Update:
Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation has been recertified for the Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures Award program. As a 2022 winner, we are proud to be recognized for this award for the second year in a row, having demonstrated our commitment to preserving and strengthening our corporate culture this past year.
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Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation has been named one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures for 2022.
The honour was bestowed by Waterstone Human Capital, Canada’s leading cultural talent management firm. Waterstone’s national program recognizes best-in-class Canadian organizations for “fostering high performance corporate cultures that help sustain a competitive advantage.”
“I’m so proud of the whole team for this accolade,” said Calvert Home Mortgage President/CEO Dean Koeller. “Being recognized for our people and culture really means so much to us, as it’s what makes us different from the rest of our industry. As we celebrated this incredible milestone, team members shared their stories about our culture. They seem to agree that being at Calvert helps them be the best version of themselves.”
Calvert Home Mortgage is an Alternative Mortgage Lender, offering short-term real estate financing to the Alberta and Ontario markets. This family-run business was founded by Everett Koeller over 45 years ago. His sons, Dean and Dale, have continued the family legacy.
Calvert Home Mortgage earned the Canada’s Most Admire Corporate Cultures of 2022 in the Emerging Category, which is for companies with over 25 employees and revenues between $5-25 million.
Excellence in Six Categories
In winning this award, Calvert Home Mortgage demonstrated excellence in six key performance areas:
- Vision and Leadership
- Recruitment and Hiring for Fit
- People Development and Talent Management
- Cultural Alignment and Measurement
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Organizational Performance
The family values of the Koeller family are reflected in the company’s core values: Commitment, Authenticity, Respect and Education-or CARE.
“Our performance starts and ends with our people, who in turn care for our clients,” Koeller says. “Our clients are successful because of our employees and their commitment to excellence.”
People Development
Some of the highlights of the awards submission were provided by employees. For instance, employees appreciate that Calvert Home Mortgage invests in their professional and personal development. The organization pays for ongoing education and supports each employee to complete a “bucket list” or dream pursuit every year.
“Calvert’s continued investment in my education and professional development is one of the reasons why it’s exciting to come to work every day,” says Underwriter Rob Maver. “It’s great to work for a company that is committed to helping their employees become the best version of themselves.”
Open Communication
The company’s commitment to open communication is also appreciated by employees. There are regular team gatherings, each employee gets meeting time with the President/CEO as well as their direct supervisors, and discussions are held to keep employees updated on financial results and opportunities and challenges.
Calvert Home Mortgage is also committed to listening to employees, gathering input with an annual engagement survey and regular discussions with staff about their goals.
There’s also the time to have fun, with “shout outs” at team meetings, during which employees are encouraged to share their appreciation for each other.
“We have a great time starting our meetings with shout-outs,” says Front-Office Manager Joy Sale. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes; our leaders make sure everyone has a chance to share. That alone lets us all know we are appreciated. Our team is such a caring bunch, it’s so gratifying to be part of such a fun, caring and hard-working team.”
Financial Success
Placing culture at the centre of the company’s strategy has continued to drive growth, and that’s reflected in the financial success of the organization. Calvert Home Mortgage has been in operation for 47 years and has supported over 8000 clients in that time. “We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to support so many people with their personal and financial success” says VP Business Development Jesse Bobrowski.
Success is measured with financial metrics but also with people metrics, such as the results of the annual employee engagement survey and employee retention numbers. Hiring for fit, Calvert Home Mortgage is very proud of its ability to attract and retain the amazing people who work throughout the organization.
“At Waterstone we know corporate culture drives performance and that it’s an organization’s greatest asset,” says Marty Parker, President and CEO of Waterstone Human Capital and Chair of the Canada’s Most Admire program. “This year’s winners are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and their focus on employee engagement and culture measurement is driving extraordinary results.”
In working with culture-focused organizations like this year’s award winners, Waterstone has seen the commitment to making culture a competitive advantage help companies:
- more than double their revenue.
- increase their revenue compound annual growth rate.
- quadruple their EBITA CAGR (a measure of the compound annual growth rate).
- improve their eNPS (a measure of employee satisfaction and loyalty) year over year.
- and strengthen their recruitment and engagement.
Giving Back to the Community
Calvert Home Mortgage is also committed to giving back, supporting charities, including their own Charitable Foundation. The company also supports the causes of their employees.
“Since we began, our foundation has raised over $2 million, with the majority of funding going to assisting the poor,” says Dale Koeller, whose father Everett started the Foundation in 1989.
The Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures awards will be presented at an awards celebration on Wednesday March 1, 2023.
“This year’s winning organizations actively craft high-performance cultures and serve as an inspiration for others who want to do the same,” says Parker. “On behalf of Waterstone Human Capital and our partners, we look forward to celebrating this year’s winners and the impact culture is having on their success.”
The Bottom Line
We couldn’t be more delighted to be chosen for this award,” Dean Koeller concludes. “It’s a testament to our people, more than anything. Our employees deserve the credit for this milestone, and they will continue to drive us to our next milestone.”
Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation is an alternative lender in Alberta and Ontario that supports real estate investors. Contact one of the experienced Calvert underwriters for more information about how they can support your borrowing needs or one their Dealing Representatives about investing in the fund.
Ardith Stephanson is a freelance writer and journalist who writes on a variety of topic areas.
