How CPCS is managing talent inclusively
CPCS now attracts and hires more women thanks to a practical, inclusive talent strategy transforming all facets of our company’s culture.
Hello, I’m Diane Lane-Hutchings, head of talent management at CPCS, a global management consultancy in the infrastructure sector. I wrote this article.
Today, because of this inclusive strategy, our team of 160 people is now almost 40% women, and our board of directors is made up of 3 women and 5 men.
As the custodian and chief implementer of this inclusive talent strategy, shifting a company’s conscience around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has been the biggest and most rewarding challenge of my career, and for CPCS.
Our strategy is practical:
- We’re prioritizing promotions from within, rewriting policies, reducing biases in our hiring, conducting gender pay gap reviews, processing tons of feedback, and more.
- We have a dedicated Inclusion seat on our Board of Directors.
- Our employee-led advisory group is keeping this strategy fresh and grounded.
Even if this inclusive strategy is still in its infancy, CPCS is already benefiting from it. The pace at which I’m seeing positive impact is motivating and a reason to continue.
More women are approaching CPCS
The percentage of women we hired in 2018 was 22% compared to 52% in 2022!
While this is good news, a lingering challenge remains. My team continues to receive more women applicants for corporate roles, while more men apply for consulting positions.
- Hoping that a result like this will change won’t work. That’s why this inclusive strategy matters to control or at least influence what we can.
Knowing this, I care in attracting and hiring women in management consulting, and more so, in the infrastructure sector.
So here I am, creating fair and welcoming conditions, because I want them to thrive at CPCS like I am.
Culture change momentum
Of course, CPCS isn’t perfect, but this strategy is changing for good how “things are done around here.”
It’s working because our employees know that what happening is genuine. They’re seeing concrete, steady progress. For example:
- CPCS notched these two employer awards for its progressive culture and people management practices.
- 90% of our employee told us via Officevibe they feel a strong sense of belonging at CPCS.
- Look at who’s on our Team, and you’ll see that CPCS is brimming with diversity.
Boosting gender representation
While CPCS is rich in diversity, I’m working on reconfiguring a full set of processes and policies to increase gender representation for each job level in our company. It matters because women or members of underrepresented groups haven’t risen to the top as quickly.
On a positive note, more women have joined and progressed within CPCS as senior and principal consultants over 3 years, and the trend is continuing.
CPCS staff composition shows some gender imbalance, especially at more senior levels
CPCS thrives on continuous feedback
Employees feed CPCS with loads of feedback. It’s humbling and prevents group thinking.
They tell us in real time the good and the bad, which is a must to improve and fix things quickly. And they do it through various channels, including Officevibe and Have Your Say. As the image below shows, employees have so far submitted over 200 feedback entries through Have Your Say.
Also, because we’re employee-owned, employees have a vested interest in seeing CPCS succeed. Over 50% of them own shares in CPCS, so they gladly speak up and know that it’s safe.
And our internal advisory group in charge of DEI doesn’t hold back either. When we meet, ideas collide, we challenge them, and we’re far better because of this. It improves the systems and tools that run our company.
CPCS is recruiting:
- Discover what’s it like to work at CPCS
- See job openings
- Contact a member of our Talent Management Team at careers@cpcs.ca
Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter below, and be the first to get blog updates and gain free access to exclusive webinars and research.
