Dialogue's 2020 Year in Review

Our Year in Review has become somewhat of a tradition here at Dialogue as we pause to look back on some of our most memorable moments over the past 365 days. But this was no ordinary year. More than ever, this year highlighted the importance of our health and the consequences that occur when it’s compromised.

The events of 2020 reinforced our mission at Dialogue: improving humanity’s well-being by using technology to deliver excellent care. Our teams worked tirelessly to bring virtual care services to millions of Canadians and today, we invite you to celebrate their efforts.

Our response to an
unfolding crisis

On March 11th, all Dialogue employees were asked to head home and work remotely until further notice. Would it be weeks? Months? Questions swirled, but we sought counsel from several experts. By then, we had already quickly sprung into action to help others.

It became our deeply-rooted purpose to help not only our employees and their families, clients, members and partners but Canadians across the country. Teams from various functions came together to address the challenges faced with great ingenuity and speed.

On March 9th after only a few weeks of work, we launched Chloe for COVID-19, an automated medical assistant, to alleviate the burden off the healthcare system. On a given day, the self-screening tool helped thousands of people, and nearly 40% of our daily patients were consulting for COVID-related symptoms. The response time remained below 15 minutes as other traditional systems struggled with the surge.

We created resources to support our clients and members who were looking for guidance on various topics like mental health, return to work, deconfinement, and we even shared our own Dialogue policies.

Access to personal protective equipment (PPE) became critical to keep workplaces and organizational members safe. We launched a pop-up PPE shop to facilitate access to the items Canadians needed most.

As demand for telemedicine grew exponentially, we scaled our team by 10x to meet the needs of our clients and partners. Thanks to a proprietary technology and a multidisciplinary approach, our services were able to not only withstand the storm but support a record number of Canadians during a time of need.

Notable partnerships and two new acquisitions

Canada Life partnership
Sun Life partnership
iA partnership
National Bank partnership
Argumed acquisition
Optima Global Health acquisition
Series B+

Canada Life partnership

Canada Life partnered with Dialogue to provide access to a streamlined, proprietary virtual healthcare solution named Consult+ that will give more than one million Canadians easier access to high-quality healthcare.

Sun Life partnership

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, Sun Life and Dialogue joined forces to offer premium virtual healthcare services to an additional 3+ million Canadians. The service – Lumino Health Virtual Care – is included in the client’s EHC Benefit.

iA partnership

To help limit the spread of COVID-19 and provide innovative access to care, Industrial Alliance teamed up with Dialogue to offer our telemedicine services to their clients.

National Bank partnership

National Bank^® has expanded its partnership with Dialogue to offer our services not only to its employees but also to many of its clients.

® NATIONAL BANK is a registered trademark of National Bank of Canada, used under license by authorized third party.

Argumed acquisition

Early in the year, we acquired German Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) services company ARGUMED Consulting Group GmbH. The acquisition marks an evolution in Dialogue's product offering and expansion opportunities in European markets. It also allows us to pursue our focus on innovation, and invest in new capabilities to support clients around the world.

Optima Global Health acquisition

The acquisition of Optima Global Health, a Canadian workplace health and wellness service provider, was a fundamental transaction in Dialogue’s accelerated growth strategy. A leading employee assistance program (EAP) provider since 1993, Optima Global Health’s expertise in this space combined with Dialogue’s new EAP offering makes it the perfect partnership for Canadians to receive the quality of service they deserve. More on our reimagined EAP coming up below!

Series B+

A strategic commercial partnership with Sun Life paved the way to our Series B+ funding, raising $32.7 million in equity investment. This round of financing also included investments from existing backers, including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Portag3 Ventures, White Star Capital, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, First Ascent Ventures, and Walter Ventures.

Humanizing Dialogue:
A journey to our new brand

Despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19, our teams pressed forward, working arduously to deliver a new, reimagined Dialogue brand for our evolving organization. In August, we introduced a new logo, color pallet, website, member application and much more.

The Dialogue brand needed to not only match our market maturity and leadership but also the natural evolution of our organization, the calibre of our service, and our caring approach. Were we hesitant to let go of our beloved brand? Sure. Change can be unsettling. But once the new colour scheme, logo, tagline, and visual direction came together, worries dissipated, and we couldn’t wait to share this new identity with you. Cherif Habib, CEO and Co-Founder

The first edition of Humanizing Healthcare, our employee wellness conference

As organizational leaders looked to their peers and trusted partners for employee wellness suggestions, we decided to contribute with the first annual edition of our employee wellness conference: Humanizing Healthcare. The virtual event gathered industry experts including philanthropist and founder of War Child Dr. Samantha Nutt, Lightspeed Founder and CEO Dax Dasilva, and Canadian military veteran and mental health advocate Stéphane Grenier who provided key insights to improve the health and well-being of employees.

