'We want to equip people, help people understand it's not a negative, it's an enabler for us,' says head of HR at Vancouver airport discussing transformation
"There’s 550 companies who work at YVR, and 26,000 employees, all ensuring that you and your bag or your Amazon parcel gets on that plane and gets off that plane again," says Richard Beed, VP of people and culture at the Vancouver Airport Authority (YVR).
“We talk a lot about a team sport, but it’s a huge ecosystem.”
Since joining YVR in 2020, Beed has championed a talent-first strategy to reshape the airport’s approach in a variety of areas, including leadership development, digital transformation, and diversity and inclusion.
At its core, the strategy recognizes that YVR’s success — serving more than 26.2 million passengers in 2024 alone — depends on investing in people at every level.
“Whether it's digital or AI or other components, we want to effectively take our workforce and help move them forward over the next three to five years. We believe investing in our staff today, on that journey, is going to be more important than other organizations that just hire and replace roles," Beed says. "It’s about helping people evolve, so they stay relevant and fulfilled as the world changes around them."
Career rooted in curiosity, human connection
Beed’s journey to human resources was shaped by an early realization about the centrality of people to organizational success. After earning a degree in resource science from Kingston University in London, he admits he was a bit lost.
“Like a lot of graduates, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do, and I ended up talking to lots of different companies about different types of careers — so banking or law or accountancy — and none of those were particularly exciting to me.”
But a meeting with the head of HR at Duracell provided clarity.
"He said to me: ‘The single most important factor in the company is its people,’" Beed recalls. "That light bulb moment went on for me. And I thought, ‘Yep, that's my career’… and I have loved it ever since.”
Following a Master’s in HR, Beed carried with him a business-oriented approach to human resources — and came to understand that interpretations can differ by employer.
"I always knew that what was best practice didn't necessarily mean it was best practice in your own organization," he says. "You have to understand the business to be able to provide the HR solutions. And if HR people don't take the time to learn the business, then how do you possibly know… that the solution is built for the purpose?"
Beed’s career has spanned years at several big names: Fujitsu for four years, Nortel for nine years, TELUS for three years and Central 1 for six years. Now at YVR, Beed’s career has been driven by curiosity and a belief in the transformative power of people.
"You have to lean in with curiosity, you have to learn that business,” he says. “You have to learn how HR can support that, and what attributes or behaviours or skills are needed to be successful in that environment compared to another.”
Building talent-first culture at YVR
Upon arriving at YVR during the uncertainty of COVID-19, Beed quickly recognized the scale — and opportunity — presented by the airport’s vast ecosystem.
"It was actually, in many ways, a great opportunity to join at that time because it was very busy in terms of work that we were doing for the strategy, or in terms of the implementation of changes with COVID and provincial and federal [regulations].
“It was super busy… but you could really get a sense of the resilience of the staff.”
This resilience has since become the foundation for a series of talent-driven initiatives. Central among them is the YVR Altitude Program, launched in 2024 to enhance leadership skills and engagement through assessments, coaching and coursework.
Designed for new and experienced leaders alike, the program is part of a broader effort to ensure YVR employees are prepared for the rapidly changing demands of the aviation industry.
"[Learning is] foundational to who we are," Beed says. "We constantly need to have that learning mindset to think about ‘If that process worked yesterday, does it still work today?’”
YVR’s commitment to continuous learning extends beyond leadership training. The airport integrates safety-focused exercises, operational simulations, and compliance training into its daily operations, reflecting a holistic view of employee development. In 2024, nearly 200 personnel participated in a full-scale emergency response simulation, ensuring readiness for major incidents.
Safety is a constant priority that goes well beyond training, he says.
“We have construction roles, we have our guest experience roles, we have our corporate roles, we have engineers, we have schedulers — just a whole variety of different roles. And from the HR point of view, we're making sure that we understand what each one of those roles needs within that corporate framework of our values … [with] one of our values being safety.’
