Key Takeaways from Greif's CHRO: Maximizing our Internship Experience

As a part of our internship summit, we had the valuable opportunity to hear from Greif’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Bala Sathyanarayanan . He helped us learn more about Greif as a company, its unique culture, and how to maximize our potential during our internships. ?

During his presentation, Bala emphasized the importance of rewards and recognition for colleagues in a company. This reflects a winning culture, where Greif finds reasons to celebrate their people.?When a colleague feels safe, cherished, and appreciated, this gives them a sense of belonging and allows them to reach their maximum potential and performance levels.

A key quote that Bala mentioned was that "products change, but culture does not." Placing a strong importance on the longevity of a good culture, where colleagues feel supported, makes for a successful, driven company. This allows people to come first, and profits will naturally follow. Even as interns, we have already gotten submersed in Greif's culture by being immediately welcomed as colleagues and seen as equals even among top leadership. ?

Bala then discussed how we can maximize our time at Greif using his “attributes of a highly valued intern”. These consist of being a businessperson, leaving the company better than you found it, having a bias for action, being a change leader, embracing candidness, and becoming a complex problem-solver. As a group, the attributes that stood out to us the most were leaving the company better than we found it and having a bias for action.?

• Leaving the Company Better Than We Found It. According to Bala, this includes making hard business calls, deciding with data, connecting with people, and utilizing lean processes to create value for both internal and external customers. This attribute also connects to the Protecting Our Future segment of Greif’s Build to Last strategy, which emphasizes sustainability and longevity in the company. It is extremely important to Greif that they support themselves to last for another 147 years, as well as protect the environment that allows them to exist in this space. As interns, this showed us how Greif prioritizes the future that we will live and prosper in.
• Bias for Action. A bias for action includes being proactive rather than reactive, leaning in rather than hiding away, and committing ourselves to following up and following through. As interns, we can demonstrate this by being intentional with our actions, decisions, and work throughout this summer. Further, it is important to go above and beyond to take initiatives and risks beyond our assigned tasks. By embracing these qualities, we will grow and reach our full potential at Greif. ?

We were able to witness the results of Greif's people-first strategy for ourselves in real time toward the end of Bala's presentation. A HR colleague burst into the back door of our conference room to deliver exciting news: Greif had been recognized for their efforts and made it in the top 100 list of Global Most Loved Workplaces by Newsweek at #94. Consistently engaging their colleagues across the world has enabled Greif to achieve consistent success. This is a key message that we will be sure to carry with us through our internships and beyond!

A huge thank you again to Bala for his generosity in sharing his time and wisdom with us!