A Culture of Trust: Empowering Employees to Drive Results at Canada’s Premier REIT

My connection to employee engagement shifted in November 2020, when my role leading marketing, branding, and communications at RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust expanded to include HR Leadership. ?

At the time, the COVID-19 pandemic was forcing leadership teams worldwide to navigate every aspect of their business through unchartered territory. There was no precedent or manual to follow.

As someone new to the HR function, I initially found maintaining strong employee engagement in that climate daunting. However, I quickly realized there was one theme that would help us manage through the global pandemic, take our employee engagement program to the next level, and get to where we are today.

That theme is trust.

The Value of Trust

When RioCan did its inaugural employee engagement survey in 2016, our results were healthy, though only nominally above the benchmark for similar-sized companies. ?

I am proud to say that in 2023, our engagement score was in the top 5% of similarly sized Canadian companies for the second consecutive year. So, what changed?

We identified the connection between an engaged workforce and business results.?? An engaged workforce is healthier, experiences less turnover, and builds better work and customer relationships – all of which translate to a more productive, innovative, and adaptable business, which in turn contributes to Unitholder value.? ?

We realized that we needed to approach our employee engagement goals the same way we approach any business problem: by starting from a place of understanding our objectives and our stakeholder needs and motivations. We then needed to leverage insights and data to identify the gaps and barriers between where we were and where we wanted to be. In doing so, we realized we had an opportunity to enhance trust between our employees and our organization.

We knew that when employees understand and trust the company strategy, when they trust that senior management will hear and respond to their ideas, and when employees trust each other, it drives engagement and improved performance.

We also understood that employees respond to the effort that leaders put into their development, feel motivated if properly mentored, and outperform their targets when they feel connected to business outcomes.

With this in mind, we established a robust Employee Engagement Action Planning process. The steps are straightforward: annually, we collect feedback, analyze the results, formulate an action plan,? execute the necessary steps, and then iterate.? ?The entire Senior Leadership Team actively participates in shaping and implementing the action plan. We ensure transparent communication with employees by sharing the plan and providing regular progress updates throughout the year.?

Putting Actions Behind Words

The Employee Engagement Action plans include targeted initiatives that address collective themes. For example, we heard that career development is critically important to our employees. In response, we invested in a career-development infrastructure that includes a best-in-class mentorship program, integrated performance management software, and formalized career pathing. In response to feedback regarding the shifts in employees’ needs for health and wellness support, we added lifestyle and healthcare spending accounts, significantly increased the reimbursable amount for mental health care, and added virtual health care and unlimited virtual physiotherapy for all benefits-eligible employees.

In addition to the corporate-wide initiatives that comprise the Employee Engagement Action plan, we also ensure employee engagement is seen as a collective responsibility.?? Individual teams are encouraged to make team-level engagement action plans that respond to the specific opportunities within their functional areas. Team leaders are equipped with the tools and templates to facilitate this process.

One meaningful outcome of our efforts is the rise in our employee engagement survey response rates to an astounding 98%. Our response rate demonstrates our employee’s confidence that we will listen and respond when they provide feedback. This goes beyond the annual survey and is embedded in our culture: feedback to anyone anytime is welcome and encouraged through numerous channels. Employees know their feedback matters because it is consistently validated.

The best teams are proactive in their employee engagement and, in doing so, foster a culture of trust. They reward strong performance, address constructive feedback head-on, and ensure employees understand their individual and collective impact.

RioCan’s portfolio includes prime retail, mixed-use, and development properties across Canada's most vibrant urban centers. We are committed to responsible growth and recognize that a thriving, engaged workforce is essential to achieving our goals. By aligning our employee engagement initiatives with the needs and aspirations of our team members, we foster a culture of trust and collaboration. This approach enhances employee satisfaction and retention and drives innovation and performance, ultimately supporting our ability to deliver value to our unitholders. RioCan is more than a real estate company; we are a community of smart, talented individuals dedicated to excellence and growth. Our people-centric approach ensures that every team member has the support, resources, and opportunities to thrive personally and professionally. We believe that when our people succeed, we all succeed.

I am proud to work for an organization that recognizes that a robust employee engagement program is critical to our success.??? By identifying our employees’ needs and genuinely listening and responding to them, we’ve created a program built on trust that helps us connect and grow as individuals and as an organization.