Manitoba's Top Employers

26 Proud to be one of Manitoba's Top Employers for 2019 Photography courtesy of Laird Kay waa.ca Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA) is transforming its employee experience to new heights. "While we have a lot of the same benefits and perks that other organizations have, I think the most important thing about working here is that we all live the same commitment to our community and we've created a culture that's worked for us," says WAA Director of People and Culture Kim Bilcowski. "I think that makes us unique." WAA is a community-based, non-share capital corporation that operates, manages, maintains and invests in the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. WAA Director of Communications and Public Affairs Tyler MacAfee says that employees have truly bought into the organization's mission. "The first three words of our vision statement are 'with our community.' As an airport, we're here to facilitate everything that the community needs, from people visiting their families, to business travellers to online packages that come by air and show up the next day at your door," MacAfee says. "This vision extends back to the company itself and is the reason why we exist. That becomes embedded into the culture here." As Bilcowski explains, the WAA enforces its "why" by creating a culture of listening to one another, which she says starts at the top. "Our President and CEO (Barry Rempel) communicates with employees in a number of ways, whether it's at our employee town hall sessions or a video newsletter that's posted on our intranet," Bilcowski says. "We have a senior management team that's open to talk to anybody at any time. We hold regular union-management committee meetings where we talk about the 'why' and also about the 'how'." Bilcowski says WAA has spent the past several years examining its processes and seeking out ways to be more efficient through different technologies and trying to be innovative in how it performs. She noted that the organization has adopted LEAN principles to get frontline employees involved in "breaking down the barriers to innovation and creativity." "When it comes to something even as simple as reorganizing and cleaning up certain areas such as our new terminal, getting our employees involved in the problem solving has been an enormous step forward for us," she says. WAA places a strong emphasis on the wellness of its employees. It encourages employees to keep fit by providing free memberships to two onsite fitness facilities that feature a full range of exercise equipment. WAA also brings in speakers and companies to deliver diverse wellness programming for employees. "We try to have programs come from the grassroots. It goes back to listening to our people and finding out what they're looking for," Bilcowski says. "You can buy a program from anybody and it sounds really great on paper, but it doesn't work if that's not what your employees are looking for. We look at wellness from a holistic perspective: body, mind, soul and spirit." A popular program for employees is the harvest garden. For 21 years, employees have had the opportunity to maintain a garden at the airport. "In the first week of June, we have a day where our employees help plant the garden," Bilcowski says. "Once the garden is planted, we have employees and volunteers take care of that garden throughout June and July. In late August and early September, we start harvesting it with the help of Winnipeg Harvest, which then distributes it to people in the city or surrounding areas." WAA also stands out because it offers flexible work arrangements to employees. This includes up to five paid family days, which can be scheduled by employees throughout the year. The organization also offers generous maternity and parental leave top-up payments for new moms (to 93 per cent of salary for 32 weeks) and parental leave top-up for new fathers and adoptive parents (to 93 per cent of salary for 15 weeks). "We want to make sure that we're providing a good work-life balance," Bilcowski says. "That goes back to talking to our employees, having a good understanding of who they are, and creating an environment where people feel that they're being heard and are working together." WINNIPEG AIRPORTS AUTHORITY BRINGS EMPLOYEES INTO CONVERSATION BY PAT REDIGER A big part of what makes Winnipeg Airports Authority unique is the commitment of its employees to their community.

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