National Capital Region's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 36
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NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Universities Canada loves its new collaborative space
W
hen
Universities
Canada
surveyed its
108 employees
about what they wanted in their
new office, Chalanne Matheson
asked for plants. She got that and
much more.
“We have 194 plants in the office
and three moss walls, which are
just gorgeous,” says Matheson,
human resources and operations
coordinator, who has been with
the organization for 31 years. “So
we’re really oxygenating the air
and getting a good health benefit
from that. I love being around
plants and others do as well. It
really lifts your spirits.”
Staff were actively involved
in providing input that directly
shaped the design of the new
space, which includes open
collaborative spaces, lots of
meeting rooms of varying sizes
and workstations to suit everyone’s
style. Employees even helped
choose and test out the furniture
as well as voting to name the
meeting rooms after national
parks. The Nahanni fits 18 people
comfortably.
“The kitchen is the heart of the
office where people naturally
gather,” says Matheson. “It’s such
an inviting and comfortable place
that people like to work there too.
The president often eats lunch
in the kitchen with the staff, so
he gets to know everyone, which
I think is great. It just enhances
the whole social and collaborative
atmosphere we have here.”
President and CEO Gabriel
Miller says having a humancentred, thoughtfully designed
space is a huge asset when you’re
trying to show people you respect
their time and value the chance
to connect with them. Employees
follow a hybrid work model that
requires them to be in-person
in the office two days a week,
something Miller believes really
matters.
“It’s important for people to
feel connected to the mission of
the organization and to spend
time immersed in spaces with the
others who are part of moving that
mission forward,” says Miller. “It’s
also vital to building trust among
members of a team and for an
organization.
“Trust is critical to productivity, because if people know one
another and understand what one
another is capable of, it’s much
easier for them to rely on their
colleagues’ work and know how to
complement them. But if you don't
have that foundation of trust and
familiarity, which is built most
powerfully by being with people,
you’re at a huge disadvantage.”
The office features seamless
technology integration so that
collaboration can still take place
among staff, whether they’re on
the premises or not.
One of the big things about
the hybrid environment
is that you have that inperson human connection
because humans were not
made to be silos.
— Chalanne Matheson
Human Resources and
Operations Coordinator
Employees in the 30+ Seniority Club at Universities Canada appreciate the organization’s healthy, happy and
supportive environment.
“Each team decides on a day
to come in collectively and then
usually the second day is up to the
individual,” explains Matheson.
“One of the big things about
the hybrid environment is that
you have that in-person human
connection because humans
were not made to be silos. There’s
an energy created when we’re
together that’s really important for
