ADAPTOVATE teams are on a journey to change mindsets

Lucksha Srirangarajan joined ADAPTOVATE Inc. two and a half years ago after hearing about it from a former colleague. “She told me she just got back from a global off-site meeting in Mexico,” says Srirangarajan, now management consultant. “During my first meeting with people here, I learned there was so much opportunity to develop and work with many different types of clients.”

With headquarters in Australia, an office in Toronto and five more around the world, ADAPTOVATE helps organizations transform to meet changing market conditions and sophisticated customer demands. Combining both coaching and management consulting, it takes a tailored approach to partnering with clients to embed new ways of working to succeed.

“We work to make our company a place where employees feel the environment is set up for them to be successful,” says Ghaleb El Masri, managing director, Canadian office. There are 20 employees in Canada.

A happiness budget supports employee experience — starting with an open office with places to mingle and stocked with coffee, snacks and games. Monthly team lunches are catered and social outings have included mini-putt golf, dinners with partners and an escape room on a boat in the Toronto Harbour.

“We develop consulting and coaching skills on an apprenticeship model,” says El Masri. “Employees get a chance to work on teams with a project leader and they have opportunities to observe and learn by doing.” In addition, each employee has a career development advisor who works to help them advance their interests and career.

“We believe that engaged team members will be productive to the level our clients expect,” says El Masri.

“I’ve had opportunities to be mentored and to shadow someone to learn what they do,” says Srirangarajan. “If I’m unfamiliar with something, I’m paired with an expert to learn best practices — but I’m encouraged to bring my own spin.”

In under a year and a half, Srirangarajan was promoted from associate consultant to consultant. “I told my advisor that was what I wanted, and she found opportunities for me to learn. Promotions here are based on performance rather than time served.”

Srirangarajan has appreciated opportunities to get to know her colleagues, near and far. “There are no silos here,” she says. “We’re close knit. We all bring different strengths and skill sets.” A social outing at a board games cafe ended with the ADAPTOVATE team closing the venue at the end of the evening. “We’re a competitive group!”

In addition, the company holds off-site retreats. Some bring local team members together for a few days of brainstorming and bonding. Others introduce employees to colleagues regionally in North America and globally in Europe and Australia. Srirangarajan has travelled to locations such as wine country in Ontario’s Prince Edward County and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for off-site meetings.

For a deeper immersion in another country, Srirangarajan was supported to work for two weeks out of ADAPTOVATE offices in Australia. “I have been able to develop strong personal and professional relationships, not just here, but in several countries,” says Srirangarajan. “It’s like I work with very bright and helpful family members.”

El Masri came to ADAPTOVATE to concentrate on the people element of change management, which he felt was lacking in previous work. “Here, we focus on changing people’s mindset to help them adopt a bigger change,” he says. “We work to bring people along on the journey, whether for a client or in our own workplace.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers winners, published April 8, 2025 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.