Green space, historic buildings employee favourites

Editor’s note: This is the first of a seven-part series taking a look at some of the best practices of Canada’s award-winning employers. In this instalment, we take a look at the University of Toronto’s physical workplace and why it makes the school such a great place to work.

The University of Toronto is home to lush lawns, historic buildings and parkland that overlooks two scenic river valleys. For the roughly 16,000 full- and part-time employees at the university’s three campuses, it’s an idyllic workplace, except for the fact space is at a premium.

“A couple of years ago we put out an informal survey about what people love about working here and we were amazed at the number of people who said they can go through Philosopher’s Walk on their lunch break or, if they’re out at the Scarborough or Mississauga campuses, there are parklands,” says Christina Sass-Kortsak, assistant vice-president of human resources. “So it’s a really great environment that way.”

With so many staff and students to house, the university is in the midst of an $850-million building campaign that encompasses more than 40 projects.

Recently, the university converted a former warehouse on the Toronto campus into office space. The renovation was designed to allow light to flow through the floor, with no outer office walls blocking the way. Informal meeting areas, intended for people to “stop and chat,” were also built into the design, says Sass-Kortsak.

“It was very much designed with the creation of a good work environment in mind,” she says. “When we have the opportunity to do it, we do.”

However, budget constraints call for a certain measure of moderation, she says. Managers designed the new space with input from staff and designers, who said they could operate in less space if they utilized it better and the area was opened up to bring in more light. In the end, the new workspace actually occupies a smaller footprint and the staff are getting better use out of it, she says.

The university is fortunate to be able to redesign workspaces as it goes along, rather than all at once. This allows for a “consultative” approach in which managers, HR and staff work together to find solutions, says Sass-Kortsak.

“We’re not in a situation where we’re one employer designing a whole new workspace,” she says. “It’s always a balancing act, for sure. Tensions occur where space is at a premium. At the university, it’s a huge issue. We never seem to have enough space and our priority is our students. Sometimes I think that we have to be careful that we pay enough attention to employees and the kind of space they work in.”

The HR department has worked closely with managers to come up with alternate solutions that allow for a better physical workspace, including having some people work from home.

Employees also have access to on-site fitness facilities and cultural activities at a reduced rate and there are staff lounges across the three campuses that feature comfortable seating, fireplaces, pool tables and music.

“It’s an important part of the kind of culture we try to create here,” she says. “It’s integrated into our culture and something our employees value and the reason they want to work here.”

The university has also made improvements to other aspects of the work environment, by providing multi-faith centres and washrooms with foot-washing stations for Muslims to use before prayers. The investment in these types of initiatives is paid back in different ways, she says.

“In having that, we ended up with one of our caretaking staff realizing that it was Ramadan and that area would have to be cleaned more often. He actually went to one of the students and asked when it was a good time to come in and clean,” she says. “You create an environment where people are more open to that. It has a broader impact.”

HR takes its cue for these types of initiatives from the university’s leadership, who put an emphasis on diversity and equity, says Sass-Kortsak.

“HR has a role to play in it, for sure,” she says. “But it’s not something we even want to see HR leading. It should be coming from managers.”

Likewise, selling senior managers on the need for building top-notch workspace is made easier by the fact that staff and students often share the same space.

“Our business case isn’t a financial one,” she says. “For us, it’s our students, our research, being able to attract the best students and faculty from all over the world. When it comes to attracting researchers from around the world, they’re probably looking for the top-of-the-line research space.”

Danielle Harder is a Whitby, Ont.-based freelance writer.