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Person on screen is a Vanguard crew member.

Reduce the effects of social distancing by reinforcing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

As individuals work remotely and adjust to workdays without in-person face time with peers and colleagues, we anticipate that we will all feel the effects of social distancing.

Like you, the Diversity & Inclusion team at Vanguard is experiencing this first hand, and we’ve been asking ourselves:

How can I feel a sense of belonging during this period of social distancing (which can feel very exclusive and disconnected)?
How do I stay connected to my work and my colleagues?

We have 6 suggestions to consider for living the Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) principles with your teams.

1. Establish a positive mindset.

While you are setting the course aligned to your company’s mission and providing parameters for your team, it’s important to amplify a silver lining. You can acknowledge that adjusting to change can be difficult, but remember (and remind your team) that there are many advantages to working remotely.

Studies show that employees who telework report lower stress levels (granted, that may take a while in our current environment) and higher productivity. Promoting your and your colleagues’ health and safety should be top of mind.

2. Enable connections to happen.

The best way to ensure that connections happen between you and your team is to be authentic. Weave personal, relatable themes into your everyday interactions and encourage your team to do so, as well.

Creating belonging for individuals who are working on a partial or fully virtual team requires a leader to enable moments for employees to connect digitally on a personal level. Reserve and devote explicit social time each week for your entire team to gather, check-in, and continue to get to know each other “outside of work.” This ensures that the interpersonal connections that normally occur face-to-face each day will continue to happen in a virtual environment. It is those interpersonal, social connections that will help promote inclusion and minimize feelings of isolation.

Allow each team member to voice his or her feelings. This is important not only for more established team, but also for those who have a new member joining the team or company. A weekly video session can really make a difference. These can be distinct, separate events, or perhaps it can be time devoted during recurring staff meetings. Your team can decide what schedule works best.

3. Champion inclusion and flexibility.

Our current circumstances will most likely impact you and your team(s) differently. Some may have children, elders, or other family and friends who need different levels of attention and support during this time. Asking everyone to be candid about their unique situations can promote empathy among the team.

If possible, provide opportunities for your team to flex their work time as needed, so they can balance their work and life commitments. Depending upon the team’s work, role, and need for collaboration, encourage your team to leverage their diversity to help solve for any concerns. Remember and reinforce that the diversity on your team is an advantage, and share helpful resources when you find them. A few examples for working parents:

A Working Parents’ Guide to Handling the Unexpected

How to Work from Home with Kids Around

4. Recognize, recognize, recognize.

Consider how you may need to approach employee recognition differently. Some research suggests that remote workers feel they receive less recognition than non-remote workers. When we interact with our teams in person, we tend to share praise and compliments after meetings and when we pass each other in the halls. Remote workers have fewer chances to receive this kind of informal feedback. Find the opportunities, whether directly or on a team video chat, to recognize a job well done. This can go a long way toward building a sense of belonging, for both an individual and the team.

5. Make sure everyone on your team receives critical information.

Each day, pause to consider who on your team may not have the latest information they may need to do their work. Vanguard is a highly relational organization, and normally, a considerable amount of information exchange happens in person, before or after meetings. What normally occurs in a sidebar conversation in the hallway or at someone’s workstation will now likely occur on the telephone or via video conference. If your company is similar, invite everyone impacted to join by phone or chat so that everyone is given the same opportunity to learn and participate. If this isn’t possible, ensure there is a method to collect information that needs to be shared with everyone afterward.

6. Exercise emotional intelligence.

Consider the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) at play for you and members of your team. Mature emotional intelligence skills will put you and your team(s) at an advantage during this time, as well as when things return to normal. The strongest leaders understand how to help others manage their emotions, and how to use their own emotional awareness to navigate, build, and maintain positive relationships.

If EQ is a new concept to you, or you simply need to refresh your understanding and familiarity with it, spending a few minutes reading an overview of EQ will be helpful in integrating the DIB principles.

One example of EQ is how you acknowledge and control your own emotional response(s). You have the ability to control strong emotions by not acting on raw feelings or impulse. Instead, consider sitting with uncomfortable feelings and giving yourself time to decide how to alleviate or reduce them. This discipline develops self-confidence, and also allows time to reflect on potential solutions to a situation or problem.

Suppressing an immediate reaction based upon an initial, emotionally charged state helps lead to better decision-making outcomes. As everyone adjusts to our new work environment, you or your team may have periods of unexpected fear, anxiety, uncertainty, or frustration. Understanding how to control emotional responses will be important.

