BC Diamond Drilling Company Makes “Best Workplaces In Canada” List
The Great Place to Work Institute of Canada’s Top 75 “Best Places to Work” list always contains a wide variety of companies but rarely has a “diamond drilling company” made the list.
In past years, banks, insurance companies, and other finance-related institutions have dominated the Top 75 but this year, Hy-Tech Drilling of Smithers, B. C, not only made the list, it also came in at the very respectable 32nd spot.
Results of this year’s national survey of good workplaces were recently published in The Globe and Mail and Hy-Tech Drilling was included because the competition process is based on two criteria: results of an employee survey and an audit of the company’s culture. With those results, they measure credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie.
Harvey Tremblay, President of Hy- Tech Drilling, said “Getting on the list of best places to work wasn’t really the goal of this, but retention is a huge return on investment and being 32nd shows how our employees feel about working for Hy-Tech Drilling.”
“When I started Hy-Tech in 1991, we focused on improving our drills as a way to develop a competitive advantage. Then I began to realize that a successful business is based on people, not just tools. It was like a light bulb going on. I realized our biggest asset as a successful drilling contractor was our employees.”
So, the company set about developing a culture that reflects that realization. Tremblay says in what is traditionally a seasonal industry, they worked to make Hy-Tech a 12-month workplace, providing employees with the security they wanted.
The company pursued a mixture of markets to keep its employees working year round -British Columbia in summer, northern Saskatchewan and northern Ontario in winter, and Portugal as an all-season alternative.
Mike Campbell, a driller helper on one of the Hy-Tech’s many drill teams, says “I like the stability. You know management is planning five to 10 years down the road, so you know you’ll be working 12 months a year and there is a long-term future. The money and the benefits are good, and you feel like you’re looked after and appreciated.”
Comments
Cody spitters
Sounds like an amazing company to work for