Perspective Burlington 2021

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Burlington | 2 0 2 1

City of Burlington welcomes Brock University

Team Burlington is committed to helping business thrive

Very hot market for Office & Industrial space

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A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR

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hrough a partnership with the City of Burlington, Burlington Economic Development, our Burlington Chamber of Commerce and local BIAs, we have mounted an effective and coordinated response to support our businesses through COVID-19.

The Burlington Economic Recovery Network (BERN) and Team Burlington supports were formed to actively partner with our business community to help them through the recovery and rebuilding stage in a post-pandemic world. They have done an outstanding job through business grants, distribution of free rapid COVID-19 tests, and digital support initiatives. Free parking and transit were offered by the City and penalties on interest payments were waived.

City Council also approved a grant program worth $245,000 to provide personal protective equipment

(PPE) and other supports to business to help them make changes to their spaces to keep their staff and customers safe. The fund was administered in partnership with Burlington Economic Development.

We continue to implement action items gleaned from the 2019 Red Tape Red Carpet Task Force that I co-chaired with my colleague Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith. Consultations with our business community led to 22 Council-approved recommendations to remove red tape and make the process of relocating or expanding here in Burlington easier and more efficient. A City webpage was launched to track the implementation and completion of each recommendation, available at Burlington.ca/RTRC. Council is also updated on the progress monthly.

In our 2021 City of Burlington budget, Council approved $1.5 million for new positions in planning and we are looking at additional investments to keep up with the volume of work.

Additionally, in October 2020, Council supported the establishment of the Burlington Lands Partnership

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(BLP), a new organizational structure that will oversee the strategic lands management function of the City.

The BLP represents a transitional approach that allows for the expansion of organization capacity and a build-up of expertise. This will in turn enable further consideration by Council of a formalized municipal development corporation (MDC) in line with other municipalities in Ontario and utilizing the powers allowed under the Municipal Act related to municipal corporations.

Our goal with the BLP is to enable the City of Burlington’s focus on strategic lands related to several key priorities, including maximizing business development opportunities that support economic growth and job creation, deliver increased affordable housing and implement city building projects and initiatives that enhance the quality of life for all citizens.

Burlington continues to be open for business.

— Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor

1464 Cornwall Rd, Suite 5, Oakville, ON L6J 7W5 1-866-779-7712 info@perspective.ca www.perspective.ca Publisher, CeO Steve Montague ViCe-PresiDeNT Ed Martin Editorial Meredith MacLeod and Phil Gaudreau PerspectiveTM Burlington was produced Independent of the City of Burlington.

Contents are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the written consent of Perspective Marketing Inc. The publisher is not liable for any views expressed in the articles and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or the City of Burlington.

Since March 2020, we have been addressing the impact of Covid-19 on our community. We have created, delivered, and participated in rapid response initiatives granting over $1.6M to local charities helping our most vulnerable community members.

Supporting our community through the ravages of this pandemic has reaffirmed that our mission could not be more important: We understand the difference we can make is greater when people work together. Our role is to make that happen.

$8.2m $19.5m in charitable grants since 1999.

in assets under management.

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Expanding Post-Secondary Offerings in Burlington Burlington is building on its successful partnerships with local post-secondary institutions McMaster University and Mohawk College and embarking on a new collaboration with Brock University.

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aving thriving post-secondary institutions in and around the community are essential to the city’s priorities, including workforce development, talent attraction, and research and development.

Earlier this summer the City of Burlington started the formal process to purchase the Robert Bateman site with the long-term goal of relocating Brock University to the now defunct school.

Brock had previously declared its intention to relocate its Hamilton campus to Burlington in the fall of 2020.

The expansion of post-secondary offerings pushes forward key objectives laid out in the City of Burlington’s 25year strategic plan. Specifically, it focuses on making Burlington a city that grows through attracting talent, good jobs, and economic opportunity to the community.

Highly educated Burlington was named in the top 5 cities in the Greater Toronto Area by Maclean’s in 2021 and it is one of the most highly educated cities in the region, with a workforce of more than 4.5 million people in commuting distance. In addition to exploring a relationship with Brock, the City also plans to partner with other institutions on the adaptive reuse strategy for the high school site. This includes the Burlington Public Library relocating its Appleby Line branch to this location to develop a hub for learning and education.

