About
Inner Strength Communication and SummersDirect Conference & Events have come together to present this event for human resources and internal communications professionals from across Canada.
Inner Strength Communication uses its expertise in Internal Communication, Change Management and Branding to enable, engage and empower employees and internal stakeholders to deliver business results from the inside out.
With a lofty vision…that organizations and leaders see strategic internal communication as integral to business success. That’s why they are committed to helping communication and business professionals to step up their game; bring strategic communication solutions to the boardroom; and earn their seat at the table.
SummersDirect Conference & Events is a conference planning company that sets itself apart from the rest with a focus on customer service and value. With over a dozen years of providing quality conference programming to communications professionals across Canada.
SummersDirect events deliver:
- quality speakers presenting on real-life case studies
- tools and techniques that you can take away and use
- networking opportunities with your peers to exchange ideas and best practices
- value for your money
Venue
Prestige Beach House Kelowna
1675 Abbott St, Kelowna, BC
250.860.7900 or 1.877.737.8443
Sponsors
Conference
Monday, Sept. 21, 2020
8:00 – 8:30 a.m. REGISTRATION AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
8:30 – 8:45 a.m. WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR
Priya Bates, ABC, MC, CMP, IABC Fellow, President, Inner Strength Communication Inc.
8:45 – 9:30 a.m. OPENING KEYNOTE: Getting to the Heart of It All
Ayelet Baron, Author & former Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Cisco
Our hearts know it because we have experienced glimpses of what communication in our world can be. Yet, as individuals and professionals, we stay stuck in decaying paradigms that no longer serve the vast majority of humanity. We are living in one of the most amazing times in human history and yet we mostly lead with structure and technology, when there are abundant opportunities to create with meaning in business and life. But we don’t easily know how to get there from here as it yet to be acceptable to trust our hearts.
9:30 – 10:15 a.m. Cultivating A Transformation-Ready Workplace Culture
Sheri Morgan, ABC, Director of Communications, PepsiCo Foods Canada
In early 2015, PepsiCo Foods Canada (PFC) had reached a milestone in its 40 years of operations. The Canadian consumer, customer and industry landscapes were changing fast and the company’s Executive Committee laid out a new 2020 strategic plan to address the growth opportunities ahead. Against the backdrop of this new plan and significant transformation agenda, and a newly-appointed President, PFC Communications seized the opportunity to lead an organizational culture change which was critical for the company’s long-term success. The result was a multi-year communications strategy which both engaged employees and transformed the culture to embrace transformation and growth.
In this session, full of practical examples and lessons learned, you’ll hear about how:
- The Communications team identified an opportunity to connect multiple business events to elevate and transform the company’s internal communications strategy.
- Communications and HR partnered closely to develop, refine and launch a new culture rally cry and behaviours and embedded them at all levels of the organization.
- The PFC Executive Committee and senior leaders engaged all of its 5,000 employees in its transformation journey.
- To engage a diverse and disbursed employee population through technology-based campaigns.
10:15 – 10:30 a.m. NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Engagement – Numbers to Conversations
Shawna Boyko, Director, People Services, Calgary Zoo
Engagement is a moment, a conversation, a connection. True engagement is when employers can move the conversation from numbers to authentic discussion between leaders and their people. Three insights participants will gain:
- Engagement is a moment and not a thing or program
- People leaders are the true drives of engagement
- What engagement looks like (and it won’t be the same for every organization)
11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Beyond the annual survey: Leveraging employee ambassadors to increase employee engagement
Erica Howes, Communications Specialist and Sanita Alias, HR Director
CIRA, Canadian Internet Registration Authority
Employee engagement isn’t just about a score on an annual survey. It’s about creating employee experiences where people feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. CIRA is a team of 100 and we compete with global, world-recognized, technology companies for highly skilled talent. We completely overhauled all of our HR and talent management programs over the last couple of years and now see the results: a high performing, inclusive and engaged workplace.
This past year, CIRA has been recognized as one of Canadas Best Employer’s by Kincentric, a winner of Canada’s Most Admired Cultures and been awarded Most Effective Recruitment Strategy at the Canadian HR Awards.
We’ve shifted employee engagement from an HR initiative, to an organizational wide priority. To do this we needed to agree on the culture we wanted at CIRA and ensure we are living up to it. This didn’t happen overnight and required a lot of candour and trust. We want to show you how we got here, and highlight steps and tips on how to implement this at your workplace.
In this session, you will learn:
- How to create and empower a team of staff ambassadors to make employee engagement an organization-wide priority.
- How to improve your employer branding content with staff as your influencers.
- How to measure employee engagement, beyond an annual engagement survey.
12:00 – 12:45 p.m. NETWORKING LUNCHEON
12:45– 1:30 p.m. The Healthy Workplace
Katie Tedham, Associate, Design Manager, Gensler
At Gensler, we understand that work is about people, not policies; culture, not compliance; wellness, not administration. But how do you design the workplace to become the platform that supports and encourages this ethos? How can designing for wellness impact your people, your brand and your bottom line?