Another example of EQ is your ability to empathize with the individuals on your team, which will go a long way to developing deeper relationships with them. Empathy is the ability to recognize how and why people feel the way they do, and it allows us to anticipate how our actions and behaviors influence others. Empathy skills enhance our relationships, both with each other and ourselves. Ultimately, self-confidence increases, and a sense of belonging grows.

Most importantly, make sure you are hearing from all of the individuals on your team. Sometimes when working virtually, it can be easy for some employees to “hide” and not speak up, and you may have to do more in the way of initiating communication from them. Leverage tools, like going around the virtual room, to ensure you hear from everyone. Call someone’s name if they haven’t spoken up, and if this isn’t appropriate given your team dynamic(s), make sure you follow-up individually with anyone who exhibits this behavior or behavioral preference. If someone is quiet, we caution you not to assume that they are okay and feel connected to the team.

Thank you for devoting time and hard work to bring the Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging principles to life! We wish you all the best in your journey.

—Rosaleena M. and Chris H.

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How to prepare for a virtual interview

April 8, 2020/in Advice from crew, Career opportunities all camera, in-person, interview, interviewer, recruiter, test, video /by ldoyle

How to prepare for a virtual interview

A virtual interview may not differ much from an in-person meeting, but there are still things you should keep in mind. We have pulled together some tips to ensure you are prepared and camera-ready.

Prepare as if your interview was in person

Research the company and the industry.
Anticipate what the interviewer may ask.
Have questions ready for the interviewer.
Wear what you would to an in-person interview.

Master the technology

Carefully read the instructions sent by the recruiter.
Prior to the interview, test the programs and applications you’ll be using, including video capabilities.
Practice speaking to the camera.
Have a back-up plan in case you encounter technological difficulties.

Control your environment

Pick a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.
Make sure the lighting in your location is right for the video camera. Test this in advance.
Blur the background during the video session, if possible, to avoid distractions.

Don’t forget!

Put your phone away.
Turn off computer notifications.
Have a glass of water within reach.
Keep a copy of your resume nearby for reference.
Be confident and make good eye contact. The recruiter will still be able to see if you’re looking down at notes for long periods of time or are distracted for other reasons.

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A week in the life of a newly remote worker: Part two

April 1, 2020/in Day in the Life all children, find, friends, gym, home, learn, local, media, news, offering, online, online classes, see, social, social media, support, time, virtual, watch, work /by ldoyle

A week in the life of a newly remote worker: Part two

In my last blog, A week in the life of a newly remote worker: Part one, I touched on my experience adapting to a new work environment, focusing on my first three days at home. Now I’d like leave you with some additional thoughts that came to me at the end of that work week.

Day 4—You’re not alone

I’m a social media addict, but it can be intimidating tuning in when so much news is being reported. That said, I have enjoyed seeing how my friends are using social media as a distraction. For those with children, I love to see how parents are setting up mini-classrooms, planning pajama days and scheduling break times with pets. Who doesn’t want to see photos of dogs? I’m also enjoying suggestions friends are sharing to stave off boredom and keep everyone productive, as well as reminders to support local businesses. Yes, we all stockpiled food, but many of us can get pick-up or delivery at local establishments. The support across multiple communities has been inspiring.

Useful tips for your mind and body:

Silence can be painful, but so can the news. Find a fun playlist to add some sound to your day.
Read a book, watch a movie (some services are even offering virtual watch parties!), and relax with a bath.
Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn? Find an online class—it doesn’t have to be work related.
Keep moving. Our gym at work is offering online classes each day while the gym is closed.
Walk around the block, if possible. I challenged myself to take my dog for a longer walk each time we go outside and have run into neighbors along the way.

Day 5—Being thankful

Not everyone has the option of working from home. My company has done everything they can to do right by employees, just as they do for investors. Our mission stays the same—we’re working to provide our clients with the best chance of investing success. This is as important as ever right now!

My final message is to take some time for yourself. Make sure to separate work and personal time. My teammates compiled a list of free resources for you to explore. You can do a quick internet search on these topics to learn more:

Museum virtual tours.
Online Workouts.
Online Concerts.
Online classes offered by universities.
Virtual Zoo tours.
Creative lessons for children.
Volunteer opportunities (in person and virtual).

Thank you, and be safe!

—Laura B.

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A week in the life of a newly remote worker: Part one

March 26, 2020/in Day in the Life all challenge, connected, friends, home, new work, see, set, share, sharing, space, team, tips, useful, useful tips, vanguard, virtual, work, working, working from home, working remotely /by ldoyle

A week in the life of a newly remote worker: Part one

I’ve got this. I enjoy working from home on occasion, maybe once a week. Working from home for at least a month is going to be a challenge to the way I work, the way I think, and the way I live. My team, and Vanguard as a whole, had been preparing for the possibility of being quarantined, but can you ever be fully ready for such a change to your way of working? In part one of this two-part series, I am going to share lessons learned from my first week at home.

Day 1—The set up

Everyone is upbeat, sharing photos of their new work space. Additionally, they’re sharing articles about a remote lifestyle, juggling children and spouses/partners at home, and how to communicate with teammates. I have an office at my house, but decided to set up shop downstairs on the dining room table so I could keep my dog company. I have notebooks, pens, two computer screens, as well as a webcam. Luckily, Vanguard recently implemented new software that our entire team can use to meet virtually. To ensure we are keeping up with one another and communicating work stream updates, our team scheduled a daily check-in call, which has been very valuable.

Useful tips:

Set a schedule and stick to it.
Preserve a space just for work. Bedroom doesn’t count.
Take breaks to stretch your legs and eat.

Day 2—Adjustments

Remember how positive everyone was yesterday? We were excited about our new work environment, but we soon saw that everything didn’t go as planned. That’s ok. This is a learning experience for all.

Useful tips for communication:

While my team has familiarity with working remotely and communicating with team members in different parts of the country, it can still be difficult reading someone’s tone in an e-mail, or articulating what you’re trying to say. As virtual team meetings become the norm, we are focused on making certain that all voices are heard, project updates are communicated effectively, and we are banding together to reach common goals.
Read emails thoroughly before jumping to conclusions.
Ask for clarification if something doesn’t make sense—this will help you avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary frustration.
Make sure your co-worker has finished his/her thought before starting to speak in a virtual meeting.
Use video, if possible. Participants will be more engaged and less likely to multitask.

Day 3—Staying connected

Useful tips to stay connected:

These themes have extended outside of Vanguard as well. I’ve had family members call to see how I’m doing, and I’ve tried to do the same. Personal connections can make a difference when you’re alone all day. I’m in a curling league—yes, that strange sport where you throw stones down the ice—and a large part of the game is socializing afterwards. We had a virtual gathering last night for those of us who wanted to “hang out.” My advice: Reach out to someone you haven’t talked to recently. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear a familiar voice.
I’ve also observed other teams adopt new means to stay connected. One planned a “walk and talk” meeting to get everyone up and moving. Others have used internal message boards to share everything from technical tips for computer equipment, ways to communicate better with co-workers, and general messages of encouragement to everyone company-wide.
Since hallway talk is no longer an option, our team has set aside time each week to catch up on non-work-related items. It’s always fun to see a pet or child running around in the background and how home wardrobe styles differ.
Set up non-work “dates” with peers, as well as friends outside of work. It helps to see smiling faces if you’re used to being around groups, but are now at home.
Use your friends for motivation! I have an app on my phone that reminds me to keep moving, whether it’s steps, exercise, or just movement. You can even challenge your friends. We’re in this together.
Start group documents, such as your own tips for working remotely, allowing teammates to share suggestions. You can even share your favorite television shows to watch.

Stay tuned as I’ll be sharing more insights and tips in the next installment of A week in the life of a newly remote worker.

—Laura B.

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How Vanguard prepares for the unexpected

March 20, 2020/in Culture, Our mission all business, contingency sites, distancing, distributed, greg, greg davis, home, locations, people, risk, sites, social, social distancing, steps, tim, tim buckley, trading, trading from home, trading locations, vanguard /by ldoyle

How Vanguard prepares for the unexpected

Vanguard’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Buckley, and Chief Information Officer, Greg Davis, discuss Vanguard’s plan to ensure stable and strong service for our clients, while also keeping crew safe through social distancing.

