Registration and virtual orientation
Opening Remarks by Conference Chair
Natasha Jeshani
Vice President, HR & Recruitment Consultant, Career Contacts
Breakfast Session: Reimagining Workplace Culture and Employee Experience in the Wake of Global Challenges
As major crises continue to cascade across our health, economic and social structures worldwide, organizations are increasingly faced with “make-or-break” decisions that could amplify their workplace cultures in significant and lasting ways. Hear the perspectives and stories shared from the O.C. Tanner Institute’s groundbreaking pulse surveys, learning what truly matters to employees, and how leaders can uniquely apply time-honored principles to reimagine a thriving workplace culture in the wake of unprecedented times.
- Discover meaningful takeaways about the employee experience, leadership, and workplace culture amid global challenges through the O.C. Tanner Institute’s real-time data and analysis captured across the last 10 weeks
- Gain insights from game-changing, real-life examples about successful strategies being implemented by organizations around the world in unprecedented times of crisis
- Learn how to apply fundamental principles of thriving workplace cultures to successfully lead and inspire employees to engage, produce, and innovate despite unanticipated organizational challenges
Meghan Stettler
Director, O.C. Tanner Institute
Keynote: The Power of Harnessing Change from the Pandemic
The last few months have accelerated the reality of the future of remote work. As COVID-19 has impacted business in every sector, it is a critical to reflect on what has worked, what we have learned from our response and what HR leadership looks like in today’s world.
- How can we capture and scale the benefits gained through COVID-19?
- How can we balance increased employee expectations of remote work with business need?
- Preparing your workforce for future challenges and opportunities in the virtual “new normal”.
- What does the future hold for progressive and flexible work options and benefits?
- How can we support inclusion while working apart?
- How can we guide and support teams for a future that is uncertain?
Carolynn Ryan
Chief Human Resources Officer, BC Hydro
How Can Organizations Improve the Digital Employee Experience?
It is no question that recent events have catapulted organizations on a digital transformation journey they may not have anticipated. Organizations must adapt to the #newreality of the virtual workplace and enable their employees through digital tools to stay engaged and operate at the same or increased level of efficiency as they did in the physical workplace. Join us for this session as we explore how you can redesign the digital employee experience.
- How can I give employees the power to get answers and help – anytime, anywhere
- How can requests be submitted and fulfilled through automation?
- How can employees access the information they need to perform their job effectively?
- How can companies access qualitative and quantitative insights to ensure digital tools are meeting employees’ expectations?
Hartej Gill
Director, ServiceNow Advisory, KPMG in Canada
Networking Coffee Break
Panel: New Skills for a New World: Developing Workforce Skills for Recovery and Beyond
The rapid nature of digital transformation will mean that large portions of our workforce need to be quickly trained and re-trained over the coming months and years. How can we rapidly deploy L&D programs to meet the changing demands?
- What skills will your business need in the short, medium and long term?
- Rapid-scale workforce transformations to meet new demands and needs
- How can capability and skill transfer be achieved in compressed time frames?
- Strategies to successfully transform at speed and scale
- How can we build our organisations’ agility to meet unknown challenges?
Moderator:
Renée Safrata
Owner & CIC, Vivo Team
Panelists:
Tara Ataya
Vice President, People, Hootsuite
Shawn Good
Senior Executive,, Shawn L Good Consulting
Zuleika Sgro
Vice President, People, Saje Natural Wellness
Return to Work Plan: Focus on Employees’ Mental Health
- Understand employees’ stress and anxiety associated with the re-integration into a modified workplace
- Restore productivity when employees are going back to an ‘office routine.’
- Supporting employees’ mental health: the future of work
- Questions and Answers
Michelle McNutt
People and Culture Director, Wello
Networking Lunch
Performance Management: Talent Activation that Works
Performance management is far from dead. Rather, it’s getting a new lease on life. When leading companies like Netflix, Deloitte and Microsoft abandoned their annual performance reviews, they set off a tidal wave, felt throughout the sea of talent activation. With the growing sentiment that this outdated HR practice is less effective, new performance management theories and practices are continually coming to light. But, exactly how do you identify the best solution for your organization? Presented by Laura Strickler, Director, Human Resources with ADP Canada, attendees will:
- Learn how performance management has evolved, leveraging input from both employee and manager.
- Review real-life case studies on the tools to achieve best-in-class employee engagement; and
- Be equipped with the research to return to the office with the beginnings of a business case for implementing a performance management system that best fits your organization.
Laura Strickler
Director, Human Resources, ADP Canada
Building Trust and Leading Forward Through Adversity
This year has brought unprecedented stress and uncertainty to employees and HR departments can play a critical role in fostering trust and engagement. It is also a time where, organizations need strong, logical and calm voices to navigate forward. In this session, we will cover:
- Why trust is the catalyst for connection, collaboration, and productivity
- What role HR can play in increasing and maintaining trust and engagement
- How HR leaders can help their organizations reset and reframe the brain to lead forward
Sandra McDowell
CEO, eLeadership Academy
Networking Coffee Break
Panel: Driving Effective Transformation through Better Change Management
The world of work is changing. Today’s leaders are responsible for overseeing various concurrent change initiatives. The ability to initiate, plan and implement change successfully is increasingly recognized as a core leadership competency. Modern HR leaders have a pivotal role to play in transforming their organizations and readying them to adapt to rapidly changing conditions. In this session, we’ll discuss:
- The case for change management as a practice
- Building a change culture through internal capabilities
- Lessons learned from our journey
Moderator:
Leah Penrose
Director, People, RecycleSmart
Panelists:
Michael Weeks
HR Leader, Amazon Canada
Sherri Evans
SVP, Head of People & Client Experience, Aviso Wealth
TJ Schmaltz
Chief Human Resources & Legal Officer, Prospera Credit Union
Closing Keynote: Rebuilding a Thriving Corporate Culture after Global Disruption
As organizations continue to scale and navigate the global disruption of Covid-19, the culture of your organization will strongly determine whether you are set up for adaptation and survival. HR leaders must evolve their company culture to reflect the new business environment whilst retaining the organizations unique identity and core values. What strategies are required to build resilience, flexibility and agility in your employees and help them to thrive in the ever-changing new environment? During this session, we will discuss:
- Responding and adapting to new work trends and employee needs
- Providing a clear direction during uncertain and unpredictable times
- How to help your workforce thrive in the new normal
- How to engage middle level managers in your transformational change leadership
Kate Parker
Vice President, People, Technical Safety BC