Canada's Top 100 Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 54
54
( 2025 )
SPONSOR CONTENT
Saputo’s supportive culture keeps employees growing
W
hen Catherine Tokarz
looks back at her 21
years of working at
Saputo, the thing that
stands out is the supportive culture
at the Montréal-based manufacturer
of cheese and dairy products.
“I’m the type of person who has
to be aligned with the values of the
people running the organization,
and it’s always been such a good fit,”
says Tokarz, Saputo’s senior vicepresident of governmental affairs.
“They set you up in a situation where
you can thrive and then give you the
tools you need to get to where you
want to take your career. And they
value you.”
Tokarz is far from the only employee with more than a decade of
service. “We have recognition events
where you’ll have some newbies
who’ve been here five or 10 years and
then the 35- and 40-year people,” she
says. “It’s incredible.
“They set you up in a situation
where you can thrive and then
give you the tools you need to
get to where you want to take
your career.”
— Catherine Tokarz
Senior Vice-President
Governmental Affairs
When I walk into our boardroom
for a meeting, I say ‘Hello family,’
because I’ve known many of them
for as long as I’ve been here.”
Gabriel Safi, manager of a Saputo
plant near Québec City, is considered
a newbie, having only been at the
company for eight years, but he
echoes that sentiment.
“I started as an intern at 20,” he
says. “Some people I graduated with
have been hopping around companies, but I fell in love with Saputo
from the start. I couldn’t believe the
way everyone talked to everyone,
whether CEO or intern. I really never
felt that hierarchy, and that’s why I
stuck around.”
Safi always felt that his contributions were valued. “From the
start I was given impactful work,
even as a student,” he says. “It was
a very exciting internship. I had the
chance to make a difference. I was
always given opportunities to grow,
and that’s something I appreciate
tremendously.”
Safi took advantage of both informal and formal leadership training
as he moved through several departments to his current role.
“I’ve been paired with leaders to
meet monthly and discuss my
challenges,” he says. “When I
became a plant manager, they gave
me a mentor who’d been a plant
manager for many years, and that
made a big difference. There was
also formal training with colleagues
across the company, so I got to interact with different teams. And when I
wanted to do my MBA, they encouraged me. I felt supported throughout,
and that creates the sort of comfort I
don’t think I’d find elsewhere.”
Tokarz points to flexible hours,
mental health and wellness programs, and increased vacation time
as other positives, but she says
the best part of her job is helping employees plan their career
development.
“We’re trying to get everyone out
of silos, because we’re better if people can connect and understand each
Saputo encourages employees to take advantage of the
organization’s robust formal and informal training programs.
other,” she says. “My role is to get
my team members to the level they
want to get to and champion them to
other leaders, and we’re all like that.
I don’t know a lot of companies that
do that. I do some fun things in my
role, but the most fun is developing
people.”
It all comes down to a culture
where everyone listens to each other.
$
2,000
mental health practitioner benefit
“When I started, I knew nothing
about the business,” Tokarz says.
“But it’s a kind of management
style where if you’re in the room
and you’ve got something to say,
your voice is just as important as
the CEO’s, and I like that. I’ve never
felt like I couldn’t say my piece; in
fact I was rewarded for it. It’s a very
open-minded kind of culture.” ¢
staff volunteer hours last year
OUR BEST IS MADE
OF YOURS
Join us in making meaningful contributions!
saputo.com/careers
1,982
