Meet the 2022 Culture Creators

The Business Resilience Culture Creator Award recognizes the role that people play in businesses, and those businesses who create a space where everyone gets to be themselves, where hard work and commitment are recognized, and where corporate culture is central to the overall vision. The winner of this award will have a corporate culture that is welcoming, diverse, inclusive, inspiring, positive, and healthy, because investment into people is worth celebrating!
 
Learn what our 2022 Culture Creators did to live their values, in their own words.

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Catalyst Health Solutions Inc.
"We encourage healthcare professionals to be themselves and be creative in the healthcare environment. That’s what it is about. Focusing on the key elements of our values; Access, Collaboration, and Innovation, we start with our values, and we look out for each other.

We lean into our vulnerabilities, and we encourage stepping out of their comfort zones into new things, new ideas and developing each other. In capturing the business key values and mantra, access, collaboration, and innovation, we want to serve our communities, with impactful healthcare professionals that reflect the diverse communities we operate in."
 
CoLab Software Inc.
"Since day 1, CoLab has been heavily invested in People and a team-first culture. We care deeply about ensuring we get the right people onboard who are aligned with our core values. CoLab cultivates a culture of openness, kindness, and respect and highlights this through our core values: Kindness and Respect Come First, One team One Mission, Ownership Mentality, and Better Everyday.

At our core, we want to work with great humans. People who are respectful, value differences, and care about those they work with. We ensure each person that works at CoLab strongly exemplifies this core value throughout the recruitment process, anyone who does not demonstrate kindness and respect is not moved forward.

We put energy and care into cultivating a culture that promotes collaboration and problem solving. We take our responsibility as employers seriously, and we understand that it’s important for our people to be at their best in order for our team to function well together. Ensuring this Team-First culture has allowed us to overcome challenges together."
 
Cyno
"We know how much can be gained simply by encouraging respectful collaboration and fearless communication amongst a diverse group all over the world. We hold value in having a team that that is encouraged to bring their true authentic selves to work every single day. We are committed to open and honest communication between employees, employers, and clients.

Voicing constructive and respectful opinions, without the fear of prejudice, is the only way we will all improve together. We will not be afraid to respectfully contribute our ideas. We will promote an environment where it is encouraged to respectfully challenge ideas when needed.

At the heart of every successful team is respect. The fabric of our culture is built on the respect of all users, employees, employers, and partners. We may at times disagree, but we will always respect each other as we work together to improve our company. We will not compromise our integrity in exchange for a better bottom line. Every decision that we make is evaluated by the measuring sticks of honesty, trust, and support."
 
Fort Amherst Healthcare
"When you are in the business of caring for the most vulnerable members of our community, culture is everything.

Because we deal with the frail and elderly, we need to trust our employees completely, as if they were taking care of our own parents… or even our own selves. Culture is what gives us confidence that our people are doing the right thing – especially if it’s hard, and even if no one else is looking.

One of the things making us so serious about culture is our pace of growth. In the 3 years since inception, our business has grown to over 300 residents and 100 employees. Without the shared values that come with strong culture, there are no core principals to guide employees and directors when making difficult decisions. Procedures and policies are not enough; without a strong culture of doing the right thing, it is impossible for us to maintain exacting standards while scaling our business.
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So, in short, what is our approach to culture? When we are at our best, we eat it, sleep it, and breath it. The success of our business lives and dies by it. Our residents know when they are being treated transactionally and when they are being treated lovingly, and the latter is the only real source of competitive advantage in our industry. And this is the root of why culture matters to us – when we love harder, not only do we do better, but we also win bigger."
 
Growler Energy
"Growler Energy views “Tomorrow’s Energy” as much more than just green energy sources. We envision an industry where energy is clean, sustainable, and focuses on empowering the communities where we operate with a solid foundation in respect. It is diverse, inclusive, and ever evolving. It is a blend of new, emerging, and existing technologies. Culture is at the center of our operations, it is not just a buzz word, it is what drives us forward. It is a dedicated part of our values, and our commitments.

Our team members share the same vision and values. We’re a diverse team of big thinkers, problem solvers, and we’re always up for a challenge, big or small. We believe in strong partnerships, collaborations and working with companies that are local in the regions we work.

No two days at Growler Energy are the same, and we love what we do. We work together as a team, play together as a team, and strive towards a better tomorrow… as a team."
 
Rio Tinto - IOC
"Courage to Care (CTC) is an initiative that was launched at the Iron Ore Company of Canada as a direct result of a significant injury on the rail. The main goal of CTC is to minimize operational risk by engaging employees at all levels in identifying and lessening any risks related to the way their work is performed. Currently at IOC, Courage to Care which began as a program has become a part of normal activities. All areas on site involve as many employees as possible, whenever possible, to map out each task done in their area. We have learned that employee engagement is the key to success with the CTC Program.

By recognizing the workforce as subject matter experts, creating a safe environment to innovate and working together to all be the change we want to see, IOC is proudly improving the Safety and Health of our employees and our contractors. We have seen several safety records achieved in 2022 and have been able to decrease by 50% our Recordable Injury Frequency. This means we have halved the number of people injured at our work site. Something all our employees can proudly say at IOC is as a result of everyone’s commitment to Safe Production.

The Courage to Care initiative has broken down barriers, made people more risk aware and without a doubt, saved lives!"
 
