Company Culture, Leadership & Management, Women in the Workplace , Diversity & Inclusion, Employee Experience, Psychological Safety
Key Takeaways:
- Global inclusiveness: Inclusive workplaces grow stronger when leadership turns values like respect, fairness, and cultural acceptance into everyday behaviours.
- Employee voice: When people feel heard and supported, trust rises, reflected in 93% saying it is a great place to work.
- Inclusive leadership: Inclusion becomes more credible when senior leaders actively champion belonging, dialogue, and representation across the organization.
- Representation initiatives: Focused programs, networking efforts, and employee resource groups help create access, visibility, and stronger hiring outcomes.
- Workplace culture: Celebration, recognition, and shared experiences help people feel proud, connected, and more included at work.
- Community impact: Inclusion gains depth when organizations extend their values beyond the workplace and invest in underrepresented communities.
To be a certified Great Place To Work™ is an accolade of the highest honour, because it is the endorsement given by employees, the life blood of any organization. It’s their voice that determines whether an organization is certified. Today we profile Hyundai Auto Canada Corp., their team members recognize the commitment to a positive, inclusive workplace environment for all.
This commitment starts at the very top –where the global vision is centered on doing the right thing for humanity and creating innovative solutions to solve global problems. Hyundai Auto Canada Corp’s President & CEO, Don Romano, keeps this vision strong in Canada with deliberate focus and commitment to core values.
Key to Hyundai’s business success is the high level of support they provide for their customers, and this amazing experience is mirrored in the support they provide their team members. A people-first mindset is the formula for success. Treating their team well, results in customers being well looked after and business success.
Employees have a voice and our data shows an outstanding 93% of Team Members at Hyundai agree with the statement:
Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work.
HAC’s Five Core Values:
Customer – this philosophy carries to internal customers (aka team members) as well; providing the best employment experience and impeccable service.
Challenge –ambitious culture goals are embraced; leaders are empowered to continually seek ways to improve the workplace.
Collaboration –synergy is created through collaboration and learning about one another in order to elevate all.
People – success lies in the hearts and capabilities of their people and as such they are committed to developing. This means recognizing individual capabilities, treating all with respect and fairness, and encouraging continuous personal development.
Globality – Striving to be a respected corporate citizen, is this team’s DNA. Globality means team members act with inclusivity, integrity and acceptance of diverse cultures and customs.
Integrating core values means performance reviews and rewards are considered in the context of core values. The result is an inclusive, fun, and engaging workplace. And it’s the element of inclusion that is a strong integrating factor within their culture – it shows up across practices and serves to elevate everyone’s potential.
Inclusion in Culture
Inclusiveness shows itself through everyday actions and active leadership in employee resource groups and events. Hyundai works to create a workplace that reflects their communities, and one where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. They’ve accomplished this through representation initiatives and programs intended to focus the culture on inclusion as a priority.
To truly embed inclusion into culture requires commitment from the top. Don Romano, is a culture and inclusion champion, demonstrated through deliberate and personal touches that make team members feel welcome and feel a sense of belonging.
94% of Team Members at Hyundai Agree
People are treated fairly regardless of age, race or ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.
Hyundai Lives the Brand
- The Diversity Advisory Group is led by their CEO, fosters open dialogue.
- Hyundai Attracts are networking events that connect them with professionals who identify as diverse candidates (women & new grads) or newcomers to Canada. 47% of these contacts have led to first/second interviews and 17% were successfully hired.
- Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion partnership has allowed team members to achieve the Certificate in Foundations in Diversity and Inclusion.
- Leverage technology through Name Shouts, a name pronunciation tool that adds a name recording to team members’ signatures, further supporting diversity.
- Dealership Management Program Scholarship provides financial support for Black team members within their dealerships to increase their current knowledge and prepare for future advancement into management and ownership.
- Employee Resource Groups, focused on women, inclusion and parents actively support and inform inclusive practices at HAC.
91% of Team Members Agree
Executives fully embody the best characteristics of the organization.
