Wardrop engineering: engineering employee development with Wardrop.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: BEST PLACES TO WORK IN NORTHERN ONTARIO - Company overview

When Wardrop Engineering Inc.'s vice-president of human resources James Popel says that Northern Ontario personnel are key to the international firm, he's not just blowing smoke.

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The company's current president, Brent Thompson, emerged from the Thunder Bay office alongside the head of the company's infrastructure division and the head of the product development group.

"Northern Ontario is an important place for Wardrop," says Popel.

"We've been there for 40 years, and it's a great resource for strongly skilled and experienced people. Thunder Bay in particular is one of the prime development offices for executives and managers."

These individuals also serve as a solid example of how the company is structured to allow for chances to climb the corporate ladder for the many employees spread across its offices throughout Canada, the United States, China, India and the United Kingdom.

Growth has been the name of the game for the Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Wardrop in recent years. In less than a decade, the company has gone from 200 employees to more than 1,200.

Wardrop's Sudbury and Thunder Bay offices have a combined 170 employees, with the latter office being "the largest it's ever been" due to a combination of great local skill sets and abundant global opportunities.

To keep the ever-growing workforce interested and engaged, various internal programs have been put in place.

For instance, a company-wide belief in helping to provide the proper formative training to its staff has led to the creation of a professional development program. This teaches staff the skills necessary to become consultants, and how to deal directly with clients.

"Our company is filled with smart technical folks, but most have never been taught how to do these things," says Popel. "We're moulding skills to help them become full-fledged professionals."

Similarly, a leadership development program has been put into place not only for managers and supervisors, but anyone who might fit into the category of a leader. This three-and-a-half-month program provides extensive training for 24 people at a time, including one-on-one coaching from external professionals.

Response to such initiatives has been good, as hiring rates are high and turnover is low.

Wardrop has consistently seen accolades for its ongoing efforts for its employees. The company has been declared one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for the eighth time by Mediacorp Canada Inc., making the list...