Maegan East, executive people officer at THFC, to speak at upcoming HR Leaders Summit
Tim Hortons Foundation Camps (THFC) has long been involved in youth development, fostering leadership through a camp environment. Over its 50-year history, THFC has evolved, not just in supporting campers but providing career development pathways for its staff, many of whom are youth themselves.
“The mission to support youth and help them unlock their potential has always been central to our organization,” says Maegan East, executive people officer at THFC and speaker at HRD’s upcoming HR Leaders Summit Canada.
A significant proportion of THFC’s workforce consists of younger employees, primarily those aged 18-30, hired for on-site roles in programming, food service, and housekeeping. This hiring pattern aligns with the Summer Camp program and the summer break period for post-secondary students, which helps meet the Foundation’s staffing needs and offers these individuals critical work experience, she says.
Better team at THFC means better experience for campers
The Foundation's return rate of staff is a key component of its success, as experienced staff deliver better outcomes for campers, says East, who will appear at the upcoming HR Leaders Summit Canada.
“We believe that a more experienced staff team creates a better experience for our campers, which then leads to better longer-term impacts,” she says. “You might start as a counsellor and then progress through various roles, gaining increasing levels of responsibility.”
This career progression often leads to full-time, permanent positions with the organization after employees finish their studies – because, at one time, about 50% of the Foundation’s permanent salaried staff began as counsellors. One of THFC's key frameworks for this employee growth is the Learning and Achievement Program, a performance management initiative that integrates personalized learning and development goals for all permanent staff, East explains.
‘If we have a short-term need, we might look externally to fill the gap’
And, while THFC hasn’t formalized its programs as mentorship per se, it places a strong emphasis on experiential learning as a tool for staff development. Experienced staff members regularly travel to different camp locations to help train teams on program delivery, standards, and expectations. This also provides employees the opportunity to visit other sites and learn how programs are executed across different locations.
“We currently operate at seven signature sites, six in Canada and one in the United States, so there's a lot of opportunity for staff to observe best practices and learn from different leaders,” East notes.
As part of the organization's development efforts, staff have regular one-on-one meetings with their leaders to provide feedback and discuss areas of focus. East emphasizes the importance of evaluating not just the “what” but the “how” when it comes to employee performance.
But it’s not all been plain sailing – there’s also the skills gap to contend with. To combat this, East tells HRD that they’ve adopted both internal development and external hiring strategies.
“If we have a short-term need, we might look externally to fill the gap,” she explains. “But when we know there’s a longer-term strategic need, we invest in building that skill internally.”
Centralized learning fund at THFC
The Foundation has a centralized learning fund that permanent staff can access to support their development, and individual learning plans are customized for each employee. However, THFC must also make strategic decisions about resource allocation, given its charitable status.
“We know long-term, retaining our highly talented staff and continuing to develop them is an investment,” East says.
Essentially, by fostering a supportive environment for career growth through both structured learning programs and flexible, real-time training, THFC ensures its employees are well-equipped for success.
“We want to set people up for success, not just in their current roles but for their future careers,” East concludes.
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