Breathing Life into the Employee Experience with Marija Zivanovic-Smith, EVP of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs at NCR Corporation

This episode features an interview with Marija Zivanovic-Smith, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs at NCR Corporation. Among Marija’s many responsibilities are the global brand strategy and execution, sales enablement, digital marketing, public affairs and communicating with NCR’s 38,000 employees. In this episode, she talks about celebrating employee stories, engaging them with the NCR intranet, “Bridge,” and understanding employees’ emotional responses through machine learning and neuroscience.Quotes*“The beauty of our employee experience is in our global nature. We operate in over 100 countries, so that global nature creates cultural richness. But at the same time, we're constantly trying to figure out how to create a customized experience that is locally relevant. And that might be different from someone in a smaller town in Asia versus someone who's operating in one of our larger campuses in Belgrade or in Atlanta. It is a real challenge because you have to think about how to preserve brand consistency and brand experience that is fair and engaging for all.”*“I don't think experience is something that can be worked on. I think it's a fluid living, breathing entity. And I like to ask a question from our core team in HR and marketing, ‘What will bring more life to the employee experience?’”*“How do we get the engagement of 38,000 people so they feel connected? Engagement that is ongoing? Engagement that makes them an active participant in our brand, in our vision, in our story, in our strategy? This is about being human. Yes, tools and technology. They play a role. But this is about connection, communication, empathy. It's about understanding each other.”*“Communication starts with listening. It doesn't start with talking.”*“​​We as females, especially in corporate, have really worked hard to be in the positions where we are. And because of that, I think we lose sight of the fact that we can't take ourselves too seriously. We actually are allowed to have fun. Our employees also need to see us making these mistakes and even see us fail. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with that because if they see how we lead through that, they will lead through their mistakes. And that's where growth happens.”Time Stamps*[4:15] The Flight Plan: Get to know NCR Corporation*[15:29] First Class: Best Practices in EX*[27:14] Personalizing the EX on NCR's Bridge*[33:47] Turbulence: Lessons learned in EX*[37:21] The fight against perfectionism among women leaders*[44:42] Advice for other EX leadersLinksConnect with Marija on LinkedInFollow Marija on TwitterThanks to our friendsThis episode is brought to you by Firstup, the company that is redefining the digital employee experience to put people first and lift companies up by connecting every worker, everywhere with the information that helps them do their best work. Firstup has helped over 40% of the Fortune 100 companies like Amazon, AB InBev, Ford and Pfizer stay agile and keep transforming. Learn more at firstup.io