How IPEX keeps its talent pipeline full – and fulfilled

Manpreet Banwait joined the Oakville, Ont.-based pipe manufacturer IPEX Inc. in 2010 on a temporary contract as a production scheduler. The move involved a pay cut for Banwait but, as it turned out, not for long. When the contract expired, he was hired on as a production supervisor, then a full-time scheduler.

His big break came in 2015, after IPEX acquired a company in the United States. Banwait was tasked with helping train the new division’s employees on the company’s way of doing things. Not long after, he was promoted to fabrication master planner, then Mississauga, Ont. plant manager and, just this year, director of manufacturing, fabrication, overseeing five plants in the U.S. and Canada.

Along the way, Banwait benefited from the IPEX Leadership Development Program and Operational Leader Development Program, just two of several internal training streams at the 5,200-employee organization that combine classroom modules, mentorship and stretch assignments designed to develop new skills. Now he finds himself mentoring new recruits and recent business and engineering grads enrolled in the firm’s 36-month New Graduate Development Program, which sees them rotate through both shop floor and corporate office roles.

“People don’t just come here to do a job,” says chief human resources officer Cheryl Stargratt. From the moment new hires come through the door, they are treated as individuals with unique attributes, and IPEX does its level best to nurture their talents, expand their skillsets and optimize their career paths.

“This is an organization that cares about its employees as much as it cares about its customers, and it’s a very customer-intimate organization,” Stargratt says.

Last year, IPEX overhauled its onboarding process, extending hourly operations hires’ training to 90 days. It also maintains a constant dialogue with employees, soliciting their input through “coffee chats” with the CEO and senior executives, culture workshops, surveys and “Happy or not?” questionnaire kiosks at specific sites. To improve employee retention, it conducts not only exit interviews but also “stay interviews” with those marking long tenures.

“We want to understand what the experience is of employees in the organization so we can continue to meet their needs,” Stargratt says.

A year ago, IPEX created iCare, a new social impact program that’s designed to support communities where the company operates and provide engagement opportunities for employees. It sets budgets for supporting local charities, maintains area partnerships, sponsors scholarships both in the community and for children of employees and administers an employee emergency fund that helps workers and their families going through unexpected hardships.

“I’m proud that I’m working here. I can’t think of going anywhere else,” says Banwait. There’s an openness at IPEX, he explains. “From day one, you’re able to bring up ideas. The leaders will listen to you and give you credit back.”

In 2014, a former boss from an earlier employer offered Banwait a job at a new venture, promising he could pick his own title.

“It was hard to say no,” Banwait says, but he did, and he’s glad about his decision. Today, he has direct reports who’ve left and ended up returning to IPEX. He thinks he knows why: “This is a large organization that still has a small-organization heart.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Greater Toronto’s Top Employers winners, published December 3, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.