Photo: Owens Corning
By: Emily Dammeyer, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce
Computerworld released their “Best Places to Work in IT” and Owens Corning hit #2 on the list for the second consecutive year, jumping from #47 where they initially appeared five years ago. We had a chance to sit down with Annie Baymiller, Director in Owens Corning’s Global Information Services organization and Ty Paris, Early Career Specialist to talk about the initiatives that are helping guide their culture.
In the last few years, the Global Information Services (GIS) organization has emphasized a strategy that centers around behavior. Their six pillars of strategy include:
Baymiller shared that by focusing on these pillars, they’ve been able to invest in great growth opportunities for their employees and deliver challenging assignments, which has led to very satisfying careers. Pair that with the organization’s overall strategy of investing in their early career program, and you have a sustainable model that fulfills the needs of employees in all phases of their careers. Paris shared, “Early career at Owens Corning is unique. We have great leadership investment in our early career program for both interns and full-time employees.”
For three years, Owens Corning has been the presenting sponsor of the Chamber’s Summer in the City program. “It is important [for us] to immerse talent in the community and get them invested in Toledo. We can show them they can have a great quality of life in Toledo, in addition to a great career track at a Fortune 500 company.” The program is designed to help companies showcase the lifestyle and economy of the Toledo Region to their early career talent, while also allowing interns to cultivate relationships outside of their company and help them thrive.
A big factor in Computerworld’s ranking process is an employee satisfaction survey, that focuses on benefits, training, development and employee morale. With 190 plus IT employees spread globally across 12 different countries, developing a company culture that is inclusive and multi-cultural in scale is no small feat. Baymiller reflected that Owens Corning majorly benefits from their strategic pillars in developing culture. “Our strategy is based on behaviors and it lives globally. The way in which we consult with businesses, services, etc. – that behavior lives true in every facility and country where we have a presence.” She went on to say, “We have worked hard as an organization so that, regardless of where you sit in the world, you feel the power of those behaviors. If we commit to them companywide, regardless of your country, that brings us together in a very unique way.”
- Service First
- User Experience
- Inventive Flexibility
- Customer Focus
- Partnerships
- Talent
Baymiller shared that by focusing on these pillars, they’ve been able to invest in great growth opportunities for their employees and deliver challenging assignments, which has led to very satisfying careers. Pair that with the organization’s overall strategy of investing in their early career program, and you have a sustainable model that fulfills the needs of employees in all phases of their careers. Paris shared, “Early career at Owens Corning is unique. We have great leadership investment in our early career program for both interns and full-time employees.”
For three years, Owens Corning has been the presenting sponsor of the Chamber’s Summer in the City program. “It is important [for us] to immerse talent in the community and get them invested in Toledo. We can show them they can have a great quality of life in Toledo, in addition to a great career track at a Fortune 500 company.” The program is designed to help companies showcase the lifestyle and economy of the Toledo Region to their early career talent, while also allowing interns to cultivate relationships outside of their company and help them thrive.
A big factor in Computerworld’s ranking process is an employee satisfaction survey, that focuses on benefits, training, development and employee morale. With 190 plus IT employees spread globally across 12 different countries, developing a company culture that is inclusive and multi-cultural in scale is no small feat. Baymiller reflected that Owens Corning majorly benefits from their strategic pillars in developing culture. “Our strategy is based on behaviors and it lives globally. The way in which we consult with businesses, services, etc. – that behavior lives true in every facility and country where we have a presence.” She went on to say, “We have worked hard as an organization so that, regardless of where you sit in the world, you feel the power of those behaviors. If we commit to them companywide, regardless of your country, that brings us together in a very unique way.”
"We have a very collaborative, team-based structure."
-Annie Baymiller, Director, Global Information Services
Benefits is another factor that Computerworld used in their ranking methodology. Baymiller says that they focus on two main benefits. First, they work hard to focus on growth and development so that they can raise talent from within. Second, they emphasize giving challenging assignments and meaningful work so that their talent knows that they work for an organization that cares about their development. “We have a very collaborative, team-based structure,” says Baymiller. “People are caring, friendly and work hard together. By marrying the ideas ‘I like the people I work with and I like the things I do’, it makes OC a great place to work.” These two benefits start from day one, even in the intern program says Paris, “We think about vetting out their projects and giving them an opportunity to do challenging work that will make an impact on the organization.”
Owens Corning’s IT organization won’t stop growing or innovating any time soon. “Solve problems at the speed of business,” mentioned Baymiller. This is the motto throughout GIS that plays into the pillar of Inventive Flexibility. While the IT organization works hard to develop platform flexibility across systems throughout the globe, they balance that with getting closer to their customers to build creative, lightweight solutions that help people in real-time.
Read Orginal ComputerWorld Article
Owens Corning’s IT organization won’t stop growing or innovating any time soon. “Solve problems at the speed of business,” mentioned Baymiller. This is the motto throughout GIS that plays into the pillar of Inventive Flexibility. While the IT organization works hard to develop platform flexibility across systems throughout the globe, they balance that with getting closer to their customers to build creative, lightweight solutions that help people in real-time.
Read Orginal ComputerWorld Article
 | EMILY DAMMEYER Communications Manager, TRCC As Communications Manager, Emily manages the digital presence for the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce (TRCC) & EPIC Toledo. If you have a success story to share about your business, be sure to let her know! |
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