10/8/2022

From Virtual Interns to Full-Time Employees

New P&Gers Share Their Pandemic Career Journeys

Although it has been a year since Myles Whitmore graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, he’s still learning every day in his new role as an analytics and insights project manager at Procter & Gamble’s headquarters in Cincinnati.

Myles Whitmore

“You learn to become quick and to be agile,” Myles said. “One of the things I’ve learned after the last year is that planning is great, but how agile are you on your feet? A good leader is one who can be agile and keep people at ease amidst adversity.”

Myles — one of dozens of P&G full-time employees who began with the Company as a virtual college intern during the pandemic — learned agility from the start.

Doing Something Meaningful at P&G
Another former virtual P&G intern, Vishnu Paranandi, is a category development account executive in Minneapolis who works on the Target account. Vishnu discovered how he could use P&G’s analytics tools to automate and expand reports, both for his own customers and others.

Vishnu Paranandi

“I was given the chance to share with the rest of the team here in Minneapolis, so I’m not just influencing my work, I’m influencing other people’s work, saving them time as well as providing more useful information for our buyers,” Vishnu says. “It’s been really meaningful.”

Another accomplishment Vishnu is proud of came through his involvement with P&G’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programs. This summer in Boston, he led a roundtable discussion about DE&I with team members from around the country.

Vishnu and Myles say they’ve received encouragement from a variety of P&G mentors, helping them do meaningful work at P&G since the beginning.

Driving Connectedness for New Hires
P&G is focused on delivering connectedness, particularly for new employees like Vishnu and Myles who joined the Company virtually, said Chisom Obiora, who works in North America Human Resources.

“As we transitioned to a hybrid working model, we realized the need to create the conditions that drive meaningful connectedness between each other and with P&G, foster belonging, community, and deep relationships in a workforce that will spend less in-person time together,” she said.

One North America team developed what they call “Power Pairs,” conversations designed to help managers get to know new hires on a deeper level within the first 90 days of a reporting relationship so they understand what matters most to them, unlocking the potential for greater impact on the business.

David Rennard, North America Talent Development, is part of a team that is supplementing the Company’s traditional onboarding with a virtual session for new U.S. employees. The session helps employees get grounded in the history of the Company as well as structure, citizenship focus areas and digital hacks.

“It’s fun and shows the heart behind P&G, plus gives actionable tips on using P&G tools but also how to grow as a leader from the start,” David said.

Woman smiling

Building Camaraderie with Co-Workers
No matter how or where P&G employees are working, camaraderie and networking are important to the daily experience, especially for newer employees.

To get to know others at P&G, Myles took part in online cooking classes and outdoor city tours as an intern. As an employee, he’s involved in P&G’s African Ancestry Leadership Network.

For those who started with virtual internships, it has been a learning experience for all sides.

“For virtual interns, we realized we needed to be highly communicative and highly in-touch, and our intern managers learned to get better at coaching and giving feedback,” says Erika Long, a Human Resources senior director at P&G.

Erika checked in daily with her team’s intern to help the student navigate the new experience. She says as a result of the virtual internships, new employees became flexible and resilient and were able to build exceptionally strong verbal and written communication skills.

What they learned has made a lasting impact on the Company.

“We’ve also gained comfort with flexibility in how we work, recognizing that not every meeting has to be in person, and allowing people to choose for themselves which tasks need to be done in person, and which can be done from home,” Erika says.

“We understand there is no ‘one-size-fits all’ approach, and employees, with their managers, have the flexibility to choose what location is best for their work that day,” she adds.

Nicole at table

At P&G, just as we strive to deliver a superior consumer experience, we aim to deliver a superior employee value equation as well. Learn Who We Are.