Attaining buy-in: each employee needs to opt-in to feel empowered
The challenges facing Vancouver’s tech sector are many and amplified by the additional hurdles of working while raising healthy families when the home is the office and vice versa. There are silver linings, companies that are rising up to these challenges with agility, innovation and a greater deal of trust and autonomy in their teams are seeing success and a greater, more diverse talent pool.
I know firsthand that the best way to attract and retain talent is through an intentional and empowering culture that plays to the strengths and needs of each individual employee. MacroHealth was just recognized as one of BC’s Top Employers, which proves to all of us that the culture we’re cultivating is enticing and worth celebrating.
Awarding-winning perks worth celebrating
We see how competitive the landscape in Vancouver is for high calibre tech talent, so we meet or surpass the benefits offered by much larger companies in the marketplace. Our team has a health spending account to be used at their discretion, and also benefits within their plan that can go to supporting things like fertility treatments. Our approach to benefits is to ensure each team member is supported in whatever areas matter the most to them while staying competitive and going beyond what other major companies are offering to attract and keep top talent.
Paid time off isn’t worth much if you can’t take it, but as a results-driven company, we trust ourselves and our employees to know what’s best for them, when they need a break, and when they need to sprint. We don’t have an arbitrary cap on paid time off, especially with COVID and the juggling acts that many families (mine included!) have had to take on, we entrust our team to know what is best for them.
Family (and people) matters
Our maternity/paternity leave is flexible, and also includes paid time off for the loss of pregnancy. I know firsthand what it’s like to experience loss of pregnancy, while also being expected to travel, perform my regular work duties and push through something truly physically and emotionally traumatic. With the team at MacroHealth, I was able to bring paid time off for pregnancy loss to the table, and it is now one of our benefits.
As an immigrant, MacroHealth’s willingness to sponsor employees’ Permanent Residency visas is a big perk, and with the planned growth of immigration for skilled workers in Canada, this is only going to become more of an acquisition draw. When someone joins the team at MacroHealth, they know that they’re joining a collaborative, cultivating team-driven and led by a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resource Group.
Work with people who inspire you
When I was considering my next career move, one of the things that were key for me was that I got to actually know the founders of the company. I learned what the company was about, and what about their organization made them leaders in their market. We all want to work with leaders, so having that open look inside the deepest parts of the company was exciting, enticing, and empowering to me as a potential candidate. I knew they saw me as a talented asset to the company, not simply a woman of colour. When I felt aligned with MacroHealth, I was instantly more invested on a personal level that went beyond professional. The culture that I saw being intentionally fostered and organically cultivated was apparent.
A culture of empowerment is a win-win
Organizations that truly empower their employees never have to look too hard for talent, because their most precious commodities – their employees are their best marketers. In the five years since we launched, much has changed in terms of opportunities for Canadians, and increasingly, immigrants such as myself. The landscape has changed, but organizations with a culture of empowerment will win the competition for top tech talent. Whether a full return to office happens or we continue to mitigate the pandemic partially or fully remotely, finding ways to motivate ourselves and each other to keep pushing to deliver the best we can in our industry will always be a pillar for success. Working within a culture imbued with respect, diversity, and inclusion yields a very high sense of personal ownership and engagement at every level, and that isn’t just great for morale, it’s great for business.
Sahar Kanani is the Senior Director of Programming at MacroHealth.
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