Canadian Business Event Recap: Evolving Talent Strategy

In partnership with Amazon Canada Canadian business hosted a panel discussion on one of the biggest topics in business today: the future of work. Specifically, panel discussions were held on building a strong work culture, talent strategy, lessons from remote work, and managing employees in a hybrid his work environment.

The panel, which met in the MaRS Discovery District in downtown Toronto, was moderated by Jason Maghanoy. CB’s Deputy Publisher and Vice President of Digital Solutions and Business Development at SJC Media. Panelist he was the leader of three exciting businesses. Fatima Zaidi, founder and CEO of production agency Quill. And he is Daneal Charney, Executive in Residence of MaRS Discovery District.

The evening started with a conversation about what work will look like in 2023. Charney said he believes productivity is measured by output (such as how much work is done) rather than input (time spent doing work). She also noted that the roles of employee and employer will be swapped. Employees act like their own agents and manage their own time and workload.

Maghanoy switched gears and asked Dubejsky how a team as large as Amazon (which has grown rapidly over the last few years) maintains culture and talent. . Dubejsky, who said his team started with six employees before the pandemic and has since grown to 65, responded that Amazon is focusing heavily on flexibility for its corporate workforce. For Zaidi, who launched Quill a week ago and has been 100% remote from day one, prioritizing employee well-being over performance is key. “You don’t get honor badges for working overtime,” she said.

We then moved on to the various hardware that employees may need to work remotely. Dubejsky was asked what technology is available to employees. He explained that digital collaboration tools like Slack are important to his team because they allow everyone to communicate and stay on the same page even when physically separated. Amazon is very data-driven and collects tons of metrics about its employees, so he and his team leverage employee feedback and his data to improve every experience. He also added that being vulnerable to employees helps create a safe environment for them to approach him in their struggle.

On the topic of offices, Maganoi asked Zaidi if a physical office was important to Quill. We want to be able to get other benefits such as “The pandemic has shown that you can have a high-growth company without face-to-face time,” she said.

Charney was then asked what the workers were looking for in their jobs. Echoing Dubejsky’s earlier comments, Charney said the biggest thing prospective employees want in the workplace is flexibility. “I’ve seen candidates turn down jobs because they don’t fit in with their lives,” she said. She added that connections and a clear growth plan are also important to candidates and what ultimately keeps employees on board.

Finally, panelists were asked to share what they think the biggest future of 2023 job trends will be. Dubejsky said flexibility remains paramount. Zaidi pointed out that an employee’s personal motivation for a job will be the biggest factor in deciding whether to stay in the role or accept a new role (and she believes that their motivation said it was important to align with the company’s motives for maintaining relationships on the individual). Charney said employees will continue to covet the ability to work from anywhere and become a digital nomad. But despite more workplaces claiming to offer anywhere options, many are helping employees overcome barriers to how they work, such as flexible working hours. not.

After a brief question-and-answer session from the audience, the panelists joined the audience to conclude the event with wine, canapés and networking.