As part of our Women's LEAD series, we’re profiling women in leadership at Nicola Wealth. This month, we feature Emira Hadzic who has led the Payroll team since 2017. A visible touchpoint for hiring managers and employees, Emira reflects on when she was ready to take the leadership leap and how she leads today.
When Payroll Manager Emira Hadzic joined Nicola Wealth in 2017, she was a one-person team using one system to process payroll for about 90 employees based primarily in one time zone. Fast forward to today: Emira’s team processes payroll for 500+ employees, including contractors, co-op students and interns. Recurring transactions include performance bonuses, profit share, merit and compensation changes, dividend payouts, tax receipts in addition to benefits administration.
The complexity of payroll has increased, acknowledges John Mitchell, Director of Finance, and so has the demand on Emira’s team. Emira’s early days as a one-stop payroll shop in the company worked to her advantage as a leader, given her first-hand experience with all aspects of payroll while the company nearly doubled its workforce during the pandemic. When she became Payroll Manager in 2020, she felt ready for the role: “It was a role I had always wanted, and I wanted to show I was truly deserving of it, that I could do it well. I participated in some Nicola Wealth leadership development programs and 1-on-1 coaching which helped build my skills and confidence.”
It may be surprising to know that Emira was not initially interested in applying to Nicola Wealth when her recruiter approached her six years ago. She was working at a company based in the same area, and the commute was especially hard on her at the time because she had two young children. “Not being able to get to daycare on time, barely seeing them before bedtime was tough. I felt I was failing at work and at home.” But her recruiter encouraged her to meet with the Nicola Wealth team.
“[The recruiter] said Nicola Wealth is big on work-life balance and supportive of their staff when it comes to family and education,” remembers Emira. “I really enjoyed my interview… and suddenly I really wanted the job. That’s what has kept me here all these years. The company provides a healthy work-life balance, flexible work hours, and plenty of support when it comes to my personal/family life. They encourage professional development and career growth, enabling us to have the best of both worlds. I can be a mom and do the job I love.”
Emira is still a visible touchpoint for many employees even though her responsibilities include being a team lead. She has a close working relationship with the People and Culture team, particularly around benefits administration, and is appreciated by many for her ability to help employees navigate their benefits when needed. When a staff member goes on parental leave, Emira is often the person to explain the Employment Insurance (EI) application, the top-up program, and answer any questions in preparation for the leave. “Emira makes it easy for people to approach her,” notes Eric Bulmash, Vice President, People and Culture, “not just for her deep technical knowledge, but because she embodies the value of ‘we care’”.
These days, Emira’s leadership time is spent managing her team and, along with the rest of the Finance team, looking for ways to modernize financial processes and systems. As a Team Lead, Emira has welcomed ways to automate payroll tasks over the years, including the implementation of Global Shares last year and the impending transition from Dayforce to Workday. For Workday, there’s a lot at stake not just for the Payroll team, but for the company overall. The outcomes of implementing a platform like Workday will result in more efficient processes, making it easier to report on financial requirements and providing a learning curve for her team to scale for an even larger workforce of the future.
While these projects may seem daunting, Emira takes an optimistic view, noting that with every opportunity comes challenges that a leader should embrace. As Emira leads the Payroll team through big changes in its modernized future, her penchant and attention to the business remain unchanged since her one-stop-shop days, a testament echoed by John: “In all the years we’ve worked together, I have never, ever, heard a complaint about Emira.”
