Sabre prioritises employee wellbeing with series of new initiatives

Sabre Corporation has launched a transformed employee wellbeing experience, aimed at fostering a supportive environment where people can thrive, learn, succeed and give back.

The Company, which previously announced its vision to become the premier global technology platform in travel, is investing in its team members to be their best, both personally and professionally, as they focus on immediate post-pandemic recovery and on driving Sabre’s ambitious long-term goals.

“Sabre has a bold vision – and we need the best people to make this happen,” said Shawn Williams, Chief People Officer, Sabre. “We employ some of the world’s top talent and we’re focused on creating an environment in which they can reach their full potential, helping us reshape the global travel industry from the inside out. Investing in our people – both present and future – is a huge priority for us, and it is our aim to cultivate a culture that is rewarding, supporting and transparent.”

Work from Anywhere

Sabre’s global Work from Anywhere (WFA) program has been running successfully for over 18 months. Designed to accommodate team members’ individual needs and circumstances, the WFA program supports work/life balance, improving productivity, motivation and job satisfaction.

“We recognize that there’s no one-size-fits-all way of working, and offering our team members a setup that works best for them, their role and their team will help them do their best work, feel valued and stay focused,” continued Shawn Williams. “And, while the human interaction of working in an office is important, we’ve all seen the power of technology this year in helping us stay connected and keep business moving from afar.”

Employee wellbeing

As part of Sabre’s journey to become a better place for team members to do their best work, the company continually reviews its total rewards package to align with what team members need and want. Sabre learned from its ‘Best Work’ research that parental leave is important to team members, and three years ago, began offering a global minimum of 12 weeks paid leave for new parents, for adoption or birth.

Sabre has also transformed its approach to employee wellness, investing in a host of new resources to enhance the team member experience. To drive this, the Company has created the Sabre Wellbeing Advisor Network (SWAN), a council of team members from around the world who guide conversation around wellbeing, capture best practices and enhance tools and programs to support employee wellbeing.

One of the first initiatives introduced by the council was a partnership with Headspace, a global leader in mindfulness and wellbeing, to provide free, premium access to their award-winning mindfulness app.

“Through the Headspace partnership, we hope to encourage team members to take time out for themselves every day and enjoy the benefits of increased productivity and improved stress resilience and creativity that come from consistent meditation and mindfulness exercises,” said Williams.

Sabre also provides complimentary access to additional mental wellbeing resources for team members and their families. This includes access to Sanvello, an app offering clinical techniques to reduce the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress; Talkspace, licensed therapists available 24 hours a day through talk, text and video; BurnAlong – a platform providing on-demand physical, mental, and financial wellness classes and the Global Employee Assistance Program, which includes five free counseling sessions per person, per topic, per year.

Volunteerism

Sabre has a deep history of philanthropy and giving back to the communities in which team members live and work. In the last 20 years, Sabre has donated more than $20M and logged over 300,000 volunteer hours as part of Give Together, its global corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. This includes a $1 million donation by the company and $35K raised by team members specifically for Ukrainian refugee relief efforts.

In partnership with team members, communities and customers, Give Together helps drive positive social and environmental change. Recognizing the importance of volunteering, Sabre allows all team members to take four days of paid time off per year to volunteer for any ​purpose they choose.

To further expand Give Together, Sabre partnered with Benevity – the global leader in workplace giving, volunteering and grant making programs – in order to help team members find the volunteer opportunities that mean the most to them. Through Benevity, Sabre also highlights STEM opportunities, with a view to helping to create critical thinkers and enable the next generation of innovators.

Career development

Sabre’s ambition to be a great place to work and an employer of choice has always been a priority. Over the last few years, the company amplified its focus on team member experience. This resulted in a slew of initiatives – from technology events to people policies/practices that put team members, at the heart of everything it does.

Sabre wants to give its team members the tools and resources to drive their own careers. As such, the Company has introduced a global mentoring program to help team members to develop technical and leadership skills in areas they believe they need support. This is one of several programs that Sabre has introduced to help team members grow and develop, and to align their personal goals with business goals. Other initiatives include a leader speaker series, skill building series and peer coaching series where leaders coach and support each other.

The initiatives that Sabre has introduced to support team members, be a great place to work and an employer of choice have resulted in the Sabre Bengaluru Global Capability Center in India being certified by the Great Place to Work® Institute as an organization that builds a High-Trust, High-Performance Culture. This recognition is a testament to team members’ passion and commitment to the workplace.

Inclusion and diversity

Underpinning the programs above is Sabre’s commitment to fostering an inclusive environment, where team members – with their wide and rich variety of differences – can bring their full selves to work, contribute their best and feel like they belong. As a global employer with offices in 70 countries, Sabre has made a deliberate and intentional commitment to Inclusion and Diversity (I&D). The Company’s I&D Council, which is made up of representatives across regions from all areas of the business and across multiple demographics, is defining a globally consistent approach to Inclusion and Diversity as a business imperative, helping Sabre embrace the talents of every team member across the globe enabling an inclusive and stimulating environment where all have equal opportunity to do their best.

At the heart of this effort are Sabre’s Inclusion Groups –teams that inspire awareness, understanding and appreciation for a wide spectrum of causes. Current groups include Pride – which was formed to support members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community, BGOLD, or Black Generations of Leadership and Development, Women’s Career Network, Women in Technology (WiT) and Ascenders, a group for employees looking to grow professionally and personally.

As part of their efforts to raise awareness, these groups also run events and speaker sessions, with recent examples including a special International Women’s Day discussion organized by WiT with Sabre Board members Phyllis Newhouse, CEO of Xtreme Solutions; Wendi Sturgis, CEO of Cleverbridge; and Roshni Joshi, Director of Customer Engineering for Google Cloud.

Inclusion groups are often the first connection point to Sabre for team members beyond their immediate work group. Two new groups that are being formed currently are focused on Veterans and on people with Disabilities, with more groups to come. Inclusion at Sabre is fundamental to the culture and the company as a whole.

“With the pandemic creating an imbalance in work and life priorities, strengthening our team members’ purpose and pride in contributions they make for our community, customers and organization helps create a sense of belonging. From inclusive conversation guides to fostering communities of practices such as Women in Technology, we enrich each other through the diversity of thought, perspective, and experience”, said Jaya Kumar K, VP & Managing Director, Sabre Global Capability Center, Bengaluru, India.