Jack Salazar on Leadership
Company: Pharmasave Drugs (Pacific) Ltd.
Title: Store design co-ordinator
In current position: One year
Total time at company: 2½ years
Pharmasave’s store design co-ordinator Jack Salazar admits he’s “a talkative person” who likes to dish on ideas and problems. That’s why he likes the approachable leadership within the Pharmasave regional office, where managers, he says, are part mentor, adviser and sounding board.
Salazar, a BCIT graduate draftsman, has scored kudos for suggesting how to streamline procedures for designing stores and deploying contractors. While the recognition has given him a sense of contributing to the company, he also appreciates the occasional constructive feedback. “Hearing what people think helps in the learning process,” he says. “I’ve learned more from the managers here in the past two years than in all the other jobs I have had.”
Thean Cheav on Corporate Culture
Company: Great Little Box Co. Ltd.
Title: Machine operator
In current position: 27 years
Total time at company: 27 years
“It is not about money,” says Thean Cheav, Great Little Box Co.’s second-longest-serving employee, who joined a year after it opened. “It’s about finding happiness.” Another company once offered him more money, but working at GLBC “feels like a family,” he says: open, honest and caring about one another.
Cheav recalls that one Christmas his daughter wanted a bicycle that cost more than $100. Times were tight, but thanks to a $60 contribution from the company toward presents for all employees’ kids, Santa delivered. “My girl got the bike,” Cheav says. Content employees take more responsibility for themselves and the job they do, Cheav adds. “You understand who you are more deeply and why you are here.”
Amanda Exner-Johnson on Talent
Company: Chemistry Consulting Group Inc.
Title: Program supervisor
In current position: Eight months
Total time at company: 13 months
Chemistry Consulting is a textbook example of a supportive workplace, says Amanda Exner-Johnson, a program supervisor at the company. Promoted to program supervisor just five months after being hired, she says the company’s openness to staff concerns and suggestions illustrates what she’s learning about human-resource management during evening classes at Victoria’s Camosun College.
“This is the only place I’ve ever worked where I felt like I’ve been able to say, ‘Wow, it really is collaborative, they really will listen to you,’” she says. “There’s so many people here that you can ask for help from or mentorship from.”
Kevin Grant on Employee Engagement
Company: Kryton International Inc.
Title: Operations supervisor
In current position: Five years
Total time at company: 11 years
Kevin Grant was only planning to work a summer at Kryton when he joined the company in 1999. However, trained as a carpenter, Grant had potential that was recognized and channelled by Kryton president and CEO Kari Yuers on a track that’s seen him become operations supervisor at the company’s Vancouver plant. “She knew my skills in carpentry, and that’s where I wanted to head,” says Grant. “But she pulled me aside one day and said, ‘There’s tons of room for you to grow with this company.’”
Are You One of the Best?
See how you stack up against your peers by registering for the 2011 Best Companies competition at www.bestcompanies.ca. There’s no cost to participate. You will be asked to provide details of your company’s HR practices and to administer a survey soliciting feedback from your employees. In addition to seeing how your workplace ranks alongside those of your peers, you will receive a report from our partners at MindField Group, who will crunch the numbers to summarize the results of your employee survey.
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