Christine Morris
Senior Executive Vice-President of Transformation, Enablement, and Customer Experience & Enterprise Chair, Women at TD
TD Tech Day 2023 theme is Inclusive Innovation, highlighting the Bank’s dedication to investing in tech talent and increasing diversity and inclusion.
In our ever-changing world and workplaces, supporting people to innovate, progress, and evolve is essential. That’s why TD Bank Group (TD) has put an important focus on investing in tech talent, including women and other under-represented communities in tech careers. To keep up with the rapid evolution of the world of work, it is critical to be inclusive and build up a strong pipeline of diverse talent. The TD focus on supporting individuals in their career journeys – from development, upskilling and training, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion – has shown their dedication to progression and innovating with purpose.
Sharing the TD story
While the world of work is constantly evolving, it’s still important to pause and take a breath every now and then — to reflect on how far you’ve come and take stock of important milestones. TD Tech Day is an opportunity to do just that — showcasing the latest initiatives and innovations coming from the Bank.
“TD Tech Day is a signature annual event for reporters and influencers to hear about the unique innovation, technology, and modernization story at TD,” says Christine Morris, Senior Executive Vice-President of Transformation, Enablement, and Customer Experience at TD, and Enterprise Chair of Women at TD. “It’s an opportunity to share unique and timely stories with prospective talent, and the business community.”
TD Tech Day gives the Bank the chance to highlight some of the incredible work being done across the enterprise, building awareness around TD’s new capabilities and advancements. This year’s event includes spotlighting the Bank’s support of upskilling and career development, as well as how the Bank is helping to drive inclusivity for the benefit of all colleagues, customers, and communities.
Championing growth
With this year’s theme of Inclusive Innovation, TD Tech Day reinforces the Bank’s commitment to strengthening its technology workforce and building a strong pipeline of diverse talent to support its innovation ecosystem. “To be able to deliver personalized, connected, and legendary experiences, you simply have to be inclusive, both in how you innovate and in the outcomes you create,” says Morris. “This is embedded as a part of who we are at TD. We’re a purpose-led organization and believe in innovating with intent.”
For TD, fostering inclusivity and equity starts with cultivating a positive work environment, supporting a diverse and inclusive culture, and providing ample growth and development opportunities for colleagues.
“No one lives a stagnant life,” says Morris. “Everything evolves — our wants, our needs, and society as a whole. That’s why it’s key to provide opportunities to adapt and grow. Career development and upskilling opportunities enable our colleagues to evolve and progress.”
The next evolution
These opportunities to evolve, adapt, and learn can take many forms. “One example of how we’re providing upskilling and career growth opportunities is through our Next Evolution of Work (NEW),” says Morris. “NEW is the largest transformation the Bank has ever undertaken, focused on simplifying how we operate and helping to empower our colleagues to deliver better outcomes, faster. Through NEW we’re able to provide different ways of thinking and operating, bringing colleagues from across the Bank closer to the work, removing layers of process and empowering them to test, learn, and iterate. Simply put, equipping them with tools and experiences to progress their career in an efficient, effective way.”
The results have been incredible. With over 9,000 colleagues already following NEW ways of working we’re contributing to a new ecosystem that enables TD to be more nimble and deliver from concept to end product in a fraction of the time. It’s also helping to empower employees to explore different roles within the organization, expanding their experience and skill sets.
Elevating under-represented talent
In supporting upskilling and career development, the Bank has also undertaken a series of relationships and collaborations to further its talent growth. “TD has made it a top priority to collaborate with organizations that champion upskilling and career development,” says Morris.
In a time where tech layoffs have predominately impacted underrepresented groups, it makes me proud to work for an organization that has doubled down on its commitment to diversify its talent pool.
One recent example is the Bank’s relationship with Palette Skills, a national non-profit focused on upskilling untapped talent from equity deserving groups. “This sponsorship through the TD Ready Commitment, will directly support Palette Skills’ SalesCamp program, a comprehensive B2B tech sales training program designed to provide skills to Canadians looking to make a career change or those transitioning into their first tech sales job with no prior industry experience,” says Morris. “These new engagement efforts will focus on individuals from under-represented populations such as women, Indigenous Peoples, newcomers, racialized people, 2SLGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, veterans, and Canadians living in rural communities.”
Supporting continuing education
TD has also worked with the University of Guelph to offer a training program in ethical artificial intelligence (AI). “Building on the theme of inclusive innovation, we’re focused on leveraging AI for the greater good and helping provide opportunities for people to succeed and fully participate in a changing world,” says Morris.
In collaboration with UGuelph’s Centre for Advancing Responsible and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (CARE-AI), the new AI training modules, entitled CARE About AI, are designed to support mid-career professionals and entrepreneurs in understanding ethical, responsible AI usage and in employing data effectively across a range of fields.
“Professionals will gain additional skills to help their businesses and organizations recognize and address ethical challenges posed by the increasing use of AI, from data privacy concerns to potential biases in hiring and promotion,” says Morris. “This collaboration is designed to help increase ethical AI skill sets and competencies in the workforce and build on TD’s ongoing support of a global innovation ecosystem.”
Creating community impact
Continuing with the theme of using AI for good, TD has another program which supports upskilling while promoting community giving. TD Mindpower: Analytics for Social Good was launched to help non-profits use data and analytics to discover new insights and solve challenges.
“With TD Mindpower, colleagues volunteer to work directly with non-profit organizations to help them with a wide range of projects,” says Morris. “This not only helps support the success of these organizations with data-driven insights, but also gives TD Mindpower volunteers the opportunity to learn new skills, network with colleagues across the Bank, and give back to their communities.”
Projects are tailored to help meet the non-profit’s needs and can include implementing consistent ways to gather, organize, and manage data, analyzing data to identify potential gaps and opportunities, and visualizing data for storytelling and ways to demonstrate impact. Since launching, over 400 TD colleagues have volunteered with TD Mindpower to help support 40 non-profit projects across North America.
Fostering the next generation of tech talent
Through these various initiatives, the TD commitment is clear — fostering the next generation of tech talent is essential. Whether it’s helping its own employees to enjoy career progression and pivots as they expand their skill sets or tapping into relationships with recruitment and tech talent organizations to establish a pipeline of diverse talent, the Bank’s focus on inclusive innovation is all about supporting people.
“In 2023 and beyond, the TD focus remains on our people: to upskill, train, and hire, with a continued focus on inclusive talent initiatives,” says Morris. “In a time where tech layoffs have predominately impacted underrepresented groups, it makes me proud to work for an organization that has doubled down on its commitment to diversify its talent pool.”
To learn more, visit td.com.
