Taking care of the family is part of the C3 way

There’s more than one reason why 24-year-old C3 Solutions Inc. has such a long-term work force, says customer care department lead Nataly Silva. More than a fifth of its employees have already celebrated their 20th anniversaries at the firm. Why?

Challenging work with good pay and benefits – such as flexible schedules, ongoing employee development and tuition subsidies – is one part. Another is the fact that “my ideas and opinions are always heard,” Silva says. “I am consulted over anything related to my role, and they take into consideration what you think. They actually make you participate in making decisions, unlike other places I’ve worked. I feel important at C3.”

More significant yet, though, is the alignment Silva feels between herself, her co-workers and C3. “I have a very good relationship with everyone here, something that comes directly from the hiring process – because they make sure that the people who come to work with us are the right fit – and the onboarding, when I spent time with everybody in all the departments,” she says. “I enjoy my job, but also, you are there for the company because they’re there for you too. That’s why I think people chose C3 and why they stay.”

Those are all reasons the Montréal-based yard management and dock scheduling software company is a Top Employer, agrees C3 president Élise Crevier. Take recruitment: “We have hiring consultants who really know our DNA, who know how to select candidates for us,” Crevier says. “The process verifies all kinds of qualifications – knowledge, capacities, values – but fit is just as crucial as qualification in our hiring decisions.

“I was recently in a recruiting meeting for an important position, and we decided to have dinner with the candidate,” says Crevier. “We wanted to see how they were in a social setting, how they acted with the wait staff and so on, just having the hiring process be as complete as possible.”

Once a new recruit joins C3, says Silva, the family-like ties solidify. “When I had a serious health problem, C3′s accommodation was amazing,” the six-year employee says. “I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to do my job like I used to or was expected to. But their response was, ‘You don’t have to worry about that, right now this is about C3 taking care of you.’ And that felt good. I never heard that before – taking care of you like a member of the family. That’s what they were telling me.”

“We have a head of employee experience and company culture who will come to me and say, ‘Oh, I’m not sure this person is doing well these days, what can we do to help?’” Crevier says. “We recognize that someone could perform less when they’re going through a difficult phase in their life, but that’s normal and it’s okay – we’re there for them and for the long run.”

For all the company offers in other areas, Crevier believes the family ethos is crucial to C3′s success, and has been since its 2000 founding. “In the past two years, when almost all companies confronted difficulties in terms of recruiting and retention,” she says, “it seemed everyone was talking about being a family, about taking care of their people, and perhaps adding a few perks. It felt off to me.

“You can’t fake family just because you need people to stay or you need more employees. You have to have it from the start, in your core values.”

Source : The Globe and Mail