In this session Katie Tedham, Design Manager for Gensler Calgary will share four strategies for designing for workplace well-being that include:
- How to plan the Workplace for health and wellness
- How to accommodate more places for activity
- Strategies for improving environmental quality
- Learn about Canadian companies who’ve successfully implemented new policies
1:30 – 2:15 p.m. Creating a Positive Employee Experience: A City of Edmonton Journey
Brian Harker, Program Manager, Performance & Innovation, City of Edmonton
Creating a Positive Experience will walk participants through the journey that the City of Edmonton is on to create a sustain an excellent workplace for employees. Participants will:
- Gain a good understanding of how to create an effective voice of the employee strategy;
- See how to shift away from a traditional employee engagement survey cycle; and
- Learn how to define the employee experience.
2:15 – 2:45 p.m. NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK
2:45 – 3:30 p.m. To be announced
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Keynote: Creating Your Career Vision and Making it Real
Angee Linsey, Managing Director, Linsey Careers
Too often we find ourselves head down, managing our jobs, until one day we look up only to find we haven’t been managing our careers. If the only time you think about managing your career is during a performance review, or when you are unhappy in your current situation, this keynote will inspire you to dare to be deliberate by starting with your personal career vision.
In this session Angee will guide you through a values and vision exercise that is a game changer for anyone wanting to manage their career with intention.
- Whether your career is stuck in a rut or you’re on a fast track to leadership, learn how to imagine what “ideal” looks like so that you can ensure the path you’re on is the path you want.
- A fun exercise that you can do throughout your career to stay true to your goals as they evolve with your priorities through life.
- Once your vision is complete, learn how to make it real by having better career conversations with your boss, your mentors and your network so that you are attracting the right opportunities either within your current company or with a new organization.
4:30 p.m. CONFERENCE CONCLUDES FOR THE DAY
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Post-conference Workshops
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020
8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Workshop A: The Engagement Solution. Goals, Gaps and Gains
Priya Bates, President, Inner Strength Communication
Employees are getting weary of superficial engagement programs based on annual surveys that fail to address the real issues in organizations. In this workshop you will learn a new approach to assessing engagement that encourages collaboration and conversation to solve real business engagement issues
In this workshop we’ll focus on:
- Establish your engagement goals against business priorities including performance, participation, promotion and pride.
- Identify gaps in your communication and operational models that hurt credibility and get in the way of engagement success.
- Identify opportunities big and small to make real gains in engagement.
12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Workshop B: Ask don’t Tell: How a Coach Approach to Leadership Develops and Engages Staff
Catherine Ducharme, Director, Smart Savvy Academy, Smart Savvy & Associates
What would you accomplish if you could get the best out of yourself and the people you lead?
The leadership superpower for this millennium is a coaching mindset. Our workplaces and the people working in them are changing at a rapid pace. The days of leaders telling people what to do, having all the answers and providing solutions, is giving way to collaborative partnerships – where trust is given, and people are empowered. This has huge implications for how we lead, communicate, develop and engage staff and build trusting relationships. Enter coaching. Using intentional listening, curiosity and agenda-free, open questions, a coach approach supports, guides and challenges people to maximize their potential, performance, and skills. It’s less directive, and more about fueling individual learning by helping people tap into their own inner resources, generate their own solutions and truly own their decisions. Leaders who adopt a coaching leadership style see increased employee performance, retention and engagement. It also provides the freedom to lead and builds stronger teams and relationships. Indeed, we believe the leadership superpower for this millennium is a coaching mindset.
This highly interactive workshop introduces the foundational elements of coaching and equips participants with high-level concepts and basic skills to bring more of a coach approach to leadership. The workshop will be light on lecture and big on practice. Through coaching demos, real-plays and self-directed learning, participants will learn:
- What coaching is and isn’t
- The journey of coaching from start to action
- The power of coaching questions and what questions to ask
- When and how you can use coaching
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Pricing Information
Early Bird pricing ends July 29, 2020
| REGISTER NOW | Early Bird Rate | Regular Rate |
| BEST VALUE! Conference + Two Post-conference Workshops (Sept. 21 + 22) | $1,099.00 | $1,299.00 |
| Conference + 1 Post-conference Workshop (Sept. 21 & a half day on Sept. 22) | $999.00 | $1,199.00 |
| Conference Only (Sept.21, 2020) | $699.00 | $799.00 |
| Post-conference Two Workshops Only (Sept. 22, 2020) | $799.00 | $899.00 |
| Post-conference One Workshops Only (A.M. or P.M. on Sept. 22, 2020) | $499.00 | $599.00 |
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Cancellation & Refund Policy
Substitution of delegates is permissible without prior notification. Refunds will be given for cancellations received in writing no later than 10 days prior to the conference date subject to an administration fee of $200 plus $10 for GST. After this time, you are liable for the full registration fee even if you do not attend the conference. If you register during this 10 day period, you are also liable for the full fee. SummersDirect Inc. reserves the right to change program date, meeting place or content without further notice and assumes no liability for these changes.