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Payworks builds engagement with fun and flexibility

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This article was published 12/03/2024 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Charli Champagne was hired at Payworks Inc. last August as manager of talent acquisition and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), she knew she had a big job in front of her. But she quickly discovered that the Winnipeg-based workforce management company was going to make it as easy as possible for her.

“The whole onboarding process was fantastic, and all the friendly faces and the accommodations were like a breath of fresh air,” she says. “Everyone has a home-office setup and an office setup, and there’s a video that helps you set up your home office; it walks you through everything, and you feel like you’re ready to go on day one.”

Champagne’s job involves building a national strategy to address DEIB in Payworks branches across the country with a three-year action plan that includes new employee resource groups, activities on recognition days and virtual information sessions and get-togethers.

“I’m lucky to get to build that strategy and help create opportunities for our folks to learn and grow and engage,” she says. “One of the things I want to look at going into the future is our hiring practices – engaging communities and figuring out how we can reach out to folks who are under- represented.”

Jennifer Johnston, vice-president of human resources, says DEIB is an integral part of the company’s newly launched leadership development program, which kicked off with a three-day summit last fall.

“It’s a multi-year program where all leaders will take courses around flexible leadership, essential conversations, resiliency and diversity and inclusion,” she says. “We like to bring people together whenever we can, and launching the program at the summit provided a sense of connection.”

That was certainly true for Champagne. “We were put into cohorts where we learned alongside leaders from across Canada, which was cool,” she says. “I got to meet fellow leaders I’d otherwise not have had the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with.”

The company also offers employees an educational assistance program and help securing professional certifications and other relevant courses.

“We pay for many of those courses for employees and provide time to take them because they’re relevant to the jobs they’re doing,” says Champagne. “One of my team members is currently in a talent management program, and we’re working on how to support her in that.”

Both Champagne and Johnston appreciate Payworks’ supportive culture, with a flexible schedule that allows many employees to work from home. “Payworks is very respectful of the work-life blend,” says Champagne, adding that she has flexibility in her work schedule.

In fact, the office atmosphere is so friendly that many hybrid employees end up coming in more often than required anyway. “When I joined, I had spent the last two years working from home through the pandemic, and I thought I was good with that,” says Johnston. “But I love being back in the office. It’s given me a new kind of energy, and it’s been great being able to connect with people around a table.”

Champagne agrees. “I find myself coming in more often, just because the environment is so collaborative and welcoming and joyful,” she says. “You’re always hearing laughing in the hallways – I noticed that coming in for my first interview. It’s a fabulous company.”