A Guide for Human Resource Professionals | Page 18

The Business Case to Hire Experience

| 18

BETTER OFF TOGETHER
Age-diverse workforce a winning formula for
technology leader Global Relay

T

ake a walk around one of
Global Relay’s five offices
around the globe and
something jumps out immediately.

No one looks the same. 
Their 300-strong workforce
is made up of people of all
different ethnicities, gender and
age. There’s no cookie-cutter
employee. 
The company, which provides
messaging and archiving
technology services to the
financial sector, has embraced and
leveraged diversity from day one.
It’s one of the keys to its success,
says founder Warren Roy, who
started the company in 1999.
“I think in a growing business
you typically surround yourself
with like-minded people. So…you
tend to hire others like you. But
it’s the wrong way to think,” Roy

C A S E

says. “Hiring like-minded people
doesn’t bring in diverse views
and diverse views is what gives
companies their strength.”
Today that strength is evident.
Global Relay successfully
competes in more than 90
countries, against multinationals
like IBM and Microsoft. The
company has also won its share of
awards including Best Companies
to Work for in BC, BCBusiness’
Most Innovative Companies,
Deloitte Fast 50 and Deloitte Fast
500 and Profit 500.
Those accolades are only
possible with a strong and happy
workforce built with employees of
all backgrounds and ages. 
While other companies
grapple with how to manage
a multigenerational workforce
by focusing on the challenges
and conflicts, Global Relay
rejects ageist prejudices and has

S T U D Y // S u c c e s s S t o r y