Product accomplishments

Two new apps supporting millions of new members

To help support partners Canada Life and Sun Life, our product and tech teams launched white labelled versions of our member application. Consult+ was released to Canada Life clients and members, while Lumino Virtual Care allowed Sun Life to integrate a telemedicine offer to its portfolio of benefits.

A reimagined employee assistance program (EAP)

For decades, organizations have included EAPs in their benefits packages but after speaking to clients, we quickly realized the experience needed to be overhauled. Dialogue proudly launched its reimagined EAP this year, a key program in our integrated health platform that is disrupting the market with a modern, digital experience and rapid service that provides true continuity of care from a multidisciplinary team. Our goal? To provide members with quick access to the coaching or counselling needed to help resolve personal or workplace issues through an easy-to-use app.

Self-scheduling

We provided our members with the ability to schedule a health consultation on the most convenient date and time for them. Upcoming available consultation times are now displayed in the app—typically the same day, within the next 15 minutes. And based on recent research, appointment booking is one of the top features Canadians look for in a telemedicine provider, further justifying the importance of this new feature.

Newly branded member application

Dialogue’s rebranding impacted more than just the corporate brand; our member application also got a full makeover. This exercise even allowed the tech and product teams to streamline their processes. Learn more about the rebranding journey from Devona Lean, one of our Product Designers.

Life at Dialogue

In the midst of all the new challenges and hard work, we found creative ways to stay connected, productive and healthy!

Rewarding our Shackletons

We carried on with our tradition of recognizing perseverance by awarding the Shackleton to three very deserving colleagues: Melissa Trottier, Senior Manager, Client Success, Hadrien David, Software Engineering Manager, and Dr. Daniel Lalla, Physician (who completed over 8400 consultations at Dialogue!).

"You're on mute"

Like most organizations, our in-person meetings transitioned to Zoom. We make it a point to have our cameras on to connect with our colleagues. Also, our bi-weekly all-hands company meetings turned into weekly ones to strengthen communication.

Moving for a good cause

A Dialogue charity challenge got us and our families walking, running, and biking as we (virtually) travelled across the world for a good cause. During the summer, Dialogue's employees travelled a total of 25,000 digital kilometres across every province and territory in Canada, and then all the way over to our colleagues in Germany and Belarus before returning to our Montreal HQl! The challenge helped us proactively look after our own mental health and also raised $10k for CAMH to help those suffering from mental health challenges.

Celebrating online

Most celebrations this year have taken place virtually, and our 4-year anniversary celebration was no exception. A Zoom get-together with a mixologist and special sunset DJ session gathered the Dialogue team together for a celebratory happy hour – family members and pets also joined in on the fun, of course.

Addressing systemic issues

At Dialogue, we believe in a world where everyone is treated equally. 2020 highlighted ongoing racial injustices as well as health disparities in our communities. Not only did we feel it was essential to take a stand against racism, but we also wanted to help improve the health and well-being of Black communities in Canada by donating to the Black Health Alliance.

Supporting men's health

A group of 10 dedicated guys on the Dialogue team took it upon themselves to start November with a clean shave to raise funds in support of men’s health. With the support of colleagues, friends, and family, they raised over $6,000 this Movember, surpassing last year’s total of $5,404!

Playing Santa

Dialogue played a part in this year’s Opération Père Noël, a Montreal-based charity organization whose goal is to make sure that less fortunate kids in the area receive gifts for the holidays. Many Dialoguers took on the persona of Santa and either purchased a gift requested by a local child or made a donation, helping to make the dreams of less fortunate kids come true on Christmas morning. Over 145 children were sponsored!

A few words from
our co-founders

Cherif Habib, CEO and Co-Founder

“While most of us are eager to put 2020 behind us, it’s a year I’ll never forget. Looking back at everything we accomplished and the indelible impact we’ve had on millions of Canadians, I’m humbled and grateful. Whether you pushed innovation to new heights, or you were on the front lines supporting thousands of our members daily, I thank our Dialogue team who navigated choppy waters on an expedition for the ages!”

Anna Chif, CS&PO and Co-Founder

“Witnessing the Dialogue team rally during a crisis with incredible perseverance has made me prouder than ever of the organization we’ve built. Not only did we come together as #oneteam to exceed expectations and grow exponentially, but we also successfully launched programs that are already setting new industry standards. I look forward to an exciting and transformative 2021!”

Alexis Smirnov, CTO and Co-Founder

“The sheer impact of Dialogue’s healthcare technology advancements in 2020 was simply outstanding. We built and scaled groundbreaking tools to keep millions of people safe throughout an uncertain situation, and provide them with life-saving guidance. With our track record of building great software and deep technical talent, there’s no doubt that Dialogue is poised for continued success.”

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Dialogue’s
2020 Year in Review

Our response to an
unfolding crisis

On March 11th, all Dialogue employees were asked to head home and work remotely until further notice. Would it be weeks? Months? Questions swirled, but we sought counsel from several experts. By then, we had already quickly sprung into action to help others.

Dialogue by the numbers