Riderflex Podcast - Guest Interview #364 - Shannon Sisler
Shannon Sisler, Crocs Executive Vice President | The Riderflex Podcast Welcome back to the Riderflex podcast for the second ...
Executive Vice President & Chief People Officer, Crocs
Search every verified Shannon Sisler interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Shannon Sisler, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Crocs, has discussed the company’s approach to workplace flexibility, employee engagement, and the use of artificial intelligence in human resources. In a September 2023 podcast, Sisler described Crocs’ use of a “persona-based” model that assigns roles to one of four categories—Resident, Explorer, Collaborator, or Connector—to determine remote work expectations based on job responsibilities rather than employee preference. She stated that maintaining in-person collaboration at least three days a week is important for preserving company cultureastra. Sisler also said Crocs uses AI tools such as ChatGPT to draft job descriptions, but emphasized the need to add a human touch to reflect the company’s culture and values. She described herself as “a business person who happens to do HR” and said she focuses on enterprise leadership and creating people practices that drive business results. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sisler said Crocs donated 860,000 pairs of shoes with a retail value of $40 million through its “Free Pair for Healthcare” initiative, an effort she said brought pride to the workforce. She noted that the company conducted frequent town halls with its global workforce to share what was known and unknown, and to answer questions. Sisler has also discussed the importance of listening to employees through surveys and frontline manager conversations, setting high but achievable expectations, and providing employees with the “why” behind their work. She has advised individuals seeking career advancement to identify what they are genuinely interested in and to focus on their strengths, stating that “if you like what you’re doing, you’re most likely going to be much better at it.”
“At Crocs Inc, we've figured out the secret sauce for retail employee retention is making it a meaningful work environment where the store atmosphere is fun, casual, and employees enjoy engaging with customers rather than just schlepping product.”
“Gone are the days of a two or three week interview process for retail; companies must be nimble enough to quickly assess and onboard people, especially for short-term or seasonal roles.”
“To find the perfect candidate who meets every criteria is a thing of the past; the key is to find people with learning agility who can grow and adapt, rather than focusing on a perfect resume match.”
“Artificial intelligence is a big technology transition we must embrace; it can take away mundane tasks and enable employees to focus on more important human interactions, and companies that fear AI risk being beaten to market.”
“We use AI tools like ChatGPT to draft job descriptions and other content, but it's critical to add a human touch to ensure it reflects Crocs' culture and values.”
“At Crocs, we assign every role to one of four personas to determine remote work expectations based on job responsibilities, not employee preference, ensuring a balance between flexibility and organizational needs.”
“Maintaining in-person collaboration at least three days a week is important to preserve company culture and employee engagement, even as remote work continues.”
“Creating a work environment that balances accountability for employees and managers, while ensuring everyone feels comfortable, is challenging but essential for a thriving workplace.”
“I classify myself more as a business person who happens to do HR, focusing on enterprise leadership and creating people practices that drive business results and support customers.”
“We actually donated 860,000 pairs of shoes for a retail value of 40 million dollars during that epidemic through our Free Pair for Healthcare initiative.”
“One of the things we take a lot of pride in is our mantra of 'come as you are' — it's really about being your authentic self for our consumers and our employees and our goal is to have everyone be comfortable in their own shoes.”
“Three quarters of our workforce actually sit on the front lines — they are in our retail stores or distribution centers — and those folks have been at work most days making sure we're able to ship shoes and sell them in retail stores.”
“We will not require vaccines but we're going to highly encourage vaccines — the incentive is one way to do that; for example we offered $100 for our American workforce to go out and get their vaccines.”
“There were times during the pandemic where we were almost doing weekly town halls with our whole global workforce saying here's what we know, here's what we don't know, here's what we're doing, here's what we need you to do — and let's open it up for questions.”
“We have designed four personas that set out expectations for the percent of time based on the persona — our Residents are 90–100% in the workplace, Explorers might only come in up to 10% of the time, and Collaborators and Connectors will be in at least two to three days a week.”
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