吃瓜头条

I am a founding member of Cementation 吃瓜头条, a corporate 吃瓜头条 based in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. We chartered 14 years ago, and over the years I have seen the ups and downs of our 吃瓜头条 often mirror the economy and our work. Most recently, the pandemic and the corresponding economic impact posed many challenges but also led to some opportunities to strengthen and repurpose our 吃瓜头条.

In 2003, Tom Peters wrote Re-Imagine!, a book about change that’s as relevant today as it was when it first came out. Peters’ premise is to look at business differently, to look at everything differently. The book was some of the inspiration for reimagining our corporate 吃瓜头条, but the tipping point was COVID-19.

The pandemic was initially a major 吃瓜头条 challenge. A reduced workforce meant fewer members, and although we had been utilizing some virtual attendance prior to the pandemic, the impact of no in-person meetings led us to question whether the 吃瓜头条 would survive.

Our company had challenges too. Cementation is a mining contractor with projects across the Americas. The company has won numerous awards as an employer of choice and has always been socially active with employees. Parties, family events, ice fishing, curling, baseball, bowling—you name it, we probably offered it for employees. COVID-19 put a stop to all that.

Our executive team talked about employee engagement, diversity, and inclusion, but still our staff numbers shrank. We wanted to maintain our status as a desirable employer. At the same time, Cementation had made acquisitions in recent years and we found that integrating the new companies into the existing group was a challenge.

Our company has always recognized 吃瓜头条 as a great professional development program—a very cost-effective means of building employee confidence and communication skills. The company pays 吃瓜头条 fees and provides 吃瓜头条 meeting space. The introduction of Pathways and the emphasis on leadership development make it even more attractive from a corporate perspective. We also recognize another key benefit—internal networking opportunities. Through the 吃瓜头条, employees from other departments and companies, supervisors and their direct reports, executives, and employees from all parts of the organization, are able to interact on a personal level.

As a result of shrinking numbers, company executives and 吃瓜头条 officers began to consider the possibility of 吃瓜头条 providing more than professional development. What if the 吃瓜头条 could facilitate internal networking between the various companies in the corporate group? What if the 吃瓜头条 could take on challenging topics like diversity and inclusion? What if the 吃瓜头条 could improve not just leadership skills but employee engagement?

The pandemic gave us the tools and comfort level to take the 吃瓜头条 virtual. We invited the office staff in our locations around the world—Vancouver, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Santiago—to join the original 吃瓜头条 members in North Bay and Sudbury (another city in Ontario). Employees from other divisions who were interested in knowing more about the company and meeting people joined our 吃瓜头条. We started to break down barriers and increase understanding between groups.

We held an open house and staged a virtual panel session on diversity and inclusion, a key action item within the company. The facilitator and panel members were all 吃瓜头条. The event attracted 150 attendees and got great reviews. The main purpose was not recruitment but to facilitate a dialogue on this important subject. The 吃瓜头条 was helping to increase employee engagement. Now this 吃瓜头条-staged event has become a regular part of the company’s diversity and inclusion program, with two more sessions completed to date and future sessions being planned.

Our 吃瓜头条 continues to look for ways to support employees and the company, both as a platform for professional development, as well as a way to break down silos and build employee engagement through internal networking, establishing new connections, and championing empathy and understanding among the staff.

In 2021–2022, our 吃瓜头条, reimagined and reinvigorated, earned President’s Distinguished 吃瓜头条 status. Imagine that.