How engaged team members create a company’s culture
APRIL 17, 2023 • BLOG POST • RISHI VARMA, SVP & GENERAL COUNSEL
HPE is creating spaces for team members to thrive, in life and work
One year ago this month, HPE officially opened the doors to its new Houston headquarters. It was always our vision to create a next-generation collaboration and culture center that meets the evolving expectations of our teams, especially in this new world of work flexibility. And, although biased, I can say I think we have accomplished that.
We centered our headquarters around fostering teamwork and social interaction, and being able to accommodate team members' changing needs. It’s important to note that even though we headquarter in the Lone Star state, we have more than 200 sites across 60 countries that offer a supportive and collaborative environment, with the flexibility to make work fit their life instead of the other way around, improving productivity and customer outcomes. Most of our sites are designed to provide spaces in which team members can have fun and brainstorm in non-traditional settings.
In Houston, team members can literally build relationships via an onsite Makerspace or learn about honeybee conservation via our rooftop bee apiary that we partner on with Hives for Heroes, which helps foster a healthy transition from military service.
This month, we also hold our annual Team Member Appreciation Day, worldwide. An event like this takes the hard work of site leadership and team members that volunteer their own personal time to make these events memorable. More than 130 of our sites are hosting activities for team members and those who aren’t on site are invited to attend virtual activities. It will be the first time in three years where we have dedicated site events for our team members to celebrate together in-person. Team Member Appreciation Day is our way of showing appreciation for everything our team members do in support of HPE’s success – and we’re following the day with a full-day wellness Friday, where everyone has an entire day off.
Our hope is to continue to lead the market in technology, and lead in creating a culture that other companies will want to emulate. In my opinion, both go hand-in-hand – it’s almost compulsory to have fun with the people you work with to excel as a company. So much so, that HPE again made the 2023 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list.
Whether in Houston or around the globe, our team members are our greatest asset, and we strive to keep them motivated and feeling appreciated yearlong.
Watch Rishi and HPE’s Grilling Guys talk Texas and prepare for a Gulf Coast favorite—mudbugs.