Manitoba's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 14
MANITOBA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
14
Access Credit Union’s people work in their communities
D
ana Kinkhead’s
job at Access
Credit Union is
a first in multiple
ways. Kinkhead, a
business administrator in Access’s
business banking team, was the
first employee in a newly-created
department at the credit union.
She’s also the first person on her
team to work completely remotely.
I really appreciated
that when the time
came to switch roles,
they looked at me as
a human being. It’s
nice to feel seen as
an employee and as a
person.
— Dana Kinkhead
Business Administrator
Access Credit Union provides services to members across Manitoba, with branches located all over the
province.
Kinkhead, who also owns a farm
with her husband, has always
worked in rural branches. She
first started at Access in 2013 in
business banking, focused on
agricultural lending. When a
position opened up in the credit
union’s branch in Lundar, a small
town just south of her farm with
half-day hours, she moved over.
With two young kids and the farm
to manage, the part-time hours
were a better fit, she says.
When the Lundar branch
closed and consolidated with the
Eriksdale branch in September
2025, Kinkhead says Access found
a way to give her the same worklife balance; even though her new
team is based in the Winnipeg
business banking office, she works
from Eriksdale. The credit union
also honoured her part-time hours
in her new role.
“I really appreciated that when
the time came to switch roles,
they looked at me as a human
being. It’s nice to feel seen as an
employee and as a person,” says
Kinkhead, who works with business banking members on tasks
like account openings, payments,
issuing cheques and changing
assignors. “What used to lead to
layoffs in some positions they’ve
seen as opportunities with the
advancement of technology and
remote work.”
Access is the largest credit
union in Manitoba, the result of a
series of mergers among six other
credit unions between 2021 and
2023. Darcy Jacobs, Access’s chief
people and culture officer, says
the financial institution has put a
major focus on work-life balance
and creating opportunities for
hybrid or remote work.
“We’re geographically
spread out across the province.
Something we always wanted
to do was to try to keep people
working in the communities they
are from,” he says. Jacobs himself
is one of the beneficiaries of that
philosophy: he’s based in Gimli,
former location of the head office
of Noventis Credit Union, which
merged with Access in 2022.
“I come in and work in the Gimli
branch most days, and the rest
of our executive team is spread
across the province,” he says.
The credit union’s multiple committees help to foster employees’
sense of connection to Access
and each other, Jacobs says. The
committees — which are co-led
by management and employees
— include diversity, equity and
inclusion, financial literacy, health
and wellness, workplace health
and safety, A+ sales and service,
employee awards and emerging
leaders. More than 100 employees
participate in at least one.
Jacobs is the co-management
sponsor for the emerging
leaders committee, which runs a
