Our People

We are at a moment in history where responsible employers can and should take the lead in breaking down barriers to provide opportunities so that our workforce more closely resembles the communities we serve. Establishing a clear road map on our strategic approach to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion workstream will be critical to achieving best-in-class status by 2024.  

For example, we will establish partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities and educational institutions with significant student diversity. We also intend to establish partnerships and launch recruitment events with community groups to spur the acceleration of inclusion plans. Finally, it is our goal to improve diversity (including gender balance) throughout the organization, including at senior leadership levels. 

An effective and fully integrated DEI program that substantively addresses systemic issues in our industry is critical to attracting and retaining those with diverse backgrounds and establishing KCS as a welcoming and inclusive environment for all. 

As a complex organization served by 14 different trade unions, our success as a company is linked to the strength of our relationship with our unionized workforce and leaders. Over the past several years, we have increased the frequency of and opportunities for direct communication between our unions and the KCS leadership team. In the next three years, we will identify and implement channels of communication not only with union leadership, but directly with field staff. Communication is critical to maintaining positive relationships with union leadership and fostering collaboration while respecting the collective bargaining agreements. With a new round of collective bargaining expected to take place during the period covered by this business plan, KCS is committed to working closely with our unions and exploring all avenues to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. 

The importance of communication is not limited to our unionized staff, but is equally important to our entire workforce. As part of our focus on building a robust internal communication strategy, we will revamp our intranet to build a user-friendly communication channel for critical messages, policies, procedures, and resources. We will also seek new channels of communication to reach staff wherever they work to keep them fully informed and engaged. 

Leveraging the information gleaned from our annual engagement survey, we will develop custom annual action plans for each department to improve our employees’ experience in the workplace and to make sure they can perform their respective day-to-day activities under the best possible conditions. 

A proper absenteeism management program is essential for overall employee engagement. For those individuals who experience life events that result in departure from the workforce, whether on a short-term or long-term basis, clear communication and well-laid-out processes  can reduce the stress and uncertainty that accompany such an absence.   

A robust absenteeism management program should include the creation and implementation of best-practice management systems, effective administration, measurement and management of absenteeism and revisions to processes where necessary. This will allow managers to effectively manage absenteeism and reduce the frustration experienced both by managers who are operating short-handed and of coworkers who can be demotivated by system abuse. The business will continue to devote considerable energy and resources to revising its absenteeism management system over the next year. 

Finally, because We Care about the health and wellness of our people, we will build action plans that enhance the employee. We will accomplish this by bolstering existing recognition programs and developing dynamic new programs to demonstrate the company’s appreciation and recognize employees who go above and beyond in their contributions. 

One of the core means by which we can demonstrate KCS’ commitment to its people is through our investment in them. Over the course of the next three years, KCS will continue to evolve its learning and development workstream to provide staff at all levels with thoughtful training opportunities designed to ensure a positive work experience. By providing a path for personal growth and development, we hope to cultivate stronger manager-employee relationships. As the labor market reshuffles on the back end of the pandemic, talent acquisition and retention is critical for our business to thrive. It is therefore KCS’ intention to more efficiently and effectively optimize recruiting and onboarding processes. This integration will be further refined over the course of the next 12 to 18 months in order to ensure that anticipated attrition and unexpected vacancies are filled on a timely basis with qualified candidates. 

Additionally, we will continue to focus on effective business continuity and succession planning that will allow for right-sizing, upgrading, knowledge transfer, retention, and recruitment so that the business is not dependent on a single person or small group of individuals in critical operating areas. In addition to the recruiting function, we will continue to enhance the shared services experience with the implementation of features that will streamline and evolve the employee experience. 

Through the deployment of the Me@Keolis tool and its enhanced functionality, we will establish self-service channels across the organization. Where possible, a move toward automation will eliminate manual processes and ensure the adoption of product enhancements.