Upon entering Cementation’s North Bay base, one thing becomes immediately apparent: the company cares about its employees.
With walls full of motivational mantras and trophy cases reminding employees of their own accomplishments, the company has cemented themselves as one of the country’s largest contract mine builders and preeminent mine designers and constructors.
But when you drill a little deeper and look at the true fabric that holds them at the forefront, it’s easy to see that Cementation isn’t just outwardly validated as an industry leader; it is also first-rate in the way it treats its employees.
Guided by what the company calls a “best for project” philosophy, its all-encompassing credo for safety, performance and valued relationships, Cementation has become the mining contractor of choice for not only clients, but a lot of employees as well.
For irrefutable proof of that philosophy, one need only look at their previous employer designations, including Canada’s Top 100 Employers by Mediacorp and Financial Post Ten Best Companies to Work For.
The international company’s foundation lies in Northern Ontario, with 131 of the company’s armada working out of the North Bay headquarters and a good portion of their other 500 Canadian employees working from Sudbury.
Beyond the logistics and numbers, though, Cementation says it takes pride in putting those employees first and creating an environment and company culture that those employees trust and feel safe in.
Safety and training pillars
As Cementation Canada Inc. president Roy Slack says, strategies and goals change; values don’t.
Chief among those values is that of safety and eliminating workplace injuries, with the ultimate goal and bottom line being that of zero harm.
In validating those efforts, Cementation was recognized as last year’s Gold Winner of the Safest Employer in Canada, run by Occupational Health & Safety Magazine.
Within the workplace, safety milestones are celebrated with gusto. Just last year, for example, the North Bay shop completed seven years of operation with zero lost time and zero medical aid incidents, a highly celebrated feat.
Part of maintaining that high safety standard, the team says, is the emphasis placed on training and ongoing skills development.
“Our president had a vision when he started this company to ensure every single employee had a customized development plan in place and tools to support employees reach their goals,” said Penny English, Cementation’s human resources manager. “This vision has been realized and has proven very successful for our employees, and for us as a company.”
Even amidst a dip in the mining market, a new Employee Development Program (EDP) was created, among others, to offer four streams of customized employee development. Other avenues for growth include the New Miner Training Program, Engineers-in-Training Program, and Canadian Mining Credentials Program, among many others.
“Training even when the industry is in a downturn shows our people our commitment to their development,” Slack added. “Whether it is our involvement as an inaugural member of MiHR’s nationwide mine certification program, our awards and recognition for our apprenticeship programs, or our leadership training programs, we recognize the importance of training in our organization.”
Communication
One of their most recent internal improvements has been improving communication between departments.
With the inception of programs like their Lunch ‘N’ Learn series, put in place by HR Solutions to promote co-operation, team building and interdepartmental discussion, many of the employees expressed their satisfaction and gratitude for the better communication in the annual employee survey.
“Constantly looking for new programs and ways to improve is very important to us,” Slack said of the progressive programs. “That means listening to our people, and giving the HR Solutions group the latitude to look at new and innovative approaches.”
The successful solution thus far has been found in employee focus groups and information collecting sessions, which the company uses to keep the cross-department communication open and, more importantly, highlight their shortcomings for improvement moving forward.
“We are very focused on our employees, which means listening to them and acting on their suggestions,” Slack added.
Employee Engagement
Testimony from the employees provides the proof of Cementation’s pull.
Folks speak glibly of Cementation’s DNA, but the mining mogul has managed to not only survive, but thrive for its employees through constant evolution.
That alone seems to make it an attractive international platform for employees seeking fulfillment, as well as those within the company who are looking for the next challenge.
In the last year alone, Cementation filled six of 14 available positions internally through its Leadership Development Program, while the voluntary turnover and retention rates remains as low as ever, even amidst a down market.
What’s more, in the most recent employee engagement survey, the Cementation employees were satisfied, expressing an all-time high engagement rate of 96 per cent, the most recent improvement in an upward five-year trend.
“Employee engagement is an interesting challenge for most companies: we want everyone to be happy, but it is more important that everyone care about the company and their co-workers,” said Slack. “It comes from open and honest dialogue about where the company is today and where it could be tomorrow and recognition that every employee contributes to the success of the organization,” he added.
Life beyond the workplace
Recognizing the equal commitment that life outside of the workplace requires, the company is helping bridge the gap between the two settings.
In keeping with its health and safety focus, there is also a mindfulness of healthy and active living via on-site fitness facilities, subsidized health club costs, as well as the peace of mind that comes with the company’s more traditional health benefit programs.
Even within the workplace, acknowledgments like weekly birthday notices, anniversary dates and achievement announcements run alongside in-house celebrations and social events for the employees to get to know each other beyond the day-to-day tasks.
The family at home is also a priority, with available services like an Employee and Family Assistance Program, Take Our Kids to Work day and counselling services for childcare and parenting.
Families are also encouraged to get involved with events like their Fall Family Outing, Halloween celebration, employee Christmas children’s party, ice fishing derby, and countless other family-oriented gatherings.
Beyond the extended benefits, bonus packages and other company perks, Cementation’s core values continue to take precedence through their storied success.
“It’s an environment that is supportive, encouraging and collaborative,” said English. “Employees are willing to go above and beyond to help out a peer or to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
“We strive to hire employees whose personal core values are aligned with that of the company,” she concluded. “It’s a powerful formula for success — for both parties.”
