A great workplace is not created overnight. It is built through listening, learning, adapting, and investing in people. For Nucleus Independent Living, becoming a Great Place To Work® was more than a certification, it is a reflection of years of intentional work, collaboration, and commitment to creating an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered.

When our CEO, Laura Salisbury, joined Nucleus in 2020, the organization was navigating an unprecedented time. COVID-19 had created immense pressure across the healthcare sector, and community care providers were facing challenges that extended far beyond day-to-day operations.

“Community care during COVID times felt invisible,” Laura reflects. “You could not advocate enough for the staff or the clients. That invisibility really fueled my thinking and drive to ensure we were seen.”

Coming into Nucleus with experience understanding what high-performing teams and organizations looked like, Laura saw both the strengths of the organization and the opportunities ahead. What followed was a journey of rebuilding, reimagining, and investing simultaneously in people, processes, and systems to create a stronger future for employees, clients, and the communities Nucleus serves both today, and the future.

Building the Foundation for Change

The early journey focused on understanding the root causes behind what the organization was experiencing, from employee turnover and communication barriers to challenges in alignment between leadership and frontline teams.

“It wasn’t about people not caring. It was people running a million miles a minute and feeling like they weren’t getting anywhere.”

Rather than making assumptions, Laura immersed herself in the frontline experience. Early in her tenure, she participated in a "day in the life" alongside long-serving Personal Support Workers (PSW) Beverly Peters, experiencing firsthand the physical and emotional demands of their work.

"At the end of the day, I was exhausted," she recalls. "I understood the challenges of travelling between clients, navigating darkness, unknown winter weather, managing PPE requirements, and balancing the many responsibilities our staff handle every day trying to make a difference in someone’s life, helping them, understanding them, and ultimately, serving them."

The organization began addressing long-standing operational challenges, strengthening communication, improving processes, and creating greater alignment between leadership and frontline teams. Employees were encouraged to share feedback, with over 10 tools introduced to contribute ideas, and help shape the future of the organization.

Creating the Conditions for People to Thrive

A major part of Nucleus’ transformation was recognizing that supporting employees is essential to delivering exceptional care. Laura believes, “Our workforce is changing, and we need to evolve with them, so they can continue supporting our clients”.

The organization focused on creating structures that better reflected the value of the work employees do every day. This included developing a new compensation philosophy, reviewing organizational structure and roles, introducing a better pension plan, enhanced health care benefits, and wellness supports, recognizing the importance of caring for those who in turn, provide care.

This commitment to supporting employees has led to meaningful results. 89 new full-time positions were added from 2020 to 2025, a 187% increase, while our turnover rate declined from 27.9% in 2023 to 13.1% in 2025. These positive trends reflect our ongoing employee-centred approach, supporting more staff with full-time roles that provide stable wages and contribute to economic stability across communities.

Nucleus also invests in building a strong workplace culture through staff events such as a summer BBQ, holiday party, and staff recognition celebration. Annual peer-nominated staff recognition awards celebrate employees who go above and beyond, reinforcing a culture of gratitude and excellence.

These changes are not just operational improvements, they represent a deeper commitment to creating a workplace built on respect, fairness, inclusion, and belonging.

Becoming a Great Place to Work®

When Nucleus began its Great Place To Work® journey, it was important that the organization measured progress from a place of strength, not simply as a response to challenges.

For Laura, becoming a Great Place to Work® could only happen when the organization truly reflected the values it aspired to uphold.

"For the first few years, I couldn't honestly say we were a great place to work," she admits. "If I didn't believe it, I couldn't say it." At the same time “the goal was never just to achieve a certification. It was about creating an environment where employees genuinely felt proud of the work they do and be part of a team that they would go to the ends of the earth for.”

That honesty became a driving force behind the transformation.

The Great Place to Work® process provided an opportunity to listen, learn, and measure progress while gaining valuable insights into the employee experience.

Achieving certification is a meaningful milestone, but it is also a reflection of the countless improvements, creativity, and many and meaningful conversations that have taken place over the past five years.

The result reflects the collective efforts of the entire Nucleus community: leaders, teams, PSWs, and every employee who contributes to our mission to enable adults to live with independence and a high quality of life in their communities, by delivering extraordinary care at home” every day.

Looking Ahead: Continuing the Journey

While Nucleus has accomplished a great deal, the journey is far from over.

The organization is now positioned to build upon a strong foundation and focus on future growth, both for the organization and for its people.

The next chapter will include continued digital innovation, expanded opportunities for employee development, organizational Evaluation, and new ways to strengthen culture and connection across the workforce.

Change will remain a constant.

"Growth requires us to keep learning, adapting, and challenging ourselves," Laura says. “The time is now, for us to have fun creating a future that is meaningful to our clients, our communities, and our staff.”

What remains unchanged is Nucleus’ commitment to people.

That commitment extends beyond our employees to the people we support every day. The strength of our workforce is reflected in the experiences of our clients, with 86% of clients rating their experience as “Good/Great/Excellent”. The journey from good to great has been built on courage, collaboration, innovation, and an unwavering belief that when employees thrive, communities thrive.

And at Nucleus, that journey continues, together.