Canada's Top 100 Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 42
42
( 2025 )
SPONSOR CONTENT
Manulife fosters an inclusive workplace – from the top
S
tarting a new job can be an
intimidating experience,
especially when the company
is Canada’s largest insurer,
a financial services firm with a
huge global presence and a history
that stretches back more than 130
years. But Manulife Financial
Corporation works hard to remove
that intimidation factor, according to
Manulife Canada president and CEO
Naveed Irshad.
“I’m personally committed to
creating an environment that’s
safe and inclusive, where all
colleagues can bring their
authentic selves to work every
single day and everybody feels
respected, valued and heard.”
— Naveed Irshad
President and CEO,
Manulife Canada
“I’m personally committed to
creating an environment that’s safe
and inclusive, where all colleagues
can bring their authentic selves to
work every single day and everybody
feels respected, valued and heard,”
says Irshad. “Psychological safety is
really important to me and to the
company. I know how it feels when
you don’t have it.”
A first generation Canadian,
Irshad admits he dealt with a lot of
racism growing up. It’s something
he discusses with employees on a
regular basis. “I never used to talk
about it,” he says. “I never thought I
would be in front of an audience of
thousands of Manulife employees,
openly talking about it. The experience, while traumatic and tough at
the time, heavily influenced me and
led me to become the leader I am
today.”
Irshad maintains an open
door policy with all employees,
responding to employee texts and
emails, hosting regular coffee chats
and listening to employee feedback.
The company also issues an annual
employee engagement survey across
the organization.
That attention to employee engagement was one of the things that
attracted Onyi Odom to Manulife.
She first became aware of the
company as a co-op student at the
University of Toronto. Today, Odom
is manager of communications,
learning and development with the
company, where she develops and
executes communications strategies
and global town halls for the global
chief accounting officer.
“Manulife is super dedicated to
building a very welcoming culture,”
she says. “I’m able to engage and
meet people through events, lunch
and learn sessions, networking
opportunities, just to name a few.”
Manulife has also given Odom an
opportunity to take on pursuits that
aren’t related to her day-to-day work.
“I am personally quite passionate
about women’s empowerment, and
I’m happy to be able to contribute
as a committee member of the
Global Women’s Alliance employee
resource group. I’ve kicked off
an International Women’s Day
conference, led Lunch with a Leader
and facilitated multiple group mentorship sessions. I love that Manulife
provides me with the opportunity to
grow within my career, not specific to
Let’s build
better together
careers.manulife.com/global/en
Naveed Irshad, president and CEO, Manulife Canada, at the opening
of Manulife’s Legacy Space in Halifax.
my job mandates.”
Irshad says individual employees
are the company’s most important
asset and Manulife’s corporate culture is one of its strongest long-term
advantages. Making sure employees
can grow and develop a career is crucial for maintaining that advantage.
“I’m a perfect example of this,”
he says. “Throughout my 26 years
at Manulife I’ve had the opportunity to work in different areas and
businesses. I spent time working in
the U.S., and four years leading our
operations in Singapore, which I
value greatly. Having the opportunity
to move around, in non-technical
and management leadership roles,
different jobs and projects, has been
an incredibly valuable experience.”
In 2023, Manulife celebrated
over one million hours dedicated to
learning globally. For 2024, it has set
an internal learning goal of 32 hours
per employee. “We want our team
members to grow in their roles, build
their careers with us,” says Irshad.
“Learning plays a key role in that.”
“Manulife provides us with a lot
of opportunities to learn and grow
our careers,” says Odom. “It’s not just
a great company to work for, it’s a
company with amazing people who
really care about your success.” ¢
3,873
20,818
charities helped last year
staff volunteer hours last year