Tim Buckley: Greg, one of the questions that we’ve been getting from our clients is what are we doing around business continuity? What steps have we taken to make sure that regardless of how long the coronavirus goes on regards to how severe it gets that we can continue to keep the operations going? And now to our viewers out there, if you look behind me, what you’re looking at is one of our trading floors. Usually you’d see it densely populated. That doesn’t mean that people aren’t working out there when you just see people, every other desk or every third desk. It means that we’ve distanced them properly, and I should by the way mentioned that you’ll notice a Greg and I are sitting apart here. We’re trying to practice social distancing and everything that we do. Beyond, social distancing, what are you guys doing? What steps have you taken to make sure this operation continues? How have you distributed your team?

Greg Davis: So it starts really with the fact that hey, it’s a global operation so we have trading locations in the US, trading locations in the UK as well as Melbourne, Australia. And in addition to those global trading locations, we also have contingency sites that we’re leveraging right now in each one of those locations. So we have our team split up between our main hubs and those contingency sites, and we’ve even prepared for the fact that if we need to, our people could trade from home. So we’ve installed the technology, we’ve tested the system, so we could have business as usual, even in a severe event.

Tim: And trading from home is not something you are going to jump to. I mean you guys love the collaboration that happens on the floor even when people are spread out. It’s just much easier to happen there. That said, if we have to go there, we absolutely ready to do it.

Greg: Absolutely.

Tim: Security is going to be the same absolutely whether if someone’s at home as it’s going to be the same if we’re trading from home, as if you’re trading from here.

Greg: Absolutely.

Tim: Now, I should mention Greg that the rest of Vanguard’s operations, whether they’re talking to an associate at Vanguard, whatever area of Vanguard is supporting the client, those areas have been distributed too. That we have taken steps to move associates apart. Moving between different buildings. People are working from home. They are distributed between our sites as well so. We’re taking the steps to make sure that we continue business as usual here or as close to as usual as possible

Greg: Absolutely.

Important information:

All investing is subject to risk, including possible loss of principal.

There is no guarantee that any particular asset allocation or mix of funds will meet your investment objectives or provide you with a given level of income.

Bond funds are subject to the risk that an issuer will fail to make payments on time, and that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates or negative perceptions of an issuer’s ability to make payments.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

Investments in stocks or bonds issued by non-U.S. companies are subject to risks including country/regional risk and currency risk.

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What people say when I tell them I work at Vanguard

March 11, 2020/in Culture all advice, clients, conversation, crew, crew member, financial advisor, investment, investment success, know, member, money, offer, share, tell, trust company, vanguard, work, work at vanguard, worked, worked at vanguard /by ldoyle

What people say when I tell them I work at Vanguard

Working at Vanguard is both an honor and responsibility. Crew members are often excited to share where they are employed, but you never know how others may respond—will they want investment advice, or ask if you know a friend or family member who also works at Vanguard? We asked crew to tell us some of their stories. Here is what they had to say:

Mark O.

I was recently on vacation in Cartagena, Colombia. One day, we took a day trip on a speed boat with two other couples, whom we did not know, to nearby islands. We introduced ourselves and the conversation naturally turned to the topic of what we all did for a living and where we worked. When I mentioned I worked at Vanguard, one of the gentleman’s eyes got as big as saucers. He grinned and stuck out his hand to shake mine. He was so excited to meet someone who worked at Vanguard and thanked me enthusiastically for helping him achieve a lifetime of investment success. I accepted his thanks on Vanguard’s behalf. He then shared that because of his investments at Vanguard, he is able to follow his passion of traveling and seeing the world.

Clients always seem pleased to make our acquaintance and regularly share how grateful they are. Without fail, that’s one of the two reactions I receive when telling someone I work at Vanguard. The other, as others have likely experienced, is, “Do you know so-and-so?”

Anthony T.

When someone finds out that I work for Vanguard, they tell me about how they have money with Vanguard and where that money is invested. Upon finding out that I am in our Information Technology group, they begin to offer me recommendations for enhancing the tech experience for clients. A two minute meet-and-greet ends up being a twenty minute, in-depth conversation.

Yewande O.

People often think I am a financial advisor when they hear I work at Vanguard. I have a few friends who are getting hitched soon and want to discuss their finances with me. While I’m happy to offer perspective, I always start the conversation with a reminder: I am not a financial advisor but can provide guidance.

James M.

Before I worked at Vanguard, I used to say that I worked in the “investment” industry because nobody had heard of my company. But as the financial crisis occurred in 2008, it was strange to suggest I worked with investments, seeing as some people didn’t hold the industry in high regard.

