BUSINESS MEMBER PROFILE
Strengthening the workforce at
Sargent Farms By Lois Harris
M
aintaining strong lines of communication, making sure employees are well-trained, and rewarding them are some of the ingredients in Sargent Farms success in retaining a productive workforce. “We practise management by walking around – we actually go onto the (production) floor and talk daily with employees,” says Mike McLauchlan, the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer. “We want to break down the barriers and have our team feel they are considered an equal.” McLauchlan says he champions the value of teamwork and adds that it helps that early in his career, he worked on a production line and can appreciate the work performed by the front line production team. Sargent Farms – a long-time member of Meat and Poultry Ontario – is an Ontario-based poultry processing business that employs close to 300 people. There’s a primary processing facility in Milton and a further processing facility in Mississauga that produces boneless and sized products. There’s also retail outlets in the two cities. The company’s workforce is very diverse, with five different languages being spoken. When they have town hall meetings for important announcements before the shift starts, they make sure any materials are translated into those languages. They also bring in interpreters because they want to ensure that everyone is fully engaged and aware of the information being conveyed.
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BlockTalk - Winter 2021
McLauchlan says that having that diversity also means understanding and appreciating cultural differences and educating the rest of the workforce about them. “One of our recent strategies is that we formed an employee engagement committee where we have people from the different parts of the production floor and management get together regularly to discuss how we can continuously improve our workplace culture,” says CEO Kevin Thompson. The committee is just the latest in a series of programs that have been implemented for employees. As part of a retention program, employees are rewarded with a loyalty program where each receive an increase in their hourly pay as they gain tenure. Employees also receive a monetary gift and personalized plaque at the 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th anniversaries of employment. There’s also a weekly attendance bonus for employees who work all their assigned hours in any given week. A new-hire referral program rewards current employees for recruiting friends, acquaintances or family members. The referring employee receives extra compensation after three months and after six months of the new hire’s tenure.
www.meatpoultryon.ca