“Our community has made it clear just how important it is to retain the Robert Bateman High School site as a community

hub, and a place of learning,” said Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.

“Our council has also had a longstanding goal of attracting postsecondary education to Burlington. Both commitments will now be realized with the relocation of Brock University’s faculty of education to the site, along with other partners like our library moving in. The site will remain a cherished part of our community and bring additional jobs and investment to Burlington.”

Lynn Wells, interim President and ViceChancellor at Brock, echoes the Mayor’s excitement: “Brock has experienced tremendous enrolment growth from students living in the Burlington area, and the City of Burlington has been a terrific partner for Brock University. We look forward to working with the City on the next phase of our partnership and working to improve access for area students.”

The former high school is located on New Street east of Appleby Line, about a five minutes’ drive south of the QEW.

Existing partners Burlington also boasts a campus of McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business that offers MBA, Professional Masters, and Executive Education programs the City also has close proximity to Mohawk College’s IdeaWorks research hub, which collaborates with a wide range of Burlington businesses on applied research projects.

The partnership between the City and Brock has been in the works for a number of years, says Anita Cassidy, executive director of Burlington Economic Development.

“This strategically located site being made available presents a unique economic development opportunity and aligns with our strategic objectives of attracting a postsecondary institution to Burlington. We see this as a big opportunity for the City and look forward to continuing our work with Brock University and the City of Burlington to attract a new post-secondary institution to Burlington.”

TechPlace, Burlington’s innovation space, will be relocating to the former

Bateman site as well. Having TechPlace at the site will help to further support the direction as a hub of innovation, learning and education. Connecting TechPlace with

Brock University and other community partners, will make it a dynamic and robust environment for residents and businesses alike.

Halton among hottest regions for relocation of office and industrial space As land and development opportunities shrink and as office space becomes more expensive, prime options abound in regions outside the downtown Toronto core.

“Companies are chasing talent – and a lot of their highly skilled workforce resides in the suburbs,” says Kurt Love, Vice President of sales and leasing for Toronto West at commercial real estate and advisory firm Avison Young. “For example, insurance companies and financial services firms are recognizing that they can relocate or create satellite offices closer to where staff live. We’re in negotiations with several businesses seeking to do these very things – and this is where places like Burlington come into the picture.”

Growth in the office marketplace has resulted in over 500,000 square feet of positive absorption in Avison Young projects since the start of the pandemic.

Industrial land and buildings have also seen explosive demand in Halton, says Harrison Livermore, Principal for Toronto West at Avison Young. “Industrial is red-hot; we’re seeing a heavy focus on speculative construction west of Toronto, particularly when it comes to warehousing and logistics.”

This past quarter, 82% of industrial construction in the Greater Toronto Area was completed to the west and more than a third of current construction is also in the west.

“This is a strong signal to the market that areas like Halton are very much in demand,” adds Livermore.

Avison Young is well positioned to help with real estate decisions, offering a range of services such as site selection, brokerage, and project and facilities management. “Like a one-stop shop, we operate as a real estate department for clients,” says Love.

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Working together to help businesses thrive

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hen COVID-19 rocked the globe, Burlington’s business support organizations jumped into action. From day one, Burlington EcDev was committed to supporting businesses through the pandemic, working closely with Team Burlington partners to offer support and help the business community navigate the economic impacts of COVID-19. That structure, and a focused approach on unity and collaboration, has set the city up for a strong recovery.

Team Burlington is made up of Burlington’s five business support organizations, Burlington Economic Development, Burlington Chamber of Commerce, Burlington Downtown Business Association, Aldershot Village BIA, and Tourism Burlington.

Anita Cassidy, Executive Director of Burlington Economic Development, said Team Burlington took a “dynamic, proactive, and collaborative approach” that allowed the organization to “collectively accomplish more than we would have individually.”

Coordinated response Team Burlington prioritized the delivery of timely, accurate information through various outlets including a phone support line, a one-stop online resource, e-newsletters, webinars and virtual forums.

This ensured questions were answered and critical information was delivered promptly to support businesses during the confusion of changing rules and government support programs.

