The Barrett Values Centre recently released the results of their assessment on how the pandemic has impacted the culture of our organizations. And while we try to preserve and reinvent our customer experience, the employee experience has taken an equal battering. COVID 19 has impacted our world in so many ways. Each of us has been personally touched in one way or another. Our routines have been disrupted, our priorities turned upside down, the … [Read more...]
How a Winning Financial Services Culture Can Work for Your Organization – A Case Study: Desjardins Voyageurs Credit Union
In 2019, the Desjardins Voyageurs Credit Union was recognized by the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce as a Best Place to Work. With recent news reports of banking cultures going astray I was curious how this credit union had managed to get things right. I caught up with Regional Vice President Josée Préseault who provided insights into their winning practices. She told me that everything they do is aligned with a business model of taking a human … [Read more...]
14 Rookies Make the Cut on Glassdoor’s 2020 Best Places to Work in Canada
On Dec 11, 2019, Glassdoor released the 25 Best Places to Work in 2020 in Canada. For the second year in a row, Microsoft tops the list. It’s the third time in four years that they rate in the top five. Salesforce, Cisco, Apple, and Shopify are all perennial members of this prestigious group. Yet, there are also banks (RBC), retail coffee (Starbucks) and health care (University Health Network) represented. And every single one of the top 25 has … [Read more...]
Can WWI Remembrance Help Us Bring Out the All-Stars in Our Company?
Do you have an all-star employee in your company? Someone who strides into your workplace every day full of energy and passion, and excited to partner with you to achieve your wildest dreams. Wouldn’t it be amazing if every single one of your employees was an all-star? The truth is it’s getting harder and harder for people to fully bring themselves to work. There are distractions and pressures all around them. The workplace is becoming more … [Read more...]
New Workplace Culture Benchmarks Announced by Strategy&. How Well Do You Score?
A recent survey by Strategy& shows that the gap between the culture that a successful organization needs and what they have today is widening. The minimum benchmark for “good” culture is rising. A robust positive work environment has become table stakes and no longer a nice to have. How does your company stack up versus these survey results? Will your current culture deliver success? The Katzenbach Centre Global Culture 2018 Survey asked … [Read more...]
Three Exercises to Strengthen Your Workplace Culture
“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work gains success. Greatness will come.” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Dwayne Johnson is one strong dude. He has won a US College National Football Championship as well as a World Wrestling Federation Championship. He developed acting strength playing a variety of parts including Luke Hobbs in the Fast and Furious movies and the lead voice role of my grandson’s favorite … [Read more...]
Could a Brewery Culture be the Recipe for Success in Your Organization?
Recently I had the privilege to go on a trip of a lifetime. I cruised ports along the Baltic Sea, visited WWI sites and memorials where my grandfather fought in France and Belgium, and saw the sites in Paris and London. On day one, while touring the Heineken brewery and museum in Amsterdam I unexpectedly came across a great example of how culture can ensure the sustainability of an organization. The early days The Heineken Experience tour … [Read more...]
How to Use Workplace Culture to Deliver Better Bottom Line Results
Every day we are faced with decisions at work about making investments or limiting expenses. Should I invest in this marketing campaign in the hopes that it will drive increased revenues? Should I downsize my workforce to reduce my payroll costs? Should I invest in training or should I cut the training budget? When you consider your strategic plan, are you focused on investment or on expenses? Is your culture viewed as an asset or a … [Read more...]
Transforming Workplace Culture: Three Difficult Decisions Successful Leaders Make
You’ve decided it’s time to focus on your organization’s culture. You bring in your HR leader and give them the green light to start up a culture transformation program. The journey begins with energy and optimism. A few months in, things start to go off the rails. Other priorities force their way in, demanding attention. The journey becomes fraught with obstacles and changing directions. What seemed like an easy exercise, has become an arduous … [Read more...]
Read to Lead: What Successful Business Leaders are Reading Today
Many successful business leaders are known to be voracious readers. According to Mike Myatt, a leadership advisor to Fortune 500 CEO’s, “CEOs of Fortune 500 companies read an average of four to five books a month.” Whew, that’s a lot of reading! I’m curious if this isn’t actually a chicken and the egg scenario. Which came first? Were they naturally curious with a high continuous learning desire that led them to read and therefore become … [Read more...]