Digital transformation through human lens
Digital innovation is also central to YVR’s strategy — but Beed is clear that technology must serve people, not replace them.
"AI is not going to take away your job. It's the person who understands AI who’s going to take away your job," he says. “So, we're very open around using Microsoft Copilot or others that are using ChatGPT to help us become quicker, faster, better; to help us analyze data, to be able to make decisions and to lean into that. We're on that journey.”
YVR’s Digital Twin — a real-time, 3D visualization of airport operations — is a key example. Built during the pandemic, it enables staff to monitor aircraft taxi times, passenger flows, baggage handling and even greenhouse gas emissions from their mobile phones. The system has enhanced decision-making across operations, improving everything from winter weather responses to airfield safety to on-time performance.
The airport is also evolving digital check-ins and piloting biometrics with Air Canada, using facial recognition to streamline boarding while protecting privacy. Beed sees these initiatives as opportunities for employees to deepen their skills.
“We want to lean into that. But, of course, that is a change for employees, so we need to help them along that journey and we need to work with all the stakeholders in terms of achieving that and helping them understand it in a positive way.
“We want to equip people, help people understand it's not a negative, it's an enabler for us — with the right rules and processes and governance that sits around that.”
Belonging, equity, and fair wages at YVR
Beyond leadership and technology, YVR’s people strategy prioritizes creating an inclusive, supportive workplace.
"We talk about ‘Diversity is the difference, integration is what we have in common, but… a sense that you belong is, ultimately, what we are creating,’" Beed says, highlighting the importance of a trusting environment.
In 2024, YVR launched a series of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) aimed at fostering inclusion and dismantling barriers to workplace equity. The organization has also provided comprehensive neurodiverse inclusion training for all employees, from front-line workers to security staff.
Recognizing the economic pressures facing workers in Metro Vancouver, YVR has also been certified as a Living Wage Employer since 2022, ensuring that all airport authority employees and direct service providers earn at least the local living wage.
"We believe very passionately about that," Beed says.
Strong connections to union, community
With roughly 69% of its workforce unionized, YVR has taken a collaborative approach to labour relations.
"We believe that unions are aiming in the same direction that we are, that we believe in investment in people, and we believe that people are the biggest differentiator for a company," Beed says. "It's not combative at all, it’s just a good, constructive relationship."
This philosophy extends to YVR’s unique relationship with the Musqueam Nation as the airport sits on their unceded land. Through the Sustainability & Friendship Agreement, now entering its ninth year, YVR is committed to reconciliation, learning and mutual prosperity.
"We really focus on the truth, but the reconciliation side of it, so we talk about it as a friendship," Beed says, describing regular meetings to foster understanding and collaboration.
In 2023, when the Russia-Ukraine war displaced many Ukrainians, YVR provided essential goods and care items collection for Ukrainian refugees as they arrived at YVR airport. It also set up a pop-up grocery market that raised over $26,000 in donations and filled 1,264 hampers to feed 7,500 British Columbians.
Looking down runway in Vancouver
Looking ahead, Beed sees the continuous evolution of YVR’s workforce as critical to meeting new challenges — especially with society pulling apart more than pulling together sometimes.
“A lot of [our work] is creating that trusting environment, so leadership is foundational to that… You can have differing points of view, but you have to be respectful to each other,” he says.
“I don't think little ol’ YVR can change what's happening in society in a broader aspect of it, but we can create the safe environment, and then we can lean into things that we believe are important, like our values, like diversity, inclusion, belonging — these things are important to us.”
Resilience training, open communication, and leadership development are key tools in this effort — bringing it back full circle to HR being about the people.
"You’re constantly figuring out ‘How do you fine-tune it?’ with environmental factors and internal factors," Beed says. "If we were all robots, it would be super easy, but then you wouldn’t need HR. So, that’s not our world — and that’s what makes use wonderfully diverse.”
