Global at IFM Investors

Joanne Key

Joanne Key is a distinguished executive director of global organizational development and learning at IFM Investors. With a vast career spanning over 25 years, Key brings extensive experience in HR consulting and organizational development, particularly within the financial and professional services sectors. In her current role, Key leads the design and implementation of programs that enhance employee experience, strengthen culture and build leadership capability. Her work focuses on fostering organizational growth through bespoke interventions that address learning, engagement and capability at all career levels.

Key is a passionate advocate for aligning culture with strategy and is widely recognized for her expertise. She has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Platinum Award for Best eLearning Design – Simulation in 2016 and the Gold Award for Best Talent – Learning Partnership in 2014. Known for her strong commitment to culture and strategic leadership skills, she frequently collaborates with industry peers and has been honored with multiple awards, including the Winner Australian Learning Innovation Award and the Gold Award for Best Talent Management.

In an interview with Manage HR APAC, Key emphasizes how the evolution of culture and values can be driven and reinforced to align with global strategy.

Building a Culture for Tomorrow

It started with the introduction of a new five-year Global Strategy with a future-ready agenda setting out how we will achieve our aspirations and deliver on our purpose to invest, protect and grow the long-term retirement savings of working people.

To achieve our global strategy, we need to be clear about the kind of culture (our ‘how’) we need to deliver our purpose (our ‘why’) and enable our strategy (our ‘what’). We established a Culture and Values project to define our aspirational culture and articulate the values and behaviors to drive our new global strategy. Evolving our culture and values is important to ensure that we remain relevant, adaptable and aligned with our Global Strategy, while also meeting the evolving expectations of our clients, employees, shareholders and the communities in which we operate.

In my view, co-creation has proven to be the most effective strategy in evolving our culture and values. Providing varied opportunities and channels for everyone to be heard was essential to understand our current and desired future culture. This involved a focus on articulating culture as the ‘how’ of our organization, how things get done, how people work together, how value is created, how people are motivated, how people talk and make decisions.  This was supplemented with a series of workshops across regions to co-create the values and then further workshops to co-create the behaviors that underpin the values.  This consultation process culminated with a Culture and Values Roadmap illustrating the actionable ways to bring our desired culture and refreshed values to life over a multi-year time horizon.

“The creation of a new global strategy to build a future-ready organization was a pivotal moment for us to invest and evolve our culture and values to bring the strategy to life.”

Our values are and will continue to be fundamental to our identity, culture and success. They will guide our behavior, foster a positive work environment, and influence how IFM is perceived by us, our clients and our communities.

We recognize that cultural change is complex, and not just one change, but many changes that need to be coordinated, aligned and reinforced. We expect shifting our culture will take time, with some changes achievable within a year, while others may extend to two to three years or even more. Culture is something we all contribute to, and its maintenance is vital. I expect our leaders to actively role model the expected behaviors.  Leaders need to detect and respond if there is a sudden shift in behaviors and performance, remember why we are changing and support cultural change. From my experience and expertise, leaders play a central and pivotal role in shaping the culture of our organization.  They profoundly influence culture through their behaviors, decisions and communication. By intentionally reinforcing the desired cultural traits, our leaders are creating an environment that supports achieving our strategic objectives and our overall success.

Shaping Culture through Tailored Leadership

Our leaders participated in ‘Leading Culture’ workshops enriched with frameworks, tools and insights to build a culture that delivers strategies and achieves an advantage. The workshops were an opportunity for our leaders to reflect on the collective shadow they cast on our organization. Our leaders have a large influence on deliverables and team engagement. The workshops enhanced their ability to understand and embody their roles as shapers of our culture by the decisions they make, the symbols they send and how these messages are received by our teams, clients, stakeholders and the wider communities in which we operate.

Culture is no different from any other enablers of our business performance that we need to manage. The difference is that culture has not always been well understood, and often, the impact is underestimated. It can be challenging and take time to shift.

We invited all employees to attend seminars on ‘Living our Culture’ to understand the role we all play in building a true culture for success. We established programs across our employee lifecycle to embed and recognize the importance of living our values to drive our desired culture. A key priority is the execution of our Culture and Values Roadmap over the next three years, which will involve tracking, measuring and reporting at each stage before advancing. We are now one year into our cultural evolution, and it has been so rewarding to see the shifts in mindsets and behaviors driving our desired culture and creating the optimal environment for everyone to succeed in their roles.