Imagine waking up on a Monday morning and instead of fearing the dreaded sound of your alarm clock, you are actually excited to begin the week ahead.
A life where you look forward to Mondays as much as your weekends is what employees working for the one of the top 50 best small and medium employers in Canada experience regularly.
Ranked 22nd in the country last year, the Hood Group jumped up 18 spots to land in the fifth spot this year. This is even more impressive when you consider the list has expanded to include 50 companies this year, up from 25 a year ago.
“It is a very good feeling and is a direct credit to all the people who work here,” says Trevor McCallion, president and chief operating officer for the Hood Group.
Founded in 1992, the Sherwood Park-based company currently employs about 70 people — that number helped put the Hood Group on the list for a second year in a row.
Specializing in engineering, construction management and environmental consulting, the Hood Group provides services to support the oil and gas industry in the Edmonton area.
Despite the grim outlook for the economy, the award has provided this company with a silver lining.
“It solidifies in our clients’ minds that we provide quality service and we have quality people,” says McCallion.
Within the company, each employee has the feeling instilled in them as though they are a part of a larger family, not just another faceless member of a large corporation.
“Focus on the people; people are first,” says McCallion.
McCallion credits the positive work environment to the employees, where respect is something that is reciprocated throughout the company.
“There is a real genuine feel for other people to succeed,” says McCallion.
This feeling is felt throughout all levels of the company.
“Everyone is treated like a valuable part of this company,” says Minda Kleockes, who works in accounts receivable for the Hood Group.
Kleockes has been a part of the Hood Group family for more than a year and sees herself becoming a life-long “Hoodlum.”
“I really feel like I am enabled to do a great job,” says Kleockes.
For a company that really understands how to appease their employees, the Hood Group can only set their sights higher for next year’s list.
“It is just really down to earth and respectful (place of work), focusing on what is really important, like our families and then our work,” says Kleockes.
