Atlantic Canada's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 22
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ATLANTIC CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Staff soar at Halifax International Airport Authority
W
hen processing
Omar Naouf’s
immigration
work
documents
took longer than expected and
his hiring was delayed, his future
managers immediately eased his
stress with their patience and
kindness. He knew then that
he had made the right decision
to start his career at Halifax
International Airport Authority
(HIAA).
“The team has been very supportive since day one,” says Naouf,
junior airport planner, airport
planning and development. “I am
confident that this is a place where
I can grow.”
After arriving in Canada in 2019
as a Palestinian international
student, Naouf earned his industrial engineering degree from
Dalhousie University. During his
final year, he chose to do a project
on improving congestion during
peak times at Halifax’s airport.
He loved working with HIAA,
which manages Halifax Stanfield
International Airport, so after
graduation, he applied for a job
and was hired last July.
Since then, he has been working
on projects focused on enhancing the customer experience.
“The problems are complex. It
is dynamic and ever evolving,”
Naouf says. “You always want to
improve customer experience
amid growing demand.”
Right now, Naouf is creating a
simulation model to help HIAA
find optimal ways to improve
customers’ security screening
process. To support him in that,
he is taking simulation and data
analysis courses and is thankful
his employer is paying for his
additional training.
Naouf also meets with a mentor
once a week and works alongside
an experienced manager on
smaller infrastructure projects
to give him exposure to the
procurement process, working
with external stakeholders and the
intricacies of project management
— something he wants to do more
of in the future. “There is a lot of
teamwork. It is very collaborative,”
he says.
We put people and
community first. We want
to be clear that people,
both internal and external,
are a top priority.
— Mike Christie
Vice President, People and
Chief People Officer
Omar Naouf, junior airport planner, airport planning and development, at Halifax International Airport
Authority.
Having a small, dynamic team to
work with is what attracted Mike
Christie, vice president, people
and chief people officer, to HIAA
more than a decade ago.
“You can get to know virtually
everybody at some level, and we
can hold events and have everyone
in the same room,” he says. “It is
an environment where people are
highly motivated. We want to be
the very best airport we can be.”
With a team of about 230
employees, HIAA works hard
to create a work culture that is
supportive and cohesive. After
listening to employee feedback,
the leadership team responded
by increasing the mental health
practitioner benefit by $400 to
$1,400 earlier this year and by
providing employees with free
access to Calm, a mindfulness app
that helps listeners manage stress
and lead healthy lives.
