Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx Sianneh Mulbah on the latest workforce trends

Sianneh Mulbah, Chief People and Inclusion Officer of the Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx, knows the power of a memorable experience. “My first experience as a fan of professional basketball really embedded in me that feeling that you get when you see someone that you watch on TV in real life and see their magic come to life on the court. That comes through for me when we’re thinking about hiring people to do a job that is going to ultimately impact the positive, exciting memories of kids across our state.”  

Attending my first professional basketball game at Target Center as a teenager left a lasting impression on me regarding the importance of a world-class experience. Today, I am motivated every day by the opportunity to play a role in hiring individuals who create memorable experiences for the kids in the arena, just like I had.   

As Chief People and Inclusion Officer for the Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx, Mulbah is primarily responsible for setting the strategic direction for all people operations across the four franchises and ensuring that their people leaders and staff have all the tools they need to be successful.  

We connected with Mulbah on her take on the top workforce trends HR teams are taking on courtside. We wanted to know, would she consider this workforce trend a slam dunk to embrace or an airball to avoid? 

Pay transparency?  

“Dunk. I believe pay transparency leads to a more equitable environment and paying people what they’re worth. Previously, there were a lot of steps that had to be taken before someone could see what their pay stub was, to see what their exemptions were, and even to look at their benefits. Now all of that is literally in the palm of their hand. And new applicants can see pay transparency on our job postings before they even join our team.” 

Work besties? 

“Dunk. Necessary. I have a work bestie. There are days where you don’t know if you’ll get through, but there are also days that you can celebrate all the excitement with that person. Having someone to talk to about work when it doesn’t make any sense to anyone on the outside. But having my work bestie, she’s probably texted me as I’ve been sitting here to share our social media memes. My work bestie does make life better.” 

College degree requirements?  

“Airball. College isn’t accessible to everyone and I just don’t think it’s required for every profession. I haven’t for a long time. The people that we look for, we call them our pack members. They’re passionate, accountable, collaborative, and kind. Technical skills can be taught. I We’re looking for the right people. The people that we hire, we want them to be thriving in their industry. I would also say everyone’s a little bit competitive in their own way. It goes with who we are.” 

Quiet firing?  

“Airball. I disagree with it. The employee lifecycle within the Timberwolves and Lynx – we liken it to our fan lifecycle. We want to make sure that their experience is above and beyond what they would have ever expected, from that first initial contact through their onboarding. When it comes to retention and to their last day, we want our employees to feel respected and that they were in an environment where they grew and developed.” 

Hourly worker benefits? 

“Dunk. We should be able to facilitate our people working in our environment no matter what their background is. As a leader within the organisation, balance is one of our primary things we take into consideration when making decisions.  

Our schedules aren’t typical of the business world. We are driven off of game nights. That’s where the magic happens for our organisations. So, it’s important that we are able to be flexible for our staff and balance out their schedules throughout the year by making sure that we give a free day, free time, lunch, dinners, whatever we can provide to ensure that our employees feel like that’s what works best for them when it comes to scheduling. We are able to forecast and plan ahead to provide as much as we can for them so that they can show up and be their best selves.” 

Career mobility?  

“Dunk. We want to make sure that we’re able to evolve as an organisation and retain the people that are great for our business. My role as Chief People and Inclusion Officer is really setting the structures in place to ensure that our employees are able to continue to grow, develop, and thrive within our business. 

One of the big goals that we have for our organisation as far as succession planning and development is to really lean on Dayforce to help us identify the skills that we already have in place, then help us identify how we are going to develop our people and build our plans.” 

Trends may come and go but the Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx workforce is focused on the long game – and that means making every game day count. “Our office employees are with us throughout the entire year and season over season, but we do have a large contingent of non-exempt employees who help ensure that the arena is fully staffed. That other 50% are our game night staff, and that includes dancers, our dunk team, our ball kids, and all of the people that it takes to help ensure our fans are experiencing memorable moments.” 

Every worker has their own needs that, when met, allow them to show up and make those moments memorable. That’s why the Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx are dedicated to providing an equally memorable employee experience.