Every organization strives for the combination to a winning corporate culture - one that attracts the best employees, provides a setting for growth and opportunity, and has them endorsing the brand to their friends and neighbors. The culture is put to the test during a major change, when employees are uncertain about the future. This session will explore Dell's entry into Ottawa, the start-up of a new and thriving culture, and the keys to maintaining extraordinary levels of engagement, even during downsizing.

From this session, discover best practices for attracting the right talent to your organization and retaining them in a thriving culture. Come prepared with questions about implementing this forward-thinking approach in your own organization.

Blair Patacairk

Competing for the best employees in a tight labor market means much more than raising base salaries or increasing hourly wages. The most effective organizations are engaging the hearts and minds of employees by establishing transparent and two-way communication with them. Best Buy Canada responded to this complex challenge of building engagement with 20,000 employees, representing a diverse employee audience from both the Best Buy and Future Shop brands.

This session will explore Best Buy's successful approach to restoring employee commitment and loyalty by gathering substantial input from employees, emphasizing two-way communication, making small (and some large) changes, and using metrics to prove the results.

Kelly Cardwell Director of Rewards and HRIS, Best Buy Canada

Janice Antaya-Finlayson Vice President of Corporate Human Resources, Best Buy Canada

In 2008, Canada's national police force began one of the most complex change processes in Canadian history. The vision for change included building upon an organizational culture so strong that it is a major Canadian icon and one of the most recognizable "brand" symbols in the world. The challenges included enhancing employee engagement, creating new leadership models, and significantly adapting communication processes to a changing world of expectations and technology. All of which and more occurred under tremendous new media scrutiny and demands for quick success!

Using new research and development tools, the RCMP Change Management Team is coordinating a team of more than 100 national change leaders in exploring how organizational culture links to the daily organizational climate, and how workplace engagement is affected by systems of authority, responsibility, accountability, and communications.

This session will share success stories and frustrations. It will also provide new research data on how to create effective workplace engagement through leadership, teamwork, and communications.

Dr. Eli Sopow Director of Research & Analysis, National Change Management Team, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Melcrum conferences attract such high-caliber attendees, that our participants always want more time to discuss ideas with each other. Here's your chance! We will track the subjects that are creating the most interesting dialogue and provide opportunities for meaningful discussions.

Once the Employee Engagement Survey is complete, the really hard work has just begun. Organizations that make strides in their engagement levels drill deep down into the survey results, create a culture of accountability, and translate the survey results into action at the local level.

This session will examine how the Ministry of Government Services is creating an engaged organizational climate by empowering line ministries to take a fresh look at the analysis of survey results, develop action planning with a cross-section of their employees, and translate the feedback into appropriate and specific actions. This co-presentation will provide the unique insight from both the corporate level and a ministry that has implemented an action plan.

Michele Ratsch Talent Management Coordinator, Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care/Ministry of Health Promotion Human Resources Branch, Ministry of Government Services

Claude Andre Senior Advisor, Service Excellence Office, Transformation, Innovation and Excellence Branch, Modernization Division, Ministry of Government Services