Colliers Canada's Aryme Massad on employee engagement

'Our people are pretty transparent and honest with what they'd like to see': HR head talks about building employee trust through transparency, action

Colliers Canada's Aryme Massad on employee engagement

At the heart of Colliers Canada’s award-winning employee engagement is its emphasis on listening – and responding – to employee feedback. It’s a tenet that Senior Director of People Services, Aryme Massad, says is a cornerstone to her team’s strategies, from championing diversity in the commercial real estate industry to empowering Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).

Employee engagement isn’t only about getting feedback, it’s about taking that feedback to heart and applying it – quickly and directly.

"I think people can see that change comes from them sharing their opinions," says Massad.

"When we do our engagement survey, we mobilize afterwards, and for our entire year – from an engagement standpoint – we have action plans that come from it. We talk about what we’re going to be investing in, what can we change, what can we impact."

Massad and her team regularly update employees on changes being made as a result of feedback, including what they won’t change: “We try to be really transparent and honest with that. And I think people respond to that, that they see, ‘Oh, I actually, I gave this feedback, and we have seen change, or we know that it's [at least] been heard and somebody's listening.’”

This adherence to transparency “breeds trust", Massad shares, adding that as a result, “our people are pretty transparent and honest with what they'd like to see.”

Increasing employee engagement

This commitment to the employee voice has translated into positive engagement trends – according to new numbers from ADP, in contrast to an overall global increase in employee engagement, Canada sits in the bottom three, having decreased 3 percentage points between 2022 and 2024.

"Our engagement at Colliers has not declined. Ours has actually gone up,” says Massad. “That’s very validating and reassuring for me for the work that we’re doing."

This upward trend is not accidental – it is the result of consistent, deliberate action in response to employee concerns and aspirations. For Massad, the common thread has always been about understanding people, fostering growth, and building environments where individuals can thrive.

“We are consistently recognized for our culture," she says, pointing to Colliers’ diversity initiatives in commercial real estate that have been particularly impactful – and awarded.

Commercial real estate has historically not been an inclusive space, Massad explains, but slowly Colliers and some other organizations in the industry have been working to turn that tide: “There’s not been a whole lot of diversity within the industry, and that’s something that I think needs to change, and it is changing, and we’re really trying to put in a lot of work to change that, because it’s important."

Employee feedback leads to paternal leave top-ups

Recognizing that employee well-being and work-life balance are critical to long-term engagement, again, in response to what they heard directly from employee feedback, Colliers has taken strides to make transitions smoother for working parents.

"We consistently heard that we needed to be better when it came to supporting women, especially if they were having families,” Massad says.

“It was really hard for people to leave the workplace for a year and come back. So something that we’ve implemented over the past few years was we brought in a maternity leave top-up program. It wasn’t just for maternity; it’s actually a parental leave program for all new parents, including spouses and adoptive parents."

Investing in employee resource groups

Another core initiative for Massad are Colliers' eight employee resource groups (ERGs), which play a major role in engagement and diversity.

Colliers encourages participation by promoting ERGs as valuable career-building opportunities rather than optional side projects, she explains, and unlike many organizations where participation in ERGs can be a challenge, her team has seen strong engagement.

Massad says this is due to the company’s direct, financial investment into ERGs, including the infrastructure that supports the groups, ensuring they have the resources and leadership backing that’ necessary to make a tangible impact.

"We have people whose job it is to support the ERGs, so it is something that’s incredibly important to us,” she says.

“We have a pretty passionate group of people that want to be involved and want to find community and work towards something greater, too.”

For Massad, HR is about more than just policies – it’s about fostering a culture where employees feel heard and valued, with opportunities to not only gain connections within the company but also have direct input into shaping policies and programs that align with their values and needs.

"Employers need to be ready and willing to make changes and investments based on what people say,” Massad says.

“And I think that because we’re in a place that we’re willing to do that, that’s what’s helped us with our engagement, and we really invest in it and care about it, and we hold each other accountable to having a great culture."