Maples Group helps employees find their perfect fit

When Émilie Savard got her start at Maples Group in 2009, the Montréal outpost of the international legal and financial services firm had just eight people, and Savard was its first information technology hire. Fast-forward 13 years: the firm has grown rapidly to a team of more than 300, and Savard has grown along with it.

She initially benefited from the firm’s entrepreneurial spirit and openness to giving employees opportunities to take on new challenges and expand their skill set. While she started as a business systems analyst, she expressed an interest in a more client-facing role and Maples gave her the opportunity to play a leading part in landing an anchor client for a new business line. “As much as people are hungry for challenges, there are always opportunities for them,” she says.

Today, as a mother of a young child, Savard appreciates the firm’s flexibility, which allows her to achieve a better work-life balance.

“When I came back from maternity leave, I wanted better work-life balance to focus on my family, and I stepped into a role that’s perfect for what I needed,” says Savard, now the head of Maples’ project management office. “I’ve been able to continue evolving with the firm. It's a relationship that goes both ways – I’ve given a lot and they’ve given a lot back to me.”

Shabab Khan, a fund accountant who participated in the 24-month associate rotation program that Maples offers entry-level hires, says this people-first focus extends to the company’s youngest talent.

Candidates including new graduates have the opportunity to rotate through three eight-month periods across departments to give them the chance to sample different career paths and find the best fit for their skills and aspirations. When Khan joined the fund accounting department, after a stint as a know-your-client analyst in the regulatory department, he realized he’d found his passion. Rather than heading on to a third department for the next rotation, Khan moved permanently to the fund accounting team.

“That’s been the highlight of my time here,” he says. “I feel like the company is invested in our professional growth and career development.”

Savard says Maples also tries to foster an enjoyable work environment through its team-building and social events, employee groups and wellness initiatives, which have helped to build the organization’s social fabric after a surge of new hires in the past few years.

In her early years at Maples, Savard took part in the company’s pub quiz roundtables, and now meets up with colleagues every week for the lunchtime running club. “There's something for everyone,” she says.

Khan was born in Bangladesh, where soccer played a major role in the national culture. It was something he says he found himself missing in Canada – until the latest World Cup began in Qatar, and he learned many of his colleagues loved the sport just as much as he did. He joined the office World Cup bracket tournament and fantasy soccer league. He has also taken part in numerous other team-building events.

“There’s always something happening, especially with the pandemic easing up. We’ve had the opportunity to meet more new people as our team continues to grow, and everyone’s extremely kind and genuine,” he says. “Seeing great people on a daily basis, it makes you want to work harder and help your colleagues out to the very best of your abilities.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Montreal’s Top Employers winners, published February 28, 2023 in the Montreal Gazette. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.