NJ's Kitchen
"NJ’s Kitchen is a Bangladeshi Restaurant owned and operated by a Bangladeshi couple who moved in Newfoundland and Labrador from Bangladesh in 2011. Our strategy includes supporting our growing Bangladeshi community in St. John’s and representing a small country named Bangladesh to Canadians especially to Newfoundlanders by offering authentic East Indian cuisine and Bangladeshi cultural events.

In terms of employees, recently we have become a designated employer to be able to hire from abroad. We are not only hiring for our restaurant, we are also helping with population growth.

One thing we have learned: If we keep patience and do the hard work towards achieving our goal, one day we will win the battle. Switching from Indian Cuisine to Bangladeshi Cuisine has helped us big time. People love to try new thing and, indeed, people love to know about others."
 
NLCU
"We foster an inclusive work environment where people feel respected, motivated, and rewarded for a job well done, and where they can have fun. Diversity is a value that was set at the top: For years our former CEO (retired December 2021) mentored two young immigrant women, offering companionship and career guidance.

Our management team underwent DEI training and one of our HR personnel received their Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace certificate. An HR team member also attended last November’s IDEAS: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti‐Racism Summit. Our HR department established a good relationship with the Association for New Canadians, whom it consults on hiring, and regularly attends their job fairs. As a result, the hiring of visible minorities at NLCU has increased in recent years.

To further foster a sense of belonging, the HR department encourages employees from culturally different backgrounds to become involved in various volunteer and work committees at NLCU. The HR department also supports employees applying for permanent residency. Teams celebrate the milestone moments when a colleague becomes a permanent resident or Canadian citizen. Whenever possible, NLCU representatives attend the citizenship ceremonies of employees."
 
St. John's International Airport Authority
"The St. John’s International Airport Authority’s (SJIAA) approach to company culture is best described as all-encompassing. We realize we have exceptional employees, who over the course of the pandemic, have consistently dealt with challenges and that they are worth celebrating and investing in – and we’re doing so in many ways.

Our Employee Engagement Committee was reinstated and rolled out several new initiatives in a multi-phase approach to congratulate and celebrate our employees, called Proud of Our People. The committee is comprised of both unionized employees and management, and is endorsed by our Chief Executive Officer. This program was developed to ensure employees feel like their contributions are valued within our organization.
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Our organization believes in our approach to company culture because we have a dedicated committee comprised of individuals across each department, with both unionized and management representatives. This committee was designed to show our commitment to offering a culture where our employees feel valued, and over the course of the pandemic it allowed us to pause and reflect on where we can make improvements. Those discussions led us to where we are today, with a revitalized rewards and recognition program which has been very warmly received. We believe that these improvements will continue to make our organization a very desirable place to work."
 
Studio VERSŌ
"As individuals who have worked in the fitness industry before, Emily and Maria knew their company culture would be what sets them apart from their competitors. The business partners saw the need to create a foundation of equity, inclusion and diversity in order to guide their decision making and bring their vision to life. A culture that extends beyond an impact statement was necessary to push industry change and to better our community overall.

The challenges of creating a fitness space rooted in equity, inclusion and diversity are endless. The City of St. John’s by-laws specify the number of male and female bathrooms required based on capacity. This was a hurdle we had to overcome to create non-gendered bathrooms.

Creating a feeling of comfort in a fitness facility is a difficult task, even for individuals who are not part of a marginalized group. Creating a safer space for those who haven’t been considered in group fitness before was a whole new challenge, and one that Maria and Emily took head on since day one.

It was clear to the business partners that these were challenges that were worth the hard work to overcome. The two know the incredible impact of moving your body and being part of a community and it is their passion to have as many individuals as possible reap those benefits – especially individuals who inevitably face more adversity in their day to day lives."
 
TradesNL
"The success of our workforce will depend heavily on inclusion, diversity, partnerships and accountability. Maximizing the number of individuals available to participate in the workforce will be essential to building a sustainable workforce in Newfoundland and Labrador, requiring recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force.

Traditionally, indigenous peoples have always designed and built diverse structures for shelter for their families and communities, and to express sacred traditions. For generations, they have been reshaping their environment and the construction industry is only just beginning to recognize the true value of construction techniques of indigenous people (Build Together, 2019).

In Canada, they do not share the same labour market outcomes as their non-Indigenous counterparts. They remain disproportionately represented in national unemployment figures with rates of 15.3% compared with 7.4% for the non-Indigenous population (2016). They are less likely to be employed in knowledgeable occupations such as professional, managerial and technical occupations typically requiring post-secondary education. They work in lower paying jobs such as service roles and retail, and earn less than the full-time employed, non-Indigenous workforce (Statistics Canada 2017).

Employers and workers often lack knowledge or understanding of cultures which can create an atmosphere of disrespect or distrust. Discrimination can prevent them from obtaining and maintaining work and they may lack self-esteem to work effectively in a structured construction environment.

By economic sector, they have a higher propensity to choose the construction industry as a career choice (BuildForce 2019) and credentials support better access to skilled and semiskilled jobs with early efforts leading to greater employment of apprentices and journeypersons. To optimize participation in construction, requires a case-managed approach over a multi-year period to address barriers and provide time for effective labour force integration as it takes, on average, six years to become a journeyperson in NL. Continuing to enhance skills will lead to more certifications and greater employment. The overall objective of the LOINST is to increase the representation of NL’s Indigenous people in the construction labour force and particularly employment within the sector. Other objectives will be achieved including increased participation in apprenticeship programs, improved apprentice completion rates, greater interest and participation of unionized construction employers in supporting indigenous people with workplace integration."

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Learn more about these and many other amazing 2022 Business Resilience Awards nominees here.