We recognize that not all External Resources are bilingual. Please note that we continue to upload bilingual content and add resources in English and French within both versions of the website signaling the language of the resource. if you require any assistance navigating the website, please reach out to the DE&I team at diversity.inclusion@sobeys.com, it will be our pleasure to help!
Creating a Culture of Inclusion to Enable Innovation to Thrive
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) promotes growth and innovation. It is how we listen, learn and work together to realize our potential.
We create an environment that provides the right ingredients to amplify innovation by removing barriers and welcoming diverse talent and perspectives into our and our franchise partners' organizations. This strategic focus is essential to drive positive culture change and to unlock the power and potential of innovation to fulfill unmet customer needs.
To learn more about Sobeys' renewed commitments (pdf 69.3KB) to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, please click here (pdf 128KB).
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
5
industry leading Inclusion awards
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
4 women leaders recognized by STAR Women in Grocery awards, as well as receiving the Employer Initiative of the Year award by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion for our Sensory Friendly Shopping hours in 450 stores across Canada.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
70%
of senior leaders at Sobeys have completed the Strengthening Our Inclusive Leadership program
Highlights of How We’re Making a Difference
Workplace Flexibility is Fundamental to an Inclusive Environment
We know all teammates have personal priorities that can sometimes be difficult to balance with work demands. Accordingly, Sobeys has introduced a number of policies to address barriers to attracting and retaining overall talent and we offer a number of inclusive processes and policies to our office teammates, including flexible work arrangements and enhanced employee benefits.
We are proud to encourage teammates to work in the way that’s best for them. Our comprehensive and personalized flexible work arrangement policies help teams balance work demands with personal responsibilities and interests, and we regularly solicit feedback from all teammates to understand how we can improve our policies to meet their evolving needs.
Sobeys' Flexible Workplace Policy introduced in 2018 provided the foundation that enabled us to quickly and seamlessly transition our corporate teammates to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employee feedback captured through surveys regarding their unique remote work experiences will further enable us to enhance our flexible workplace policies to meet their evolving needs.
Leadership Sets the Tone from the Top with the DE&I Council
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy is endorsed by the Company’s Human Resource Committee and Board of Directors. It is governed by our CEO with active executive leadership engagement and a Council comprised of a diverse group of senior leaders representing all key functions of the business.
Through active sponsorship, the Council members lead important change, including advancing the Women’s Inclusion Network, sponsoring the Sobeys Self-Identification process and being instrumental in the evolution of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy. The governance model sets the tone from the top and oversees the execution of the strategy including measurable outcomes.
Strengthening Inclusive Leadership
We are committed to Sobeys keeping diversity and inclusion at the heart of our organization and our franchise partners’ organizations by embedding it in our core values and through our leadership behaviours. In May 2019, we launched a new Inclusive Leadership program to strengthen the value of inclusive leadership and educate our leaders about how to engage and leverage the full potential of inclusion.
More than 70% of our leaders, including our executive team, have completed the program to date. Key themes and learning outcomes are applied to enhance existing initiatives and programs that provide leaders with practical tools to strengthen inclusive leadership.
Vivek Sood, EVP, Related Businesses (shown left) and Heather DeBlois, Dir. DE&I (shown right) receiving CCDI Employer Initiative of the Year Award, 2019
