Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 36
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CANADA'S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS (2025)
Empowerment drives employee growth at Granite REIT
A
fter earning a Bachelor
of Commerce degree from Queen’s
University, Shirley
Jin began her career at a large
accounting firm in Toronto. It
wasn’t long before she felt restless
and looked to make a change.
She joined Granite REIT, a much
smaller firm, and found it was just
the right match for her.
“It’s a small shop,” says Jin,
senior director of tax. “We see our
chief executive officer, our chief
financial officer and our other
executives regularly. Everybody is
very open and accessible. It makes
for a pleasant place to work.”
President and CEO Kevan
Gorrie notes that the company has
a relatively small workforce numbering some 70 employees, yet
they manage over $9 billion in real
estate assets from the head office
in Toronto, as well as branches in
Dallas, Vienna and Amsterdam.
“We have a strong sense of
purpose at Granite,” Gorrie says.
“There’s genuine pride in the
work we do here and our accomplishments. I see amongst our
employees a lot of collaboration
and teamwork.”
Employees can advance their
careers through the traditional
route of promotions. Jin started
as Canadian tax manager and
has since been promoted to her
current role of senior director of
tax. “I’m happy with my career
progression,” she says.
Gorrie adds that employees can
develop professionally through
hands-on experience. “There’s
a high level of empowerment at
our organization,” he says. “From
a professional development
perspective, everyone has the
opportunity to get their hands on
different experiences and they
can accomplish multiple things in
different areas.
“That level of empowerment
should not be overlooked in terms
of career development.”
Granite also supports employee professional growth through
generous tuition subsidies. “If
employees want to explore career
development by earning a professional designation or joining certain organizations or associations,
we will support them provided it’s
appropriately tied to their job,”
says Gorrie.
Jin was able to complete a
program she had started at her
previous place of employment.
“When I started, I had completed
two years of a three-year, in-depth
tax program,” she says. “I needed
to finish it and Granite was happy
to cover the cost of tuition for the
final year. I’m sure that if something similar were to come up
now, it would be treated the same
way.”
Jin adds that Granite has a number of policies and benefits that
show its leadership team cares for
employees. “The tone at the top is
very important,” she says. “What
I mean by that is benefits like our
fitness allowance. I didn’t have
a gym membership before this
“WE HAVE A STRONG SENSE OF PURPOSE AT GRANITE.
THERE’S GENUINE PRIDE IN THE WORK WE DO HERE
AND OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. I SEE AMONGST OUR
EMPLOYEES A LOT OF COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK.”
— Kevan Gorrie, President and CEO
Employees at Granite REIT attend the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon.
