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AC2021 - 106: Mission-Focused Culture of Resilience: Supporting Employees Through Two Recoveries

Qualifies for CPD hours - Organizational Effectiveness - Strategic and Organizational Leadership

Are you concerned about engagement and retention despite your change management efforts? Organizations today need to remain competitive with a culture of innovation, engagement, and resilience. Explore an in-depth case study of one national organization’s recovery and reinvestment in mission-focused culture through CCAA proceedings in 2017 and COVID-19 in 2020. Learn from broader research and cases across various industries to apply proven strategies for supporting employees through transitions.

Learning Objectives

  • Discover a participative, evidence-based, and forward-focused model of mission-focused culture
  • Learn effective methods for enabling your leaders to Own the Message with their teams on organizational expectations and changes
  • Explore common pitfalls and practical approaches for employee communications during times of uncertainty
  • Understand how continuous listening helps your business contain risk, recover, and stay ahead of the competition
  • Develop a resilient framework to continuously learn, grow, and proactively refine people practices

Maura Alexandru

Vice President of Human Resources
Grafton Apparel

A Canadian company that has been in business for over 100 years. Grafton Apparel employs 1200 employees in 10 provinces and operates over 140 stores under men’s specialty apparel banners Tip Top Tailors, Mr. Big and Tall, and George Richards.

Maura joined Grafton in 2017 and as part of the executive team, shares responsibility for the overall strategic direction of Grafton Apparel. Prior to her current role, Maura held leadership roles with Sears Canada including Associate Vice President of the Employee and Customer Experience, HR and Business Capabilities Director, and other progressive roles within Human Resources and Retail Operations.

As an HR leader with extensive experience in the retail arena, Maura is passionate about creating great employee experiences that ultimately engage and enable performance.

Pauline James

Principal
Anchor HR Services Inc.

Pauline James is the Principal of Anchor HR Services. Her team’s mission is to assist new, growing, and under-resourced organizations implement solutions that drive a great employee experience and business results. Clients have included Rexall, Kraft Heinz, and Toyota. An area of expertise is building a mission-focused culture that is participative, evidence-based, and forward-focused. Anchor HR is your partner to adapt effectively to meet changing business demands.

Prior to launching Anchor HR, Pauline has held a number of senior positions and led Employee Relations and Labour Relations in the Canadian market with large national organizations. She has supported small independent units and large complex divisions in identifying barriers to employee engagement and performance. Her track record includes working with Operations and HR divisions to build effective and sustainable programs, tailored to their needs.