As the dust settled on Yondr’s Toronto site, the newly recruited operations team gathered for the launch of a two-week training programme. Armed with clear, aligned priorities from day one of operations, the programme won’t just be in use in Toronto as it will soon be rolled out across Yondr. Setting the operations training standard for the rest of business. 

Raising the bar  

The Toronto onboarding and training programme opened with a session led by John Shingler, Yondr’s COO, who addressed the new hires directly. He set clear expectations, reinforced priorities, and made one thing clear: safety always comes first. 

“In this industry, you can’t see electricity,” said Brad Tunstall, who led the programme design and delivery. “You touch the wrong thing; you potentially don’t go home. Which is why it’s non-negotiable that our team is fully trained on, and has a deep understanding of what they’re working with.” 

The first week of the training programme prioritised critical modules including:  

/ Electrical training equivalent to NFPA 70E standards (Qualified Electrical Worker) 

/ CPR certification 

/ A deep dive into the six core operational modules that define how Yondr runs its sites 

/ A leadership-led site walkround  

/ Insight into Yondr’s expected service levels 

/ The career development on offer 

Week two layered additional training on top while giving the team space to absorb and apply what they’d learned. 

Visible leadership  

For many on the Toronto team, the presence of a C-suite executive during the onboarding was a first.  

“A lot of the feedback from the team was that they’d worked at other places and never met anyone from the C-suite,” said Brad. “Knowing John, this won’t be a one-off – he’s going to make sure he’s on site at least once a quarter. Giving our team the opportunity to see and talk to someone from leadership.” 

That visibility matters. Particularly in a team where many members are new to Yondr. Meeting the COO on day one sends a clear message about culture – that operations isn’t an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ function but the beating heart of the business.  

Several team members told the training leads that this was the first time an employer had ever invested in an onboarding experience like this. “They were taking selfies, laughing and genuinely excited to be on site,” said Brad. “People told me: ‘We’ve worked for companies before and nobody’s ever taken the time to put something like this on.'” 

“Kick-off training at our Toronto site provided an incredible start for our new technicians. It’s rare to see a company invest so heavily in a dedicated onboarding experience where safety is woven into every aspect. Even more rewarding has been seeing the  enthusiasm, engagement, and energy this new team brings as they begin their journey.” – Jennene Lyda, Director HSE at Yondr  

Why Toronto first? 

Toronto wasn’t chosen randomly to test the waters. As a greenfield site, it offered something no existing facility could: a clean slate. And the opportunity to pilot, iterate and perfect the model before rolling it out more broadly to other Yondr teams and locations. 

As Brad explained: “On operational sites you’ve got muscle memory you need to undo. If a team is used to working one way and then they’re asked to work differently tomorrow, it takes time to adjust. In Toronto, we came out of the ground with this model and built a new team. So we’re not changing anything, but setting the standard from day one.” 

Standards were a key theme of the two weeks with the training based on a simple premise: accountability starts with clarity. As Brad put it: “It’s hard to hold people accountable if you never set the expectation.” 

“Over the years, I’ve learned that mission and criticality are super important in the data center industry. In my role at Yondr, I lean into this by communicating clear customer Ron Davis, Critical Environments Manager at Yondr 

Building the team, building Toronto 

Behind the training programme was an incredible recruitment effort. Yondr’s talent acquisition team filled the entire Toronto operations roster ahead of schedule and also created a 90-strong talent bench. A real feat in an industry where finding skilled data center staff is notoriously difficult.  

Revised job descriptions, new roles and a compelling mission all helped attract and hire the talent needed to operationalise the site.  

The result is a proud, diverse team – including two women; another win for talent acquisition in an area of the data center industry that’s particularly short on female representation. 

A growth milestone 

With Toronto’s initial training complete, the site now boasts an experienced team armed with fresh perspectives and genuine enthusiasm for Yondr’s vision. The momentum is already shifting toward a wider rollout, with Frankfurt, NDHR, and Nova next in line to benefit. Earmarking Toronto as the place that established the gold standard for operational training excellence, and setting a new benchmark for the industry.