Alberta's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 70
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ALBERTA’S TOP EMPLOYERS
Western remains true to its small town roots
W
hen Daria
Verigina, now
a team lead
at Western
Financial
Group Inc., first applied for a
position there in 2020, she found
much to attract someone who
had never worked in insurance.
“While the pandemic saw
many companies cutting back
on everything, it was then that
Western actually increased their
wellness policy to 14 open days,”
Verigina recalls.
“Also, the job application form
described Western’s values and
asked which one resonated the
most with you,” she says. Verigina
answered “truthfulness,” and has
since found it to be an honoured
value in a supportive workplace.
What I’ve seen at Western, from the interview process to daily
decisions, is everyone
talking about how our
guiding principles —
truthfulness, fairness,
value and loyalty —
matter the most.
— Kaitlyn Bridge
Vice President,
Talent and Employee Experience
“Whenever I’ve faced any
adversity with clients after I’ve
been upfront and given answers
that might not be their desired
outcome, my managers have
always stood by me, just as they
Employees at Western Financial Group take part in the National Walk for Safe Places.
do for other workers. This is a
people-first place that makes you
feel safe.”
Kaitlyn Bridge, vice president,
talent and employee experience,
shares Verigina’s perspective.
“What I’ve seen at Western, from
the interview process to daily
decisions, is everyone talking
about how our guiding principles
— truthfulness, fairness, value
and loyalty — matter the most.”
Those values are the basis
of Western’s workplace culture,
according to Bridge. “We started a
single parent employee resource
group, not just for women, of
course, but with a workforce that’s
70 per cent female, we have a
number of single mothers. Even
so, we have equal maternal and
paternal leave top-ups, adoption
leave top-up and have added
$5,000 in fertility treatment
coverage,” she says. “We want to
ensure in those small ways that we
support our people no matter how
their family is made up.”
Western stacks up well in all
benefits spaces, says Bridge,
with an emphasis on employee
wellness. “Everyone has $2,500
of coverage for a psychologist or
counsellor or therapist, plus a
$500 health care spending account
that can go towards that,” the vice
president says.
“But the one that really stands
out is the 14 wellness days, for
everything from family illness to
mental health days — time that
is encouraged to be used. We
recognize that sometimes you just
need a break and that’s okay,” says
Bridge. “I haven't heard of many
places that offer 14 days of time off
that way.”
Both Verigina and Bridge,
though, believe Western’s true
core lies in its intensely local ties.
“Community give-back has always
been a huge part of Western,”
Bridge says. “It’s a recognition of
the fact that we started in small
towns. We have bursary awards
we give to high school students,
we make donations for a new
playground or renovating a hockey
arena or provide cash donations to
local charities that need a boost.”
The money comes from
public donations, from Western
matching programs and from