Values Come to Life - Inclusion Through WAH
A key part of Hyundai’s global vision is Progress for Humanity. This means they are here to do the right thing, for humanity and their brand is centred around “WAH”, a Korean word that means WOW (but more). It is best described as the feeling of surprising someone with joy and to express a positive emotion felt at its highest level.
WAH creates happiness, pride, exhilaration, and surprise.
As a brand campaign, WAH connects Canadian pride with Hyundai’s Korean heritage by aligning the business objective of ‘surprising our customers with joy’. This has transformed how they do business and has transcended their advertising to become a way of life. Not only do they strive to make WAH for its customers, but the WAH experience carries over into the workplace culture as Hyundai endeavours to surprise and delight its team throughout their employee experience journey. They are committed to having lots of fun through exciting and inclusive programs while making WAH for all their team members.
WAH at Hyundai
96% of team members say special events are celebrated.
95% of team members are proud to tell others where they work,
93% of team members say HAC is a fun place to work.
Team members are clearly connected to the feeling of WAH and they are highly involved in the various practices that bring people together. These bonds create the foundation for inclusion and for finding reasons to celebrate people often. Here are some examples of WAH across the team.
- FunDai Committee: The social committee organizes events such as Ping Pong Tournaments, Earth Day clean-up, online trivia and more. These events are well attended, and employees get very involved.
- The Wall of Gratitude is used to thank or congratulate one another. Some of these shout-outs are randomly shared at Town Halls to reinforce how important it is to celebrate and elevate team members throughout the company.
- Through the peer nominated Core Value Award program, any team member can nominate a colleague or team of colleagues who has exemplified one of the core values.
Inclusion Through Giving Back
Hyundai’s global headquarters has five social impact areas for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, with the goal of “Progress for Humanity”: Eco friendly, Mobility Innovation, Traffic Safety, Future Generations, and Community. In Canada the focus is on CSR efforts aligned to “Future Generations” and established their CSR strategy as, “Hyundai believes in a bright future driven by the youth of today.”
93% of Team Members feel good about the ways they contribute to the community.
By focusing CSR support on organizations providing youth programs, they intentionally develop social, educational and emotional experiences that will lead youth to career success and upward social and economic mobility. Established in 2020, they have built a strong foundation of charitable partners that support underrepresented Canadian youth.
Hyundai has a host of other programs and initiative related to inclusion and giving back...if fact so many we cannot name them all!
Inclusion Is Who They Are
This is just a peek at all the ways Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. weaves inclusiveness into the fabric of their culture. By valuing people, bringing them together to create connections and embracing the global nature of how we work and who we work with, they enrich their team members’ work experience each and every day and they enrich the communities they live and work in as well. The support they receive and the success they achieve are a testament to the power of treating people well, valuing them as individuals, and genuinely caring about their personal and professional success. It’s a pleasure to work closely with Hyundai Canada – a truly Great Place To Work™ – as we venture on this quest to continue elevating work for all people and communities across Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What does global inclusiveness look like in the workplace?
It means creating an environment where people from different backgrounds feel respected, treated fairly, and able to bring their authentic selves to work.
Why does leadership matter so much in building an inclusive culture?
Inclusion is more likely to take hold when leaders model it directly, create space for dialogue, and make belonging a visible priority across the business.
How can organizations make inclusion part of daily culture?
Inclusion becomes real through representation efforts, employee resource groups, recognition programs, inclusive events, and values that shape how people are supported and rewarded.
How can inclusion improve hiring and career growth?
Inclusive outreach helps organizations connect with broader talent pools, while targeted development and scholarship programs can support advancement into leadership roles.
What role does recognition play in inclusiveness?
Recognition helps people feel seen and valued, especially when peers and leaders regularly celebrate contributions, core values, and shared achievements.
How does community involvement support an inclusive workplace?
Supporting underrepresented communities helps align workplace values with real action and reinforces a culture built on care, opportunity, and social impact.
