A Supportive Culture

MetLife’s 2023 U.S. EBTS found that a supportive culture is the most consequential factor that contributes to employee care. This is why MetLife devotes time and resources to promote connection, involvement and dialogue among colleagues. A supportive culture means leaders are accessible to their teams and intentional about nurturing inclusivity and belonging, so employees feel they can bring their authentic voice, speak up, be heard and have their ideas included in their work.

Fostering Connection and Belonging

Now in its second year, MOMENTUM is MetLife’s global community of employee-driven networks that drive office vitality, consistent employee experiences, connection and belonging. At a time when colleagues are working in different ways—virtually, in-office or on a hybrid schedule—MOMENTUM encourages participation in causes important to our colleagues, including volunteerism, well-being and the environment.

Colleagues can join or be an ally to one or multiple networks. These include green teams, wellness and volunteer champions and groups dedicated to people with diverse abilities, veterans, families, rising professionals, professional women, Black professionals, Latino professionals, Asian professionals and LGBTQ+ professionals. Working with the Global DEI team, MOMENTUM networks collaborate to co-create and evolve the employee experience at MetLife. In the U.S., community ambassadors at office locations drive further connection and belonging by planning and promoting events and networking opportunities.

Culture of Care Supports Life-Saving Donation

In 2021, Tim Marcks (left), a Service Desk Manager for MetLife in Cary, North Carolina, learned that his previously diagnosed stage 3 kidney disease had progressed to stage 5. When he shared his need for a kidney transplant on social media, a MetLife colleague Lynn Pattishall (right), another Service Desk Manager who worked closely with Tim, saw the post, and arranged with colleagues to undergo a kidney transplant compatibility test. Lynn was a match.

“[My colleague], Lynn made a huge sacrifice,” said Tim. “[She] gave me the gift of life. Did I ever think that was going to happen? No.” Tim and Lynn’s colleagues fostered a culture of belonging and care throughout the transplant process and recovery. Tim noted “the leadership at MetLife was very supportive. [My management] told me—anything I needed; ask.” While they were recovering, their colleagues stepped up to fill any needs at the office. Lynn stated “[MetLife] is more than just a company, and I see it and feel it at work.”

Now, both Tim and Lynn are healthy, and the two colleagues regularly see each other around the office. The MetLife community came together to celebrate and further support them, featuring the two at a Let’s Talk Live global town hall.

Learn more about Tim and Lynn’s story.

Listening to and Recognizing Colleagues

Listening to colleagues, gaining their perspective on how we are working together and recognizing them when they advance our purpose is essential to nurturing our supportive culture. Colleagues provide feedback on our work practices through surveys, Let’s Talk, Live! forums (monthly, CEO-led, global town halls) and virtual and in-person listening sessions with leaders.

The MyVoice survey is our company-wide listening program that annually includes both a pulse and detailed survey. Sharing and actioning results is also a collaborative and inclusive effort. Our CEO shares enterprise-wide results at Let’s Talk, Live!, leaders review feedback with their teams, and a group of colleagues from all parts of MetLife reviews a summary of the written comments with the CEO and CHRO. We use the results to determine focus areas that are then integrated as priorities into annual enterprise goals.

We have always shared detailed team results with senior-level people leaders, and in 2023 we expanded access to those insights to approximately 1,000 additional leaders in more junior positions. To help these managers interpret the results and act on the feedback, we introduced MyVoice Mentors, a program where senior leaders with experience in using feedback to drive engagement mentor colleagues who are accessing results for the first time.

The 2023 MyVoice survey had record engagement from colleagues, and all benchmarked metrics equaled or beat industry averages. Additionally, 44 out of 45 scores improved compared to 2022. The areas of purposeful work, professional growth and supportive culture scored above industry benchmarks in the “very good” range, and we received positive feedback related to culture, flexibility and well-being. We also learned that we have an opportunity to improve elements related to processes, workload and speed of execution.

MetLife’s recognition programs showcase our supportive culture in action, acknowledging employees for their contributions to help fulfill our purpose. Throughout the year, we recognize employees through multiple global channels, including:

Purpose Award, which recognizes colleagues who made extraordinary efforts to bring MetLife’s purpose to life (In 2023, 102 awards given);
Above and Beyond Award, which recognizes colleagues for their collaboration, experimentation and customer-focused achievements (In 2023, 1,132 awards given); and
Center Stage, a platform for sharing continuous recognition, such as anniversaries, milestones and successes.

We believe that a supportive culture also inspires innovation. The global Experimentation Fund gives colleagues the opportunity to submit ideas to receive funding for low-cost, quick experiments. As part of the experimentation fund, we launched a campaign called “removing pebbles” to empower colleagues to challenge the status quo and identify opportunities to make things easier across MetLife. Since launch, employees have successfully removed more than 250 pebbles, freeing up time to focus on meaningful work and delivering for customers.