Heather Hastie

Manager, Communications @City of Calgary

Calgary, AB, CA

Supervises 8 leaders who oversee departmental communications teams comprised of 160 staff, including media relations, employee communications and crisis communications- Uses high performance coaching to lead a team of senior individuals that achieve results by inspiring and guiding others- Actively nurtures positive team dynamics within a politically charged environment and high-stress situations- Cultivates relationships across the organization to facilitate collaboration among communicators and clients to produce effective communications strategyKey highlights:Staff reorganizationSuccessfully reorganized staff to create the Communications Division that aligns communications across City departments and business units. Resulted in improved business processes that allow citizens to be better informed of City programs and initiatives.Increased employee trust and satisfaction by embedding staff directly with internal clients to allow the sharing of business knowledge, resulting in more effective communications strategies to support business objectives.Improved collaboration among teams by developing a leadership team focused on problem solving, issues management and sharing strategic insights Metrics that demonstrate the success of this division include:Employee trust and collaboration indicators at 90%, an increase of 33 pointsService measures such as timeliness, helpfulness and overall experience range from 88% to 93%, an increase of 20 to 40 pointsMeeting or exceeding client expectation increased to 87%, an increase of 33 pointsJob evaluationProvided management input into the job evaluation process for two positions that resulted in an updated description of roles and responsibilities, and rate of payCrisis CommunicationsOversees communications support for the Emergency Operations Centre. During my tenure major activations have included COVID-19, Yellowknife Wildfires, the World Petroleum Congress and the Red Line (LRT) closure.

University of Calgary

Masters, Communications Studies

The University of British Columbia

Bachelor of Arts, French Lit and Political Science (double major)

The University of British Columbia

Bachelor of Education, Secondary