Flexibility and mobility are priorities at Meridian

Kayla Belic began her career at Meridian Credit Union as a member service representative in a retail branch. She went on to work in several branches before finding a permanent home in the organization’s contact centre.

“As an employee, you really choose your goals and your career path,” says Belic, an assistant manager in the contact centre. “Your leaders and managers support you and help you get there.”

Meridian has been around for 80 years and has grown through mergers and acquisitions. Currently, the organization has corporate offices in St. Catharines and Toronto. It boasts 87 urban, suburban and rural branches across the province, including 30 in the Greater Toronto Area. As a credit union, Meridian prides itself on its co-operative values and commitment to reinvesting profits into the communities it serves. It’s also 100-per-cent member-owned.

“Our recruitment mostly comes through our retail branches,” says president and CEO Jay-Ann Gilfoy. “From there, employees can move into commercial banking or wealth management or some of the support divisions.”

Meridian is a full-service financial institution that serves commercial, small business and retail, wealth, and digital banking clients. It also provides equipment financing. In addition, the organization operates a full suite of corporate departments, including human resources, finance, IT, communications, and marketing. Meridian differentiates from the banks through its commitment to purpose, including its environmental social governance (ESG) and community work, and its focus on serving members.

“We’ve got really progressive human resources practices,” says Gilfoy. “We continue to focus on flexibility. There are reasons why you need flexibility in your life, whether you’re a parent with children or somebody who’s got eldercare issues.”

Employees, other than those working in branches, can choose how many days a week they come to the office. “We want people to come in at least one day every other week to collaborate, solve problems and innovate,” Gilfoy says. “We don’t think there’s added value in coming in just to sit at a cubicle and stare at a screen all day.”

Meridian is equally committed to employee development. “We set aside dollars every year to help our employees grow professionally,” says Gilfoy. “We’ve contracted with LinkedIn Learning. We’re curating what we want employees to learn. About 67 per cent of them have opened accounts.”

Belic adds: “My leaders in any position that I’ve been in at Meridian always asked, ‘What is your next step. What are the things you’re interested in?’ They’re curious to hear what those things are and to help you get there.”

The result is a considerable amount of career mobility. Gilfoy notes that in any given year, some 300 employees, or 15 per cent of the workforce, are promoted or move to a new position.

The company also supports employees obtaining external degrees or certifications. Belic received tuition assistance to take a teaching and training adults certification through George Brown College in Toronto. “It was an amazing experience,” she says.

Recently, the company introduced a digital wellness app that allows employees to develop a fitness regimen that meets their needs. “We talked to our employees,” says Gilfoy. “We said, ‘What’s going to be of value for you?’ So, we created a platform for them. It’s a holistic wellness site.”

Belic, who enjoys fitness, availed herself of the site. “I do some of the strength training as well as the desk stretches,” she says. “Those were really neat things that you could incorporate into your day-to-day.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Greater Toronto’s Top Employers winners, published December 3, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.