London Inc. Weekly

Weekly Regional Business Intelligence

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” — Richard Branson

Voices doubles down on flexible work arrangements

London’s Voices, a tech company that operates a voiceover and voice talent marketplace with over two million registered users, is making permanent their remote work policy with the announcement of three physical work offerings: one in office, one work-from-home, and one called “work from alternative location” ― an offering that allows people to work occasionally from a secondary secure location, like a cottage. The move, said VP of people operations Ann Walton, was developed in collaboration with its 125 employees. “We recognize and respect that our colleagues’ work environment needs do not fall into a ‘one size fits all’ scenario,” she said in a press release. Voices also accommodates a hybrid arrangement with a work-in-office as you wish option.

The upshot: If you’re a regular reader of our weekly Worklife newsletter, you’ll know that the battle over making remote work permanent versus a return to the office has been a quietly raging war in the private sector for about a year. Voices seems to have embraced this change rather than fight it: in a feature from last year’s May issue of London Inc., Voices was highlighted as one company that has found a great deal of success this way, and last fall they were named one of London’s Best Places to Work. “Our work from home offering has been so successful that it will now be a permanent work model option,” said Walton at the time. “Our colleagues now have the choice to work completely remotely, utilize a hybrid approach of in-office and at-home days, or return to the office.”

Read more: CTV News

From the magazine: Walk the Talk

Twenty years ago, Johnny Fansher set out to make the case for responsible investing. No longer niche, he continues to evolve his practice, putting purpose into action and making finance a force for good.

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PRESENTED BY: THE ACHIEVEMENT CENTRE

It's time to soften up!

When we think about sales success, soft skills can often be overlooked because they’re not as tangible as hard skills. But the fact is, the ability to establish trust and build relationships is paramount to the success of your business, and soft skills are often the most difficult skillset for sales professionals to develop.

Learn more here

LHSC applauds fast-track accreditation for foreign-trained nurses

London Health Sciences Centre is applauding a move by the Ontario government to fast-track the credentialing of internationally educated nurses, hoping it will be helpful in filling some of the more than 500 nursing vacancies at the hospital. “This is poised to make a big difference in helping us fill a lot of those vacancies,” nursing manager Sarah Smith said. The move will allow the College of Nurses to grant temporary registrations while nurses complete credentialing exams or courses. The College says there are nearly 6,000 active international applicants in the province right now.

The upshot: The nursing profession in particular has been hemorrhaging workers of late, and a lot of hope has been invested in the idea that credentialing foreign nurses will help avoid more hospital closures and cut down on wait times. The LHSC, for its part, believes that as a teaching hospital theirs will be an attractive workplace for international nurses. If it doesn’t, the health ministry may have to begin to looking at other incentives like signing bonuses or revisiting Bill 124.

Read more: London Free Press | Globe & Mail

And in aviation news, Canada has a new international airline...based out of Goderich

Amid all the momentum at the London International Airport and rumblings of London-area investment by Boeing, there’s a new international airline taking shape ― in Goderich of all places. Announced on Monday, the airline will be called Royal Canadian Airlines and will be one of four new companies ― including an air taxi service, an air maintenance operation and a pilot academy ― being launched by president and CEO Waseem Javed (pictured). The service will be fairly specialized, offering flights to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, India and Pakistan on a “charter, non-scheduled and scheduled basis” says Javed.

The upshot: While the companies (about which not much is known) will be headquartered at the Goderich Airport, you might be waiting a while until you see one of RCA’s two Boeing 777s taking flight: the airline is planning on flying these routes out of Pearson and Hamilton International. But Javed hopes the pilot academy and air taxi services will fly regularly out of Goderich in the not-too-distant future. “This is going to be a huge operation,” he told CTV. “Our goal is to base most of our airplanes out of here eventually. We are planning on building student accommodations here, and as many as 50 to 100 jobs are possible.” And in sentimental news, Javed says they plan on naming one of their first planes after recently-deceased Goderich mayor John Grace.