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CWB Financial Group and Xpan program “Recruiting Teal Talent” recognized with award for excellence by Brandon Hall Group

CWB Financial Group and Xpan win Gold Award of Excellence at Brandon Hall Awards

CWB Financial Group (CWB) and Xpan Interactive Ltd. (Xpan) won a 2022 Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management (HCM) Gold award for excellence in the Best Advance in Custom Content category. The entry titled Recruiting Teal Talent was submitted in the area of Learning and Development. The win was announced on August 18,2022. The winners are listed at https://excellenceawards.brandonhall.com/winners/ 

What are the Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards?

The Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards are a prestigious international competition recognizing the achievements of organizations across the corporate, government, and not-for-profit sectors from all over the world. Awards are presented across eight areas: Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Sales Performance, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and Future of Work.

Entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts and executives based upon these criteria: fit the need, design of the program, functionality, innovation and overall measurable benefits.

What was CWB’s vision behind the Recruiting Teal Talent program?

Across Canada, CWB has a diverse team providing financial service support for individuals and businesses. Their services include banking, equipment financing, trust services, and wealth management. CWB’s goal is to uncover their customers’ dreams and support achieving them with a financial solution. This goal is accomplished with a strong CWB team and a standardized recruitment process to build this team. The comprehensive Recruiting Teal Talent program supports the hiring team as CWB continues to grow.

The Recruiting Teal Talent program is designed with a focus on CWB’s core values across a seven-module series. The story-based modules were created in consultation with CWB’s Sharing Circle employee group who ensured Indigenous representation was included in an appropriate manner. This program demonstrates an effective recruitment strategy, serving as a refresher tool for existing managers, or orientation for new managers.

“For over 10 years at CWB, I have been identifying and recruiting “teal” talented professionals who come from all walks of life. Finding the right fit at CWB involves putting together an inclusive recruitment strategy. We are grateful for Xpan’s support to create a course designed to empower our team with this skill,” says Carmen Jungwirth, CPHR, CTMP, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at CWB Financial Group. “We are thankful to be awarded gold recognition for our effort toward putting our people first.”

“CWB’s commitment to an inclusive learning culture as part of their onboarding and recruitment process makes us proud to enable this people-first approach to immersive learning ,” says Ron Thiele, President and Founder of Xpan. “We are appreciative of this immense honor to be awarded a Gold in excellence for the work we did in collaboration with CWB.”

What is the impact of this program on CWB?

The Recruiting Teal Talent training program provided valuable lessons for new and seasoned hiring managers. Here are a few takeaways from the program:

  • “Thanks for the invite to the VIP screening. I’m just starting my first hiring journey as part of the Shared Services group and the timing of this module was excellent. Enjoyed the learning opportunity, especially the focus on the holistic hiring approach. Included was a new piece of learning / approach as it relates to the ‘Achiever Pattern’, I like this angle. I also like the questions around candidate motivation. Thanks again, looking forward to the next module.”
  • “Hello Talent Team, Thank you for the well put-together material! This matched my experience almost exactly, as I have filled five positions in a little over 12 months. Thanks!”
  • “I did not realize that I needed a recruitment strategy but it makes perfect sense! I have a more clear idea of my role in this phase of the recruitment process. Taking time for a strategy will save time in the long run.”


The Recruiting Teal Talent program shares CWB’s clear hiring process with all teams across Canada. As a result, all CWB teams can effectively hire “teal” talent without missing a beat.

Interested in elevating your recruitment strategy?

Our team at Xpan Interactive would be delighted to meet with you to explore how our Knowledge Experiences can best fit your business needs. Book your experience today to learn more!

About Xpan Interactive Ltd.:

Since 2001, Xpan Interactive Ltd. has built creative and innovative digital knowledge solutions to help its clients meet their most pressing business needs and performance objectives. It continues to expand on its global mission to evolve behaviour and facilitate change with engaging and effective digital knowledge solutions. The Xpan team makes heroes of learning and development professionals, and improves workspace experience (and lives) across the globe, with better learning.

Find out more on www.xpan.ca.

About CWB Financial Group:

CWB Financial Group (CWB) is the only full-service financial institution in Canada with a strategic focus to meet the unique financial needs of businesses and their owners. We provide nation-wide full-service business and personal banking, specialized financing, comprehensive wealth management offerings, and trust services. Our teams deliver a uniquely proactive and differentiated level of service to clients in targeted industries where we have deep expertise. Clients choose CWB for our highly personalized service, specialized expertise, customized solutions and faster response times.

As a public company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), CWB trades under the symbols “CWB” (common shares), “CWB.PR.B” (Series 5 preferred shares) and “CWB.PR.D” (Series 9 preferred shares). We are firmly committed to the responsible creation of value for all our stakeholders and our approach to sustainability will support our continued success.

Find out more on www.cwb.com.

We develop digital knowledge solutions. Our team makes heroes of learning and development professionals. We improve workspace experience (and lives) across the globe, with better learning.

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