building, Tel Aviv
On a scale of 1-10, how much did the war disrupt operations at the company?
Three. While we have employees who were called up to reserve at an early stage and the natural shock and hardship we all experienced, our employees were able to constantly meet their commitments in a way that was, honestly, admirable. I think we are now seeing the Israeli resilience that we have been talking about for years.
While different team members are away for reserve duty or volunteering work, others stepped up and compromised making sure we have full business continuity. I truly believe that people are really seeking these days to go the extra mile to help others. Each individual finds the way in a different path. I also think that the desire to stay busy as much as possible helped to balance things around.
We have the experience from the COVID era, where we learned how to work from home, including people with children who are studying remotely. We provide an array of solutions and let our employees work as much as they can under the circumstances. We offer help to those parents who need it while helping and covering for those who can’t work as much as they wish due to the situation.
What consequences have you experienced from these disruptions?
The main consequence was that in the first two weeks, we were focused only on the urgent things not spending time at all on strategic initiatives we were leading as we wanted to be in full focus. This week we flipped the page and got back to managing both which is our new war routine.
We are lucky to have great global leadership our safety and well-being are their prime focus. Yet, our people went above and beyond to continuously reach our deliverable deadlines.
What are the two major challenges you are coping with these days?
As a company with ~500 employees, we do our best to make sure each of them is safe and is doing as well as possible under the circumstances. There is a fine line between keeping a work routine and seeing if an employee needs some space and help. This is true for our employees, as well as for the families of our employees who were called up to their army units.
As one does in times of emergency, we tend to focus on the here and now. However, October-November is traditionally the time when we engage in next year’s planning, products, budgets, and more. Naturally, it is harder to do under these circumstances, yet we’ve reached sort of a “war routine” that allows us to look ahead and plan for next year.
What support do you provide to employees?
1. The first layer is to stay in close contact with each employee and understand their situation and needs daily. Each person reacts differently, and understanding some employees are having a more difficult time than others is the first step. We keep the balance and do not push on deliverables seeing an employee is struggling, rather offer help and find ways to cover for them. For that, we have daily management meetings and regular talks between each individual and their manager and HR.
2. We offer a service of discreet mental support for employees, given on short notice when needed. This service is provided by professionals and available for employees and their family members. On top of that, we have five trained psychologists who provide help and training for leadership and managers to give tools and ways to help their team members, while keeping a healthy workflow.
3. AT&T has a relief fund available to all employees impacted by the situation in one way or another. On top of that, the company’s global leadership has donated a hefty sum to Israeli non-profits and holds an employee donation campaign with a 50% matching offer.
4. Going back to some of our COVID activities, we have lessons and workshops for our employees’ kids, given by our employees for all range of ages. This gives the parents some relief and a chance to work in peace.
5. We stand in close contact with our employees who were called up and help them with what is needed. Our employees donated thousands of shekels to provide food and equipment to our soldiers’ units.
A) We are also in regular contact with the families of these employees, as well as employees who have a close family member serving in the army or reserve. We send them weekly care packages for them and the kids to show them love and support.
6. Our employees volunteer in many activities, many are initiated by them and some by us. As a company, we are facilitators of their initiatives and try to help, including diverting company funds towards them:
A) For a while, our company has been in close contact with "Neve Hanna" boarding school in the south, which educates kids ages 6-18, and for some of them, it’s a "safe haven", after being taken out from their homes by the social services. Since the war started, we arranged for much-needed clothes donations, classes and activities, food, and more.
B) We also donated to them and other kids who were forced out of their houses in the south laptops which we cleared and prepared for them.
Do you have employees with foreign citizenship who asked to work from another country? If so, has movement been requested/approved?
14 employees got approval to work from abroad.
How do you communicate the situation to customers? Do you see hostility or support?
From day one we have been in close contact with our counterparts in the U.S., as well as the company’s global leadership, which are all showing us nothing but support. We also communicated the situation to our employees overseas, and there too the support is overwhelming.
In the event employees feel they encounter hostility, how do you guide them to respond to the situation?
We keep close contact with all our employees, and we will offer help if one of them raises the issue. As a large company, we have employees from all religions, races, and beliefs. We managed to work together professionally without letting the situation come between us.