Team Burlington got over 10,000 Rapid Antigen Screening Kits into the hands of businesses to help safely open and keep their customers and employees safe. Team Burlington became a crucial voice for the city’s business community, advocating strongly with all levels of government for the rent relief program, wage subsidy and emergency response benefit, and other measures that helped small businesses.

Team Burlington has been a “vital lifeline” for the members of the Burlington Downtown Business Association, says Executive Director Brian Dean.

“The unprecedented sharing of knowledge and coalescing of talents with my organizational partners in Burlington has increased the prospects for recovery of our small business community downtown tenfold. This model worked during the early days of the pandemic to provide vital supports to our businesses, and it has morphed into a well-respected group that is leading the advocacy efforts for our collective future.”

Road to recovery With an eye to recovery and rebuilding, the Burlington Economic Recovery Network (BERN) was formed by Team Burlington. Comprised of business leaders, key stakeholders and community drivers, this network is helping develop a recovery strategy and through Team Burlington, advocating for the needs of the business community.

Through input from BERN, Team Burlington has advocated for business supports, including targeted relief measures, stimulus funding for the hardest-hit sectors, and adjustments to municipal planning policies that allowed restaurant patios to expand onto public space and operate through the winter. Moving forward, the network will also focus on cutting red tape to help all sectors rebound and get back to business.

Burlington Safe Restart Program In the fall of 2020, Team Burlington, in partnership with the City of Burlington and POST Promise, launched the Burlington Safe Restart Program. This grant was a decisive response to the countless calls from the business community for financial support dealing with the reopening costs associated with the pandemic.

The grant supported small businesses in Burlington that were independently owned, and customer-facing, and experienced significant negative business impacts due to the pandemic.

Recipients were also required to make

Elected officials and the Team Burlington Directors at the Burlington Safe Restart recipient announcement in October 2020. From left to right: Carla Y. Nell, President & CEO, Burlington Chamber of Commerce, Aidan Tracey, POST Promise Founder and Chair of the Board of Directors, Jane McKenna, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour,Training and Skills Development and Member of Provincial Parliament for Burlington,The Honourable Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, Ontario’s Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, Lisa Kearns, City of Burlington and Regional Ward Two Councillor, Brian Dean, Executive Director, Burlington Downtown Business Association and Anita Cassidy, Executive Director, Burlington Economic Development the POST Promise, a private sector-led initiative that provides a commitment by businesses to implement essential measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This grant was the first of its kind at a municipal level in the region.

Businesses could receive up to $2,500 for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) or for the renovation of a business space in order to meet reopening guidelines.

Over two rounds, the Burlington Safe Restart Program distributed $240,481 to 153 small businesses. These businesses fell across a broad range of industries including hospitality, retail, health, wellness, and sports Grant recipient, Craig Green, owner of The Follicle Spa, said the program was extremely beneficial to his business operations.

“We were closed when we received the cheque, but it allowed us to go

Elected officials visiting Burlington Safe Restart Grant recipient, Jason Pepetone (far right) owner of Centro Garden in Downtown Burlington. ahead with some PPE purchases when there wasn’t a lot of money to go around. The big thing for us was that it was quick and came when other supports weren’t readily available.Very much appreciated at the time.”

WAT E R F R O N TS

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INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT LANDS WITH MULTIMODAL ACCESS • MULTIPLE ACREAGES • BUILT TO SUIT • WAREHOUSING

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For Sale/Lease 5344 John Lucas Drive Burlington, ON

- 38,263 sf available - Freestanding building - High office ratio/lab space - Flexible layout with ability to demise - Fully air conditioned

For Lease

1111 & 1122 International Boulevard Oakville, ON - Office options from 1,700 sf to 55,000 sf - Two-tower, Class “A” complex with QEW exposure - On site full service cafe and gym for tenants

For Lease 529 Michigan Drive Oakville, ON

For Lease

4216 South Service Road Burlington, ON - Industrial lease up to 280,000 sf - Brand new building - Potential to demise

- Located in Oak West Corporate Centre - Office options from 5,000 sf to 50,000 sf - Industrial options from 6,000 sf to 150,000 sf - Immediate occupancy

