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WAT C H
Research In Motion
Shiny happy people What makes an employee go to work every day happy and excited? That is the question Research In Motion (RIM) VicePresident, Organizational Development, Elizabeth Roe Pfeiffer asks herself every day. She is figuring out the answer at an organization worldrenowned for its culture of success, ground-breaking technology and happy employees. Waterloo born and bred, Elizabeth Roe Pfeiffer never set her sights on a career in Human Resources. In fact, until she was asked to cover a maternity leave in the HR department at Kitchener’s YMCA, she had never even heard of the field.
Behind the scene… Fresh from university, with a degree in Psychology, Elizabeth Roe Pfeiffer headed down a path familiar to many young graduates called ”What do I do now?” While waiting for career inspiration, she helped out at her father’s company, WatStar. Her father, Peter Roe, a former professor of Systems Design at the University of Waterloo, gave Roe Pfeiffer her brush with the technology start-up world, and she liked it.
Remarks Roe Pfeiffer, “I noticed tech companies possessed a desire to try things – to be creative and thoughtful. That was interesting.” In 1992, Roe Pfeiffer left WatSrar for a Customer Service position at the YMCA . When asked to cover the six month maternity leave, Roe Pfieffer’s eyes opened up to new carreer prossibilitieses within Human Resources (HR). Roe Pfeiffer was iniitally surprised when her supervisor selected her for the role. “She thought I would be good at HR. At the time, I didn’t even know what it was. But I tried it and loved it.” With her interest sparked, Roe Pfeiffer began taking HR courses while continuing to work at the Y. “The Y was a fantastic place to kick-start start my career,” explains Roe Pfeiffer. “They had an incredible environment and support system for growing and evolving their people into leaders. “ As the 90s progressed, technology start-ups began to explode onto the scene. HR was viewed as both a novelty and a necessity. Tech companies were growing exponentially while simultaneously trying to build their programs and organization. They needed help. In 1996, Roe Pfeiffer re-entered the start-up world, accepting an HR management role at Open Text. A couple years later, she was ready for change.
“Finding and