Get to Know: Claire Lock, Head of HR for EMEA, India, and Singapore
Joined Everbridge
April 2018
Location
London
Tell us about your role at Everbridge.
I oversee human resources — or as I call it, people management — in 8 countries. This is a new role for Everbridge, and the goal is to put people at the center of our international strategy. So far, that has meant a considerable amount of travel, because I’ve made it a point to meet every single international employee face-to-face over my first six months. I’m based in London and have visited mostly European locations so far, but will be heading to India and Singapore in a few weeks.
My goal with every visit is to understand what’s important to our people. I hold focus groups and every location I go to ask team members what advice they have for me, what they want our culture to be like, and what they’d like to see change. We have enormous growth plans at Everbridge, but ultimately, what makes an organization great is the people. We can’t begin to build a strategy until we understand our employees at each location. So I’m really not here to write policies or reprimand people. I’m here to empower them.
What were you doing before Everbridge, and why did you join?
I’ve worked on people teams my entire career, first as part of the London Underground and then with larger organizations like Marriott. Most recently, I spent more than a decade at Monster. We were one of the first URLs on the internet, and it was a fantastic journey. I loved the technology and the fact that Monster had such a noble purpose, helping people find jobs.
“I’m not here to write policies or reprimand people. I’m here to empower them.”
The mission is a big part of what drew me to Everbridge, as well — I think the opportunity to help save lives is why a lot of people join our team. During the interview process, every single person I met was so passionate about what they did. There were no politics or hierarchy; it was clearly a culture where people roll up their sleeves and focus on how they can add value. And since there was not already a dedicated HR presence internationally, it was easy to see the impact I could make. I saw a chance to help create a truly global strategy and deliver business results by giving people a voice.
How do you approach building company culture?
Our company values are customer focus, leadership, integrity, and passion, and I think we build the culture by bringing those values to life — making them part of our DNA. A lot comes from the way we support each other. Because everyone here is working toward the same goal, people tend to set each other up for success, and there’s not much resistance to change. One challenge in my role is making sure that as we expand, we carry that energy into each new remote office.
Hiring is a critical piece of the puzzle. We design structured, competency-based processes to eliminate bias and focus on who someone really is and how they think. And we hire not for where Everbridge is today, but for where we want to go in the future. That means building a strong bench of leaders and adding team members from diverse backgrounds with valuable perspectives. Then once someone’s on board, it means giving them all the tools they need to be successful.
What’s work-life balance like at Everbridge?
As a working parent myself — my children are 6 and 10 — I know work-life balance is always a challenge. I think the number one thing businesses need to look at today is family-friendly policies, and the great thing about Everbridge is that as we acquire new companies, we’re learning from and adopting their best practices. A flexible work schedule is still frowned upon by some companies in the U.K., for example, but for our teams in the Netherlands and Sweden, it’s the norm. We see direct benefits in terms of productivity, engagement, and collaboration, and that makes it easier for us to be part of the cultural shift.
Working for a U.S.-based company lends itself to flexibility, too, because my colleagues overseas are online later. I can work during the day, spend some quality time with my children helping with homework and reading bedtime stories, and then log on again in the evening before the U.S. work day ends if there’s anything else I need to do. I think your value should be measured by the output you produce, the changes you influence, and the relationships and collaboration you build, not by whether your bum is on a seat.
What kinds of challenges have you faced in your role?
My first week was was pretty scary, but pretty exciting, too. We’d just made a large acquisition, and I personally owned the People Plan for 70 new employees. It can be difficult to integrate values and cultures in a situation like that, but right away I noticed there was practically no resistance. Our new team members loved the story of Everbridge and embraced the change, and bringing them on board expanded the value proposition for the rest of us, as well. It was just this complete willingness to understand and support each other, and figure out how each of us could contribute. I also felt very supported personally — the onboarding program, Bridge to Everbridge, was fantastic, and all of our senior leaders took the time to meet with me and explain their part of the business. It ended up being a really valuable experience.
“I saw a chance to help create a truly global strategy and deliver business results by giving people a voice.”
More broadly, I think the challenge we’re all facing is scalability. We need to develop our systems, processes, and workflows to keep up with our growth. That’s everything from data to career leveling to organization design — and we want to make sure it’s all very tactical, but still focused on our long-term vision and culture goals.
What are you most excited about right now?
As I’ve talked with people about what’s important to them, I’ve tried to capture common themes and identify some quick wins. As a direct result of those focus groups, we’re rolling out a couple of programs that I’m excited about. One is an internal newsletter where we’re introducing new members of the team. And in January, we’re introducing changes to our benefits programs, to make them more consistent and comprehensive.
In general, this is one of the most exciting companies I’ve ever worked for. Plenty of U.S. companies say they want to be a global organization that acts locally, but in practice, that doesn’t always happen. Here, it does. We’re learning from each other. And with our people, our technology, and the space we’re operating in, we have tremendous potential. I think Everbridge will continue to be a top company to work for, and I see my job as helping lay a strong foundation by bringing on the best talent and building a culture of diversity and belonging.
