a roster of dedicated employees, subcontractors, and suppliers – and Joe believes that also sets them apart. He says when the company needs something expedited, they can count on their team members at all levels to go the extra mile to make it happen. “I think what sets us apart is our proven history and our team,” Joe says. “It’s the people we partner with and the way we interact with those people. We work together, we’re transparent and upfront, and we do what it takes to get things done.” When it comes to suppliers, in particular, Joe says their relationships are “extremely important.” “If you don’t have close partnerships with your suppliers, you aren’t going to get anything done,” he says. “So yes, we definitely very much value our relationships. We value our suppliers and what they bring to the table. Everyone we work with takes pride in what they do – that’s what we look for, that’s why we like working with them.” Some of Slimdor’s relationships with suppliers go back all the way to the company’s beginning, Joe says, and the majority go back at least 10 years. He personally first started working at Slimdor Contracting in 2004, and he says that many of the relationships the company they worked with when he first started, they still work with today. The company similarly values their relationships internally, with their direct staff members. Depending on their workload, the employee count can fluctuate somewhat – during the peak portion of their season, they can get up to around 60-to85 people, but they might slim down to around 25 people when things are slower – but of their core men and women, Joe says they have relationships that go back decades. A perfect example is Roger Gautreau, who started as an underground utility foreman and worked his way up to superintendent and then operations manager. Eventually in 2009, Roger even became part of the ownership group. Joe himself is another example. He started in 2004 as an estimator/project manager, left the company in 2009 for a bigger role with another company, but returned in May 2014 as general manager and has been there ever since. Since Joe’s been been back, he’s worked hard to earn loyalty among their people in the field. The key to that, he believes, is treating them like individuals and giving them room to grow. “We’re a smaller company, relatively,” he says. “Our culture is more like a family culture than a corporate culture. Everyone knows everyone’s name. You’re not a number in our company.” “And we try to make sure to develop people within the company,” he adds. “We want them to have the opportunity to grow and become better at whatever it is they want to do. That’s very important to us. I believe that’s what will keep people around.” THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTYzNTg=