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Power Corporation
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Power Corporation
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Overview
A message from our CEO
Our Commitments
Stakeholder Engagement
ESG Priorities
Highlights and Commitments
Measuring our Governance Performance
Sustainable Development Goals
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Talent Development and Engagement

Attracting and developing employees with the right skills and aptitudes remains a constant priority for our organization and the companies in which we invest. We believe that to meet our business goals we must continue to attract and retain the most talented people through continuous learning and performance reward programs.

The quality and depth of our management teams, advisors and employees – at both the holding company level and within our group companies – has been built over a long time. It has always been a key priority and an important factor behind our success in creating long-term shareholder value.

Our Commitment

We commit to developing a highly skilled and performance-based workforce. We empower our people to develop their teams in ways that reinforce our responsible management culture within a tradition of strong and disciplined leadership. Our objective is to create positive working relationships with our employees and to provide them with opportunities for career growth, as they contribute to the success of our business and of society as a whole.

Programs

Our talent development strategy is based on building leadership capabilities, creating a responsible management culture, and recognizing and rewarding performance.

Talent Development Focus
Programs

Building Leadership Capabilities

Skills development programs are offered through relevant internal and external training sessions stressing specific competencies and job responsibilities, including professional development, continuing education courses, seminars and conferences.

On-the-job coaching and development opportunities are provided within our group companies so that employees can broaden their perspectives, gain a better understanding of our diverse businesses, and share their experiences.

Opportunities are offered to work with executives and leadership teams to gain knowledge through exposure to leadership practices and strategies and to develop individual talent to its fullest potential.

Creating a Responsible Management Culture

Our employees receive regular reminders of our responsible management philosophy and core values as espoused in our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and are required to annually attest their compliance to our Code and our related corporate policies. As part of the mandatory annual training session on our Code, we raise awareness and educate our people on key environmental, social and governance themes such as conflict of interest, anti-corruption, data privacy, respect at work, human rights, and the environment.  

Discussions are held on our responsible management approach and on various sustainability-related topics at the Board and management levels. Topics include sustainability awareness, responsible investing, carbon management disclosure, as well as reporting to rating organizations.

Rewarding Performance

Our performance and career management program focuses on three performance development pillars:

  • Results-based goals – we establish individualized, results-based goals that align with our core business levers towards long-term value creation, quality of execution and risk management.

  • Competencies – we define clear competencies that we believe are important to execute our strategies.

  • Individual development plans – we work with our employees to align their aspirations with business needs. Through these plans, we support employee career growth initiatives consistent with organizational objectives. We also provide third-party training programs and on-the-job training.

Our performance and career management program includes a formal annual performance review process for all eligible employees at the holding company level.  

We offer progressive compensation packages, comprised of a balance between fixed and variable remuneration programs and competitive pension, savings and benefits programs.

Engaging Employees

We engage with employees through a variety of communications, training, awareness sessions, and other employee activities. For further information, visit the Stakeholder Engagement page of this microsite. 

Power Corporation encourages and supports engagement with the not-for-profit sector and personal giving by employees through its Employee Giving Program. The program recognizes and rewards employees’ efforts in two ways: by matching personal charitable donations and providing grants to eligible charitable organization where employees volunteer. 

Empowering People

Highlights from our Group Companies

Employee Engagement

Great-West Lifeco is committed to enhancing the employee experience and continues to measure and monitor employee engagement across the company. At Canada Life, the company regularly seeks out and listens to the perspectives of its employees. In September 2021, more than 10,000 employees (87 per cent) responded to its annual employee engagement survey. The company’s engagement score of 84 per cent ranked among the top quartile of companies for the second consecutive year. To continue strengthening its culture, Canada Life will address areas of opportunity through a three-point action plan at the national, business unit and leader levels. In addition, for a second consecutive year, Canada Life was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a national competition that shines a spotlight on companies that lead their industries in offering an exceptional work environment. 

Creating a highly engaging workplace experience for its employees is also strategic priority across IGM Financial. Regular updates are given to employees from the CEO and the Executive Vice-President and Chief Human Resources Officer via video, emails, webcasts and employee forums. Along with these updates, they have divisional townhall meetings, intranets and dedicated information hubs, as well as email bulletins and newsletters. Increasingly, they are using technology for live questions and instant polling. In addition to an annual employee engagement survey, the company uses short pulse surveys to gather timely feedback on specific topics – such as wellness, internal communications and returning to the office – and adjusts its approaches if needed. Results and follow-up plans are broadly shared across the organization. Finally, technology enhancements enabled IGM Financial to dig deeper into the 2021 engagement survey data to identify trends in different parts of the organization. While protecting anonymity, senior leaders were given access to their business area’s survey results, and worked with their teams to facilitate post-survey conversations aimed at understanding the story behind the numbers and taking relevant action. 

