Dannii Portsmouth on Authenticity, Career Pivots, and Building a People-First Culture

Employee benefits and perks can help set your compensation package apart and make a real difference in the lives of your workers. In this series, we ask prominent HR and business leaders which benefits and perks have been most successful in their organizations. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dannii Portsmouth.

As the Vice President of HR for the West Division at PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA), Dannii is responsible for all aspects of the talent agenda in the Western United States, including talent management, performance management, staffing, and employee relations. Dannii joined the West Division from PepsiCo UK where she held the role of Vice President of HR for the UK and Ireland. Passionate about propelling women further into their careers, Dannii is a member of CHIEF, a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there. She was born and raised in Berkshire, UK (just outside London) prior to relocating to the United States in August 2021 with her husband and son.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Before we drive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I was born and raised just outside London. I am the eldest of four. My mum raised us by herself, whilst working as a nurse and instilled in us from an early age that we can be anything and achieve anything if we work hard and stay true to who we are. In college I studied business and finance and went on to get a master’s degree in human resources management from Oxford Brookes University.

HR kind of happened to me by accident. I had the opportunity to do a rotational programme as my first role, where HR was the first seat, and I didn’t need to do the other rotations. Later in my career I took a six-month assignment in the CEO’s office at GSK working on pharma business models in rural, remote areas of India, Africa and China. Ultimately, I found my way back to HR, although forever changed by this special experience.

I am married to Andrew, and our son Leo turned 10 this year; as a family we believe in the value of adventure, which led us to life in California.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The first day of my first “real” job I was talking to a candidate, when I asked him for his email address, he told me “Joe Underscore Bloggs.” I was not used to this terminology so I asked him, “underscore, is that all one word?” Without laughing at my obvious mistake, he told me what an underscore was and even how to find it (for those of you who don’t know, it’s shift and the button next to 0 on your keyboard). The lesson I learned, and I still practice this every day, is that if you don’t know or need help, ask early and it is usually forthcoming. And if you are being asked, be generous!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

In my life and career, I have been fortunate to have a whole army of people who offered me help, guidance and tough love when I needed it. The first big break came in my career when I was working at a law firm. My boss, who was the CEO, was one of those wonderful people who cares enough to give the tough feedback and stay by your side whilst you figure it out. He routinely would ask me what I thought, getting me comfortable to share my opinion even when it was hard to, because I knew his interest in what I had to say was genuine. He constantly focused on helping me be the best version of myself — even on the tough days.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have many but my favorite is “Life is about the journey, not the destination.” It is easy to get caught up in the next milestone in our lives or careers, without stopping to enjoy the small pleasures, lessons and recognize how far we have come. My intention is to be more in the moment and enjoy the process. Particularly in our parenthood journey, we have realized that the days are long, but the years are short. It has helped us be intentional about being in the moment and enjoying the process!

Thinking back on your own career, what would you tell your younger self?

The first piece of advice I would tell my younger self is “being yourself is what makes you special.” Of course, learn to be flexible, but stay true to yourself because authenticity matters. Earlier in my career, I was guilty of striving for perfection and was influenced by what I thought others wanted me to be, which made me lose myself for a bit and actually diminished my impact. So turn up the volume on your strengths and you will dial up your impact at the same time.

Secondly, be curious. You can always learn something new (including from people who see things completely differently from you!). To take every opportunity is to continue growing. Learn a new skill, read, be informed. Whatever it is, never stop challenging yourself. This is something I continue to live by every day.

Thirdly, don’t underestimate the power of knowing yourself and being bold. A few years ago, I picked up a book called Pause: Before Life Does It For You by Danielle North. The title is self-explanatory! It moved me so much that I wrote the author. It is not very British to write to somebody and say, “you changed my life!” but she wrote back! Long story short, we met, and the chemistry was just right. Fast forward eight years, and we are now friends. She taught me how powerful it is to truly pause, let the answers come to us and then be bold in our actions.

Let’s now move to the central part of our interview. What are your five most successful employee benefits and perks? Please share an example for each.

1. “People Plan” — At PepsiCo, we established an integrated “People Plan” to drive holistic business performance by focusing on employee experience, winning culture, DE&I, leadership and talent. This is critical to focus on what is important now and ensuring we are on track with building what is needed for the future. The people plan, already contributed tremendously to critical areas that are proven to impact overall business performance and has already achieved double digit improvement in areas such as engagement, talent pipeline and diversity, and improved employee retention at all levels.

