Joel Schlesinger © Postmedia Network Inc.
People power is often not prioritized in the quest for organizational success.
Yet, workplace culture — effectively people power — is arguably the most critical element to successfully implementing a strategic plan for change.
And these days, workplace culture couldn’t be a more important focus for business and organizational leaders, says Jean McClellan, transformation leader for PwC Canada Consulting.
“We’ve just come through a pandemic where the workforce has been totally disrupted,” she says, pointing to the Great Resignation and increasing demand for hybrid, flexible work.
“Then there’s soaring inflation and climate change, so when we talk about organizational transformation, it’s really about adapting to all of those issues.”
It’s one thing to develop a forward-thinking plan that is resilient. It’s quite another to implement a plan that will help an organization thrive instead of just survive, she says.
“Workplace culture is really the invisible enabler of change because it’s ultimately an organization’s employees who make or break a strategic plan,” she says.
PwC’s People & Organization team — led by McClellan — helps clients make the change they seek to be more purposeful for their workforce. It also helps them identify what existing characteristics of workplace culture can help foster transformation, while highlighting other traits — such as entrepreneurism, fiscal responsibility and collaboration — that may be missing and need to be developed.
But it’s no easy feat, McClellan cautions.
“People are the most complex asset in any organization,” says McClellan, adding that investment in it is critical. “Aligning workplace culture with the strategic plans of an organization is truly the secret ingredient in implementing meaningful change for the better.”
This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of Calgary Economic Development.