Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 148
148
( 2025 )
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Visa Canada promotes a culture of caring and giving
Q
ueenie Chan can
name many positive
aspects of working
at Visa Canada, but
she points to one
less
tangible characteristic that really stands out: a work
culture that promotes open and
free communication.
Chan has seen it in the way
executives create safe and
transparent spaces for meaningful two-way communication at
Visa Canada, the Toronto-based
affiliate of the digital payments
giant, which facilitates global
commerce and money movement
across more than 200 countries.
Frank discussions are encouraged
at settings, including one-on-ones
with people managers, team
huddles, all-staff meetings, global
town halls and opportunities
to have breakfast with the Visa
Canada president.
That openness, she says, has
positive ripple effects throughout
the organization. It improves
the ability of employees to find
fulfilment in their current jobs
and helps them move around to
other positions – in Canada or
throughout Visa’s global network
– when they are seeking a new
challenge.
“It’s about folks being able to
speak up, being very open and
honest, sharing all the things they
want to talk about,” says Chan,
director of client services. “It’s
the trust that they have in us as
employees, and just the kindness
that we promote here. You walk in
and you feel like it’s your second
home.”
Chan says Visa puts a lot of
effort into helping to ensure
employees have the educational,
training and mentorship assistance they need to learn, adapt
and grow at their jobs. “We want
folks to take advantage of that in
their career path,” she says.
Chan herself has been able
to take on multiple roles over a
two-decade career at Visa Canada.
When she expressed interest in
growing into a people manager
role, for instance, Chan’s own
managers were very receptive
to the idea and gave her every
opportunity to succeed.
Community outreach is another
big part of work life at Visa
Canada. Over the past two years,
for instance, Visa employees ran
an initiative called the Digital
Empowerment Program where
they worked together with
non-profit organizations and settlement agencies to donate laptops
and offer digital financial literacy
training to new immigrants and
refugees in Canada. Through the
program, employees helped participants learn to access different
online services and assisted them
in touching up their resumes.
“Visa really does live the
importance of giving back to
the community.”
— Lillian Davenport
Head of People
Employees at Visa Canada are passionate about giving back to the community through initiatives like the
Digital Empowerment Program.
Lillian Davenport, head of
people, says Visa Canada puts a
strong emphasis on giving back
to the community – a focus that
is reinforced by the employees
themselves.
“Visa really does live the
importance of giving back to the
community,” Davenport says. “It
never feels contrived. It doesn’t
feel as though people are forced to
volunteer. They really enjoy giving
it back, and they really enjoy
connecting with their colleagues.”
Another aspect of Visa Canada
that has struck a chord with
Davenport, who joined the
organization about two and a half
years ago, is the passion of the
employee committees in the office
that were organically created by
the employees, for the employees,
