Saskatchewan's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 18
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SASKATCHEWAN’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Nurturing a culture of gentleness is fundamental at COR
S
hannon Wiebe has been
at Creative Options
Regina, Inc. (COR)
for seven years in the
role of mentorship and
outreach. Before that, she worked
for 18 years with families who had
children with disabilities, planning future residential care. Often,
that meant support from COR.
“In mentorship, I provide depth
as to why we do our jobs, how
we do them and the importance
of our central purpose, which is
to nurture, teach and sustain the
experience of connectedness,
companionship and community,”
Wiebe says. “For employees, it’s
shining a light on their capabilities
and encouraging and celebrating
them in the work they do.”
Regina-based COR has some
400 employees who provide
support to people experiencing
intellectual disabilities and mental
health challenges in the city.
Most work within the community
supporting people in their homes
with their daily life.
“We’re finding more people with
intellectual disabilities who are in
need of support have significant
mental health challenges as well,”
says Tim Jones, chief learning
officer. “Care is becoming more
complex.”
“Our vision is not only to train
employees, but to spread this culture of gentleness more broadly,
inspiring change within caring
professions. There has been a
lot of interest from organizations
throughout Canada and parts
of the United States in learning
about Gentle Teaching.”
Gentle Teaching is a philosophy that emerged in the 1980s.
It’s a strengths-based approach
rooted in relationships. Instead of
focusing on behaviour, the focus
is on how to support someone by
ensuring they feel safe, valued,
cared for and engaged.
In 2023, COR established the
COR Academy for employees and
new hires to deepen their learning
about a culture of gentleness and
take basic training courses, such as
Mental Health First Aid and crisis
prevention.
“My role is twofold,” Jones
says. “The first is to mentor and
strengthen our leaders with the
Creative Options Regina uses the Gentle Teaching approach to inspire change within caring professions
across North America.
foundational knowledge of our
philosophy and how we support
people. The second is taking our
training and mentorship initiatives
externally to others that are
interested in our approach.
For employees, it’s shining
a light on their capabilities
and encouraging and
celebrating them in the
work they do.
— Shannon Wiebe
Mentorship and Outreach
Team Member
“COR is intentionally focused
on caring for the caregiver. We
believe that if the people providing care are ‘cared for,’ then they
in turn provide exceptional care to
those whom we are contracted to
provide care for,” says Jones.
“COR focuses on nurturing
a culture of belonging in the
workplace, a place where people’s
gifts and talents are nurtured.
That extends to both the people
we support and employees.”
COR is also developing LGBTQ+
and Indigenous employee
resource groups.
For her part, Wiebe cares
deeply about her work. “Why
I do what I’ve done the past 37
years, supporting those who are
marginalized in my community, is
my passion,” she says.
As a part of her role in providing
mentorship, Wiebe will meet with
home team leaders to help build
