Manitoba's Top Employers

12 Proud to be recognized as one of top 30 employers Grannys.ca Proud to be recognized as one of Manitoba's Manitoba's top 30 employers Fm ned, family usted. WPG-Top30Employers-Banner.indd 1 11/14/2017 3:58:08 PM It's a truism in the business world: a happy employee is a productive employee. That's a thought that the management team at Granny's Poultry keeps top of mind, says Granny's CEO Craig Evans. "At Granny's, we focus on the individual and try to operate like a family. With 625 employees, we do our best to understand and meet their needs," Evans says. Simply put, each employee has their own story and is dealing with a different set of circumstances. Consequently, it's incumbent upon an employer to be flexible in meeting the disparate needs of their employees. "If you're not flexible, people will leave," Evans says. "With that in mind, we start by doing our best to accommodate our employees' different schedules with flexible hours and flexible shifts. Some employees have kids they have to ferry around, while others have parents they need to take care of. We're sensitive to those needs." It's an approach that's worked well. "Certainly, it's a bit harder to manage, but our employees appreciate that we do whatever we can to help them plan their work schedule around their unique circumstances," Evans adds. At the same time, the management team also takes time to listen to their employees. That approach paid off big time in improving workplace safety. "We have a very diverse workforce – a lot of different ethnicities comprise our staff," Evans notes. "To provide better workplace safety, several members of our staff suggested using pictorial books to make safety training more efficient and easy to understand." Turns out, the idea worked like a charm. "This was just one idea and prior to our focus on employee health and safety, we spent $7.60 for every $100 of payroll in workers compensation premiums. Now, we spend just 78 cents per $100 of payroll. Overall, we've realized a savings of $2.4 million." Evans adds that Granny's management team also regularly goes out of their way to show their appreciation for employees. "For example, we introduced flexible benefits – employees can pick the benefits they want, and what works best for them," he says. "We also regularly hand out employee recognition awards for achievements such as long service and perfect attendance." The show of appreciation doesn't end there. "We also try to do other little things like having regular lunches for employees or serving ice cream and cookies. We try to delight and surprise our employees to let them know how much we appreciate them." In short, Granny's management team believes strongly in investing in their workforce – both with time, and money. "When you spend time and money investing in your employees, it comes back to you in spades," Evans says. "That investment translates into continuity. The way we see it, if you're always training new people, you lose corporate memory and business efficiency. When employees are happy and engaged, they stay on longer. That allows for skills – and corporate culture – to be passed on to new employees." Evans adds that employees also appreciate being encouraged to volunteer. "We encourage our staff to volunteer, even during work time. We fully support their involvement, and even pay them to volunteer at places like CancerCare Manitoba and Siloam Mission. Right now, we're involved with the United Way's Koats for Kids program. Our staff is very engaged in volunteering year-round." Add in initiatives such as regular employee surveys – they're conducted every two years – and the result is a thriving company with low turnover, high productivity and a high level of employee satisfaction. "Our last employee survey revealed that 92 per cent of our employees felt valued and were proud to work at Granny's," Evans says. "We always want people's thoughts and ideas on how we can make our workplace better. There's a saying: 'Ignore employees at your own peril.' We value them and believe that if we can make their life better, they're going to make our company better." GRANNY'S POULTRY FOCUSED ON THE NEEDS OF EMPLOYEES BY TODD LEWYS

• Cover