Meet Jacqueline Scafidi
Employee Experience Specialist, Zurich North America
Jacqueline Scafidi is on a team that leads company efforts which examine and evolve the employee experience in the workplace. Through her role with Zurich North America, she takes a human-centered approach towards recognition and rewards, volunteering, and targeted ways to engage employees in their work environment. She began with her current team in 2010, when Zurich invested in a growing team dedicated to community investment and the full employee experience. Jacqueline finds fulfillment in contributing to creative workplaces that engage a diverse set of thoughts and strategies, and has a passion to provide an approachable and distinct service experience for the customer and fellow colleagues.
Her previous career incarnation included production stage management with the Chicago theatre community. Jacqueline was a graduate of Knox College in Galesburg, IL and feels love and support from her spouse, children, family and friends.
Let’s take a moment to recognize Jacqueline
We want to take a moment to recognize Jacqueline for her accomplishments in employee engagement. Below, she answers a series of questions, providing advice for fellow HR professionals and sharing her personal story.
1. What interested you in a career in HR?
I’ve always had an interest in the study and behavior of people. What influences our choices and our behaviors? What intrinsically and externally will motivate someone? I began with a focus on the charitable efforts of the company and our employees – coordinating volunteering and fundraising efforts. In time I began to take on programs and initiatives related to broader employee engagement. More recently I took over efforts on building a culture of recognition with our rewards and recognition strategy and programs. I enjoy the variance of a job role in HR – it’s never quite the same day.
2.What is your biggest focus or goal when it comes to the employee experience?
People matter. They are a driving force behind the success of a culture and of a company. Our focus is to ensure that our people feel that they matter and feel supported by our culture and our business. We look to involve our people in the evolution of the employee experience through their feedback and by inviting them to solution-orientated working groups to improve.
3. What is your biggest culture challenge and how do you overcome it?
The rapid pace of change is one of the larger cultural challenges I think any organization faces today. Technology, processes, the definition of your job role – every aspect is open to a more efficient or innovative way of working.
To overcome the resistance to change it is important to communicate early and often, and to involve the users in the process from the beginning.
If you explain why change is happening and how it can positively affect someone, you are more likely to experience acceptance and adoption.
4. What is the key to boosting employee engagement across your organization?
The key to boosting employee engagement across the organization is the support of management teams. Early adopters will always exist in an organization, but there are a majority of individuals that look to the leaders around them. We all know senior leadership should be role models for the rest of the organization. It’s the support and investment of mid-level leadership that will help an organization cross the threshold to true engagement.
5. What is your favorite employee recognition moment at Zurich?
At Zurich, my favorite employee recognition moment occurs each year when we honor and celebrate our KAMP Leadership Award recipients. On September 11, 2001, Zurich North America lost four colleagues in the World Trade Center attacks: John Keohane, Peggy Alario, Kathy Moran and Lud Picarro. Since 2002, Zurich has celebrated their lives by presenting the KAMP Leadership Award to deserving employee leaders. KAMP is an acronym representing each of our colleagues’ last names, but it also serves as a reminder about Keeping A Meaningful Perspective, something each of those friends and colleagues exemplified in their lives. The KAMP Leadership Award is a tribute to their spirit of courage, dedication, integrity and passion. There is a sense of duty and humility when I get to steward this award and experience we provide our winners.
6. Where do you see the future of employee engagement heading?
I think the future of employee engagement is one that responds to the changing work environment and adapts to the needs of the employees. Companies have evolved to be interconnected on global scales, now we must look at how we stay connected with the advancement of a mobile workforce that works anywhere, anytime. Across industries we need to rethink what it means to be engaged with one another and how those interactions will continue to be meaningful. The bottom line is that engagement affects our business and if we aren’t evolving to this new way of engaging, success will be harder to reach.
7. What would be your top three pieces of advice for an HR professional who is looking to implement an employee engagement strategy at their organization?
#1: Be intentional and specific on what your strategy should accomplish.
#2: Embrace the ideas of your employees and have them be a part of shaping the outcome.
#3: Be ready to evolve and learn.
Looking ahead
What’s next for Jacqueline? She and her team are doing some exciting work around the employee experience at Zurich. They’ve recently had the opportunity to listen to their employees in a more in-depth way and map out key moments that matter to their experiences from when they join to when they retire. These insights are allowing the Zurich team to take a deep, human-centered look at what contributes to their company’s culture and work environment and how they can continue to find ways to contribute enhancements.
About Zurich’s recognition program
Zurich’s employee recognition program, powered by Achievers, caters to 9,300 employees across North America. Since launch, the program has seen huge success, including 98.13% activation and 67.18% monthly active users. In the first half of 2018 alone, the program saw:
- 54% of employees received recognition
- 1,025,235 award points given
- 76,784 sent recognitions
- 1,120 mobile recognitions
- 24,249 boosted recognitions
To learn more about the award-winning platform that powers Zurich’s recognition program, sign up for a demo of Achievers today.
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