Building One Vision through Every Employee Voice

Diana Valler, CHRO, TravelBrands

Diana Valler is a dynamic HR executive with over two decades of experience driving talent strategy, organizational transformation and business growth. As CHRO at TravelBrands and Board Member at HIS Canada Holdings and HRPA York Region, she is known for her energy, cultural leadership and people-first approach to strategic execution.

Six years ago, when I joined our organization, our people strategy was simple. We offered a base salary, standard benefits and just one sick day per year. That was the entirety of our total rewards program. While the company was filled with dedicated individuals and proud history, it was clear that our culture needed nurturing, modernizing and reimagining.

As the new VP of HR at that time, I walked into the CEO’s office with a bold vision: One Company, One Vision and One Employee Experience. It wasn’t just a tagline—it was a strategic commitment to building a unified, purpose-driven and people-first organization. To do this, we had to fundamentally transform our culture.

The journey began with listening. I scheduled one-on-one meetings with every single employee— an ambitious but necessary undertaking. In each conversation, I asked three simple yet powerful questions: What’s working? What’s not working? How can we improve?

These one-on-ones revealed invaluable insights— exposing broken processes, signs of disengagement and a shared desire for growth and recognition. But more importantly, they planted the first seeds of trust. Employees began to see that their voices mattered.

From there, we began a process of co-creation. Rather than implement top-down changes, we invited employees into the decision-making process. We launched pulse surveys to track evolving sentiments and identify pain points in real-time. We created working groups made up of employees from all levels and departments to help shape solutions. The message was clear: this transformation wasn’t about HR policies. It was about people.

“I scheduled one-on-one meetings with every single employee— an ambitious but necessary undertaking. In each conversation, I asked three simple yet powerful questions: What’s working? What’s not working? How can we improve?”

Step by step, we rebuilt our employee experience and during pandemic we continued an open transparent communication with everyone to ensure that people’s voice mattered.

We moved from one sick day to three and then five, we introduced two personal days to support work-life balance; one day to celebrate their birthdays and an additional one paid day for them to volunteer for the community of their choice. We added anniversary vouchers to recognize tenure and loyalty, expanded our mental health coverage and launched new wellness initiatives that addressed both physical and emotional well-being.

Our approach to development also changed dramatically. We invested heavily in training, coaching and upskilling opportunities across the organization. We introduced structured succession planning, ensuring every high-potential employee had a path to grow and contribute meaningfully.

Culturally, we realigned ourselves with the values of our parent company in Japan, HIS. We launched new organizational values—Harmony, Integrity and Success (HIS)—that became our internal compass. They informed everything from onboarding to performance management and team recognition.

We redesigned our onboarding experience to reflect these values and our refreshed corporate philosophy. New hires now experience our culture from day one, with a clear sense of belonging and purpose. At the same time, we implemented a new performance management system grounded in feedback, growth and alignment—not just evaluation.

Behind the scenes, we also modernized our infrastructure. We rolled out a robust new human resources information system (HRIS) that allowed us to streamline people processes, centralize data and provide more personalized support to employees across regions and functions.

The impact of these efforts has been nothing short of transformative. Two years ago, we earned our first Great Place to Work certification—a proud milestone that validated our efforts. We earned it again last year with the same 86 percent employee satisfaction rate, confirming that this wasn’t a onetime achievement but a sustained cultural evolution. To our delight, we were also recognized twice as one of Canada’s Best Workplaces Managed by Women—a reflection of our inclusive leadership and people-first practices.

Culture transformation is not a project—it’s a mindset and a continuous journey. We still pulse check our people regularly. We still ask questions. And most importantly, we still listen. Our employees know they have a voice and that they are helping shape the future of our company every single day.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come from a one-sick-day policy. But that’s the power of vision, consistency and a shared belief that when people thrive, business thrives. And our journey is just getting started.

HRIS