Manitoba's Top Employers

26 MANITOBA'S TOP 25 EMPLOYERS 2014 StandardAero Culture of continuous improvement helps StandardAero staff move forward By Todd Lewys For the Free Press In business, the line between success and failure can be a fine one. While it's great to offer a comprehensive employee benefits package – that's often what catches prospective employees' attention and gets them in the door – it's often the little intangibles that provide employees with the satisfaction that prompts them to stay with a company for 10 to 15 years, or more. Suffice it to say, those little intangibles – such as creating a family atmosphere where there's little or no sense of hierarchy – are why StandardAero has a history of long-term employees. Which is why StandardAero is being recognized one of Manitoba's top 25 employers. "First and foremost, I would say we have a true family orientation here," said Stacey McLeish, StandardAero's vice-president of human resources. "It's very important to us to make sure both employees and their families understand their efforts are appreciated." At StandardAero, employees are viewed as people who have varying needs. From the beginning, the west Winnipeg company realized that if those needs – such as leisure pursuits, holidays and the desire to work in a collaborative work atmosphere – weren't met, their workforce would likely not enjoy the productivity and results for which they are known. "We strive to create a culture of continuous improvement at StandardAero – that means thinking outside the box, and encouraging employees to constantly move forward," said McLeish. "As a company, we believe we have to be continuously looking for ways to make our employees' worklife balance the best it can be." To that end, StandardAero goes out of its way to support its employees' interests. After work activities include a 12team hockey league in addition to basketball, volleyball, curling and softball teams. There's also a StandardAero photo club, and a comprehensive wellness program. Employees are also encouraged to support the Winnipeg community by participating in events such as Dragon Boat races, the of our organization continue to develop technically and Cancer Walk, MS Cycle team and home building with Habitat professionally," she said. "We always feel there's room for for Humanity. growth. Encouraging our employees to better themselves Further to those outlets, employees can also socialize at is definitely a win-win situation for the individual as well as company functions such as a StandardAero picnic at Fun the company." Mountain, StandardAero day and the company's annual Last but not least, StandardAero also strives to provide its Christmas party, a two-pronged affair that draws about employees with a safe workplace. 2,000 people to the convention centre (for the adults) and "Health and safety is a very important aspect in the a children's Christmas party that usually draws over 1,000 workplace here," said Alex Yoong, former vice-president people to the event. of human resources, who now acts as a human resources Finally, there's another event unique to StandardAero, a consultant. "We do everything we can to train our employees Christmastime event called "Turkey Day," where company to prevent accidents; our WCB (Workers Compensation executives hand out turkeys to employees. Board) rates are about one-tenth of the industry rate. We're "It's just another way for us to say thanks to our employees very serious about taking care of our employees in every for all their efforts," she added. way possible." "We like to say we have an open door policy within the organization. For example, engineering, customer service teams and material teams are located in the cells to facilitate quick solutions, and the workplace features an openconcept atmosphere where the environment is designed to encourage interaction," McLeish said. "At StandardAero, we strive to create an atmosphere that's defined by teamwork. That allows us to continuously improve, and to find solutions to problems that much quicker." The culture of continuous improvement is fostered further by encouraging employees to continually sharpen their skills. Generous tuition subsidies and a variety of in-house and online training programs are always available for employees to develop their technical and professional skills – a must in such a technology-driven industry. "Because we specialize in offering our From left, Rick Skrumeda, Greg Skrumeda, Jeff Skrumeda and customers customized solutions, and Mitch Skrumeda - family members working at StandardAero. quality is so important in our industry, Photo by Darcy Finley it's crucial that individuals in every area

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