Celebrating Everyday Greatness: Meet the 2023 Greenberg Award Winners
At Minto, we shine a light on exceptional employees who go above and beyond in their day-to-day roles through our employee recognition program, BRAVO!. This program has had a significant impact on our culture by enabling and encouraging peer-to-peer recognition. Creating a culture of recognition through programs like BRAVO! has contributed to employee engagement and a reduction in employee turnover.
Each year, employees who receive the highest-level BRAVO! award (aka the “Standing Ovation” award) are automatically nominated for a Greenberg award under each of Minto’s Values — Achievement, Courage, Innovation, and Partnership.
Introducing the 2023 Greenberg Award Winners
We’re excited to highlight the winners for this year’s Greenberg Awards:
- For Accomplishment: Krishna Dheer Raavi, Property Manager
- For Courage: Aaron Peddle, Health + Safety Representative; Andrew James Dopud, Construction Technician/Health + Safety, Arthur Gzyl, Assistant Site Superintendent, Chance Hainer, Site Superintendent, Gilles Bray, Construction Technician/Health + Safety, Jason Ladouceur, Assistant Warranty Manager, 30 Day, Joe Hotchkiss, Site Superintendent, Julie Dingemans, Site Coordinator, Khal Al-sakkaf, General Site Superintendent, Lee Macnab, Assistant Site Superintendent, Martin Larose, Health + Safety Manager, Russell Cosenzo, Warranty Manager, and Sylvain Dinel, Assistant Site Superintendent
- For Innovation: Jose Martinez Jimenez, IT Director, Business Systems
- For Partnership: Courtney Allaire, Marketing and Content Specialist, James Sun, Digital Marketing Specialist, and Mohini Mohandas, Digital Marketing and Corporate Brand Specialist
Accomplishment
Krishna takes home the 2023 Greenberg Award for Accomplishment for his exceptional versatility and invaluable contributions to our team. Since joining in 2021 as a Property Manager for our Apartment rentals team, Krishna has created a welcoming environment for residents, managed a large number of properties in the Ottawa region, and addressed staffing challenges — all while swiftly completing the Rental Property License for British Columbia and preparing for a new role in Vancouver. Krishna’s strong management and communication skills including his role as a spokesperson and his ability to speak both English and French were key to supporting the well-being of his team and our residents while furthering Minto’s growth.
"It was a true pleasure to acknowledge Krishna for his significant contribution in 2023. What resonates most about the accomplishment value is how it fosters an environment where employees can actively influence the future. Krishna demonstrated an incredible work ethic, determination, and willingness to relocate to support our growth in Vancouver. He has been, and continues to be, a great teammate and contributor to our success in providing better places to live, work, and play."
— Paul Baron, Senior Vice President Operations, Minto Properties (a division of Minto Group) and Minto Apartment REIT
Courage
This team takes home the 2023 Greenberg Award for Courage based on their remarkable leadership and selflessness during an unforeseen explosion that occurred last February in our Avalon community in Ottawa. Following the event, these key members of our homebuilding team quickly established a safe haven for injured workers and collaborated with authorities. Their actions not only embodied courage but Minto’s other core values — partnership, accomplishment, and innovation. Their ability to put people first to demonstrate that they cared made a lasting impression on our company.
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“In your roles, you often take on unexpected challenges and adapt on the fly, but last February, those skills were put to the test with a situation you couldn’t have prepared for in a million years. When the explosion happened, you all stepped up to help homeowners, their families, and trades during one of the most stressful days of their lives. Then, in the aftermath came the cleanup, the documentation, the interviews, and more. Again, you went above and beyond putting in extended hours and working together as a team to accomplish all that needed to be done. Words can’t express the appreciation I have for your hard work, dedication, and courage during this difficult time. Thank you to you all for living and breathing our Minto Values!” |
Innovation
Jose takes home the 2023 Greenberg Award for Innovation for his efficiency and strategic approach to the introduction of our Microsoft PowerBI platform. In his role leading the Business Systems for our IT department, Jose identified the need for greater visibility into our data to better inform our business decisions and continue to advance the organization. To accomplish this, he championed the transition to a new BI platform while ensuring the processes were in place to make the most of the new tools. Jose established the processes and governance around the BI development showcasing his dedication to fostering awareness and addressing the needs of the company. Jose’s innovative contributions have not only streamlined operations but have also positioned Minto for continued success in a dynamic business landscape.
“Within a short time of joining Minto, Jose identified a significant opportunity for cost savings, and more importantly, for enhanced productivity and better visibility to our data. Not only did Jose help us transition from one platform to another in record-breaking time, but he also established processes and governance around BI development and created awareness throughout the organization. Having the right information at our fingertips, in real-time, and having the ability to analyze that information adds value to all levels in the organization and helps put us at a competitive advantage. Amazing job, Jose!”
— Anca Preda, Vice President, IT
Partnership
Courtney, James, and Mohini on our Apartments team, take home the 2023 Greenberg Award for Partnership for their collaborative efforts in reputation management and enhancing customer experience. Together they overhauled the property review process - incorporating property-specific targets, an employee recognition program, review solicitation tools, and the implementation of the Reputation software platform to better capture resident feedback. The new system has been embraced by operations teams across various regions and has allowed greater visibility into the resident experience - ensuring we respond quickly and effectively to feedback. The team’s hard work and attention to detail are a great example of what can be accomplished through partnership at Minto.
“As part of Minto Apartments’ ongoing commitment to reputation management and delivering the best possible experience for our customers, Courtney, James, and Mohini successfully planned and delivered an innovative, multi-pronged approach to improving how we measure, monitor, and improve our Google Review scores across the portfolio. The team’s dedication, hard work, and attention to detail paid off with remarkable results. Each region exceeded their aggregate target for 4- and 5-star Google reviews and the average review rating across the portfolio is on track to hit an astounding 15% YoY increase. Thanks to each of you for your contribution to making this innovative initiative such a success!”
— Stephen Marshall, Vice President Operations, Minto Properties (a division of Minto Group) and Minto Apartment REIT
Congratulations to this year’s winners on your achievements and all that you do!
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