Earlier this year, I was visiting my sons and grandson in LA when the news hit: several Bay Area counties were considering a shelter-in-place order for all but essential businesses. As a company that makes medicines for life-threatening conditions, we were faced with a new challenge – to protect our essential employees from the virus while continuing to serve the patients who depend on us.

COVID-19 has tasked us with developing new ways of keeping our 13,500 U.S. employees safe, healthy and connected while fulfilling our responsibilities to patients. Caring for our employees and their wide variety of needs during these unprecedented times has been difficult, but I have come to realize it has also presented an opportunity for personal and professional growth among leaders that will stay with us, making us even more effective as we guide the future of our company and our workplace.

Agility

When I heard the news of the impending shelter-in-place orders, I jumped on a series of calls with the Genentech Executive Committee (GEC) and members of the People & Culture team. The gravity of the situation became increasingly apparent, as did the realization that we needed to act fast. Even before official stay-at-home orders were issued, we decided to close our campus to all but essential workers – those with responsibilities in our research labs and manufacturing facilities – to protect them from exposure to the virus.

We worked across teams to help ensure employee safety, tackling each new challenge with agility, speed and creativity. This approach taught us a lot about how we work; we discovered we were able to problem-solve in real time without sacrificing thoroughness and thoughtfulness.

Trade-offs

Our employees working at home have faced challenges, too, from experiencing burnout to feeling depressed and disconnected. Parents struggle to balance work, childcare and distance learning; employees who live by themselves feel lonely and isolated; all of us miss the familiar faces and spaces of our campuses.

My team has spent a lot of time listening, through one-on-one meetings, dialogue circles and focus groups, to identify opportunities to minimize employees’ stress so they can focus on their work, family and safety. We enhanced Genentech’s benefits program by increasing mental wellness coverage, launching a personalized stress-management program and expanding our virtual coaching platform. Parents have access to nanny placement and virtual babysitting services, webinars with childcare experts and an online resource guide. We also recommended shorter meeting durations (25 and 50 minutes) and blocked off a two-hour no-meeting zone on employees’ calendars that they can use for exercise, family, children’s schooling or uninterrupted work.

But like most businesses facing the uncertainty and economic pressures of the pandemic, we had to make some trade-offs, and that has weighed heavily on me. We couldn’t solve every issue, such as the impact of varying childcare needs, because some of these challenges are bigger than what we as a company can address. Although the GEC and I would love to do more to ease employees’ burdens during this difficult time, it comforts me to know every decision we make is centered on their best interests.

Connection

Recognizing that the stay-at-home order was going to be hard on people, we prioritized ways to keep our culture alive virtually. Prior to COVID-19, the GEC connected with employees through emails, events, quarterly Town Halls and the occasional costume contest. During the pandemic, we’ve wanted employees to hear more frequently from us, even if we don’t have all the answers.

The GEC now hosts virtual Office Hours twice a month. Employees can submit questions in advance as well as live through an interactive polling tool. The casual, authentic, real-time format has increased engagement in both directions -- employees feel leaders are more accessible, and leaders feel more in touch with issues of the greatest and most immediate significance to employees.

We’ve also moved some of our signature engagement programs online -- Founder’s Day, Genentech Gives Back Week, FDA approval celebrations. As a result of strengthening connection and communication across the company, many of us feel closer to each other, even though we’re physically farther apart.

Authenticity

Everyone at Genentech has risen to the challenges of COVID-19, but we are all affected in different ways. Personally, I’m concerned about members of my family and my community given the disproportionate impact of the virus on people of color. My healthy, 33-year-old son had the virus, and while he’s okay now, the physical effects linger. The pandemic has certainly hit home for me.

As a leader, I’ve realized the impact and value of being transparent and vulnerable in talking about my own experiences. If I show that I’m struggling, it doesn’t take away from my credibility as a leader, but instead gives others permission to also engage in a genuine way. I think I have better conversations with people now, and the nature of our interactions is much more personal and real.

As the pandemic evolves, so too will the ways in which we take care of our patients and each other. And I’m confident that evolution will strengthen Genentech’s cultural foundation even further. I’m looking forward to what I learn next.