Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 4
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CANADA'S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS (2025)
WALTERFEDY
SPONSOR CONTENT
Kitchener, Ont.-based WalterFedy provides matching RSP contributions to help employees build retirement savings and offers retirement planning assistance.
Growth spurt
As organizations grow from small to medium, how do you maintain the culture?
T
he challenge for many of
Canada’s Top Small & Medium
Employers (2025) is one they
welcome – growth. But
managing growth isn’t just adapting to the
evolving needs of the business; it’s also
about carefully upholding the most
important elements of the company
culture. For organizations experiencing
rapid growth, that means prioritizing the
core values that have been central to their
success.
When Jill Jacobs joined Dig Insights
Inc. five years ago, it was a small techenabled research company of about 100
people, the sort of place where you knew
everyone’s name and a bit about their
family. Now, with over 250 strategists,
research consultants, developers and data
scientists, the hybrid-remote company has
worked hard to maintain that small
company feel. For instance, there’s a
company-wide meeting every Wednesday
to introduce new employees, celebrate
milestones and successes, and have some
fun. Humour is always present.
“You can’t remain the company you
were as you grow, but we will continue to
hold on to the human element,” says
Jacobs. “Empathy is a big word in our
company and the value we most strongly
connect with. It’s the core of how we treat
people, which is treating people as people,
not as resources, and genuinely caring
about and supporting them. We’re proud
it’s embedded in our culture.”
Victoria Campbell, director, human
resources at WalterFedy, founded over 70
years ago, says the firm doesn’t take
culture for granted.
“Culture is not simple,” says Campbell,
a 13-year veteran. “The clarity of who we
are is really important, as is continuing to
reinforce our values. We do a lot of tactical
things as part of our cultural strategy that
help employees feel connected to who we
are as a company.”
That includes a six-month onboarding
series focused on values, local and
company-wide gatherings, plus a cultural
values assessment held every two years.
“People First is one of our pillars,” she
says. “That helps us keep that foundation
of making sure we’re approaching not just
with growth and profits in mind, but that
people are at the forefront.”
With over 300 employees across Ontario
and Alberta, collaboration is fundamental
to its culture, spanning project teams,
internal departments and multiple
locations.
“We’ve always had a focus around a
collaborative spirit,” says Campbell. “It
permeates through the organization, both
in the project work we do, as well as how
we work together internally.”
– Diane Jermyn
