If there’s a word that sums up the work ethic of Shannon Sullivan, it’s intentional. With oversight for all aspects of HR operations for Hulu as SVP of talent & organization, Sullivan has led the creation of core talent systems from performance management to compensation to professional development for a workforce that’s grown from fewer than 100 when she joined in 2012 to close to 2,500 today.

“When I joined, we had a document that was almost a manifesto, describing what it’s like to work here, and that really motivated me,” Sullivan says. “But as an HR leader, as we continue to evolve we needed to make sure this document really speaks to not only a company of 30 people but a company that would hopefully be in the thousands as we scale.”

Among initiatives Sullivan has marshaled: Flex annual paid time off for all salaried employees, gender inclusivity for all parental benefits including 20 weeks PTO, and the implementation of an emotional intelligence curriculum.

To keep a finger on the pulse of the employee experience, Sullivan’s team conducts an annual survey each fall. During the most recent survey, 88% of employees recommended Hulu as a great place to work. “That’s well above industry average, and I think one of the reasons why is we treat them like adults,” she says.

Sullivan “does everything with true purpose and in a way that accounts for previous decisions and factors in future implications to ensure that she can stand behind her word. Nothing is random with Shannon—every decision and action has strong data and reason behind it,” says colleague Bahareh Ramin, Hulu’s internal communications director. “When she’s faced with challenges or decisions that will have significant implications, she will set guiding principles to lead her decision making and then she’ll hold herself accountable to those principles.”

Take, for example, the company’s vision of diversity and inclusion. By design, today 50% of recruiting efforts are aimed at what Sullivan calls “underrepresented groups,” including partnerships with AfroTech, Black Women in Tech, and Los Angeles LGBT Center’s transgender job fair. “We’ve been doing some of this for years; what’s different is now we set a target goal. In the last two years we’ve become much more intentional,” she says.

This effort has broad implications for the company, a factor that’s always top of mind for Sullivan. “In order to become the No. 1 choice in TV we need Hulugans who can mirror our subscriber base and can be advocates on behalf of those subscribers. And so it’s not about HR just running the standard processes to increase representation in the organization, but the business really owning it,” she says.

“You can have representation, but that only lasts for so long because if people come in and don’t feel included—and included doesn’t just mean friendly and nice, but that their ideas actually and work actually get heard—what research has shown is that people will end up just leaving. So we’ve spent a lot of time trying to create an inclusive environment.”

Conflict resolution, under principles generated by Sullivan’s team, begins with reinforcing a culture where employees know when they raise issues they are going to be addressed. The HR team empowers team managers to step in when issues arise, and Talent & Organization has a department of talent advisers aligned with each business unit who are there to help. “

Looking ahead, Sullivan already is thinking about what the deeper integration of Hulu into the Disney family means for employees.

“Our job is not to just protect the exact culture Hulu has had and wanting to keep it separate from Disney. We’re integrating, so there will have to be some changes over time,” she says. “But where I think we can play a pretty big role is regardless of the culture you’re trying to have or the value statement that drives that, we know how to make that real in an organization.”

(This profile is abridged from the Work Culture List magazine)HR

The Daily

Subscribe

Xfinity Mobile Embraces Unlimited Plans

Xfinity Mobile unveiled new unlimited plans that it hopes will simplify its data options and save consumers money. Unlimited and Unlimited Plus plans start at

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Calendar

Apr 25
2024 Cablefax 100 Awards Magazine Release: April 25, 2024
Jun 13
2024 American Broadband Congress Conference Registration is Open!
Jun 26
2024 FAXIES Awards Nominations Are Open!
Full Calendar

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB?
VIEW JOBS

Hiring? In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors, The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact Rob Hudgins, [email protected], for more information.