Growing at Promutuel Insurance: Our Colleagues Share Their Stories

When exploring professional paths, we often hear about “career growth opportunities” or even “professional fulfillment,” but what do these benefits really mean? Is it really possible to grow in every field, including insurance? We discussed this with our teams.

Although roles may vary, the desire to move forward is shared. Here are the stories of Julie, Elisabeth, Sébastien and Sylvie—people who have spent many years with our organization and who, thanks to their skills, abilities and values, continue to carve out their own path.

Professional Growth: A Reality With Many Facets

Growing in a job is about more than moving up an organizational chart. Actually, according to Julie Paquet, Senior Legal Advisor, for some people, it’s not even part of the plan! “I never wanted to pursue a traditional upward career path. It’s the desire to listen to my clients and advise them in clear, plain language that drives me.”

Those who do not move up within the company’s hierarchy may instead experience what is known as horizontal growth—a transition into another field or into a role at the same hierarchical level, such as an administrative assistant moving into communications and marketing.

Without changing fields, it is also possible to experience a strong sense of accomplishment by growing on a technical level, by developing job-related expertise or by expanding one’s influence, such as by mobilizing, inspiring or guiding others within the organization.

Professional growth is first and foremost a personal journey. The ability to understand the work environment and an organization’s dynamics, to develop skills and to build relationships are all factors that contribute to a sense of growth, as our colleagues’ stories below demonstrate.

Four Paths to Grow and Thrive

At Promutuel Insurance, our colleagues’ sense of belonging and the cohesion of our teams are essential to our success. To nurture them, we focus on four key areas that help create meaningful career growth opportunities.

Growing Personally: Developing Key Skills

At work, personal growth helps build a toolbox we can draw on across every sphere of our lives. It is divided into three subcategories: 

• technical growth, which includes, among other things, pursuing training and understanding the methods used by other departments within the organization;
• personal growth, defined in part by the development of emotional intelligence, which proves useful for communicating more effectively;
• cognitive growth, which enables a stronger mastery of complex problem-solving, for example.

Even if they are not always visible, the benefits of personal growth are among the most rewarding. For our colleague Elisabeth Lefèvre—now a Technology Process Analyst, but hired more than ten years ago as an administrative assistant—the skills she has refined since joining Promutuel Insurance are a source of daily pride. “My curiosity, versatility, ease with digital tools and desire to help others enabled me to develop the skills needed to grow into this role—one I am very proud of.”

Growing Within Your Team: Finding Your Place

Sharing your knowledge with others and showing openness to their ideas and experiences help you grow within your team. By taking part in this exchange of expertise, you can become a trusted go-to person—sometimes even beyond your immediate team and field of work. It is this collaborative spirit that has defined Julie’s work dynamic for the past 20 years, “both with my teammates and with colleagues from other departments within the Federation and the mutual companies. We are always available to support one another.”

Growing within your team also means seizing opportunities to positively influence the people you work with every day, as experienced by Sébastien Boudreau, Head of Application Solutions Architecture at the Fédération du Groupe Promutuel. “When I took over the team in the summer of 2024, our internal survey tools showed very low employee engagement. Following initiatives implemented over the course of the year, those same tools now show an index of over 80%. Seeing that I have a positive impact on the team is what makes me most proud each day.”

Growing in Relation to Your Managers: Finding Your Voice

Growing in relation to your managers is possible in an environment of trust—one that allows for greater autonomy, the acceptance of new responsibilities and recognition of your work and skills. With two decades of experience with us, our colleague Sébastien agrees: “I joined in the summer of 2004 as a developer. I have always been trusted. They believed in me and entrusted me with challenges—namely those I am most proud of in my career.” Finding your voice in such a work environment opens the door to more open and transparent discussions with management teams, where you can express your interests and propose initiatives.

At Promutuel Insurance, we know that everyone has a story and strengths that don’t always appear on their résumé. That’s why we place great importance on listening to our people, so we can better get to know our teams and understand their needs and ambitions. According to Sylvie Robitaille, a Risk Analyst in personal insurance at a mutual company, “There is always room for discussion with our managers.” This is what motivates her to take part in discussion groups created to improve how we work—productive meetings that lead to tangible progress.

Growing in relation to your organization: contributing to the company’s development

Seeking to evolve within your organization means contributing not only to the company’s growth, but also to creating long-term career growth opportunities. And when you work for a mutual company like ours, it can also mean becoming a champion of our values of commitment, solidarity, openness and ambition. “It’s rewarding to work for an employer that is actively involved in its community,” says Julie, who helped create a community of compliance advisors within our mutual companies to facilitate knowledge sharing across our organization.

By contributing to the company’s development, you can showcase your skills through initiatives and events that go beyond day-to-day work. It can be an opportunity to show your willingness to get involved in events such as the Parade des jouets in Québec City or a fundraising campaign for Centraide, or even to push your physical limits for a good cause, like the Grand défi Pierre Lavoie. By getting involved in our organization, our colleagues are also getting involved in their community. It’s a great way to grow—and to thrive.

A few tips for growing in your role

Whatever your field, here are a few guiding principles that can help you explore new facets of your role.

Be visible and make yourself useful: share your ideas and take part in cross-functional projects or working groups.

“My managers recognized my strengths, and I’m grateful that they encouraged me to build on them and go further.”
– Elisabeth, Technology Process Analyst

Build connections beyond your team: take an interest in your peers’ roles to collaborate more effectively, connect with colleagues from other teams to broaden your perspective, and take part in internal events, cross-training opportunities and coffee chats.

“I took part in a discussion group to address stalled renewals and reduce our workload. Following that, we implemented concrete improvements that benefited many colleagues.” 
– Sylvie, Personal Insurance Risk Analyst

Discuss your growth with your manager: clarify your aspirations—whether to deepen your expertise, develop your leadership or change roles; ask for regular feedback and identify growth opportunities.

“Despite my role and experience, I rarely step into my colleagues’ architecture files, and I feel that my trust is appreciated. I aim to guide my team, not impose my ways of working.” 
– Sébastien, Head of Application Solutions Architecture

Growth: a driver of engagement at Promutuel Insurance

It’s no secret: internal growth is a powerful performance driver for the company. But did you know it’s also a powerful driver of engagement for our team members? By fostering mobility, recognizing skills and supporting professional development, we create an environment that offers real career growth opportunities, where everyone can, in their own way, grow, contribute and thrive while pursuing their ambitions. As Elisabeth shares, after more than 10 years at Promutuel Insurance:
“If you’re looking to learn, push yourself and have fun along the way, this is the right place.” Encouraging the talent that already places its trust in us means investing in loyalty, company culture and long-term sustainability.

In short, internal growth is more than a human resources process—it’s a forward-looking strategic vision. That of the company—and of our people. “There’s no age limit to starting a new career—and certainly no age limit to achieving our goals in life.” Sylvie’s words to live by!

Did you find our colleagues’ stories inspiring? For a career close to home, discover our job opportunities in your region right THERE!