Iversofts’ Steph Barlow, Director of People & Culture, Wins CHRR Young Influencers’ Award
Steph Barlow, Director of People & Culture at Iversoft, has been awarded the Canadian HR Reporter (CHRR) Young Influencers’ Award for 2021.
- The CHRR Young Influencer Award recognizes Steph Barlow as an HR industry trailblazers, September 2021
- Steph Barlow, Director of People & Culture at Iversoft, brings innovation to HR with her people-first policies
- Steph shares her strategies for creating strong, people-first companies.
[Ottawa, ON] September 15, 2021 — Steph Barlow, Director of People & Culture at Iversoft, has been awarded the Canadian HR Reporter (CHRR) Young Influencers’ Award for 2021. Steph’s remarkable achievement is due to her unique philosophies on company culture, diverse hiring practices, and the role Human Resources plays in talent growth and development. With a focus on people-first policies, Steph has successfully grown Iversoft from a company of 9 employees to over 40.
Steph received the CHRR Young Influencer award in September 2021, and is featured in Canadian HR Reporter September edition of the magazine.
"Nothing I’ve accomplished at Iversoft was a solo effort – it’s the amazing team I work with that makes it all a reality. If nothing else, I hope winning this award helps other HR practitioners see the benefit of good D&I and working with their local organizations to make their companies even better."
— Steph Barlow, Director of People & Culture, Iversoft
Steph’s Human Resources philosophies start with the belief that careers do not need to be linear to be successful. With a Master’s in Roman History and Archaeology, Steph made her own professional pivots on her journey to finding the career that matched her passion for humans and culture, falling into and in love with HR at Iversoft. In her role, her focus has been on ensuring proactive policies that grow and develop the humans at Iversoft. Steph encourages talent to openly share knowledge, ideas and skills. Committed to the principle that a good idea can come from anywhere, Barlow designs her hiring, retention, and development practices to focus on feedback and growth strategies.
Under Barlow’s leadership, Iversoft’s team grew in scale and diversity, leading to several instances of recognition in 2021, including Hire Immigrants Ottawa’s Employer Excellence Award, and more recently, CHRR’s Young Influencers’ Award. Her secret to building award-winning teams is simple:
- Prioritize good people over “impressive-looking” degrees.
- Design opportunities for candidates to show their strengths.
- Look for culture adds, rather than culture “fits”.
- Hire people with no industry experience. People can be trained. Different backgrounds and perspectives are valuable.
- It’s not your company, service or product that wows your clients. It’s your people.
- Diversity is the greatest strength for your company.
Barlow’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and growth are reflected in life outside of Iversoft as well. She is an active volunteer and talent coach with Hire Immigrants Ottawa, and a recurring feature-speaker for the uOGlobal program.
“To be the best at anything, you have to be willing to shake things up, be innovative and bring a fresh perspective to everything you do. With a champion like Steph heading up all things HR, she brings a diverse talent pool that continues to not only grow our team, but challenge the “status quo,” resulting in better talent, better services offerings, and better products. Our people are our experience, and Steph continuously ensures we deliver the best experience possible.” — Laura Townson, COO, Iversoft
Steph Barlow is one of the exceptional forces behind Iversofts’ ongoing commitment to a people-focused company. Her commitment to cross-industry hiring has fostered a dynamic and versatile team. She has strategized and implemented workplace practices that drive talent, engagement, and long term retention. Her focus on building diverse teams continues to forge a path of success for Iversoft.
About Iversoft
Iversoft is a software development company that provides expert mobile app and web development services for organizations looking to elevate their business and adapt to the digital world.
Unlike your typical tech agency, Iversoft is mobile-first, process-driven, and focuses on delivering exceptional client experiences. Through a philosophy of transparency, honesty, and clear communication, we deliver thoughtful, data-driven, custom solutions for our clients — time and again.
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