A sense of shared mission motivates LTSA employees

When he was first hired by the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA), Reuben Danakody was handed the task of taking a piece of new legislation and transforming the words on the paper into a cutting-edge registry to track indirect ownership of property in the province. Faced with a daunting task and a tight deadline, Danakody and his team rolled up their sleeves and delivered the Land Owner Transparency Registry in just 18 months.

“We were able to do that because our leaders gave me and my team complete trust,” says Danakody, director and administrator, land owner transparency registry services.

“Often in other organizations there’s not enough autonomy and empowerment for employees to innovate. But at LSTA, we were able to make quick decisions and take an agile approach to build a first of its kind software system. It was amazing.”

Headquartered in Victoria, LTSA is responsible for maintaining and operating B.C.’s land title and survey systems. Its 100-plus employees track and record over five million private and public land and property ownership transactions in the province annually.

Danakody and his fellow employees also develop additional new systems to expand LTSA’s services. That can mean long hours for small teams, but the authority ensures its employees stay energized with generous vacation benefits, a health spending account and a comprehensive approach to wellness.

“We have a holistic approach to taking care of our employees,” says Gregory Steves, vice president, policy and legal services.

“As a relatively new employee myself, I’ve found LTSA to be absolutely top-notch in supporting individuals to pursue their careers and professional development while keeping a healthy work-life balance.”

LTSA’s mandate requires it to pay attention to the smallest details and that carries over to how the authority cares for its employees. Danakody appreciates little things like the Starbucks coffee machine in every LTSA office and the regular employee achievement events where successes and milestones are celebrated.

To keep atop the wave of tech change, LTSA provides employees with training opportunities and educational support. A culture of openness and respect encourages a free flow of ideas where employees also learn from each other.

While they’re a diverse group working in offices in Victoria, New Westminster and Kamloops, LTSA’s employees and managers are united in their mission to deliver solutions in the public interest. Steves says everyone at the authority sees their work as foundational to the economic health of the province.

“It’s an unwavering belief and confidence in what we’re doing that defines us,” he says.

“We’re entrenched in the ideas of the public interest and social responsibility. That and knowing that we’re delivering innovative and reliable solutions inspires our employees to do meaningful work.”

For both Steves and Danakody, new initiatives like the proposed First Nations National Land Registry provide challenges, but also give them a sense of pride in demonstrating LTSA’s commitment to values like Indigenous reconciliation. Diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as environmental, social and governance practices, are key priorities.

Danakody says LTSA’s open, entrepreneurial, collaborative culture encourages everyone from top to bottom to step up and speak out.

“We get leadership from all levels – not just executive leadership, but from every team here. From the supervisory level to management to senior management and executive, they’re all genuinely intent on helping the organization achieve its goals,” he says.

“Everybody is trying their best to support the organization and the skills to do it are there.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's BC’s Top Employers winners, published February 14, 2023 in the Vancouver Sun. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.