Each December, every staff member at LiveWorkPlay is secretly matched with a colleague to create a short video celebrating the positive difference that colleague makes to others. The creative results often include original music, poetry, humour, and heartfelt appreciation. The tradition reflects a workplace culture where peer recognition is personal, creative, and deeply valued.
The work of LiveWorkPlay’s Community Supports and Employment Supports teams brings many celebrations of success for people with intellectual disabilities and autistic persons. This vital work takes place in the context of significant challenges. In a sector facing persistent recruitment and retention challenges, LiveWorkPlay has responded by investing in competitive salaries and benefits, career development, and a workplace where recognition, coaching, and continuous learning are part of everyday practice, while ensuring staff have the support, flexibility, and encouragement to respond to each person’s individual needs.
There is no typical workday at LiveWorkPlay. Employees coordinate from Bayview Yards, work in neighbourhoods across Ottawa, and meet colleagues and community partners in the field. Because the work is built on relationships, leaders make time for walking meetings, informal coaching, and regular check-ins away from desks and computer screens. Weekly team meetings celebrate milestones, recognize contributions, and strengthen collaboration. Success is measured not by time spent at a desk, but by outcomes such as someone moving into a home of their own or succeeding in authentic paid employment.
Career development is supported through a collaborative performance management process that emphasizes coaching, continuous improvement, and opportunities for increased responsibility. Many team members began as student placements from post-secondary institutions. Learning opportunities are closely connected to delivering better outcomes, with training ranging from mental health and person-centred practices to leadership, technology, and other areas identified through the coaching process. Staff are also encouraged to share their expertise through conferences, advisory groups, community events, and other public-facing opportunities.
The organization recently overhauled its retirement program based on staff feedback, moving from an entry-level plan to a high-quality defined benefit pension. LiveWorkPlay has also invested in administrative and technical support that allows leaders to spend more time coaching staff and strengthening services. Community is central to the organization’s work, with staff building relationships every day with employers, housing providers, schools, recreation organizations, arts organizations, and many other partners across Ottawa. Those experiences often inspire employees to become volunteers and leaders with other community organizations, reflecting a workplace culture that values civic engagement.
Workplace Culture
What we do for fun: Staff create short, humorous celebration videos for randomly assigned colleagues to watch at an annual retreat. They also participate in outdoor group activities like nature walks and picnics.
How we recognize achievements and milestones: Weekly meetings spotlight staff efforts that directly help clients secure housing or employment. Milestone anniversaries are marked every five years with public ceremonies.
How we give back to the community: Employees use flexible hours to volunteer for local causes, often collaborating directly with partner agencies to support community inclusion.
Best Practices to Emulate: Ottawa business owners should emulate how this organization manages artificial intelligence by drawing a strict line between back-office efficiency and human authenticity. Instead of banning the technology out of fear or adopting it without clear limits, management explicitly permits tools for time-consuming tasks like drafting initial templates, summarizing long research documents and organizing messy raw notes. However, the organization strictly prohibits using automated systems to write client stories, generate artificial testimonials or make client eligibility decisions. This binary approach protects organizational credibility while cutting administrative drift, proving that small enterprises can adopt automation safely by codifying exactly where human judgment is non-negotiable.
Company Profile
Name: LiveWorkPlay / VivreTravaillerJouer
Address: 7 Bayview Station Road, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 2C5
Website: https://liveworkplay.ca
Email: keenan.wellar@liveworkplay.ca
HR Leader: Julie Kingstone, Co-Leader and Director of Operations, Keenan Wellar, Co-Leader and Director of Communications
Industry: Non-Profit
Employees in Ottawa: 26
Vacation allowance for new employees: 15 days
Number of Stat Holidays: 11
Other Days: 10 paid sick days, 0 formal personal days (utilizes routine flex time), 5 days paid compassionate leave
Medical Benefits Absorbed: 100%
Dental Benefits Absorbed: 100%
Vision Benefits Absorbed: 100%
Retirement Plans: CAAT DBplus Defined Benefit Pension Plan (9% employer match and 9% employee contribution)
Remote Work: 100% (Bayview Yards membership providing flexible collaboration space for a highly mobile, community-based workforce)
Workplace Fitness: Emphasizes device-free outdoor time and walking performance check-ins
Professional Development: Biweekly one-on-one coaching, specialized certifications, conference presentations, participation and leadership on professional committees
