Boyden's Robert Travis, Lindsay Osmond, and Kevin Gregor discuss leadership and talent strategy in the post-pandemic environment.
Written by Joel Schlesinger. This article was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of Calgary Economic Development. Click here to view the original article.
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the workplace.
The nature of work, and the needs of employers and employees, may have changed for good.
Call it the “great equalization,” though the metamorphosis is still a work in progress.
As such, leaders of businesses, non-profit organizations and in the public sector are navigating uncertain waters, says Lindsay Osmond, a partner with Calgary-headquartered Boyden Canada, an executive search and leadership advisory consulting firm.
“Leaders now are considering many factors, from keeping operations running smoothly to ensuring their business model is innovative — all the while staying attuned to ongoing and emerging risks.”
Market conditions are creating an environment where companies need help crafting unique talent solutions. Boyden helps bridge antiquated or absent processes with what can work in today’s changing landscape to ensure that business can mitigate risk.
One example of where Boyden’s services are in high demand is with respect to creating a talent strategy to respond to new business challenges, including new required leadership competencies, talent shortages and innovation requirements, she says.
Other new considerations have also evolved. “Employees and potential ones, for example, are looking at how organizations have an impact on the social issues that matter,” Osmond adds.
In Calgary, sustainability has become one of those hot issues, explains Robert Travis, managing partner at Boyden.
“Five years ago, an organization could attract top talent really with compensation alone,” he says. “Now, that potential talent pool is making decisions based on other important needs.”
Boyden clients are also looking at candidates differently.
Increasingly, they see the ability to adapt to change quickly as a key asset, especially at the executive level.
“All of this is part of the formula for this great equalization,” Travis adds.
That includes finding solutions to address “some of the deepest darkest fears” leaders have, he adds.
“At Boyden we touch all the bases our clients need, whereas our competitors cannot,” Osmond says.
Indeed, Boyden’s expertise could not be more needed than today as many businesses and other organizations seek new road maps to traverse a new socio-economic environment, Travis says.
“It’s not like they can look to their peers and ask how they did it, because they’re all doing it at the same time,” he says. “This great equalization is new for everyone.”
This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of Calgary Economic Development.
