Tarion protects employees as well as home buyers

Ali Kanani, a warranty services manager at Tarion, followed a winding road to a home at the non-profit agency created to ensure that purchasers of new homes in Ontario receive the coverage they are entitled to under a builder’s warranty. Kanani, who aimed to be a high school teacher, had supported his university studies by working in construction and re-entered that field when he was unable to find a job in education.

“I eventually rose into management,” Kanani recalls, “and I wasn’t happy with the organization I worked for. When I had the chance to join Tarion, I took the jump.

“From the start, being here at Tarion has been a breath of fresh air,” he says. “Making sure the biggest investment of people’s lives is protected can really fuel you on a day-to-day basis.”

Kanani specializes in dispute resolutions regarding condominiums’ common areas, such as parking garages and elevators, to ensure that “the lifeblood of a building is safely intact and functioning as intended,” he says. Not only does Kanani find his work meaningful, he believes Tarion extends its concern for homeowners’ wellbeing to its own workforce.

Tarion emphasizes mentorship and open door communications throughout the workplace, Kanani notes, while also encouraging upskilling by providing a $2,000 bonus for employees who earn a certification or licensure. There is flexible scheduling and benefits for child and elder care, as well as robust mental health support – including a $2,000 annual practitioner benefit – for what is often stressful work. There is also an array of in-house professional development courses, many of which have helped propel Kanani’s career growth.

For an organization of 400, Tarion feels like “a small, close community” to Kanani. “The thought process in everyone at Tarion is that we are here to protect people, both the public and our colleagues.”

President and CEO Peter Balasubramanian thinks the same of Tarion. “In my 21 years here, the most common story I’ve heard from others is a version of my own – came for the mission, stayed for the culture and the people.” Balasubramanian joined Tarion as a senior counsel after several years as a corporate lawyer in a Toronto legal firm, at a time when he wanted to be part of a non-profit with a community purpose.

For Balasubramanian, a supportive workplace is in Tarion’s DNA, and since becoming CEO in 2020, he has made protecting its people and culture a focus of his leadership, in part by holding virtual town halls every three weeks. “I’m open to answer any question from any employee, and sometimes we get some really tough ones,” says Balasubramanian.

“So, direct conversation and direct accountability. My commitment is, I can’t promise that we will do what you want, but I can promise we’ll talk about it, and if we won’t do it, I’ll tell you why. That’s how you build and maintain a culture and how you get to call yourself a values-driven organization.”

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.