Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 5
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MANULIFE
( 2026 )
p Manulife offers a unique training program (‘Fuel Up Friday’) that provides staff with time off for personal development and learning for a full day each month to help
them expand skill sets and boost advancement opportunities.
Personalized career development grows in popularity
More GTA winners provide customized employee ‘career pathing’ to improve individual engagement and retention
G
reater Toronto’s Top Employers
(2026) know that when
employees succeed, the
whole organization wins. But
an employee’s career journey
isn’t a one-size- fits-all anymore. Career
development has evolved dramatically,
with employees seeking personalized
growth opportunities. So leading organizations are responding strategically to make
sure their employees keep improving their
skills with individualized plans.
“One of the biggest things employees
want out of an organization is personal
growth,” says Stephanie Leung, editor of
Greater Toronto’s Top Employers (2026).
“They want to develop skills and further
their careers, so many will leave if they
don’t see a path to advancement in the
organization.
“Companies are implementing ‘career
pathing’ programs that catalogue all the
roles in the organization, then map the
skills and knowledge required for these
roles,” Leung adds. “It sets a useful
roadmap to achieve short and long term
career objectives.”
At Colliers Canada, career development
is a strategic priority, with an impressive 61
per cent of management roles filled
internally last year. Amy Lang, senior
director, talent, says the company focuses
on creating personalized learning
experiences and pathways tailored to
individual needs and career stages. This
ensures that training programs are
meaningful and provide advancement to
each employee.
“If you feel invested, if you see yourself
growing and are excited about the next
challenge, that’s really important,” says
Lang. “We want you to drive your career.
Our leaders are the ones out there saying,
how can we support you?”
The company’s approach is to empower
employees to explore opportunities within
Colliers – managers are encouraged to
actively support moves to other teams or
roles, rather than seeing internal transfers
as “losing” talented members.
“When we’re hiring, we’ll search externally, but also internally, because there’s often somebody who’s looking for that opportunity to transfer their skills,” says Lang.
“We’re encouraged to think about where
we can move talent in the business.”
Lang says it’s not just about filling roles,
but recognizing individual potential.
Leaders are trained to have generative
conversations about individual career
paths, understanding that a manager’s
encouragement can be a singular catalyst
for professional advancement.
Internal mobility is also cost-effective.
Lang notes the cost to ramp up new hires
is significantly reduced when existing
employees move into new roles. This
strategy helps with retention, attracts top
talent and allows employees to benefit
from existing knowledge of the
organization.
“Whether it’s a linear path or an up,
down and sideways one, there are many
great growth stories here,” says Lang. “It’s a
big differentiator for us.”
It turns out that ‘one size fits all’ isn’t the
best way to promote career advancement
– individualized training and development
creates the best prospects for growth.
– Diane Jermyn
