Sherry Dondo of HomeEquity Bank talks about creating an inclusive and adaptable workplace culture
Sherry Dondo, HomeEquity Bank’s senior vice president and chief human resources officer, believes that making employees happy ultimately leads to happiness among customers. This ethos is among the factors that make HomeEquity Bank one of Canadian Mortgage Professional’s 5-Star Mortgage Employers for 2022. In this interview, Dondo shares the process of developing a strong workplace culture and professional environment.
During the period of remote working brought about by the pandemic over the past two years, HomeEquity Bank fostered a sense of community among its employees by deploying the technology to facilitate the transition to a work-from-home arrangement.
“[We’ve also maintained] multiple touchpoints with our employees, whether that be through virtual coffee chats with our executive team or creating social events,” she said. These events were in the form of monthly meetings, quarterly roundtables, and virtual learning to strengthen resilience and recognize signs of stress and burnout.
A crucial part of creating HomeEquity Bank’s approach to the workplace is obtaining feedback through employee engagement surveys and performance conversations.
“We have a lot of facilitated group discussions and it’s really an important way for how we think about the evolution of our culture and the future of work. And our employees have been really involved with us as we’ve been thinking about [how] future work looks at HomeEquity Bank,” she said.
Another factor behind HomeEquity Bank’s award is its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Dondo said the company has introduced a Diversity Equity Inclusion Council and focused on the employment equity equation to increase representation across the bank, which ultimately enhances the employee and customer experience. The company has organized learning events such as Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Pride and Asian Heritage Month, as well as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
She emphasizes that positivity and happiness are elements of a successful workplace, particularly because “people are our business. We can’t operate without our employees feeling like they want to show up every day and bring their whole selves to work, being happy and satisfied and feeling engaged”.
Currently, HomeEquity Bank is going through a process to ensure that its employees can return to an adaptable and flexible workplace. The company is applying a hybrid model centered on purpose-driven work, said Dondo.
“We believe there’s value in coming together for connection and collaboration and to enhance our personal well-being,” she said. “But we want that to feel purposeful and create a culture, an environment, a physical space where employees want to be there and show up.”