2. She is PepsiCo — She Is PepsiCo is an amazing program that recognizes the frontline women working across the company created by our Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN).The program honors 28 associates from 20 different cities across the U.S. and Canada who exemplify leadership and dedication to their teams and communities. Each She is PepsiCo honoree is celebrated with a personalized delivery truck wrap that shows the women in their work setting. Normally, these delivery trucks carry images of our brands like Pepsi, MTN DEW and Gatorade, but now they are featuring the faces of our frontline women honorees across North America as the trucks carry products along their usual business routes. The PepsiCo fleet makes up one of the company’s most valuable and widely seen marketing assets and is an effective vehicle for broadly raising awareness about career opportunities for women.

3. “Work That Works” — In 2021 we launched our “Work That Works” program that empowers associates and their managers to choose where and how work gets done. We understand that when associates are supported, they achieve greater success and the hybrid system allows employees to choose when to gather and collaborate face-to-face, aimed at helping to combat the isolation so many experienced throughout the pandemic. The program has focused on making office time more meaningful, utilizing it as a tool to foster connectivity and celebrate the culture and people of PepsiCo.

4. Employee Resource Groups (ERG) — We truly value diversity, equity and a true inclusive culture at PepsiCo. We have 12 strong ERGs that we bring together under one Inclusion Council to support these values and ensure that we benefit from cross-collaboration. As the Executive Sponsor for the EQUAL employee resource group for PepsiCo’s West Division, I’m very proud of the company’s dedicated efforts to support an open, inclusive and respectful work environment for all of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight ally-associates.

5. More than A Job — A job is simply a post of employment, but a career is a profession requiring special training followed as one’s lifework. PepsiCo is one of the few organizations where people can begin in hourly, frontline positions and still work their way up to management roles. Through training and mentorship, employees are encouraged to work their way through the organization. PBNA’s West Division has many examples of how one can have more than a job, but a truly fulfilling career, and we put a spotlight on those who have built meaningful careers here at PepsiCo.

How do you decide which benefits to offer as part of your compensation package?

Our benefits team consistently seeks out the most innovative and cutting-edge health and well-being solutions available on the market. We achieve this by staying on top of market trends to maintain leading benefits offerings. This keeps PepsiCo competitive in the employment market for both our frontline and salaried employees.

How do you ensure your team members understand the benefits available to them and utilize them?

I believe that effective communication is one of the most important ways of making sure every one of our team members is aware of the great package of perks and benefits available to them. Since PBNA is roughly 80% frontline employees who are constantly on the go, we spend a lot of time and effort finding new ways to get people involved through events and campaigns like She is PepsiCo. It’s crucial to not make assumptions about what people are or are not willing to do. Through engaging with team members and listening intently, we can learn more and help each other succeed.

How do you determine if benefits are successful or not? Could you share a time when you realized that a particular benefit or perk was making a significant difference for your employees?

I believe that successful benefits are built on listening to employees and taking their needs into account. It’s important to keep in mind that employees’ needs continue to change, so establishing a benefits program that is adaptable is key to ensuring you’re effectively meeting their needs and wants.

At PepsiCo, we measure success by the general consensus and overall sentiment of our employees. At the end of the day, we want all our employees to feel seen, heard and want to stay with us for a long time. We’ve seen great success particularly with our parental leave benefits and the additional perks we offer to new parents. In addition to our paid parental leave policies, we also offer market-leading fertility benefits and a service called Milk Stork; the first-ever breast milk shipping company that helps ease the load for working parents during their travel, which has been received really well by our employees who are nursing.

We also offer mental health and wellness programs. One of my favorite resources is Spring Health, a mental health solution that allows our employees to get quick access to care which has become more and more difficult to get over the years.

What are your top 3 tips for developing a successful benefits and perks program that keeps an org competitive and aids employee well-being and satisfaction?

1. Data is only as good as the input. If there’s good input, that also results in good insight. By collecting feedback from our employees on a daily basis through tools that measure employee sentiment, we can determine what’s working and what’s not. We can then use that feedback to focus on how we can develop differentiated development plans to ensure our employees stay happy and engaged.
2. Prioritize the employee experience. Ensure employees feel supported throughout their entire tenure. We have implemented a people plan built upon five areas that we prioritize every day. This consists of putting the employee experience first, and showing individuals how they are making a direct impact on the overall goals of our organization. It’s crucial to build an environment where employees can feel comfortable having an open, honest conversation.
3. Be open to making changes. Always listen to how employees are responding to benefits put in place and make improvements accordingly.

In your opinion, what are the most undervalued or overlooked benefits or perks that more companies should consider offering?

I believe in general companies do a good job at offering holistic benefits. The key thing is ensuring employees understand what is available to them and how they make the most of accessing them.

We are very blessed to have some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.

I love all things to do with wellness — physical and mental. I’d love a private lunch with someone who is doing innovative work in this space. Look forward to hearing from someone!

How can our readers further follow your work?

I am very active on LinkedIn. Let’s connect there! https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannii-portsmouth-fcipd-15a5397/

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!