GROWTH IS NURTURED
Sean Novak aspired to a management role and got plenty of support in achieving that goal from his employer, No. 4-ranked ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. in Edmonton.
He joined the company three years ago as a newly graduated engineer, whose sole job was to design sewer systems.
He let his supervisors know he wanted to advance. They recommended additional training he would need, paid for the courses and textbooks he needed, and got him assignments to broaden his experience. And it has paid off: After experiencing a range of roles, he has risen to the level of a project manager.
Everyone in the company gets that kind of encouragement to continually develop their skills, says Gary Mack, ISL's president and CEO.
The company pays for Dale Carnegie leadership training and, for the third of employees who have taken up the offer, "we find it has created a positive outlook for themselves and in their work," he says.
Mr. Mack believes that the company's highly motivated employees were a big factor behind the company's business growth and record profit in the past year.
And it shared in the rewards: Everyone on staff got paid a bonus the equivalent of about a month's pay.
ADAPTABILITY IS ENCOURAGED
Engineering firm Hood Group of Edmonton, ranked fifth on the list, has learned from past experience that the oil and gas industry is cyclical, and so it has taken business steps to make sure there is always work for its employees — and that those employees are well-positioned to make the most of new opportunities.
It encourages employees to constantly develop new skills and will arrange flexible work hours to help them pursue further training; it also encourages employees to be multi-talented and look for new opportunities.
Managers meet weekly with their teams to update them on new business the company is seeking to develop, and encourages staff to be on the lookout for new niches it could be pursuing, Hood president Trevor McCallion says.
Employee suggestions have led to new clients and projects in areas the company was not previously involved with, including energy efficiency and environmental protection.
The jobs may not be as large or the contracts as long as the big oil field projects the company did in the past but, collectively, they will keep the company profitable no matter what happens to oil prices — and fears of layoffs won't keep employees up at night, Mr. McCallion says.
"There is a genuine sense that we are all looking out for each other and this has the effect of keeping morale high."
METHDOLOGY
- This year's Top 50 ranking of Canada's best small and medium employers is the fifth annual undertaking by Queen's Centre for Business Venturing at the Queen's School of Business and human resources company Hewitt Associates, in partnership with The Globe and Mail.
- More than 250 companies registered for the study; in the end, the rankings were made on responses from more than 100 eligible companies involving nearly 19,000 employees and 1,000 leaders.
- To be eligible, a company must have 50 to 399 employees, been in business for at least three years, and meet certain survey completion response rates.
- To determine rankings, participating organizations completed three surveys. The first was an employee opinion survey, measuring and analyzing 18 drivers of employee engagement. There was also a leadership team survey, completed by senior executives, to determine how well their goals and values align with those of their staff, and a human resources survey, asking about organizational practices, policies and programs to determine how well they match up with goals and values.
- Rankings were calculated from a combination of scores from all three surveys, with employee engagement results the most heavily weighted.
- For more information, including instructions on how to participate in the upcoming survey, log on to: business.queensu.ca/centres/qcbv/bsme_study/en/registration/online.html.
