At Capital One Canada, employees have the flexibility and funding to participate in learning and development programs in any discipline with an accredited college or university.Supplied
Ray Chen says the people-first culture of Capital One Canada was immediately apparent during his job interview process.
“Everyone I spoke to was friendly and wanted to share their work experience. I could really imagine myself working here,” says Chen, associate, process management. “And since I joined, that has definitely been my experience. I have had four mentors who have helped guide me through understanding my strengths, opportunities and passions. They sat down with me and we created a framework to plan for my career and how I can work toward future potential roles.”
This focus on development helped Chen recently land a new role at the Toronto-based financial institution, moving from a focus on risk management to customer retention.
In addition to preparing for the future, Capital One Canada provides development programs for associates within their current roles. Chen was part of the company’s process manager development program, which was an opportunity to connect with other process managers, attend training sessions and learn from each other.
“Having a supportive community who I can reach out to helps me get to know the company and helps me feel prepared to develop into a business leader in the future,” he says.
Permpreet Soomal, chief people officer, says Capital One Canada hires new talent with an eye to helping them reach their potential. “Many of our hires are new graduates and we understand the importance of providing them with the tools to grow and develop their careers,” she says.
The company also delivers early career programs that provide training in high-demand skills, such as data science, software engineering and analytics. “That’s a big reason people choose Capital One. We are designing careers of the future, enabling young people to build the required skills, put them into practice and hone them,” she says.
Capital One Canada also provides up to $5,000 a year per associate to spend on a learning and development program with an accredited college or university in any discipline of their choice. “We want to foster curiosity and continuous learning, which we really value as an organization,” Soomal says. “Associates have that flexibility to choose the learning and development outside of Capital One that they might be passionate about.” That’s in addition to other opportunities extended by the organization, which include an annual subscription to a popular external e-learning platform.
Soomal is proud of how Capital One Canada promotes from within. “Our associate population gets promoted and set up to take on more responsibility and be recognized for their high performance,” Soomal says. “We reward and recognize excellence within our organization.”
Soomal believes that providing this type of support to associates helps them in their work. “They are better able to drive more innovation and transform banking for Canadians,” she says. “I think that’s a real privilege – to be able to see the direct impact of how we are investing in our associates and how they are delivering better outcomes for our customers.”
Chen says for all of these reasons, Capital One Canada is an ideal place for new graduates to work. “You are really taken care of here and nurtured by mentors and by your colleagues,” he says. “I feel like I’m on the right track to develop my career and hopefully I will become successful in the future.”
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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.