A guest post by Stan Duncan, Senior Executive Vice President of U.S. Human Resources and Global Head of Management for Westfield, LLC.

This year, 70 percent of the 10 million visitors heading to the London Olympics will pass through Westfield Stratford City. This is the first time in Olympic history that the “Gateway to the Park” will greet visitors with a shopping and leisure centre, complete with 300 brands and 70 dining options.

Adjacent to the London Olympic Park and local transportation stations, Westfield Stratford City covers 1.9 million square feet (representing five times the floor area of Tate Modern and 20 times that of St. Paul’s Cathedral).

Although the Summer Olympics have created a timing catalyst, the centre wasn’t built exclusively for the 16-day Games.  Before London won its bid to host the Olympics, Westfield had already bought the land where the Olympic Park was eventually built and had plans to construct Europe’s largest urban mall along with 5,000 apartments.

Now the shopping centre is part of the large multi-purpose development project Stratford City, which aims to regenerate one of the most economically depressed sections of London. Since its opening last September, Westfield Stratford City has created 10,000 permanent jobs, including 2,001 jobs for local residents. An average of 700,000 to 800,000 people visit the centre each week and 35 to 40 million are expected to visit during its first full year.

In addition to shopping and dining, the centre boasts a 17-screen, all-digital Vue cinema, 14-lane All Star bowling alley, Premier Inn hotel and Aspers Casino.

Visitors can download the Westfield Stratford City app for a quick comprehensive guide on locating shops and restaurants, making reservations online, finding the latest offers and events, and booking tickets for Vue cinema showings. To support mobile app usage, Westfield Stratford City offers free mobile charging stations and free Wi-Fi.

For the latest updates from Westfield Stratford City, make sure to connect on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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A guest post by Stan Duncan, Senior Executive Vice President of U.S. Human Resources and Global Head of Management for Westfield, LLC.

When it comes to networking, quality is more important than quantity. But how do you find the right people? Here are five tips I’ve found useful for building your professional network.

1. Take a look around you. We often think of networking as connecting with people outside our company. But networking with internal colleagues is just as crucial. Go beyond familiar faces are work and get to know people who may be on other teams or business units.  

2. Join a professional organization. If you’ve exhausted your internal network or happen to work with colleagues outside your industry, consider joining a professional organization. Find out the organization’s objectives, benefits and members to see if the right fit for you.

3. Attend industry events and conferences. Niche industry professionals may find it more challenging to seek out contacts. Take a look at upcoming industry events that are tailored to your specific professional needs.

4. Leverage your social network. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are all great venues to seek professional contacts. Use social media to make the introduction, and then take the conversation offline.

5. Seek an introduction. Eight degrees of separation? If LinkedIn has taught us anything, connections can often be one or two contacts away. Start with your existing network and build from there.

Personally, I’ve grown my network through my involvement with the HARRT organization at UCLA. HARRT provides a network and forum for linking human resource executives and their organizations with academic research and teaching. I currently serve on the HARRT Executive Advisory Board, which is comprised of senior executive members from a range of industries. We meet regularly to advise HARRT executives on the strategy, content, and design of programs and membership.

One of the unique membership benefits to HARRT is the ability to provide customized service. Because of the intimacy that is engendered in a select and limited group of members, we are able to personally handle specific requests for information or talent with confidentiality. Through HARRT, I’ve built relationships with other human resources professionals whom I can exchange insights or seek counsel. For more on my involvement with HARRT check out the video below.

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A guest post by Stan Duncan, Senior Executive Vice President of U.S. Human Resources and Global Head of Management for Westfield, LLC.

In the TED Talk, “Why we have too few women leaders,” Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg examines why there are a smaller percentage of women than men who reach the top of their professions. She offers three power pieces of advice to women aiming for the C-suite. In this clip Sandberg shares a personal story that reinforces her first piece of advice: sit at the table.

Westfield has a strong commitment to diversity and seeks to promote an inclusive culture where people are encouraged to succeed to the best of their ability. At Westfield we believe inclusion is a critical element for successfully achieving diversity. This means that we continuously work to ensure an environment that is supportive of equal opportunity and equal access to career development, remuneration and benefits through the implementation of practices, procedures and policies.

In the United States that has led to the establishment of an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy, ensuring our commitment to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment people of the greatest ability without discrimination.

In 2011, to continue that commitment across the company globally, Westfield undertook a review and assessment of its practices on diversity.  An internal diversity working group was convened to review the effectiveness and impact of policies and strategies relating to diversity.  The working group was sponsored by the Australian Leadership Council. The Westfield diversity policy can be found online.

In conjunction with that review, the Board adopted a Diversity Policy to guide the Board and senior management in developing diversity objectives.  The diversity policy provides a positive mandate and framework for the setting of measurable and achievable objectives to support diversity within our business.

