Manitoba's Top Employers

By Geoff Kirbyson You don't need a high-speed Internet connection to get a feel for Westman Communications Group in southwestern Manitoba, but it'll help. That's because it's hard to go into the nearly 40 communities served by the Brandon-based telecommunications company without seeing its name on a building, sponsoring a curling bonspiel or one of its people presenting high school scholarships. "Westman is a co-operative that believes in its staff but also in its community," said Sonia Cole, Westman's human resources manager. "We have a tremendous team of people who embody innovation, diversity and forward thinking, want to see (western Manitoba) do well and are willing to go above and beyond." Westman has been named one of Manitoba's Top Employers, recognition that will not only make its current employers walk a little taller but should also facilitate bringing new members on board in the future. "It's incredible," she said. "It's testament to our staff and the company for encouraging us to be innovative and forward-thinking and enabling a sense of community," she said. Westman has a diversified business of both old school and new school offerings. On the traditional side, it runs a pair of radio stations, Q Country, which plays — you guessed it — country music, and 94.7 Star FM, which spins adult contemporary tunes. As a cable operator, it offers landline phones for residential and business markets, digital television and it's also an Internet service provider. When Westman was established in 1977, its original line of business was cable television to the city of Brandon. It didn't take long to start spreading its reach, though. The very next year, it brought cable TV to Carberry, and it's been expanding ever since. Today, the company's footprint extends to the Swan River area in the north, to Killarney and Boissevain in the south, Virden to the west and Carberry to the east. It has 140 employees, 110 of whom work for the Internet provider side with the remaining 30 at the two radio stations. Westman also has one of the more diversified ownership structures you'll find. As a co-operative, its customers earn equity in the business which can be cashed in if they move out of the service area. "We still have an executive leadership team with a CEO (David Baxter) and a board of directors," Cole is quick to note. "When you're operating in a community, you have community input, you're employing local individuals and you're more in touch with customers," she said. The company does its best to stay in touch with its own people, too. For example, Westman encourages its employees to lead healthy lifestyles and it's willing to put its money where its mouth is. It has an extensive list of items and activities, such as gym memberships, kids' hockey fees, swimming passes, green fees and fitness equipment such as treadmills, stationary bikes and weights, that it will reimburse up to $250 per employee per year. "It's important in this day and age when we're more sedentary to have a program that helps us to be more active and allows our children to go into sports. That's truly a family-oriented benefit," she said. Some staff members even developed a software program that enabled their coworkers to log their steps taken over the course of the day or kilometres cycled during a workout. Westman has a culture of perpetual skill development so it has internal experts who train new staff in their specialty areas and it also encourages team members to attend conferences and other education-driven events. "We want them to be forward-thinking and to look at where they want to go in the future. We have lots of internal promotions because they see there are opportunities to grow within the company," Cole said. Indeed, there are more than a few people who have been with the company since its inception. Volunteerism runs throughout the company with the annual United Way and Dreams for Kids campaigns among the most popular, as well as Big Brothers and Big Sisters. "We try to give back to as many organizations and charities as we can. For example, we provide free Wi-Fi services in Dauphin's Recreation Complex," she said. WESTMAN COMMUNICATIONS GROUP'S TEAM EMBODIES INNOVATION, DIVERSITY AND FORWARD THINKING. SUBMITTED PHOTO WESTMAN COMMUNICATIONS GROUP: INNOVATIVE & FORWARD-THINKING 26 Proud to be one of Manitoba's Top 30 Employers Supporting the community we serve is an important part of who we are. If you'd like to join our team, visit westmancom.com/careers Celebrating Westman has a culture of perpetual skill development so it has internal experts who train new staff in their specialty areas and it also encourages team members to attend conferences and other education-driven events.

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