How do you attract and retain the most talented technologists and other professionals in a very tight market? At media and technology company Thomson Reuters, a big part of the strategy has been to offer recruits a myriad of opportunities to advance and learn – while ensuring their voices will be heard and trusted.
That’s certainly been the case for Amy Gelowitz, a lead software engineer at Thomson Reuters in Toronto. The University of Calgary graduate, whose team supports tax and accounting solutions for corporate clients, has risen quickly to a team leader position in just four years.
Gelowitz is excited to be working in a large, global company with a strong mentorship program and many opportunities to move around – and up. She also appreciates the resources she can access to continue to learn and stay on the cutting edge in technology.
But she was particularly heartened by the way her managers recognized her successes and pushed for her quick promotion to team leader.
“They saw that I was already leading a lot of things because I’m just bossy,” Gelowitz says with a chuckle. “And having the team fight for me to get that position, even though it’s not a typical career path, was really great.”
A Canadian-based global company headquartered in Toronto, Thomson Reuters ranks among the world’s leading providers of news and business information services, providing information-enabled software and tools for legal, accounting and tax professionals.
To attract top talent in this very competitive sector, the content-driven technology company has to ensure it remains a leader in providing great career opportunities, says Mary Alice Vuicic, chief people officer. It also has to provide learning and skill-building resources, and have leaders who are taught how to coach and develop people. She says success in all those areas creates a virtuous cycle.
“We work in the knowledge economy solving incredibly complex problems for our customers,” Vuicic says. “We attract really talented people who want to work with other talented people on a global team doing important impactful work.”
Thomson Reuters is also focused on boosting its diversity, and has targets to increase the number of women and racial and ethnic representation in senior leadership roles. For instance, the company has already surpassed its objective to have 40 per cent of senior roles held by women, and has set a new goal of reaching 45 per cent, Vuicic says.
Another company-wide priority is wellness and mental-health programs. Those have been ratcheted up amid the pandemic and will continue, Vuicic says. That include two mental health days annually and investments in new tools and systems for employees to assess their mental health and to support their team members.
Gelowitz commends the company’s efforts to ensure a proper work-life balance for people working from home. She also appreciates Thomson Reuters for its social impact projects. She has already done four or five volunteering stints. “It's nice to be able to give back so frequently without having to worry about taking time off,” she says.
And it’s rewarding too. Gelowitz recalls volunteering to teach a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) course at a Toronto school that was attended by one of her nieces. “She thinks I’m super cool, even though her dads are engineers too, because I’m a girl engineer,” Gelowitz says with a smile.
“It’s an opportunity to give back and it’s an opportunity to engage the next generation of engineers,” she says of the volunteer work she’s done at Thomson Reuters. “It can show young women it is possible to succeed in these careers – and it can be a lot of fun.”