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A guest post by Stan Duncan, Senior Executive Vice President of U.S. Human Resources and Global Head of Management for Westfield, LLC. Below is an excerpt of my thoughts on human resources and performance management at Westfield from “Evolution and Future of HR: 1986-2014″ by Lindsey Long.

Perspectives From the Field

Stan Duncan was the first of three members to provide insight into human resources evolution. As the Senior Executive Vice President of Human Resources and the Global Head of Management & Organizational Development for Westfield Group, Mr. Duncan provided a summary of human resources and performance management at Westfield, the world’s largest retail real estate company.

Westfield, while very successful, faces significant growth challenges due to changes in the world’s economy and changes in the way people approach shopping, as fewer people shop in traditional malls since the proliferation of web-based retail. Mr. Duncan explained that in order to compete, shopping centers must provide a valuable experience for the customer, the communities they serve, and must also make use of new technology and consumer buying trends. For example, Westfield is the first in the industry to offer a mobile app to navigate the mall and get store coupons.

Westfield also presented its journey with performance management. Mr. Duncan explained that turnover at Westfield is very low, which on one hand shows positive employee engagement, but on the other may make it more difficult for new fresh talent to join with the skills and competencies that ensure ongoing growth and commercial innovation. This can be a challenge in any organization where loyalty is culturally important: it may be difficult to strike the balance between rewarding loyalty and recruiting outsiders.

In addition, like many corporations, Westfield faces challenges in moving from a vertical to a horizontal organization. In the vertical model, there is typically a clear career ladder; while in a horizontal model growth is offered up through the organization as well as laterally and cross-functionally. For some organizations this presents a new mindset around talent management and career progression. Westfield is proactively addressing this through the design and implementation of performance acceleration programs and new team structures that support these career paths.

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A guest post by Stan Duncan, Senior Executive Vice President of U.S. Human Resources and Global Head of Management for Westfield, LLC.

At Westfield social media is considered more than just an ecommerce and marketing tool, it’s also an important listening tool. Through our research we’ve found that listening to our customers and employees on social media channels can help improve corporate communications, employee engagement, and market-research.

Listening to Customers
As a global company, one of our challenges is segmenting our audience and learning what works in different markets. Westfield uses Facebook to create brand pages for each mall and develop online communities in cities across the globe. With these pages we can learn which discounts and benefits our customers respond to and which stores they are interested in.

Beyond market research, we’re interested in learning how to create value for Westfield through social media. A great example is our Westfield Australia social media program. Beyond Facebook and Twitter, the Westfield Australia team uses Pinterest and a blog, authored by Westfield Insider Alyce, to connect with customers online.  The blog and Pinterest offer a unique value to the online experience and ultimately help lead the customer to the product.

Listening to Employees
The second important element of Westfield’s social media strategy is listening and learning from employees. Social media, while multi-faceted, is simply another communication tool. We use social media to learn how we can improve internal communication and employee engagement.

As an internal communications initiative to increase collaboration, we’ve begun a pilot program with Yammer, a private social network for enterprises. The program has been kicked off in Australia and the United Kingdom and we have plans to integrate the social network globally. With Yammer, Westfield employees can share ideas and find expertise, answers and information across departments, geographies and levels. We’ve seen early efficiencies across business units through this simple social media collaboration tool.

A Competitive Strength
A well thought-out social media strategy does not always entail a fancy, flashy campaign or celebrity endorsement. We’ve learned that a majority of the benefits of social media come from listening. While there is no right or wrong way to approach social media as part of your marketing and communications efforts, our investment to social-listening has become a competitive strength for Westfield in the industry. So next time you like something Westfield did or thought we could have done it better, feel free to share that information with us online – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

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A guest post by Stan Duncan, Senior Executive Vice President of U.S. Human Resources and Global Head of Management for Westfield, LLC.

Though many may not think of performance management when listing key business disciplines, it certainly holds as much importance as sales and marketing, accounting, or operations. It is through effective performance management that companies have the ability to truly gauge employee satisfaction, make sure valuable team members are engaged, meet goals, and improve overall health of the organization. Other benefits include the opportunity to address performance problems and improved communication between employees of all levels.

When recent employee engagement results at Westfield indicated that despite an overall positive sentiment, there was a feeling that the performance management system could be improved, we took the feedback very seriously. Accordingly, the senior leadership team engaged in intensive research regarding effective performance management and worked to make significant changes to the performance management culture at Westfield. Our new program was recently unveiled to Westfield employees. Some of the significant changes include:

•  A consistent framework for all employees in terms of how performance is evaluated, shifting away from the subjective evaluation tools used in the past
•  A standardized method for managers to assess and establish performance goals, providing more consistency in results
•  A strong emphasis on performance when determining promotions vs. hours worked
•  Incorporating measurement of core values within the review process
•  Introduced a balance of reward results, competencies and behavior

Ultimately, we believe that it is imperative that we are transparent with employees regarding how their performance is evaluated. The transparency will heighten accountability for both employees and the organization. In the spirit of this sense of transparency, we have been forthcoming with employees over the results of the survey and the steps we are taking to respond.

