Questrade is about open doors, open minds and growth

Things changed a lot for Rachel Bai when she arrived at Questrade Inc., Canada’s fastest-growing online broker. A recent graduate in management from Western University, she had tried working for a big bank but found she couldn’t get the career support or collaboration she needed.

Then she joined Questrade as a customer service specialist in late 2017. “So on day one, I told them I had a background in marketing, and this is something that I would like to work on in the coming years,” she says. Her supervisor suggested she write a business plan for marketing. “I handed it in the next day – he was surprised at how quickly.”

Soon after, Bai was invited to do a presentation of the plan. Impressed, the leaders gave her a four-month secondment in marketing, followed by a promotion to team lead in customer service.

Bai was later promoted to assistant product manager and then promoted again to product manager, self-directed investing in the product management department, where she works with marketing and software developers to ensure customers get the best experience possible in their online trading and investing.

To Bai, that kind of support and responsiveness defines Questrade. “We have this open-door policy,“ she says. “You can approach your manager or other people whenever you want, with a question or an opinion or just to tell them about some of your ideas. It’s really cool.”

In fact, she finds the corporate culture “very open-minded.” “No matter what position I’ve held, I feel my voice has been heard. That’s something I really appreciate, and I feel supported as well.

“It’s also a very diverse environment. On my team, I’m from China, and we have people from Bangladesh, Brazil and Britain, all coming together and sharing our cultures. It’s nice.”

President and CEO Edward Kholodenko says flexibility, collaboration and supporting the mission are key at Questrade. “We are really focused on hiring people who are committed to doing everything on behalf of the client,” he says. “Our mission is to help Canadians become much more financially successful and secure. And so the staff that join us are really becoming a part of something bigger than themselves. We’re here for the long term to really help Canadians to do something good.”

The company’s newly renovated office space at Yonge and Finch is especially attractive, he says. “We offer our people the choice to work where they can thrive, be most productive, and best serve our customers,” he says, but he adds: “Everybody loves the team collaboration that you get face to face when you’re there. Certain days tend to be a little busier, and some teams say, hey, why don’t we all get together on a Thursday, for example, and we’ll order a team lunch.”

The new offices feature stand-up desks, foosball, ping pong, a basketball area, collaboration spaces and video conference rooms. Bai is a fan. “Along with those amenities, it’s a nice area with lots of restaurants”, she says. “And our building is over the final station of the subway, where you can enter your office directly. Definitely a great feature!”

Bai adds: “My journey at Questrade has been filled with opportunities, challenges, excitement and fun. I am grateful to be part of the growth.”

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.