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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Sleep Number was selected as a 2023 Campus Forward Award Winner for their unwavering commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent, their emphasis on diversity & inclusion, and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of talent. Please see below for the highlights of their approach to early career recruitment.
Demonstrated Investment in Early Career Hiring
At Sleep Number, regardless of their role within the company, every employee matters and are expected to share ideas, perspectives, and solve problems. Interns are more than just interns, they become a part of Sleep Number’s purpose to change lives through quality sleep, which allows them to build strong relationships and create lasting connections.
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
Sleep Number looks for its future leaders through a national recruiting approach to fill roles at 4 locations. Sleep Numbers Early Career Program fosters a strong network of inclusion by providing education and pathways to learn and develop, such as Psychological Safety Training. Each year, Sleep Number welcomes students from 20+ schools into a customized internship experience that allows for growth beyond their summer experience.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Sleep Number continues to strengthen its inclusivity by uniting its teams through their differences, dismantling systemic racism, and removing barriers to equity in the workplace. Sleep Number promotes a culturally competent and diverse organization through active demonstration of its commitment to, awareness of, and appreciation of individuality within its teams. Interns at Sleep Number learn how to advance an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace that courageously addresses discrimination and drives Sleep Numbers’ commitment to uniqueness, fairness, and justice. For example, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training, such as Psychological Safety and others, are offered during the internship experience.
Impactful Internship Program
Sleep Number promotes flexibility in the way its team members work, which includes allowing intern talent the ability to work for their day — whether that be in the office or from their home. This structure has allowed Sleep Number to attract intern talent from across the country. Sleep Number’s 12-week internship program provides for a robust and cross-functional learning experience for intern talent, and can be extended to allow students to go back to school and support their teams part-time in a remote capacity. Sleep Number’s fully hybrid intern event programming allows students, regardless of location, the opportunity to have the same learning experience. This programming includes a CEO and senior team welcome event, former intern panel discussion, leader speaker series, peer hybrid networking event, volunteering, shadow experience to learn more about customer service, retail, manufacturing, and field service teams, a regional intern event from peer companies in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and a fun intern reception to celebrate the wins and contributions of this internship talent.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
At Sleep Number, every team member matters and are expected to share their ideas, perspectives, and solve problems — regardless of their role within the company. Sleep Number has had great success from inviting interns to join its company, and its CEO and senior leaders are invested in the program from day one. Interns are matched with a mentor to support them before, during, and after their internship, and there are continued conversations during and after all internships to support talent conversion.