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NEW GLASGOW - It’s no secret that businesses of all sizes and in all fields struggle to attract and keep employees. Those pressing needs are pervasive and provided the impetus for the Pictou County Chamber of Commerce and Patterson Law to hold a recent lunch and learn at Summer Street Industries.

Panelists Olivia Hasler, People and Culture Manager at Grant Thornton, Kim West, President of Boyer-Thompson and Jennifer Swinemar-Murray, Senior Director Human Resources at Irving, fronted a lively and informative discussion based on questions of the importance of workplace culture, the need for innovative and creative leadership for business owners and the value of knowing your workforce.

Hasler spoke of the growing importance of workplace culture. A healthy culture can’t be created in a vacuum, there needs to be a strong and proactive leadership in place. People crave a human connection and it’s no different in the workplace, she added.

“People want to feel this belonging, work is so social...You can’t really fake culture, you can’t fake that human connection, you just have to do it.”

West noted that employers have to understand their company’s culture and how it’s evolving.

“You can’t change the world overnight, but in incremental steps.”

On innovative and creative leadership, West said it’s a hot market now for job seekers, so employers need to think differently about hiring.

“People are really the most important asset, it’s a...

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