Olympus Canada’s medical tools are an inspiration

As senior manager, surgical marketing, at Olympus Canada Inc., Lindsay Kingsborough sometimes has the opportunity to go into operating theatres and see her company’s medical equipment in action. It’s been a poignant reminder of why she loves her job.

“At the end of the day, we know our true customer is the patient on the table,” says Kingsborough. “That’s hugely motivating and fulfilling for everyone at Olympus.”

Based in Richmond Hill, Olympus Canada is part of a global company that specializes in providing and servicing medical technologies, including minimally invasive therapeutic tools and diagnostic equipment.

Since joining Olympus Canada eight years ago, Kingsborough says she has been impressed with the collective passion of her colleagues to “help make people’s lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling.”

Key to that, she adds, is a shared commitment to live up to the company’s core values of agility, empathy, integrity, a long-term view and a sense of unity.

Those values helped shape Olympus Canada’s response to the pandemic.

The company proved extremely agile as it responded to complex supply chain challenges as well as the need to service and repair critical medical equipment.

During the early part of the pandemic, the company’s service and repair facility in Richmond Hill was split in two to increase social distancing and reduce employees’ potential exposure to COVID-19.

“We essentially went from being one big production facility to splitting into two smaller, identical sites,” says Jonathan Tom, a service engineering specialist at the Richmond Hill facility.

Team members willingly changed their shifts and hours of work, in some cases working night shifts for the first time in their lives.

As the pandemic eased, and more non-elective surgeries resumed, there has been a new set of challenges for Tom and his colleagues.

“We’ve been doing everything possible to ensure hospital equipment is serviced and repaired so that more surgeries and procedures can take place,” he says. “To see the direct impact of our work has definitely been a big motivating factor.”

As part of a global company, with operations in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia, Olympus Canada team members are accustomed to collaborating with colleagues across several time zones.

To promote work-life balance, team members are encouraged to schedule meetings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, leaving Mondays and Fridays free for other critical work. Sensitive to time zone differences, they strive to ensure that the meetings don’t infringe on employees’ early mornings and evenings. Unnecessary emailing on weekends is discouraged.

The pandemic accelerated initiatives that were already underway at the global company to offer flexible work options.

“Olympus has made the decision that hybrid and remote work models are here to stay,” says Kingsborough. “The emphasis is on ensuring that, when we have in-person hours, it is a meaningful opportunity to collaborate and connect. Outside of that, we’ve embraced a model of empowering and enabling teams to work in ways that work best for them.”

Whether in-person or virtual, Tom says the company values collegiality and teamwork.

“Managers definitely encourage and respect our input and ideas, which they rely upon when it comes to making key decisions,” he says. “So the one thing I tell any new hires is not to be afraid to communicate your opinions and thoughts. The team culture here creates a synergy that is quite special.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Greater Toronto’s Top Employers winners, published December 9, 2022 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.