Jeff Flemington,SIOR* Harrison Livermore*

For Sale/Lease

649 North Service Road Burlington, ON - Up to 124,000 sf - “Campus-style” user office facility - Separate shipping and receiving areas

Jeff Flemington,SIOR* Harrison Livermore* Lyndsay Hopps*

Harrison Livermore*

Harrison Livermore*

Samantha Martyniuk*

Colin Bell*

Kurt Love*, SIOR

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Avison Young Commercial Real Estate Services, LP, Brokerage 77 City Centre Drive, Suite 301, Mississauga, Ontario L5B 1M5 Office 905 712 2100 Fax 905 712 2937 avisonyoung.ca

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Electrifying success From one employee and a station wagon to a 23-location, multigeneration company, Gerrie Electric is a true Canadian success story over six decades in the making.

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oday, the over 400-employee organization sells a wide array of electrical, automation, and lighting products, services, and solutions: everything from wire, conduit, and distribution equipment to automation equipment. At over $200 million in sales, they’re one of Canada’s largest independent electrical distributors.

It has taken a lot of hard work to get there, however. Across three generations, the Gerrie family has built the company up from a storefront supply counter in Oakville to its current Burlington headquarters and distribution centre and satellite locations across Southern Ontario.

“Our core purpose is to passionately help customers be more successful by delivering exceptional experiences,” said Taylor Gerrie, a Director of Strategic Transformation with Gerrie Electric and part of the third generation of Gerries involved in the business. “We’re always trying to help our customers succeed, knowing that their success will influence our Ontario economy and in turn positively impact us.”

As times have changed in the electrical industry, the Gerrie family has kept pace in offering customers automation for their factory floors in the early 80s, adding datacom and process industry divisions, embracing the shift to LED lighting, and developing the wire cutting business.

They’ve also kept a keen focus on deploying the latest technology, like when the Gerries expanded into e-commerce in the early 2000s.

“We continue the culture of integrity and trust that my father, Ken, formed through our focus on our people,” said Elaine Gerrie, Co-President and CEO. “We aim to be the market leader in all cities and towns and be the first to use and deploy new technology.

It is one of our success pillars and what keeps us ahead of competitors.”

And it’s not just Gerrie Electric branches and customers who are on the cutting edge. Through the pandemic, behind the scenes, the company has been working on a modern Burlington-based distribution centre.

Powered by an automated storage retrieval system created by Bastian Solutions this new 76,000 square foot centre is helping Gerrie Electric efficiently and quickly store, sort, and distribute most of their merchandise across their sales territory.

The continued success of the Gerrie family and their business has been recognized beyond Southern Ontario, with Gerrie Electric recently being named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for seventh year running. The company was also recently recognized by Mohawk College through their inclusion in Mohawk’s Future Ready Premium Employer Program.

“Mohawk has been an important partner, whether through the co-op students and alumni we hire, through our presence on their steering and program advisory committees, our support of their courses and continuing education, or as our staff teach in their programs,” said Elaine Gerrie.

“Mohawk is providing the next wave of talent we need to continue to run our

New Distribution Centre in Burlington

Left to Right: Heather Gerrie, Co-President & CEO | Taylor Gerrie, Director of Strategic Transformation | Joanna Kwant, Director of Strategic Transformation | Jonathan Kwant, Director of Strategic Transformation | Elaine Gerrie, Co-President & CEO business and keep flourishing against global competition.”

That talent will be needed as the company continues to grow. Gerrie Electric is preparing for a launch of a new website, and continuing to fine tune the organization’s structure, and offerings. While COVID-19 put challengers on expanded footprints, their revamped e-commerce platform will help them reach customers beyond South Central Ontario and compete with larger, multinational competition.

And waiting in the wings to take on that competition are Taylor Gerrie and his two cousins, Jonathan Kwant and Joanna Kwant, part of the “3G”, or third generation, of Gerries involved in the business their grandfather established.

“So much work has been done to propel Gerrie to this point of success and with the resilient and dedicated staff, solid family culture, and passion for innovation and growth, we will continue to carry on Ken’s legacy and keep Gerrie Electric successful for many years to come,” added Taylor Gerrie.

