Patlon Aircraft & Industries celebrates teamwork and encourages employees to explore different career paths within the company.Supplied
If you want to learn how to create employee loyalty, look no further than Patlon Aircraft & Industries Ltd. in Halton Hills, just west of Toronto.
Managers and employees alike sing the praises of how Patlon makes its 41 employees feel special and included to the point that it’s hard to think of leaving. The company offers products and solutions to military, aerospace and commercial operations across Canada.
“Since I first stepped into the building, I’ve been given every support that I need to succeed and be a success in my role,” says Oyifien Francis, director of quality assurance and continuous improvement, who describes his role as making sure employees are meeting customer needs.
“In a nutshell, I’m like the police that no one wants to see,” he jokes.
Before he joined Patlon as a manager in 2022, Francis worked in three previous roles in Canada, but he says there is no comparison. “I’ve been given a free hand. I’ve been given support. I’ve been given whatever I need to succeed in this role,” he says.
“It’s just the trust they have in you, letting you know that whatever you’re doing is valuable to the success of the business. That means a lot to me.”
Indeed, he adds, “If I won a million-dollar lottery, they would see me the next day at work. I love what I do.”
Samantha Arundell, an inside sales coordinator at the company, feels the same way.
She says she started in an entry-level position on the commercial buy and sell side of the job, and when the person doing the government contract that she now takes care of left, the chief operating officer, Jenn Gebel, asked for someone to help.
“I thought, ‘I have a little bit of time. I can try and help,’ and it went from there,” says Arundell. “When you have a really good boss, it’s easy to want to help your boss to make things better. Our management team is phenomenal.”
It often seems the entire company is focused on making people feel appreciated for their contributions in big and small ways.
First, all employees — not just those in the management stream — are eligible for annual bonuses.
But it’s also the little things the company does that make both Francis and Arundell feel like a part of a great team.
“Every three months, we do a birthday celebration,” says Arundell. “We have cake and gift cards for all the birthday people.”
She also appreciates that spouses and significant others or relatives are invited to join the company’s special events, such as Blue Jays and Raptor games, Christmas parties, and even axe throwing, billiards and bowling nights.
Those events do double duty, says Francis. They show employees appreciation for the job they are doing. “And they’re bonding us together as a team.”
He also appreciates that management listens to everyone in the company. “An organization is like a machine or a vehicle. If one part isn’t functioning properly, it affects the other parts as well,” he says. “So top management understands that, and they’re doing everything in their means to ensure that the voice of everyone within the organization is being heard.”
Arundell says it’s difficult to sum up the feelings that the management style evokes in employees. “Yes, we’re a company, but we’re human,” she says. “They just really care about their staff and rewarding us."
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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.