customers. One customer, for example, has been working with the company for 18 years as a representative for three different companies. Another company they did their first job for 15 years ago – Nexstar recently did a repair for them, which led a review of their system, and now they’re considering a total upgrade. Nexstar’s relationships with employees also tend to be longstanding, with some staff having worked with the company for up to 12 years. Bob partly credits that loyalty to the way that Nexstar invests in their staff, and the fact that they go out of their way to provide opportunities for staff to professionally develop. “With our five-year apprentices, I try to find them other electrical work to round out their education,” he says. “We take on some smaller projects not to make big money but to offer training as part of our commitment to educate them.” Relatedly, Bob takes a lot of pride in bringing young people into Nexstar and showing them everything the industry has to offer. “It’s satisfying to bring in a high school student and give them a chance to experience what it is like to be an electrician and talk to experienced staff and help them decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives.” Furthermore, Nexstar invests the same level of attention and care into their relationships with subcontractors and trades. For example, as previously mentioned, they work with locallylicensed engineers and electricians when working outside Ontario. Bob says they vet those partners carefully. “We interview them. We look at their track record and see if they’re doing our type of work and if they are truly interested in doing a good job, not just getting paid.” JULY 2024
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