Furthermore, Keystone Environmental also recognized that the prolonged pandemic and isolation were taking a toll on the mental health of their employees. To combat that toll, they implemented an Employee and Family Assistance Program to ensure that employees and their families could get the support they needed throughout the crisis. That program is emblematic of the “holistic approach” that Keystone Environmental takes, where they place as much emphasis on mental and personal well-being as they do professional development. “We care about our staff,” Raminder says, “and not just our staff, but also their extended families. We know we play a big part in their lives. We take that responsibility seriously.” That holistic approach, Raminder reiterates, is a big part of how the company retains people. Equally important, however, is that they identify people they want to retain in the first place. “We’ve put a lot of focus on hiring the right people and making sure the fit is right to begin with,” he says. “We feel like we can train the technical side – it’s more important that we find people who fit our culture.” Part of that culture is diversity. Keystone Environmental employs a large roster of both men and women of diverse backgrounds. Raminder personally knows that hasn’t always been the case in their industry. “When I first started going to networking events, it was not diverse,” he recalls. “But I give a lot of credit to the senior staff here – they are very open and welcoming and really want to promote people based on their abilities. There is no glass ceiling. To me, that’s a big part of what makes us special.” Keystone Environmental hasn’t invested so much in being special just for the sake of their staff. They firmly believe that by having a longstanding and engaged workforce they can provide better solutions to their clients. “It leads to better quality of work,” Mike says. “When you’ve got people who’ve been around for a long time, people who are tried, tested and true, you can find solutions faster and easier.” It also helps, Mike says, when you have an engaged staff that likes working together and knows how to collaborate. That kind of teamwork can result in solutions that wouldn’t be possible in offices where employees worked more separately and independently. Raminder gives an example: there were some major changes to the Ministry guidelines a few years ago, which made for a very stressful time as they had to get reports in by a certain time and date. “We had people working around the clock to make sure we hit those deadlines,” he says. “But what really made me proud was that I saw emails going around of people saying ‘Hey, I’m done my project, does anyone need help?’ That said a lot to me. That showed we have each other’s backs when times are tough.” KEYSTONE ENIVORNMENTAL Keystone Environmental staff are diligent when completing field work.
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