I recently sat down with Domino's Executive Vice President and Chief HR Officer Lisa Price. In this episode, we discuss her experience at Starbucks and Nordstrom, her current role at Domino’s, the evolution of her field and how she is approaching her role in building out a new people strategy for Domino’s.

At the start of her career, Lisa was fresh out of college and had no clue what she would do with her life. Lisa graduated with a degree in psychology and a minor in math. She was studying to become an actuary but quickly realized that the role would not fulfill her passion. 

During college, Lisa worked at Starbucks as a barista and continued to work there after she graduated. After some time, she received an opportunity for an entry-level position that ultimately got her foot in the door at Starbucks’ Pacific Northwest regional office, where she was introduced to HR. 

“I got exposed to human resources, to folks in the learning and development function and the HR business partner capacity, and I realized, ‘Oh, that's what I want to do,’” Lisa shares. That entry-level opportunity allowed her to move further into HR functions, grow her career, eventually work at Nordstrom and then take her current position at Domino’s.

Embracing Flexibility

In this employee-driven market, HR leaders have to build something new and flexible in the workplace — and at scale, which can be difficult to do. Lisa says that Domino’s focuses on trusting their employees, and she advises others to do the same as everyone continues to navigate through the pandemic. 

Lisa shares how Domino’s is taking an approach of erring on the side of flexibility, especially for corporate team members. So while they are shifting to be a flexible organization, Lisa points out that it’s also essential for employees to be flexible when it might be more conducive to be in-person vs. remote.

The company tries to base this off of core values. “We've really been talking about the notion of three C’s: connection, collaboration, and celebration,” Lisa explains, “where it may make sense to have more in-person conversations to support those three C’s.”

However, it’s also essential for the company to understand how to create flexibility for front-line, store-based team members. “We are creating a level of flexibility that we can meet the team members’ needs where they're at,” Lisa says. 

The Influence of the Pandemic on Flexible Programs

The past 18 months have affected HR tremendously by reshaping the structure of workplaces and encouraging many to adopt a more flexible construct. Since many people have had to navigate working from home, Lisa shares, we’ve been able to view our co-workers and leaders in a new light. 

“I think it has provided a window into the lives of people — in a very different way that we didn't actually have before — that has humanized leaders,” she shares. This has helped create opportunities for openness, to encourage “certain conversations that just weren't comfortable and may still be to a certain extent uncomfortable.”

Lisa believes that these flex programs have given HR a platform to have those tough conversations that weren’t being had before the pandemic. 

Using Technology to Create a Seamless Employee Experience

This pandemic has steered Domino’s to create a seamless consumer experience and ensure that their employees have seamless experiences, too.

Employees want to feel supported in their efforts and know that the company is meeting their needs. “We're creating really seamless team member experiences in terms of how team members interact with their employer and feel supported and get their needs met,” Lisa says.

Domino’s has pushed the innovation envelope and is committed to creating innovation within their team and bettering the employee experience for all. “For our team members and our managers, it should be as easy as ordering a pizza,” says Lisa.

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People in This Episode

• Lisa Price: LinkedIn

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