Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 108
108
( 2025 )
SPONSOR CONTENT
Flexibility and mobility are priorities at Meridian
K
ayla 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.”
“As an employee, you really
choose your goals and your
career path. Your leaders
and managers support you
and help you get there.”
— Kayla Belic
Assistant Manager,
Contact Centre
Employees at Meridian Credit Union are supported in obtaining external degrees or certifications to further
their education and interests.
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
