Rock on: Toronto-based Deloitte group Half Way to Disco won the 2014 Big Four Battle of the Bands


— methods they hope will appeal to workers who may have turned their noses up at traditional team-building activities. “A lot of approaches to engage employees have been based on sports — going to watch or play hockey, golf, soccer, foot- ball,” says Mark Whitmore, Deloitte’s managing partner in Toronto. “League of Rock is unique in that it reaches those interested in music and more broadly the arts.”


The program is structured so that everyone from a complete


across Canada, thanks in part to mounting research that shows an engaged workforce is a boon for employers. A 2010 survey of nearly 370 Canadian HR professionals by


Psychometrics Canada, for example, found that engaged employees are willing to do more than expected (39%), exhibit higher levels of productivity (27%), have better working rela- tionships with colleagues (13%) and have more satisfied cus- tomers (10%). On the other hand, disengaged employees are more likely to have dysfunctional work relationships (29%), are less productive (25%), are reluctant to go above and beyond their duties (17%), plus 7% end up skipping work and 8% resign or are let go. (The low level of turnover sounds deceptively innocuous: what it really means is that these toxic people stick around the office to damage everyone else’s productivity.) Moreover, employee engagement in Canada could certainly


use a boost. According to Gallup’s 2013 State of the Global Workplace study, less than one-fifth (16%) of Canadians are engaged at work, 70% are not engaged and 14% are “actively disengaged,” meaning they act out their unhappiness at work and demoralize their engaged coworkers. It’s no wonder so many corporations (Unilever, BlackBerry,


Scotiabank, Best Buy and Microsoſt, to name a few) have signed on for League of Rock, at a cost of $15,000 to $100,000 a year or more, depending on the calibre of musical guests and coaches. They’re looking for new ways to foster employee engagement


28 | CPA MAGAZINE | APRIL 2015


novice to a proficient musician can participate. “Music truly levels the playing field,” says Moshenberg. “It’s a win-win for companies and senior managers — staff spirit is lit up, engage- ment is high, relationships deepen and creativity improves.” Marco Radunz, a corporate event planner in Burnaby, BC,


would wholeheartedly agree. After meeting Moshenberg at a trade fair in 2011, he hired League of Rock for a Royal LePage event that focuses on building referrals and networking among the real estate firm’s sales agents. “We had great involvement by two teams of 20 realtors from across Canada, rewriting the lyrics to well-known rock songs, rehearsing and then presenting their show to an audience of 300,” says Radunz. “It was hugely benefi- cial in terms of networking, as well as a lot of fun for the partici- pants and the audience. Given the key purpose of the event was to build strong cross-Canada referral ties between agents, we certainly benefited from having League of Rock there.” The Big Four accounting firms are also keen proponents of


the program. Deloitte got on board five years ago and has con- tinued to invest in it because it encourages staff at all levels and from various areas of the firm to connect. “Each band has a mix of employees from across the business,


allowing people to meet colleagues they may have not had the opportunity to meet otherwise and collaborate in a meaningful and impactful way,” says Whitmore. While it’s difficult to quan- tify the return on investment for this kind of employee engage- ment program, the C-suite’s backing speaks volumes. “The fact


Photos courtesy of Stephen Parry


Fin Costello/Getty Images


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