Building global inclusivity from the inside out at VMware

VMware is a cloud computing company that delivers a trusted foundation to accelerate innovation. With a core belief in diversity as a competitive advantage, VMware actively seeks out and includes people who bring diverse skills, backgrounds, perspectives, approaches, and ideas to the table. 

VMware’s Power of Difference communities (PODs, aka ERGs) are a critical part of their inclusion and diversity strategy. PODs like Women@, Parents@, Black@ and Disability@ are a place for employees to connect, build trust, and take action on driving change for the business.  

POD leaders have the extra burden of supporting others while experiencing their own reactions to global events and daily stressors. VMware wanted to support POD leaders with the resources to help them thrive so they can build safe, inclusive communities that foster innovation and belonging across the company.

VMware offers individualized BetterUp® coaching to its global POD leaders. The BetterUp Whole Person™ Model of coaching strengthens leaders’ ability to show up as their full selves and find balance in their lives. With a Coach, each individual can work on the topics that are most pressing for them, whether that’s communication, self-awareness, or other skills that empower them to lead with authenticity. Moreover, BetterUp helps POD leaders process their own challenges first so that they can create safe spaces for their teams and guide the difficult conversations that might arise in PODs.

BetterUp coaching sends a powerful message to employees that VMware is invested in their leadership skills AND their holistic well-being. Data from BetterUp’s People Analytics Dashboard showed increases in Clarity, Sense of Purpose, and Well-being for POD leaders. They also saw an increase in their ability to guide others. 

When POD leaders are effectively empowered to bring their full selves to work through skills learned with BetterUp, they set an example for everyone they encounter, both on the job and in their POD groups. This helps VMware build inclusivity from the inside out.

POD leaders who worked with a BetterUp Coach realized the following growth:

POD leaders are passionate about making sure that VMware feels like a community, not just a workplace. The Self-Efficacy they’ve gained through BetterUp coaching has helped them build new relationships across the company and lead with confidence. Employees who feel the power of a safe space are more likely to report a sense of belonging and bring new ideas to the table, which drives innovation.

There’s no question that when it comes to business performance, diverse teams win. With empowered POD leaders bringing together varying voices, opinions, and backgrounds to solve problems in a productive way, VMware strengthens its culture of perpetual innovation. 

Depending on the area of focus, BetterUp Members are delivered with personalized, area-specific content to further their growth journeys: