The global head of talent acquisition and branding at Mondelēz International Jennifer Candee says modern ways of communicating have created “a different kind of working atmosphere, much more energetic and real”.

Candee told Recruiter with many members of her team based on different continents, including many with young families, the use of modern communications technology was “absolutely critical” both to providing a better work-life balance and to build staff morale. 

“I don’t know how well it would work if you didn’t have Skype or Zoom or whatever – but for me it is fairly critical to be able to just dial in; we all have speakers and we are all in.

“I know – and I know I can speak for my immediate team as well as myself – I can do more work because of it; and I am able to see my children.” 

Candee said that company WhatsApp groups to which she belonged also helped to build trust between colleagues. 

“When we start any meeting we talk about what is going on in our lives. Someone might say ‘I just got distracted because I got a text about my child’, so you get to know these people [colleagues] as well – it helps build trust with them.

“If someone joins or leaves, or someone is getting married, we will all get on the video, with cheers with coffee or something else depending on the time of day.”

Candee, who is UK-based, said the opportunities for her local team to meet face-to-face were limited even with “get-togethers” such as a dinner or office meetings taking place only “about every quarter”. 

While technology means that people were on call beyond usual office hours, she emphasised that there were limits, however. “You are not calling everybody in the middle of the night. “You learn each other’s schedules, so you start to learn what works for each person.”

Read how Candee and are her team are professionalising the TA function at Mondelēz International in the May issue of Recruiter, out now.

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