Rivian’s Vision and Mission

Rivian's Vision and Mission
Rivian’s mission is “to protect our planet and the cultures that inhabit it for generations to come (Rivian, n.d.).” Five core values also guide it: come together, stay open, ask why, zoom out, and over-deliver. These values ensure that the company aligns with its mission. They also ensure that Rivian has a diverse workforce built on inclusion and equity regardless of individual backgrounds and differences. To achieve its mission Rivian is interested in people with different ways of thinking to share innovations and ideas on how to provide solutions to existing problems.
Currently, Rivian’s HR strategic focus is on hiring the right people to create an inclusive, innovative, and heterogeneous team of employees with the single mission of protecting the environment and the culture of the people occupying it (Rivian, n.d.). The HR team will advance this mission not only by leading by example but also by hiring, onboarding, and training employees to be on the same mission. This means that the HR teams will ensure the organization's leadership team is diverse and inclusive so that this culture of inclusivity and diversity can trickle down the organization to reach the junior-level staff.
Outlook and Approach
Currently, Rivian has set up its operations in multiple locations in the US, UK, and Canada to increase its access to diverse talent (Rivian, n.d.). However, Rivian needs a global outlook and a cross-cultural approach to capitalize on its employees' diversity. The HR team will support Rivian in this area by first applying Hofstede’s cultural dimension framework to understand how employees from different countries understand and communicate information and manage conflict based on their national cultural values (Farndale & Sanders, 2017). According to Hofstede’s cultural dimension framework, individuals from different cultures have different workplace values and attitudes, which are greatly influenced by national culture. This difference affects how employees perform daily activities, manage time, and organize their space (Farndale & Sanders, 2017). The HR team will utilize this framework to ensure that these differences are not a cause of conflict but a source of innovation and diversity in creating solutions.
The HR team will also provide cross-cultural training. According to Liu et al. (2018), cross-cultural training is vital for eliminating cultural bias and training employees on cooperative conflict management. This training is essential because, in culturally diverse teams, cultural incompetency and ineffective conflict management can affect productivity. To provide effective cross-cultural training, the HR team will adopt a global mindset and appreciate cultural differences rather than judge them (Liu et al., 2018). It will also prepare employees to ensure they are ready to learn about other cultures. To begin with, the HR team will create a cultural day in the organization that allows employees to dress in attires that celebrate their culture and share stories about their culture.
Analysis and Decision-Making
The HR department is responsible for making decisions about the workforce to support the goal, mission, and vision of Rivian. The HR team will apply evidence-based, data-driven strategies such as total quality management (TQM) and HR analytics cycle to make and execute decisions that support the organization towards achieving its goals. Siregar et al. (2017) indicate that TQM ensures that employees and the organization remain committed to quality. Currently, one of the challenges that Rivian is facing in terms of quality management is its unproven ability to manufacture quality vehicles on time and a larger scale (Rivian, 2021). The HR team can help address this challenge by using TQM to train employees on quality improvement and to support employee development (Siregar et al., 2017) in all areas that can enhance the production of quality vehicles.
The HR analytics cycle consists of seven steps that promote evidence-based decision-making within the HR function and beyond (Falletta & Combs, 2021). This facilitates the achievement of organizational goals. The HR team will utilize this cycle to establish the needs of stakeholders(employees), identify areas of research and sources of data, collect relevant data, analyze the data to provide predictive and prescriptive results and use these results in decision-making to meet the needs of stakeholders (Falletta & Combs, 2021). The HR analytics cycle will promote the use of scientific evidence in supporting HR practices that not only empower employees but also ensure organizational mission and goals have been met.
Risk Management
The HR team will also support Rivian by protecting the integrity of Rivian, its management, and its employees...