Why does Herman Miller exist?

For the past year, we’ve been researching, analyzing, and synthesizing information and feedback to understand why Herman Miller truly exists.

Through this work, we were able to shape what we collectively believe in, what we strive to accomplish, and what we’re capable of achieving into a bold, memorable statement that defines our purpose:

Design for the good of humankind

To live this purpose every day, we needed to make sure our values align and reflect the beliefs we hold as a family of brands to leverage the power of design to improve people's lives.

Group Values

Our values speak to our shared beliefs about our people and the impact we can make together—for our customers, our communities, and the world. They describe how we live our purpose through the way we lead, the way we see one another, and the way we work.

Our products and our approach to business make a difference in the lives of our customers, our neighbors, and people around the world.

Learn how we're contributing to a Better World.
 

By celebrating what makes every individual unique and valuable, we help one another reach our fullest potential. Review the Actions we're taking to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Our culture of accountability, inclusivity, and high-performance creates strong teams and unifies our family of brands.

Discover opportunities to Join Our Team.

Our new purpose and values extend across all Herman Miller Group brands, address our global employee population, and provide a foundation for our future. Learn more about our Purpose and values here.

Learn how some of our employees live out our values:

Mike Wong, Product Manager, shares how he and his colleagues are better together when aiming for success.

As the saying goes, “teamwork makes the dream work.” Mike Wong, Product Manager in APAC, recalls how himself and other team members worked together to win as one.

REACH is a design festival where Herman Miller showcases our latest innovations. Hosting an event like REACH across our APAC regions (Beijing, Tokyo, Manila, Bangalore and Melbourne) takes a lot of effort and coordination. The event connects the design community in each city, bringing together thought leaders to share, learn from one another, and celebrate the power of design. Connection through open discussion, knowledge sharing, speakers, events, and playful interaction between people and products, is the aim of REACH.

When teams come together to represent Herman Miller and our product offering at this event, each one of us morphs into the role of a task chair – where the five, star base wheels move together in sync to reach to a common destination.

Everyone has a different interpretation and approach to accomplish a task. This added dimension increases the possibility that with diverse people and perspectives, we will find more effective and creative solutions, significant enough to attain any momentous goal – in this case, focusing on business drivers and how we will help our clients maximize the performance of their workspace.

The success, satisfaction, and happiness we all experienced after this event is a memory I’ll cherish forever.

Claudia Bennett, Operations Work Team Leader, shares how our differences makes each of us extraordinary.

We all have talents and skills unique to each of us. It is important that everyone realizes that, owns it, and embeds it into their daily work. Hear from Claudia Bennett, Operations Work Team Leader, about her career journey.

At the start of my career at Herman Miller, my path was anything but cut and dry and I didn’t really have a clue where I wanted to dedicate my efforts. I knew that I was willing to apply myself and use my voice to try and make a difference.

 Over the years, I’ve worked for experienced leaders who pushed me day in and day out to adopt company philosophies, truly understand the ways in which they can be applied and help the business, and never be afraid to go that extra mile. The support I’ve felt along with the positive changes I’ve had a hand in implementing out on the manufacturing floor has helped me recognize my self-worth. I’ve learned that if I continue to apply myself, the possibilities for growth are endless and I can continue to deliver meaningful results. 

Now, as a Work Team Leader at the GreenHouse in Michigan (where we make many of our seating products), remembering that we are all extraordinary in our own ways is important to me because I now have the opportunity to keep this cycle going, and build others up who are trying to grow their talents. I believe this is a healthy perception to have of those around me because it not only helps give meaning to the work we all do every day, but it shows others that their contributions do matter, and they can bring about significant change to the business.

Suma Ravindra, Engineering Manager, recalls how Herman Miller employees came together to make a difference in their communities.

Impacting communities all over the world is what we do. It’s who we are, and it’s making a difference in so many lives. Hear from Suma Ravindra, Engineering Manager in India, about an effort she was involved in to give back.

Two years ago, I was part of an event in Bangalore, India called "Trash to Treasure,” sponsored by Herman Miller Cares. It was one of the most amazing experiences during my time at Herman Miller.

The whole idea of this project was to create useful furniture from the scraps generated from our Bidadi plant and donate it to a rural school. As a part of T-CUBE (Trash to Treasure), the Engineering Team, along with Operations employees, built 15 low height desks, a storage unit, and a table that we donated to the school. The furniture was designed and developed by the Engineering Team and built by the Operations Team. For this project, all the raw materials used were scraps from our regular production at our Bidadi plant. The furniture was inaugurated at the school by its leaders, and they surprised us by holding a small event to show their gratitude. This entire experience was overwhelming for all of us who were involved in this event. We truly are difference-makers!