SilverChef employees enjoying time at a Vancouver Canadians baseball game.Provided
With just over 50 full-time staff, 40 of whom work in the Vancouver head office, SilverChef Canada is the picture of a small, lean, purpose-driven company. While that has its challenges, experience has also taught the company that it can be a strength, as it was during recent COVID-19 lockdowns.
SilverChef Canada, a subsidiary of an Australia-based company that provides equipment finance to the restaurant and hospitality industries, had to react quickly. Customers were facing substantial challenges, and SilverChef needed to respond, with employees changing roles and responsibilities in a few days.
“We were able to pivot and do things rather quickly partly because of our size, but mostly because of the culture of teamwork that we have created,” says Sandra Zalunardo, vice-president, people, for SilverChef Canada. “Everyone just grouped together and we all supported each other, and it is a reflection of our core values, one of which is ‘We are united.’”
With nearly everyone in one office, relationships are easier to build and maintain. Misha Bajwa started at SilverChef over a year and a half ago as an administrator in its certified used department, and remembers shadowing a long-term employee, a valuable mentoring experience.
“When you’re able to talk to your colleagues all the time, it cuts down on the miscommunications or the challenges you’re facing, especially for a new person joining the company,” she says.
Zalunardo says that one of the challenges of their size is that it can be difficult to provide growth opportunities. “Recently, we have been intentional in promoting from within and with opportunities to contribute through special projects and secondment,” she says. “So we did not experience the ‘Great Resignation’ and have more long-term employees than ever before. They have become our culture bearers for the company, and their stories are valuable for new employees planning careers. Seeing these success stories across the business shows how people can grow and develop at SilverChef.”
Zalunardo also says that an intimate workplace helps identify talent. “It’s easier to point out those with the skills and abilities to grow in a small company than in a larger group.”
Group and volunteer activities are a major part of work culture at SilverChef, a Certified B Corp – part of a global movement of businesses balancing profit with purpose. It has a long-term partnership with Opportunity International. Charities like the Vancouver Food Bank are priorities for volunteer hours, as are Diwali and Lunar New Year.
Diversity and inclusion is crucial to the company and these holidays, along with celebrations like Pride, which are essential to work culture and the experience of recent hires like Bajwa.
“They were so excited to learn what our culture brings,” she says, recalling SilverChef’s Diwali celebration. “I’ve seen a lot of these initiatives and I really appreciate the company doing this for us.”
Bajwa was the organizer when SilverChef staff worked as volunteers at Vancouver’s Lunar New Year parade, helping with traffic and taking part in celebrations like the dragon parade and lion dances.
“We could see the whole parade,” she recalls. “It was really great to just be part of the joy and the celebration.”
“People can take pride in their culture, but it also makes them feel very seen,” Zalunardo says. “They’re more than just this customer service person or someone in accounting: ‘I come with a culture and a history and I want to share it with you.’”
“We’re supportive, we take care of each other, we encourage ideas,” says Bajwa. “I think it’s a very efficient and lovely way of working together.”
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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.