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Mohawk College’s supporting role The school’s numerous efforts make it a steadfast contributor of regional economic development

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he numbers are in, and they appear encouraging. In July, Ontario created 72,000 new jobs. However, as the province begins its COVID-19 recovery process, an RBC Economics report reveals a simultaneous job resignation trend. RBC says the number of people in Canada who left their jobs in June tripled compared to the same month in 2020. Retirements are also picking up again.

The combination provides Mohawk College with a unique opportunity to respond to employers’ interests — making it a key contributor in supporting economic development in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

“Mohawk proudly serves as a lead partner for the region’s economic, social, and environmental imperatives as a workforce catalyst, innovation accelerator, and advocate for environmental and social sustainability,” says Jim Vanderveken, dean

of the College’s Centre for Community Partnerships and Experiential Learning.

“Through extensive partnerships, we are confident that our overriding commitment to collaboration in offering exemplar education and training will ensure that current and future talent needs of the regional economy will drive an inclusive recovery and a shared prosperity that benefits all citizens.”

Currently, says Vanderveken, three primary employer trends are emerging: talent attraction and retention; transformation of workplaces through strategies that support a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion; and employers doubling their efforts to establish relationships with post-secondary institutions. To address these developments, Mohawk continually engages business and industry partners to understand workforce priorities and talent acquisition challenges, closely collaborating with economic

development teams from municipalities such as Burlington and Hamilton.

“Together, we identify the critical skills and competencies that employers are seeking, and customize workforce education programs that are demandled, tailored to each unique employer setting to meet the needs of both new and incumbent employees,” says Vanderveken.

Anita Cassidy, Burlington Economic Development Corporation’s executive director, has several joint initiatives with Mohawk, including networking

opportunities with faculty and students to Burlington businesses, “It makes it much easier for employers because they may not know where to go or who to talk to.”

The College also invites companies to collaborate in engaging learners along the entire student life cycle. One of the best ways employers can access students, says Vanderveken, is through experiential and work-integrated learning. This includes co-op, clinical placements and field placements, course-based capstone projects, and research activities. Ranked

Perspective fourth in Canada, Mohawk is a top applied research institution with over 220 research partnerships across many industries.

Employers even have the opportunity to participate in various Mohawk-hosted events, such as career fairs, college open houses, and grad nights; and they can serve on Program Advisory Committees, using their voice to ensure programs meet industry standards and competency expectations.

“We collaborate with over 2,000 employers, and they come from every sector, from small to medium-sized to large multi-national organizations,” says Vanderveken. “Through a diverse program offering, we engage employers

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in advanced manufacturing and robotics, computer technology, aviation, insurance, marketing, accounting, community social services and education, skilled trades, and environmental sciences, to name a few. We recently launched a special project that supports small businesses to recruit workers to ensure they recover from the economic turbulence created by COVID-19.”

Mohawk’s Centre for Entrepreneurship is an active champion of COVID recovery efforts. It has participated in the Burlington Economic Recovery Network and partnered with the City of Burlington to develop two proposals that address enhanced digitization of local small businesses.

To further strengthen partnerships, in 2019 the College launched the Future Ready Premium Program (FRPP).

It invites select employers to enter a memorandum of understanding to codify their partnership with Mohawk. From there, FRPP participants gain access to a concierge service through a single point of contact at Mohawk, an exclusive web portal, and a co-branding strategy.

“Our efforts to support the region’s economic vibrancy is one that we take very seriously and acknowledge that it is not work we can accomplish alone,” says Vanderveken. “We rely on industry, education, government, and community partners and collaborators, without whom

we would not have been able to achieve our strategic priorities and generate the success we have achieved to date.”

Among FRPP’s participants is Gerrie Electric — a Mohawk partner of 25 years.

Gerrie’s co-CEO, Elaine Gerrie, says it wasn’t until the company was selected to take part that she realized just what a powerful relationship her organization had with the College.

“There are so many amazing touchpoints that we have to a great school,” she says. “Mohawk is so innovative, and this program is getting the word out that the college is not just a teaching institution but is bridging the gap to careers.”

Plan for success with Mohawk College • Hire students and graduates • Train your workforce • Collaborate on research and innovation Explore how we can support your business to attract and retain skilled employees.

mohawkcollege.ca/employer

Future Ready. Together.

