Thank you to those who were able to attend yesterday’s team update.  I always enjoy opportunities to see so many of the team at the same time and we are trying to find more opportunities to do that.  It was also great to see so many people out for the bowling event yesterday afternoon in Langford.  I think everyone had fun and I appreciated the people who showed up even though they couldn’t play!  I hope no one is suffering too much with BAS (bowling arm strain)!

For those of you who were off or on shift or otherwise not able to join, I am sure the VAA grapevine is alive and I hope the message you heard is that VAA is growing! I’m really excited to finally be able to share this update with you, as it’s been a while in the making.

I was very fortunate to join VAA last September at a time when the Gallup survey project was underway and I was able to understand very quickly what the temperature of our team was at the time.  The Gallup Employee Engagement survey results indicated a number of common themes including the need for core values, better communication, stronger leadership and empowerment and most importantly, that workload was a concern for many of you. Following that, focus groups were held in the Fall of 2023, to gain further input and feedback from all team members on the areas of concern raised in the engagement survey.

The senior leadership team understood that we would need to review workload against resources and our strategic plan but we did not have all of the answers at the time the 2024 budget was created. The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) identified to the Board that the budget did not contain a provision for investments in additional employees and advised that a staffing review would be undertaken in early 2024. The SLT advised that we would return to the Board to request a budget amendment if additional salary and benefit budget was required. An external facilitator was engaged to facilitate working sessions with the SLT in early February 2024, to:

• Align VAA’s strategic corporate priorities as a team
• Identify gaps in the organization including succession planning
• Align positions and people with VAA priorities and anticipated future needs

From those sessions, many positions were initially identified by the SLT as critical additions required by 2026. The SLT met again to prioritize and reach consensus on the critical and foundational hires required in 2024 to execute on VAA’s priorities.

VAA’s Capital Program will be a significant focus for us in the coming years, and it must be resourced appropriately to ensure VAA is able to deliver on the critical projects planned. A larger Capital Program will also drive increased workload in other organizational areas that support it (Facilities, Finance, Operations, HR, etc.) and it’s recognized that many of these departments are already constrained. As part of the review, other essential needs were identified to address key areas of risk (succession planning and other potential ‘critical’ points of failure) and growth (functions not currently resourced and/or development of high potential team members). The plan was presented to the relevant Board Committees, who recommended that the Board approve the additional budget requested. On Monday, we received the approval and full support of the Board to proceed, with the following changes:  

Planning and Infrastructure – net new positions – 3

• Establish a new Project Manager to address workload and growth of VAA’s Capital Program
• Adrian’s role is changing from Director, IT and Facilities to Director, Innovation, Facilities and IT. The Board has identified ‘Innovation’ as a key strategic priority for VAA. This change is to address the expectation of increased focus and attention on implementing new technologies, streamlining process, exploring for new opportunities and fostering a culture of innovation
• Establish a new Manager, Facilities role to enable this change and address workload/risk. This position will have responsibility for overall ATB maintenance, systems, contracts and services (Baggage, Glycol, HVAC, Cleaning, Electrical, etc.)
• The Electrical department will be moving from Operations to the Planning and Infrastructure team (under ‘Facilities’) for increased synergy and input into this group’s work
• Establish a new Electrician to address risk/workload (this position has been filled)

Operations – net new positions – 2

• Establish a new Manager, Safety and Compliance position to address workload and risks. There has been a significant increase in regulatory requirements and compliance in the aviation industry and it’s critical that a dedicated role be established to address those. Given his expertise in this area, Mike Garraway will be assuming this new role and will report directly to the VP Operations (Ken Gallant)
• The above change will create a vacancy for the current Manager, Safety and Emergency Services role. The role is being retitled to Chief, Airport Fire Service and will have responsibility for providing dedicated leadership to the Firehall
• Passenger Experience will be moving from Business Development/Community Relations to Terminal Operations (René Sheïr​​​​) for better alignment of duties/responsibilities. Passenger Experience is another area identified as a key strategic priority by the Board. Anita Kardos’s role will change from Communications and Passenger Experience Officer to Passenger Experience and Programs Officer, to enable to increased and dedicated focus on programs directly impacting our Passengers.
• Establish a new Mechanic to address workload, risk and eventual succession planning – through the years, there has been increased demand, technology and complexity in this area

Business Development and Community Relations – net new positions – 3

• To differentiate the job title ‘Director’ reporting to a VP vs. ‘Director’ reporting to the CEO, Rod Hunchak’s title is being updated to Senior Director, Business Development and Community Relations.
• A new Manager, Commercial Development is being established to drive revenue opportunities. The key to our continued success will be generating revenue and it is critical that VAA have dedicated resources focused on that. The position will be responsible for identifying, establishing and maintaining revenue streams including Concessions, Parking and Transportation (Taxis, Rental Cars, etc.). Rod Hunchak will continue to be the lead for Land Development for the time being.
• Establish a new Manager, Communications and Engagement. This role will be the designated communications/media spokesperson for VAA. In addition, VAA’s Board expects increased focus on corporate communications (promoting the great work we do every day) and community engagement (working with local municipalities, First Nations and other community partners)
• First Nations Engagement will transition from Operations (Ken Gallant) to the Manager, Communications and Engagement
• A new First Nations Liaison position will be established to support the implementation and administration of the W̱SÁNEĆ Friendship Agreement. This position will report to the Manager, Communications and Engagement.

Finance – net new positions – 1

• Establish a new AP/Revenue clerk to address workload and eventual succession planning. Since transfer, there has only been one “AP” and one “AR” position. This position is being established to address risk and provide additional support and backfill to this team.

People – net new positions – 1

• HR will move from Finance and will now report directly to me, as the CEO. This is an important change for two reasons. Firstly, it will create additional capacity for Randy, our CFO, to focus on the increased financial demands a significant capital program will bring. Secondly, I strongly believe that the ‘People’ function of an organization should have a direct line to the CEO. Michelle Cooper, is being promoted to Senior Director, Human Resources as a result of this change.
• An HR Manager position will be established to facilitate organizational growth, address workload and risk. Julie Dobranski is being promoted to this role. Julie’s current position, Payroll and HR Administrator will be backfilled.

A copy of new the organizational chart, reflecting these changes is attached and the anticipated recruitment timeline follows:

I appreciate this is a lot of information to take in. This is going to be a big change for VAA but it’s a much needed one and is unanimously supported by our Board of Directors who approved the budget amendment this past  Monday. There will likely be some bumps, which is inevitable through transition and growth of this magnitude, but I’m confident we will overcome them by working together as a team, being kind, and supporting each other along the way. It would also like to emphasize that we recognize this is just the beginning and are acutely aware that additional needs still exist. We are continuing to review and plan for 2025 and 2026 (and beyond) and are excited for what the future will bring for our team.

If you have any questions or feedback, my door is always open.