Strong individual performance leads to strong organizational performance and greater capabilities. Our goal to ensure that all employees understand Westfield’s vision and core values and how their work contributes to Westfield’s success. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we want employees to feel that their efforts are appreciated and noticed and that Westfield provides them with the ability to develop their careers.

Optimize the effectiveness of high performing teams; true performance orientated culture creates an environment where there is clarity for the outcome and team members hold each accountable for results. No one goes underground in this type of high performing team in fact team members demand excellence from the team/project.

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A guest post by Stan Duncan, Senior Executive Vice President of U.S. Human Resources and Global Head of Management for Westfield, LLC.

Following a yearlong dialogue with employees nationwide, Westfield in the U.S. unveils our official company vision, purpose, and values.

For the past 50 years, Westfield has earned international acclaim as a pioneer in the world of retail property ownership, design, and management.

From our humble origins as one small delicatessen opposite a suburban train station— we have taken such an unbelievable ride.  Today, our investment portfolio of 119 shopping centers is one of the world’s largest— valued at some $60 billion.

This remarkable evolution could only have been made possible from the tireless efforts, vision, perseverance, and creativity brought to bear by our Westfield team members.  During this past half-century, our senior executive leadership and all our employees have steadily built a definitive company culture.  It’s something we often refer to as “The Westfield Way”.

“The Westfield Way” is all about rolling up our sleeves and getting things done.  Putting in a hard, honest day’s work each and every day.  Finding solutions fast and with ingenuity.  “The Westfield Way” means never deferring responsibility and never making excuses.  Never waiting for someone else to complete a task that can be done on our own.  It’s the belief that none of us is above offering assistance to a shopper struggling to carry bags or having difficulty locating where they parked.

While this company culture has remained very much alive—even after 50 years—it’s never been formalized systematically.  “The Westfield Way” has always been learned organically, as new employees follow the example of longtime veterans.  However, in recent years, we’ve seen more and more great companies taking the time to clarify their company culture and values for the benefit of their employees, stakeholders, and customers.

At Westfield, too, we’ve come to believe that clearly defining our company values can help give us a clearer sense of our direction and serve as a guiding force in developing our strategies and annual goals.  We’ve come to believe that by identifying our values we’ll be better positioned to assess business options and make good collective decisions.

For all these reasons, Westfield has just spent the past year engaged in a rigorous analysis of the behaviors long understood to be associated with the “Westfield Way”.  We’ve conducted focus groups with our employees to better understand this culture and give us the ability to formally enunciate four principal core values which—until now—were not explicitly identified as such.

Earlier this year, we brought 500 of our top managers together for our 2011 National Meeting, where we unveiled these values to all in attendance.  We challenged our teams to imbibe these values to their fullest and to disseminate them to all the employees under their supervision during the course of field training sessions.  We are now encouraging all Westfield employees to consider themselves “brand ambassadors” in the truest sense and to embody our core values in their everyday interactions with fellow employees, retailers, as well as the shoppers and the communities whom we serve.

We are convinced that the promulgation of these core values will allow us the best opportunity to realize our company vision and company purpose.  And we are certain that these values will help continue to differentiate Westfield as a cutting-edge innovator with a living culture that guides us in all we do.

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A guest post by Stan Duncan, Senior Executive Vice President of U.S. Human Resources and Global Head of Management for Westfield, LLC.

Employee engagement is defined as the measurable degree of an employee’s emotional attachment to his or her job, coworkers and employer. At Westfield, employee engagement is more than just something we strive toward—our employees drive our success, so their happiness is of the utmost importance.

At Westfield, we believe in open dialogue with our employees; there’s no better way to determine what they want than asking them directly. We also know that higher employee engagement results in greater commitment from employees, increased productivity and efficiency and greater potential for creativity and innovation. To that end, we routinely survey our employees on areas such as pay, benefits, and work/life balance. As a result, we’ve learned that Westfield employees are highly engaged in all of the above areas and hold positive views of their immediate managers as well as the company’s leadership. Committed employees make for a healthy workplace; conversely, when employee engagement is low, morale suffers across the board, which eventually leads to costly employee retention issues.

But employee engagement is more than just a successful retention device; it also increases productivity and helps ensure that you’ve got employees who are a good fit. For over 50 years, Westfield’s corporate culture has attracted individuals who enjoy working in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment and thrive on making a difference. Part of the key to our success is that our employees have a certain degree of autonomy and feel that they are able to plot their own career path. Employee engagement creates a winning culture and gives Westfield a distinct advantage in a highly competitive field; when our employees succeed, Westfield succeeds.

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