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Supporting Small Businesses

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urlington offers everything new or growing businesses, both domestic and international, need to thrive in today’s technology-focused world.

The city has a highly diverse and dynamic economy, with key industries of advanced manufacturing, clean technology, biomedical and life sciences, food and beverage processing, professional and technical services and information and communications technology (ICT).

TechPlace is the city’s 8,600-squarefoot innovation centre, where new and growing technology companies get everything they need to grow and succeed.

With subsidized office space, secure high speed wireless networks, access to programming, networking opportunities, and promotional opportunities, TechPlace has the resources and tools to help foster significant growth for innovative tech businesses.

It is co-located with Haltech Regional Innovation Centre, and the Angel One Investor Network. At TechPlace, colocation partner clients and visitors have access to expert advisers, educational opportunities and supports in making strategic connections to drive market share or build a seamless Canadian expansion.

More than 15,000 innovators have come through the doors of TechPlace, which has hosted 312 events and graduated 19 companies through LaunchPad, including Iris R&D Group, 3Terra, Unifai, ZippyJamz, GoWrench, and Dextro Analytics.

LaunchPad Program The LaunchPad program is a strong sixto 12-month innovation program that surrounds resident TechPlace companies with resources and collaborative tools to succeed.

LaunchPad program companies excel in a community-oriented environment, taking advantage of exclusive services and mentorship opportunities for long-term growth in the innovation eco-system.

Whether it’s robotics, big data, machine learning, or medtech, if your business has market potential (or traction) in the tech industry, this program is perfect.

Soft Landing Program For international companies, the Soft Landing program at TechPlace provides companies looking to expand their product or service to the Canadian market with a Canadian office space and vital resources to launch and scale.

The Soft Landing program cushions an arrival to Canada, helping companies ease into the country’s business environment.

In addition to the supports offered to domestic companies through LaunchPad, the Soft Landing program can also help with the immigration process to bring talent to Canada or to hire domestically.

Both the LaunchPad and the Soft Landing programs benefit from TechPlace’s strong connections to the local business community, community partners, and postsecondary institutions.

“After visiting Burlington and getting a tour of TechPlace, we knew right away that we wanted our Canadian office to be located here,” said Mario Alejandro Escoto, CEO of BeltecHub Technologies, an ICT company from Central America.

“Having an office at TechPlace not only allows us to have easy access to the North American market but it also provides access to mentorship and resources that will make our expansion easier and assist us in hiring the right talent.”

Going Digital In addition to technology resources at TechPlace, Burlington also received an investment of the Federal and Provincial Governments for the Digital Main Street Ontario. This program helps local small business pivot their marketing to online channels, increasing their digital brand presence on social media or e-commerce platforms.

The Burlington Economic Recovery Network (BERN) received a grant from Digital Main Street Ontario to offer a local Digital Service Squad (DSS) in Burlington.

The DSS is comprised of two specialists who have assisted over 225 small businesses in the city.

This summer, Burlington Economic Development also partnered with Fundica, a Canadian AI-powered funding application that helps businesses access

Ferene Navarra (left) and Abrar Chowdhry are Burlington’s Digital Service Squad members.

Photo from Graham Paine/Torstar. government and private sector grants, tax credits, loans and equity to better leverage funding opportunities that are available.

“The Fundica software is a fantastic resource for our team to have in our toolkit when supporting businesses,” said Anita Cassidy, CEO of Burlington Economic Development.

“Due to the pandemic, our requests for assistance relating to grants and programs has increased significantly.

Fundica offers an innovative solution to a longstanding problem we’ve seen from businesses – how do they know they’re accessing every program available.”

BURLINGTON’S CULTURAL HUB BECOME A MEMBER

The Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) is a not-for-profit charitable organization, a worldclass venue, the cultural hub of the community and the focal point for the performing arts activity in downtown Burlington.

The Burlington Performing Arts Centre 440 Locust St., Burlington ON L7S 1T7 Box Office: 905-681-6000 |

burlingtonpac.ca

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Burlington is where companies of all sizes succeed

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ven during a global pandemic, Burlington businesses adapted thrived to support their customers. The City of Burlington is proud of all the businesses that call the city home. This year Burlington Economic Development celebrated three notable businesses during the 2021 Business Excellence Awards presented by the Burlington Chamber of Commerce.

