Women in AI with Pam Griffin from Clorox

Pam Griffin is the Associate Director, Cleaning Division, The Clorox Company. She has spent 11 years at Clorox and most recently spearheaded an AI effort at the company to engage more customers during the pandemic – what a job! Read our fascinating conversation below.?

Q: Pam, How did it feel working at Clorox during the Covid-19 pandemic when you were one of the most demanded products? How did you handle the unprecedented spike in product demand??

A: The Clorox Marketing organization is designed in such a way that all team members are exposed to the full business performance and priorities we are executing against. That setup along with our core value of putting people at the center helped us pivot and re-chart our course quickly during the pandemic. Once Covid hit, it was really interesting to see how each team members’ personal experiences began to shape our choices and helped stay grounded in our consumer as we were all facing similar emotions an challenges. As a leader in health & wellness, we recognized that we could still be a trusted resource and partner at this time, but trust had to come in a different form than product – and that is how we came to a solution to create a clear and informational and educational dialogue with our consumers by introducing IBM’s Watson Chatbot.

Q: How did IBM Watson technology help you during this time? Do you have advice for other companies who want to do something similar??

A: We didn’t figure it out right away, but we put people at the center and stayed focused on what would be a helpful resource and authentic experience coming from Clorox.?We asked things like?“how do we continue to serve consumers if?they aren’t able to find the product they’re looking for?” or “How do we help front line workers and caregivers in this time of need?” We began to seek out opportunities to be of service by addressing questions around cleaning & disinfection. The IBM Watson chatbot allowed us to show up for consumers, acting as a trusted resource, via a highly personalized experience. For companies who are looking to do something similar, I’d say to start by understanding the different ways in which your company provides a service or solution to your consumers, even (or perhaps especially) the less obvious ones, and leverage the capabilities of AI and natural language processing to maximize that relationship in a personalized, authentic way.

Q: You don’t have AI in your job title, yet you spearheaded this amazing project. What advice do you have for women who want to work more with AI but don’t have it in their immediate job responsibilities? What can companies do to make this more accessible and less intimidating to people??

A: I think first it’s important to recognize that initiating something like this is going to require some up front work to build out, but we consider it to have been worth the effort because results show that we did help people in a time of need. So it’s critical to know what you are hoping to achieve and then build toward that. I was passionate about ensuring that we were providing service to our consumers and really bringing?our brand purpose to life at this time. The natural language of machine learning was a huge value add for us because the technology enabled the human side in a creative way.?You don’t have to have AI in your job title to think of creative solutions for your company and customers, you just need to be committed to understanding your consumer, and open to seeking out new and unique ways to engage with them.?

Q: Looking back on your leadership journey, do you have any advice you would give women that you wish you knew earlier?

A: The first one is to trust your gut. I had to convince a lot of busy people to start this AI project even though it would make them even busier. But I knew this would be an important service to provide during such a confusing time, so I asked my team members to go on this journey with me. I’m passionate about cultivating relationships because when it’s time to ask someone to jump into the deep end with you, you want to have their trust, and together we delivered something that was, indeed, of great value to our consumers, and will help us to better understand their needs & concerns going forward. Second, don’t lose your humanity. It’s part and parcel of what makes the Marketing we do unique. We may sit behind a desk at our workplaces (or at least we used to!), but we are all still consumers, and ensuring your work has heart will always be the right approach.?Third, think about the art of the possible and what something could be, not just what it is right now. That’s an important piece of marketing today as we try to find the sweet spot between being data led and human centered.

Q: You’re a mom of an 8 year old, so in your opinion, how can we best support women right now? Especially with millions leaving the workforce and feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities during the pandemic.?

A: I consider myself to be very lucky to be at a company like Clorox, who has redesigned our ways of working to allow everyone to find their needed balance & support as all our lives were upended in different ways. As you said, I’m a mom of an elementary school aged child, and working full time while parenting brought challenges of mind & spirit I never imagined I would face, and I am grateful to Clorox for giving us all the breathing room to navigate the new normal without losing our potential for advancement. The rollercoaster of the last year has caused a lot of women in particular to rethink our priorities around keeping our families safe and refocusing on work/life balance.?As some people return to the office, and some remain remote, there is the potential for distance bias. If a woman’s circumstances don’t allow her to return to the office full time, or even if it’s simply a lifestyle choice, I hope companies do the work to ensure that there is an equitable opportunity to advance even if you are not physically at the primary workplace. Companies need to provide a real path for people who are not yet ready to trade motivation and opportunity in their job for feeling safe or being more present for their families. That’s the next layer in my view – how will employers allow for flexibility in location or schedules without furthering existing bias against women regarding our ability to be competitive in the workforce given all the responsibilities we often have to balance? Those that don’t risk losing exceptional talent to companies that recognize the value of performance and employee satisfaction over the formality of being in the office.

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I hope you enjoyed my interview with Pam Griffin. For more information about our Women in AI, you can learn more here: https://www.ibm.com/watson/women-leaders-in-ai