Empowerment drives employee growth at Granite REIT

After earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University, Shirley Jin began her career at a large accounting firm in Toronto. It wasn’t long before she felt restless and looked to make a change. She joined Granite REIT, a much smaller firm, and found it was just the right match for her.

“It’s a small shop,” says Jin, senior director of tax. “We see our chief executive officer, our chief financial officer and our other executives regularly. Everybody is very open and accessible. It makes for a pleasant place to work.”

President and CEO Kevan Gorrie notes that the company has a relatively small workforce numbering some 70 employees, yet they manage over $9 billion in real estate assets from the head office in Toronto, as well as branches in Dallas, Vienna and Amsterdam.

“We have a strong sense of purpose at Granite,” Gorrie says. “There’s genuine pride in the work we do here and our accomplishments. I see amongst our employees a lot of collaboration and teamwork.”

Employees can advance their careers through the traditional route of promotions. Jin started as Canadian tax manager and has since been promoted to her current role of senior director of tax. “I’m happy with my career progression,” she says.

Gorrie adds that employees can develop professionally through hands-on experience. “There’s a high level of empowerment at our organization,” he says. “From a professional development perspective, everyone has the opportunity to get their hands on different experiences and they can accomplish multiple things in different areas.

“That level of empowerment should not be overlooked in terms of career development.”

Granite also supports employee professional growth through generous tuition subsidies. “If employees want to explore career development by earning a professional designation or joining certain organizations or associations, we will support them provided it’s appropriately tied to their job,” says Gorrie.

Jin was able to complete a program she had started at her previous place of employment. “When I started, I had completed two years of a three-year, in-depth tax program,” she says. “I needed to finish it and Granite was happy to cover the cost of tuition for the final year. I’m sure that if something similar were to come up now, it would be treated the same way.”

Jin adds that Granite has a number of policies and benefits that show its leadership team cares for employees. “The tone at the top is very important,” she says. “What I mean by that is benefits like our fitness allowance. I didn’t have a gym membership before this program, but now I do, and I’m really enjoying it mostly for the yoga classes.”

Gorrie says that coming out of the pandemic, the company conducted an employee engagement survey that revealed, among other things, that health and well-being, including mental health, were important to people. So, among other initiatives, the company enhanced its fitness allowance and well-being support services.

The company also supports community involvement through annual volunteer days. Over the past few years, employees have spent a day working on Habitat for Humanity projects, planting trees and cleaning up garbage in a city park.

“Every time we’re out there, you can really see the teamwork,” says Gorrie. “People come together because they feel they’re accomplishing something important.”

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.