IGM Financial’s subsidiary Investment Planning Counsel surveys its network of financial advisors three times per year. The survey results feed into an Advisor Satisfaction Index, giving advisors a voice and providing them with insights into what’s important for their advisors and how the company can help them build better businesses. The results captured through this index also influence employees’ year-end compensation and give them a Net Promoter Score, which measures the likelihood that an Investment Planning Counsel advisor would recommend the firm to another advisor in the industry.

Leadership Development

IGM Financial’s leadership development approach includes a consistent succession planning framework to identify and develop employees who have leadership potential, and to identify succession candidates for critical senior roles. Annual talent and succession reviews assess leadership potential and assist the company in creating strategies to develop talent and take other steps, as required. Training and resources are geared to the specific needs of leaders and targeted to high-potential individuals. Leaders have access to additional training including two in-house designed leadership development programs: 

  • In 2021, IGM Financial relaunched the LEAD program for high-potential leaders, which features experience-based development through work on real projects. The revised curriculum focused on developing the competencies identified in their new competency framework. 

  • IGM Financial also relaunched the Leadership Fundamentals program for new and emerging leaders. This program focuses on core leadership concepts and practices that inspire high levels of team engagement and performance.  

In addition to these programs, in 2021, all IGM Financial employees participated in inclusive behaviour training, which uses self-reflection and discussion to increase awareness and action. Teams completed the training together so members could support each other and apply learnings directly to their work. 

ENCOURAGING TRAINING

Employee learning and development remains a priority for Great-West Lifeco, as it continues to offer career path-specific supports and opportunities for several disciplines. In Canada alone, in 2021, over 12,043 Canada Life employees attended 139 workshops, and 144,000 eLearning training sessions were completed by employees. In addition, Canada Life continued to offer Percipio – an intelligent and intuitive virtual classroom that includes nearly 700 pre-curated topics mapped to and based on core skills that are in demand at leading global companies, and an increased number of learning resources available in English and French. 

Canada Life’s internship and co-op programs help students accelerate their careers and, in 2021, 129 students joined the company on work placements. Programs are offered in areas like actuarial sciences, accounting, auditing, investments, human resources, technology and digital strategy. The company’s Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) program is one of its cornerstone student programs. Candidates in Winnipeg and London can work with a team of CPAs and receive valuable coaching, mentorship and study resources including an in-house exam preparation course for eligible employees pursuing the designation. Fourty-nine students participated in 2021.

IGM Financial’s redesigned performance management program focuses on simplicity, flexibility and transparency. Leaders set clear expectations on performance objectives and competencies, provide ongoing coaching and feedback, and create personal development plans with all employees. Annual objectives are aligned with company strategy and leaders hold quarterly meetings to review progress. The competency framework gives employees clear indicators of what’s expected of them at each career level and helps in creating their development plans. All tasks are completed through a digital talent management system that automates and integrates performance management and compensation tools. Learning and development opportunities are provided through a combination of formal training, feedback, coaching, and on-the-job experience, all supported through individual development plans that are required for all employees. 

Here are a few examples of training programs at IGM Financial’s companies: 

  • IG University is IG Wealth Management’s enhanced learning institute for advisors. Programming is anchored to the core pillars of financial planning, practice management, professional responsibility, products and services, practice management and leadership development. Programs, training and resources include more than 2,400 hours of continuing education-accredited content. Approximately 57,420 courses were completed in 2021. 

  • Mackenzie Investments has a dedicated practice management team that supports advisors in managing and growing their business through workshops, keynotes, tools and resources. In 2021, the team delivered more than 602 advisor Zoom meetings and 30 formal presentations.   

  • Investment Planning Counsel’s Learning Network provides opportunities for employees and independent advisors to connect nationally, so they can benefit from knowledge and insights from across the company.  

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) strives to create an environment where people are valued, supported and empowered to be successful both personally and professionally. This involves conducting annual assessments where the development opportunities and career objectives of each employee are discussed and reviewed. Furthermore, GBL gives all individuals the resources to develop their expertise and leadership skills, by supporting and providing training opportunities for its employees’ professional development. 

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