Western Union: An employer of choice for employee engagement

ESG By Tiffany Teichrow Oct 2, 2020

Western Union has always taken seriously its responsibility to the employees who serve our customers. From offering competitive benefits to seeking out diversity to engaging with team members and continuing to help develop their skills, we work hard to take care of the people who work hard for us.

Our diverse talent is our most important asset and listening to our employees and encouraging ongoing, open dialog, from all levels of our company, is paramount to our success. It is important to Western Union that our employees have the information they need and feel that their concerns are heard. One of our ongoing goals is to foster greater communication and ensure that everyone feels informed and empowered.

In 2020, we continue to make progress on this goal, with significant increases in overall employee engagement as well as our leadership communication scores with the recent addition around our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These scores were tabulated on a new employee engagement tool and methodology, called WU Listens. Implemented in Spring of 2019, this employee experience program is based on a continuous listening strategy of brief, real-time monthly and quarterly surveys. These enable engagement discussions and builds satisfaction of our multi-generational, global workforce, helps us target regional actions, where it diverges based on culture, office, amenities, etc., and helps leaders better understand what our employees are thinking, what they value, and what they need.

Keeping employees engaged in their work also means keeping them engaged in the development of their careers. The Western Union employee development philosophy centers around learning and empowerment. In line with the 70:20:10 model for learning and development pioneered by the Center for Creative Leadership, we believe employees learn new skills through experience, education, and exposure.

To learn more about how Western Union fosters engagement and dialog with our employees, please visit our second annual environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report.