Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 132
132
( 2025 )
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RBC employees help communities and learn new skills
A
s an enthusiastic cyclist,
Jack Yao likes to ride
his bike as often as time
and weather permit. As
branch manager, WhitchurchStouffville, with the Royal Bank
of Canada (RBC), he logs many
of those kilometres raising
funds for various charities in his
community.
And that’s just for starters. Yao
regularly contributes his time and
talents to support a diverse range
of not-for-profit and charitable
organizations. He also rallies his
branch employees to take part
individually, and as a group, in a
variety of fundraisers and local
community events.
“Everyone appreciates
opportunities to demonstrate our
values,” Yao says. “At the same
time, our volunteers leave these
engagements with a greater sense
of the impact RBC makes in the
community.”
Jennifer Leach, vice president,
operations and engagement,
sustainability and impact, says
participating in meaningful volunteer activities is a significant way
employees can engage with RBC’s
Purpose, to help clients thrive and
communities prosper.
“Our greatest asset is our employees, and we know that when
we harness their collective power,
we can strengthen the well-being
of the communities where we live
and work,” she says. “Our Purpose
instills a sense of collective pride
across the organization. It is at the
heart of everything we do.”
Indeed, RBC has a long history
of providing multiple opportunities for employees to support
their communities in ways that
fulfil their unique passions and
suit their individual needs and
preferences.
One initiative, the RBC Social
Impact Leadership Program
(SILP), takes a particularly
robust approach to making a
positive impact. While most
RBC volunteer programs are led
by a central team, SILP is the
result of a unique partnership
between the human resources and
sustainability and impact groups.
With the support of the Taproot
Foundation, teams work together
to match the best candidates from
across the bank to volunteer with
community partners in need of
specific skillsets.
Jennifer Leach, vice president, operations and engagement, sustainability & impact, at RBC.
Since SILP launched in 2018,
over 550 employees have volunteered more than 36,000 hours
while assisting 79 community
partners in four countries. The
numbers, however, don’t tell the
whole story.
“Our greatest asset is our
employees, and we know
that when we harness their
collective power, we can
strengthen the well-being of
the communities where we
live and work.”
— Jennifer Leach
Vice President,
Operations and Engagement,
Sustainability & Impact
The community partners, who
often have limited resources to
support their objectives, benefit
from the expertise of the RBC
volunteers, Leach says. At the
same time, participating in SILP
helps RBCers grow personally and
professionally as they apply complex problem-solving and critical
thinking skills to solve challenges
in areas that are new to them.
“When I speak to participants,
whether they are RBC employees
or community partners, it’s clear
that SILP is an experience like no
other,” Leach says. “But perhaps
the best part is that this mutually
beneficial collaboration results in
solutions that have lasting impact
for our communities where we live
and work.”
Being selected for SILP in 2024
was undeniably a memorable experience for Yao. The community