Receiving the Award for Excellence in Innovation and Technology – Small is IRIS R&D Group Inc. Co-founded

by Emil Sylvester Ramos & David Keaney, IRIS R&D develops cuttingedge AI and deep learning technologies to solving Smart City challenges. They have developed and commercialized a Smart City AIenabled data platform that help cities monitor road networks and municipal assets intelligently.

“The products IRIS R&D is bringing to market help solve community

problems and barriers to progress, save operational time and capital expenses, create opportunities and jobs, and help further Ontario’s innovation ecosystem through applied research collaborations,” Randall Smallbone, Chair of Burlington Economic Development Board of Directors.

The Award for Excellence in Innovation and Technology – Large was presented to Gerrie Electric Wholesale Limited. The family-owned company has called Burlington home for 40 years. They provide electrical, automation and lighting products to their customers. Gerrie Electric recently expanded in Burlington, opening a 76,000-square-foot distribution centre with cutting-edge technologies, such as automated storage and retrieval systems. This expansion will help them compete against global fulfillment centres and positions it for future growth.

Anita Cassidy, Burlington Economic Development Executive Director celebrated their accomplishments during COVID-19, “Gerrie Electric supported critical electrical supply chain infrastructure during COVID-19 and their investment during COVID-19 during this time speaks to the long term innovations we will see as a result of this pandemic.”

Endress+Hauser Canada Ltd received the Award for Excellence in Global Business. Endress+Hauser is a global innovator specializing in process and laboratory instrumentation and automation. This year they opened their brand-new net-zero 47,000 square-foot Customer Experience Centre in Burlington.

“We selected Endress+Hauser Canada for this award because they demonstrate a true global business success story and are a great representation of the growth possible in Burlington,” said Smallbone.

Endress+Hauser Canada breaks ground at new Customer Experience Centre in August 2019.

IRIS R&D Team at TechPlace

Adapting to business needs Business needs are changing, and the City of Burlington is adapting with them. Putting customer experience first is one of the many ways the City of Burlington is cutting the red tape and rolling out the red carpet for businesses.

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n late 2019, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward in partnership with Ward One City Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, announced the Red Tape Red Carpet Task Force, the mandate of the Task Force is to identify and eliminate barriers to growth so that businesses can locate here, expand, and thrive.

Through stakeholder sessions, the Task Force developed 22 recommendations.

Anything and everything from developing a Burlington Brownfield Community Improvement Plan (approved by Council in early 2021) to the creation of an “Open for Business” customer service window on the first floor of City Hall that allows for on-the-spot collaboration and problem solving (underway currently).

Alongside the formation of the Red Tape Red Carpet Task Force (RTRC), the City took dramatic steps to enhance their customer’s experience, casting a wide net for who is considered a “customer” to include residents, existing businesses, potential new businesses and community stakeholders. The City did this through creating a dedicated corporate Customer Experience Team and developing a Customer Experience Strategy, these steps will help the City to achieve the vision of having “one city, one customer” through an empowered team who build lifelong

relationships and trust through outstanding customer service and innovative solutions.

To further implement the RTRC recommendations and Customer Experience Strategy, a partnership has been created with the goals of increasing economic prosperity, business development and providing a good customer experience.

The partnership involves collaboration between the City’s Customer Experience Manager – Business Development, Manager Planning Implementation and the Manager of Business Development from Burlington Economic Development to address individual application concerns and to ensure customer experience is considered for development services process reviews and improvements.

COVID-19 forced organizations around the world to pivot on a dime and the City of Burlington was no different. Taking the unprecedent times in stride, city officials quickly shifted to providing a range of services online.

The City has now developed a modern online portal for building permit applications that makes doing business in Burlington easier than ever.

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“ This is great news for our City and was one of the goals of the Red Tape Red Carpet Task Force. Enhancing the building permit applications through an online, more user-friendly and efficient process will help make things easier for our community and the industry; as well, it will help people get started on their projects faster.”

– Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

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Why it makes good business sense to hire people with disabilities

BY CATHERINE E. CONNELLY, THE DEGROOTE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, MCMASTER UNIVERSITY; AND SANDRA L. FISHER, MÜNSTER UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

M

anagers sometimes assume that hiring employees who live with disabilities will be more expensive.

They worry that these employees will perform at a lower level, be absent more often, need expensive accommodations and will then quit.

But should managers worry about these things?

We present a way for managers to evaluate both the net costs and benefits of having employees with disabilities, and we consider all these factors. When we tested our method at one company, we found that it actually saved money by hiring people with disabilities.

To calculate the net value of employing people with disabilities, companies can run what is known as a utility analysis that takes into account direct costs associated with wages, benefits, training and accommodation.

It also considers indirect costs such as turnover and absences.

Direct costs are easily tabulated, but indirect costs are based on industry estimates.

For example, turnover costs can be estimated as one to 2.5 times the annual salary of the worker who leaves, depending on how lengthy the search is for a replacement and how much on-boarding is required. These costs are balanced against the value provided by the employees, taking into account employee performance evaluations and pay rates.

Disabled employees were more productive A food services company that runs hospital cafeterias and university food courts allowed us to analyze their internal data for one department with 46 employees. Our analysis suggests that this unit had $108,381 in added

value that year by hiring employees with disabilities.

The employees with disabilities at this company performed at a slightly higher level compared to their counterparts without disabilities. Only 56 per cent of the nondisabled employees had average or aboveaverage performance, but all the employees with disabilities met this standard. Similarly, the non-disabled employees had an average of 6.5 absences per year, but workers with disabilities had an average of only three absences over the same time period.

At this company, the employees with disabilities also had much lower turnover. In fact, none of the employees with disabilities left the company during the year of our study. In contrast, 18 per cent of the nondisabled employees quit.

Managers sometimes believe in false stereotypes that employees with disabilities are unreliable and likely to quit, but in this company they were loyal and reliable. This is consistent with what we have learned from our conversations with managers at other companies.

Several managers gave us examples of employees with disabilities who were dedicated and committed workers once they had been given an opportunity and welcomed into the company. One chain restaurant executive, in particular, started hiring more workers with disabilities because he noticed that they were very unlikely to quit.

What might surprise some managers is that the costs of the accommodations for employees with disabilities were quite low.

One employee, a chef, was deaf and could not hear food orders — so the counter staff would write them down for him. The company estimated that the cost of the paper and pens to do this was just five dollars.

Most of the other employees with disabilities only needed some scheduling flexibility to deal with medical flareups or appointments. This was easily provided and these accommodations were similar to those provided to everyone else.

Providing accommodations Naturally, employees hired by companies will have varying disabilities. Information on how to provide accommodations is available from a number of sources, including the Job Accommodation Network and local community organizations like the Gateway Association, the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work, the Neil Squire Association and the March of Dimes.

Businesses should also ask their employees what they need to be successful.

Although the accommodation costs in our example might sound unusually low, the typical costs of workplace accommodations tend to be lower than what managers expect. According to industry estimates, accommodations actually cost less than US$500 in nearly 60 per cent of cases, or about $625 in Canada.

Why? A company may offer modified duties or flexible schedules to employees with disabilities. These are generally not expensive to provide.

And in instances where there is a price tag for an accommodation — for example, an ergonomic mouse or standing desk — these are often one-time costs. More expensive investments, like wheelchair ramps, are rarer but can be amortized over several years.

Going beyond CSR Many advocates for hiring people with disabilities focus on doing so to fulfil corporate social responsibility expectations.

We agree that corporate social responsibility is important, but the financial component is critical to highlight to business leaders.

Companies can use their internal employee data to develop a plan that supports equity, diversity and inclusion efforts when it comes to people with disabilities.

Job applicants who live with disabilities represent a largely untapped sector of the workforce — unemployment rates among these workers tend to be about double that of non-disabled workers, with comparable age and education levels.

Managers who are seeking loyal employees who perform well should consider hiring people with disabilities. It’s a smart business strategy.

About the authors: Catherine E. Connelly, Canada Research Chair and Professor of Organizational Behaviour, The DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University and Sandra L. Fisher, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer, Human Resource Management and Technology, Münster University of Applied Sciences This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Terry Varga

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