National Post (National Edition)
THE SUSTAINABLE PERSPECTIVE ON CORPORATE CULTURE
AT THE BASE LEVEL EVERYONE WANTS WORK THAT IS MEANINGFUL. WE DELIVER THAT WITH OUR SUSTAINABILITY MESSAGE AND IN WHAT WE DO FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AND OUR COMMUNITIES. THAT IS ONE THING THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE. IT’S THE CORE TO WHO WE ARE.
— ADRIAN THOMAS, COUNTRY PRESIDENT
Sustainability is deeply ingrained in the Schneider Electric Canada culture. It is a pillar that, over the years, has expanded its sustainability commitment from the energy and automation ecosystem to embrace all aspects of external and internal operations.
“Now Schneider’s sustainability strategy is much broader in scope and more encompassing,” says Adrian Thomas, country president. “It goes very well with our culture and the business we are in. We are committed to leading by example within our own ecosystem including with our people, our operations and our suppliers, as well as our customers.”
Today Schneider Electric in Canada has 2,000 employees located in 29 sites, ranging from head office and sales staff to supply chain, R&D centers, distribution and field staff. This year it has been named a winner in the Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures Enterprise category.
Despite the numbers and geographical spread, it has managed to maintain and strengthen its corporate culture throughout these challenging times. In fact, survey results reveal that despite the impact of COVID-19, employee engagement is at alltime high across Canada (up 11 per cent vs. a year ago), while the voluntary turnover rate is a mere 1.2 per cent.
Schneider Electric has established a formalized list of long-term commitments to guide its growth: living up to its principles of trust, creating equal opportunities, harnessing the power of all generations, and empowering local communities — all while acting for a climate positive world. This commitment includes, among its many initiatives, diversity and inclusion programs, implementing new ways of working in a digital age, community programs, smart manufacturing sites, and finding new ways to increase customer engagement.
Like many organizations, the last year has reinforced the importance and impact of culture, Thomas says. “The pandemic has brought certain core values closer to the surface. The early days led to the intermingling of our personal and work lives. Working in a digital format wasn’t new to the company, but with the pandemic we had to become a lot more understanding of each other and even more committed to the concepts of inclusiveness, communications and sharing the realities of work life balance.”
From the initial shutdown, the company leaders have initiated multiple actions to support personal situations and ensure the health and safety of its employees first and foremost, as well as the financial health of the business. Among those action items, it extended its paid care leave policies to support employees who need to care for immediate family members with COVID-19, and provides 10 days of self-quarantine paid leave for employees who suspect they have been exposed. They have also added a virtual-care assistance program and access to virtual walk-in clinics.
Transitioning to the new normal demanded an approach that was highly flexible and delivered the stability and support employees needed during COVID, says Thierry Miras, vice-president, human resources. “We deployed a furniture program that delivered close to 800 packages to remote workers that include standing desks with adjustable height, ergonomic chairs and monitor arms.”
Remote onboarding was another critical issue to address, Miras notes. To that end they created toolkits for managers and employees to facilitate onboarding of remote employees and generate a sense of belonging despite the remote work challenges. Well-being programs were enhanced to include virtual physical fitness sessions, weekly tips, and information sessions with medical professionals on health issues such as COVID and vaccinations. “People were very appreciative of those sessions,” Miras says.
Staff and management were provided training on conducting virtual forums, technology, camera presence and collaboration tools. Over the past year, they have also introduced a behavioural interview toolkit in parallel to the training to help determine fit and ensure a positive employee experience, while reducing the risk of bias.
A host of well-being initiatives such as virtual yoga and social events were added to the mix, many of which were employee-generated ideas.
Schneider Electric continues to expand and diversify its workforce with professional development programs for all levels, from students and interns to management. The Commercial Leadership Program (CLP), for example, is a rotational effort that allows new graduates to work in three functional areas (marketing, sales and quotations) over the course of three years to get a deeper and holistic understanding of the business, as they start their careers.
Other initiatives include the Pulse Program, a sixmonth action learning program that places early career talents with a sponsor, where they can pitch ideas to the leadership team that creatively address business and/or workplace challenges.
The company is also actively involved in women in STEM networks including universities. As a result of its efforts, 71 per cent of the CLP participants are female graduates. It has also introduced the Virtual Student Experience, where students can participate in virtual micro-internships over four weeks on projects that address key business issues.
Efforts such as these have led to its recognition as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People and parity certification for Women in Governance.
Employee resource groups (ERGs) play a key role in sustaining its diverse culture. Examples include Women in Schneider Electric (WiSE), Well-Being, Multicultural Alliance, Emerging Professionals Network, Sustainability, and LGBT+ & Allies, with more to come.
One of the newest additions is the Open Talent Market (OTM), a career development platform that uses artificial intelligence to match employee talents and aspirations to projects, mentors and full-time roles at home or internationally.
Schneider has also been a longstanding supporter of the communities it services. Key partnerships include The Strongest Oak, a Calgary-based NGO focused on tackling poverty in developing countries, whose latest project was building a solar-powered community hub for the town of Pa in Burkina Faso, Africa.
The 20/20 Catalyst program helps empower Indigenous communities’ transition to clean and renewable energy through grants, employee donations, mentorship and education. More recently, Schneider Electric’s global operations introduced the Tomorrow Rising Fund to fight against COVID-19 through funding emergency actions in areas where it operates. In Canada it has provided grants to local charities that support frontline workers and vulnerable citizens.
Employees are also encouraged to submit their own projects via the company portal, and are eligible for paid time-off to volunteer and for donation-matching.
An important cornerstone to the company’s present and future success is the acceleration of a digitized workplace to adapt to the new work-life balance, from virtual town halls and employee collaboration to digital innovation in serving customers, Thomas maintains. “We are being bold and trying new things, and turning challenges into opportunities, such as digitally interactive “broadcast-like” experiences that connect employees and customers.”
Communications are now more frequent, thanks to digital technology and the efforts of site ambassadors that serve as a liaison between leaders and staff, he adds. “Digital has been critical in reinforcing our culture and keeping people motivated in their work. It has made it so much easier to share information en masse and locally. We are reinventing the way we collaborate, innovate and meet with customers.”
While many things have changed in recent months, there are principles that have held firm throughout the challenges. “At the base level everyone wants work that is meaningful,” Thomas says. “We deliver that with our sustainability message and in what we do for our customers and our communities. That is one thing that is not going to change. It’s core to who we are.”
SCHNEIDER’S SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY ... GOES VERY WELL WITH OUR CULTURE AND THE BUSINESS WE ARE IN. WE ARE COMMITTED TO
LEADING BY EXAMPLE.