At American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), their 20,000-person workforce has
"We did it in order to manage call volumes better — when your phone volume as a travel company goes up because there's a snow storm, it's hard to get travel counselors in the office. If they're working from home, they can quickly pick up calls," says Pattie Huska, Amex GBT's chief people officer, who has worked remotely for 22 years. "It was also a great employee value proposition for lower cost of commuting and all the other things that people know about being virtual today."
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Amex GBT has kept their
"You identify a leader within that geographic location, and you make a commitment to create connection spots," Huska says. "That could be anything from volunteering for a breast cancer walk, going to a soup kitchen, or just getting together for drinks or coffee. Or if there's a senior leader in town, offer to get those folks together."
Today, Amex GBT's Glassdoor rating stands at a 4.1, and employees frequently comment on the perks, having great co-workers and the support the company provides. The company also has 10 inclusion groups (similar to employee resource groups) that a quarter of the workforce population are involved in, which meet individually and with each other.
Career growth goes virtual
On the professional growth side, the company offers its Grow@GBT program, which focuses on skills development and career advancement, through benefits like tuition assistance, a learning platform with over 20,000 courses, quarterly live events hosted by leaders and a first look at job openings for internal mobility. Over 11,000 employees participated in the program in 2024. Spurred by employee feedback, the company launched a mentorship program with MentorcliQ in 2024, in which 1,000 employees have enrolled so far. Whether for personal or professional benefit, everything the company puts in place is connected to its mission, Huska says.
"You need to be mindful of how you attract, onboard, develop, engage and recognize folks, and weave in all of those things," she says. "We've just tried to make them part of our processes and programs, and nothing completely stands alone; they're [all] tied into the company purpose."
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To encourage performance, the company puts a strong focus on providing up-to-date technology that allows employees to easily do their jobs, and incentivizes top performers with their Pacesetters program, which marked its 50th year in 2024. Those being recognized receive an all-expenses paid trip to locations like Athens, Miami Beach and Hawaii to celebrate their accomplishments together.
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Huska notes that the success of these programs would not be possible without support from top leadership. When leaders openly value employee talent and culture, and communicate the company's priorities and performance goals regularly, the HR team can connect these things to its community, professional growth and recognition efforts, she says.
Amex GBT's focus on employee happiness and growth is paying off: Its engagement scores are best in class, DEI scores on their surveys are about nine points above the best of class averages, and their attrition is under 9% overall and under 3% for high performers, Huska says.
Huska reminds employers that less can be more when it comes to perks and benefits, and when culture and community are aligned, everyone wins, no matter where they're logging in from.
"Doing fewer things, but doing them really well, has such an impact," Huska says. "That's taken a bit of a mind shift, because in HR in general, you try to be very responsive and customer oriented. Step back [and] say, 'How does it tie to what the organization is trying to do?'"
