56
SPONSOR CONTENT
BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2024)
FortisBC cultivates talent, connections and community
D
uring Maral Lotfian’s seven years at FortisBC, she has helped to develop the company’s culture of belonging so much that now she can’t imagine working anywhere else. “It is a very nurturing culture,” says the director of employee experience. “We want our people to be supported, to feel a sense of connection and to belong.”
We want our people to be supported, to feel a sense of connection and to belong. — Maral Lotfian Director of Employee Experience
In 2016, Lotfian left the retail industry to join B.C.’s largest energy provider as an employee communication specialist. Her leaders encouraged her to take ownership of projects, develop her ideas and enrol in various development opportunities. Within two years she was promoted to manager. This year she became a director. Lotfian doesn’t see her rapid rise at FortisBC as unique. “That is a testament to how as an organization we develop talent and look internally,” she says. “Everyone here wants to cultivate talent. We know our people are the energy behind shaping and leading B.C.’s clean energy transformation.” As part of her work strengthening the company’s culture of belonging and employee experience, Lotfian and her team put out a call to employees earlier this year
to share their personal stories on the company’s intranet site. They wanted to spark discussions, as well as greater awareness, among employees about the diversity of their lived experiences outside of FortisBC. The response was overwhelming and resulted in an inspiring short video of employees speaking candidly about everything from their own experience growing up in poverty to suffering from depression to facing discrimination in a multi-racial marriage. “The video was to get to know our employees and who we are,” says Andrea Cadogan, vice president, people. “It’s emotional.” Across the province, FortisBC provides safe, reliable and
affordable renewable energy, natural gas, electricity and propane to more than 1.2 million customers, including to 58 First Nations communities. Its infrastructure crosses more than 150 traditional territories. “Our employees also live in those communities and are customers of FortisBC,” says Cadogan. Living in the communities where they work and fostering strong connections is essential to the company’s work. That’s evident in the more than $4.5 million in grassroots initiatives it supported last year in 65 communities and its partnerships with First Nations. “We have made a strong commitment to Indigenous relations,
and we will continue to build and strengthen those relationships,” says Cadogan. FortisBC’s dedication to fostering strong relationships with Indigenous communities was publicly recognized in October when the company received a silver-level designation in progressive Aboriginal relations from the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business. “Getting recognition from the Indigenous community on the work that we do is something to be proud of,” says Cadogan. FortisBC has a long history of engaging with First Nations. More than 20 years ago, the energy provider worked with Indigenous leaders to develop its statement of
At FortisBC, employees are encouraged to advance their ideas and learn through its career development opportunities.