Since becoming a crew member in 2009, I proudly share with people that I work at Vanguard. The typical reaction I get is, “You do? That’s a great firm. Make sure to take good care of my 401(k)!” Before launching my career here, I underestimated the pride I have working at a firm that does the right thing for its clients.

If you ever happen to meet a crew member at one of our domestic or international locations, we’ll be happy to tell you about #LifeatVanguard. We may not be able to offer advice or know your acquaintances personally, but you’ll definitely feel the enthusiasm we have for our mission to provide our clients with the best chance of investment success.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.
Advice services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company, a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company.

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Vanguard celebrates MLK and Black History Month through service

In the U.S., crew members celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, legacy, and commitment to volunteerism by participating in community projects and activities throughout the winter. As Black History Month comes to an end, we have asked crew in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Arizona to reflect and share their personal experiences attending Martin Luther King, Jr. Days of Service events. Here’s what they had to say:

For as long as I can remember, receiving quality education has been a priority in my household. I spent countless hours at my parents’ dining room table working on homework. Even now, my mom regularly tries to convince my 4-year-old son to work on spelling games at the same table. I feel very fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to work with the West Philadelphia Action for Early Learning (AFEL) to help instill this imperative into the children of that community. The organization has two main goals: kindergarten readiness and reading on grade level by the third grade. My colleagues and I were able to support these goals by preparing resource bags for use in classrooms and reading to some of the children from local schools. Beyond the crew that were able to attend, crew from across Vanguard donated over 250 books to help children build their home libraries.

The specific group that supported AFEL is the Vanguard Black Professional Network (VBPN), which is committed to increasing engagement of black crew members and supporting the increased representation of black crew in leadership positions. Having the opportunity to serve with aligned crew in a community that may produce the future of Vanguard leadership was truly a humbling experience.

— Josh C.

VBPN sponsored two MLK Days of Service events in North Carolina at Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and Classroom Central. Second Harvest is responsible for supplying food throughout a 19-county region of North and South Carolina through a network of over 700 emergency pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and programs for low-income children and seniors. Crew members took time out of their Saturday to help inspect and sort donated food items for distribution to those partner agencies. Classroom Central equips students in need by collecting and distributing free school supplies to their teachers. Eleven Vanguard crew members assisted the organization by die cutting shapes and organizing the overflow of school supplies in the warehouse.

— Ebony B. and Sabrina B.

As a North Caroline VBPN site lead, giving back is extremely important to me. It’s such a rewarding and humbling experience. I’ve been with Vanguard for 21 years and our commitment to our community has never wavered. It is an amazing differentiator, and providing Days of Service so crew can work together to help others is so empowering. As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month, this resonates with me even more. His commitment to service and helping others was powerful and a major driver in the movement. To be able to not only serve, but honor him and his sacrifice, is humbling. To me, this is what our purpose is about; loving and helping others, and extending your hand to pull others up. That is what service is really about.

— Kenya H.

I am a helper by nature and have enjoyed volunteering for many organizations and causes since childhood. I recently had the opportunity to coordinate an MLK Days of Service volunteer event on behalf of VBPN at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). FMSC is a non-profit organization that assists in providing rice, soy, dried vegetables, and vitamins and minerals to needy children locally and internationally. Through donations and the efforts of volunteers, FMSC is able to ensure the food is packaged and expedited to hungry kids. On the day of our volunteer event, I was immediately impressed with the FMSC staff. We were warmly greeted and provided with instructions to prepare us for the day.

I appreciated that the FMSC staff emphasized a hygienic environment to ensure the children were not exposed to germs, and we watched a video that included detailed instructions for each food prep station. The staff kept the event light by teaching us fun chants to say when each prep station was able to completely fill a box with food packages. The staff shared with the volunteers that it costs $88.00 to feed one needy child, ALL year! As a parent of two teenagers, that resonated with me. On average, it costs my family more than $88.00 per week in meals. During our volunteer session, we were able to fill 192 boxes with food packages, which will feed 113 children in Thailand and provide 41,472 meals!

When I volunteer, I feel that I benefit from the experience in so many ways. I get to share in the experience with fellow crew and members in our community that also volunteer their time. Volunteering helps me appreciate how fortunate we are and reminds me that by simply providing our time, we are making an impact. A thank you note I once received after donating my time included an impactful quote that sums up my volunteer journey:

“Help one another. There’s no time like the present
and no present like your time.” —James Durst

— Veronica A.

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