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CAA Club Group corporate values pass the test our laptops and screens home with us,” says Srinivas. While the transition affected more than 2,000 associates, many of them had already adopted flexible work arrangements. “Some of us were already working from home, one or two days a week. We have that kind of flexibility at CCG,” says Srinivas. “Our call centre staff all work from home.”
Our associates have never once stopped helping our members. From the get-go, our travel associates helped to repatriate over 2,000 stranded CAA CCG ASSOCIATE USING THEIR PREDICTIVE ROADSIDE TECHNOLOGY CALLED GEN 2
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oon after he moved to Toronto from Mumbai in 2019, Sandeep Srinivas heard about CAA Club Group (CCG). A friend who works there recommended the organization to Srinivas. “She spoke highly of its leadership and its stability,” he says. “It’s a highly diversified organization, with a lot of businesses under one roof.” Srinivas’s younger sister had entered a PhD program in the U.S., and their parents wanted them to remain accessible to each other. Toronto was not only accessible, it’s also the financial capital of Canada, notes Srinivas, a qualified chartered accountant with an MBA in finance and strategy from the Indian School of Business. And it’s the headquarters of CCG. Srinivas now works in the Audit and Risk department at CCG in Thornhill.
Travel members from all over the world.”
Founded more than 115 years ago, CAA advocates for its 2.2 million members on issues such as road safety, infrastructure and consumer rights. It also offers products and services ranging from roadside assistance and home and auto insurance to travel services and travel insurance. The organization thrives by accommodating the diversity of its membership, reflected in the diversity of its associates, says Mary Duncan, chief human resources officer. “We hire associates who share our corporate values of collaboration, innovation, being care-driven and leading by example,” she says. Those values were put to the test when COVID-19 hit in early 2020. “We were told on the Friday before the state of emergency was declared to take
— Mary Duncan Chief Human Resources Officer That’s one reason why CCG adapted so readily to COVID-19 conditions. “Our associates have never once stopped helping our members,” says Duncan. “From the get-go, our travel associates helped to repatriate over 2,000 stranded CAA Travel members from all over the world.” CCG went beyond its immediate member responsibilities to support the local community, as well. “We delivered vital food and supplies,” says Duncan. “Associates, drivers and even our CEO helped to deliver PPE supplies to frontline workers across the province. “We also called our elderly members to ensure they were safe and doing all right
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during the shutdown. And CAA Insurance Company went above and beyond the industry standard issuing both a rate reduction and a financial relief benefit for our policy holders.” Internally, the organization supported associates as they adjusted to their new circumstances. Even with one-third of them working in the area of travel, which has suffered an enormous blow from the pandemic, “we committed to not laying off any employees,” says Duncan. Instead, the organization has retrained more than 100 associates over three months and deployed them to other parts of the company, she says. “This has allowed us to keep all our retail stores open and continue to keep a local presence to support our members in their communities.” The organization also introduced new health and wellness initiatives such as Maple telemedicine, AbilitCBT online cognitive behavioural therapy and a number of other resources for associates and their eligible family members. Instead of going to the office, Srinivas now spends hours of his day on Zoom calls. “We’re operating under a different set of conditions. A lot of processes had to be re-aligned,” he says. “But the quality of the outcome is just as high as ever.”
1,812 80,000
FULL-TIME STAFF IN CANADA JOB APPLICATIONS RECEIVED LAST YEAR
54%
OF MANAGERS ARE WOMEN
69%
OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT ARE WOMEN
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2020-10-16 11:06 AM