Manitoba's Top Employers

8 MANITOBA'S TOP 25 EMPLOYERS 2014 MONSANTO CANADA INC. Employees are leaders at Monsanto Canada Inc. By Jennifer McFee For the Free Press Monsanto Canada Inc. knows how to treat people right. The agricultural company not only provides products and services to farmers, it also aims to create a dynamic culture internally in an environment where people want to work and learn. With a strong focus on leadership, the company encourages ongoing involvement in the workplace at all levels and this is a key reason they have become a top employer in Manitoba and in Canada. "We treat all our employees as leaders. That's why we have a high level of engagement," said spokesperson, Trish Jordan, public and industry affairs director. "It's added responsibility for the employee but research shows that engaged employees stay and give that extra effort. That's important to our business and it is what drives our success as a company." Jordan also points to a strong focus on working in teams and providing leadership opportunities and different work experiences as something that Monsanto employees really enjoy. "Our people actually like working together and being exposed to new experiences outside of their day-to-day work responsibilities," said Jordan. "We support and encourage our employees to develop their own personal development goals and then build plans to achieve them. We work hard, but we also have a very strong commitment to worklife balance." Monsanto is supportive of education, which ties to its development culture, and they offer a wide-variety of career planning and internal training and skills development Employees from Monsanto. Photo by Darcy Finley courses for employees, as well as more formal, external educational opportunities. As an example, Jordan points to the investments Monsanto makes in ongoing employee education through tuition subsidies for courses taken at a college or a university up to $10,000. With 273 full-time employees in Canada, Monsanto also provides competitive salaries and pension plans, and it continues to earn recognition for its health and family-friendly benefits. On the benefits side of the equation, Monsanto offers maternity/parental leave and adoption leave top-up payments to employees at 90 per cent of salary for up to 26 weeks, as well as subsidies for fertility drugs for people who are trying to conceive. The company also provides the added convenience of flexible work arrangements. "We will work with employees on an indi- improving on the hours that our employee has put in. It really comes as a gift from that employee to their charity." Thanks to its attractive benefits and engaging environment, Monsanto Canada is able to recruit the best and brightest team of workers. "Agriculture is a very growing, dynamic, innovative industry and I think employees are really inspired by our mission and our vision, which is to help farmers with solutions to meet the challenges they face on their farm, including trying to help farmers in their goal to feed the 9 billion plus people who will be on this planet by the year 2050," said Jordan. "Working collectively together to do that is inspiring." While maintaining a continued commitment to its vidual basis," Jorstaff, Monsanto Canada dan said. "We try Inc. appreciates the recand help them if ognition of being named they need support a top-25 employer year or they need to work after year. in a different way. It's "We stress to our emnot always a 9 a.m. ployees that they're the to 5 p.m. scenario." ones who are really helping Charitable work to create our positive work and a commitment atmosphere here. And it's to improving lives is nice that the company is another important also able to provide some aspect of Monsan- An employee at Monsanto works in of the more flexible work to's commitment to a green house. options and benefits. Not the community and Photo by Darcy Finley every company has these to its workforce. sorts of programs in place," Jordan said. "We "Not only do we support charities from a can support our employees and help them corporate perspective, but if employees want reach their goals at the same time that we're to volunteer at a charity of their choice, they trying to meet the goals of our farm customcan apply for grants," Jordan said. "A chariers, our shareholders, and society at large." table donation is given to that charity based agriculture improving lives By improving agriculture, we can improve lives. In the hands of farmers, better seeds can help meet the needs of our rapidly growing population. And they can help farmers do so while protecting the earth's natural resources. That's why we're working with farmers and partners worldwide to make agriculture truly sustainable. To get more from each acre, each raindrop and each seed. And to improve the most valuable resource of all: people's lives. Monsanto and Vine Design® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology LLC. ©2013 Monsanto Company. Producing More • Conserving More • Improving Lives

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