UFA Co-operative encourages employees to develop their professional skills through collaborative crop protection consultations.Supplied
What’s a city girl doing working in a role supporting farmers and ranchers? As it turns out, quite a lot. Geeta Kilari is a business intelligence analyst at UFA Co-operative Limited, a Calgary-based, member-owned co-operative that supports agricultural producers, commercial customers and related rural businesses in Western Canada. She joined as a summer co-op placement in 2023 and continued working part-time before taking on a full-time position last year.
“My current job is a little different from my university major,” she says. With a master’s degree in epidemiology, Kilari specialized in analyzing health data. But her expertise in statistics has proven to be an asset at UFA.
“We provide reports and data for everyone in the organization, from the C-suite to the farm stores, vendors and to our customers through our mobile app,” she says.
Kilari and her team produce reports ranging from supply chain metrics and performance indicators to product information and other data collected from UFA’s farm and ranch supply stores and petroleum agencies, which may even include who has access to the washrooms, she notes.
She credits the company’s emphasis on knowledge transfer with making the transition of applying her statistical skills to a business context. “My manager and my team did a great job of showing me the ropes. I felt really supported, and there were a lot of resources for me to lean on.”
UFA Co-operative has a strong culture of investing in its employees. “For me, it begins with actually caring about people,” says president and CEO Fred Thun. “Every organization can have an employee recognition program but there is a point when employees realize whether they’re just a part of a cog, or whether they really matter as people.”
Work-life success is a pillar of UFA’s culture and is supported for applicable roles with hybrid work options and generous time-off policies. “One of the things that really caught my eye was the remote aspect because, once COVID hit, I did my post-secondary education online,” says Kilari. “Being able to log off at the end of the workday and not have to face a commute is super helpful.”
Moreover, she adds, “management also encourages all employees to take advantage of their paid time off. It’s great to have an extra day to run errands or have some downtime.”
Thun acknowledges the highly- competitive environment for talent in agriculture and energy. “People will always be able to go somewhere else and make a bit more,” he says. As a leader, he believes in investing in developing people by creating career paths and personal development.
“We pay competitively but we try to match the financial offer with the opportunity to make a difference in the community and, at the same time, fulfill personal ambitions. We tell our employees, ‘Find a way to be successful at work and in your personal life.’ It’s a two-way street.”
What advice would he give a young person starting their career? “Number one, you’ve got to look for a place where you fit the culture. Understand yourself. Two, don’t be afraid to fail and re-evaluate along your career journey. One of the most valuable things you can do early in your career is to figure out what energizes you and what doesn’t. You’re in charge of your own development, and sometimes that means shaping a role that reflects your values and strengths and gives you purpose,” Thun says.
“Third, build capabilities that are attractive to an employer, drawing from past work experience and academic credentials, or say yes to hands-on learning opportunities and embrace challenges beyond your comfort zone.”
Good advice whether you’re urban or rural.
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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.