Jaisal Parshotam leveraged his four-year biochemistry degree into a job in a lab right out of university, but his career took a sharply different turn after he joined Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. in 2017, initially as a call centre customer service representative.

Currently, he is a certified actuary and a manager in the company’s pricing department. “My story really shows that Wawanesa cares about their people,” says Parshotam. “The company was very willing to invest in my development so I can have a fulfilling career.”

Wawanesa was founded by two farmers in 1896 in the village of Wawanesa, 185 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg. Today, the company is a diversified, modern insurance company, and the corporate culture reflects its roots in the pioneering, agrarian west, says Lisa Osachoff, chief people and culture officer.

“We’re very modern in many ways, but our culture is embedded in our small-town roots,” says Osachoff. “Our purpose is to take care of each other and our members, or policy holders.”

That culture of care is reflected in the company’s approach to career development. “We have a lot of in-house programming to make sure that all of our employees have the skills and competencies they need to be successful,” Osachoff says. “We can curate any type of learning that you’re looking for if you want to grow.”

Parshotam can attest to that. Not long after starting, he approached the human resources department and expressed an interest in becoming an actuary. He received good advice on how to get started and he also received support from executive leaders including President and CEO Jeff Goy.

He was surprised that senior leaders were interested in his career development. “Many were very supportive and helped organize a day for me to shadow actuaries,” says Parshotam. “After that day, I was a lot more motivated.”

The company continued to support his journey with paid days off to prepare for exams and covering the cost of study materials.

Wawanesa recruits out of colleges and universities and from a variety of programs, including business and actuarial science but also to fill the full range of corporate functions. “We look at people coming out of computer science, human resources, finance and project management, among other disciplines,” Osachoff says. “Somebody coming out of university or college can have a very long-term career and likely switch jobs within the organization every three or four years if interested.”

One of the leading benefits of working at Wawanesa is the company’s distributed work experience. “It’s all about giving our people the freedom and flexibility to work where they want,” Osachoff says. “It’s no longer where you do the work that counts most, but how well you do it. At Wawanesa, we respect our people as professionals who make responsible decisions about whether to work from home, the office or a mix of both.”

For his part, Parshotam tends to work from home four days a week. He comes to the office to meet colleagues and interact with them and to keep his finger on the pulse of the industry. “It’s a changing industry,” he says. “It’s always evolving so I can see myself moving within the company and working in different areas.”