PCL builds ‘purpose’ into its construction projects

Sarah Kim has been inspired by many aspects of her job at PCL Construction. But when asked what makes the company such a good employer, the first thing she mentions is what PCL has encouraged her to do outside of work.

Among its high-profile projects in Toronto, the construction firm is building a 22-storey educational, training and administrative tower for The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), which is the first phase of the hospital’s campus transformation: Project Horizon. Additionally, PCL has been a major backer of SickKids Foundation’s 'GetLoud' initiative, which encourages supporters to fundraise through activities like running, walking and biking.

For staff like Kim, that has meant getting active and raising money for the hospital while helping support GetLoud events as well.

“They want us to feel connected to the project that we're building,” says Kim, a health, safety and environmental coordinator at PCL’s Patient Support Centre project in Toronto. GetLoud is part of a much larger initiative by PCL’s Toronto

District to encourage its staff to get fulfilment from their jobs by looking beyond the construction site. “They really like us to get involved,” Kim says of her PCL managers. “So this is not just a building for us – it’s an extension of the community.”

That engagement offers some hints as to why Edmonton-based PCL has made the list of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for the 13th consecutive year. Getting “PCLers” involved in the projects they work on and giving back to society are part of the company’s “Purpose,” says Mike Olsson, vice president of human resources and professional development.

PCL staff literally have a stake in their actions at work because, as Olsson points out, 100 per cent of the company’s shares are held by employees. And they can gain satisfaction knowing that the healthcare facilities they are building support essential services for their communities.

“It’s really important that we’re proud of the company we own and work for,” he says.

Another big focus at PCL, which has offices across North America and Australia, is the training and development and leadership programs.

“We build communities, we build infrastructure,” Olsson says, but also, “we build people and we build legacies.”

Kim says she appreciates the personal development opportunities at PCL. She also feels that her managers encourage her to ask questions, are very open to ideas that challenge the norms, and are quick to offer recognition to anyone who excels at their work.

And throughout the pandemic, Kim says, the company has been extremely diligent in ensuring its staff and the entire workforce are as safe as possible. PCL did that at the outset of the pandemic, for instance, by supplying necessary training and equipment – such as additional portable washrooms and hand-washing stations – and by keeping the lines of communication open about its COVID-19 initiatives.

That really resonated with Kim because keeping people safe in all parts of the construction site jibes directly with her own job as a health, safety and environment coordinator.

“It makes me feel great when I know that the procedures are in place, and that people are following them so that they can go home safely at the end of every day,” Kim says.

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top 100 Employers winners, published November 12, 2021 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.

At PCL Construction, the owners are on site

At PCL Construction, the mammoth Edmonton-based international construction firm, they don’t practice typical employer-employee relationships. Company shares are not publicly traded. Instead, the owners are the employees.

Close to 90 per cent of the staff have an ownership stake – and that makes all the difference in the world. Not just in sharing profits through annual dividends, but in attitude.

“We work for ourselves and we care for each other,” says Dan Cettiga, project manager for the Cascade Power Plant, a 900-megawatt project under construction just outside of Edson. “It’s the root of what we are.”

Cettiga adds: “When you work for yourself, you pay attention to all the little things. The senior people listen because you are an owner, and they want you to do well because then everyone does well.”

Indeed, Cettiga says he has received top-notch training opportunities to develop professionally since he joined PCL in 2008. “They put you on a runway and see how far you can fly,” he says. “My managers have always encouraged me to think for myself, to take ownership and keep growing.”

Clearly, that attitude seems to be working. Says Cettiga: “The office walls are covered with 25-year service plaques.”

For his part, Mike Olsson, PCL’s vice president of human resources and professional development, reflects management’s view of the company’s secret sauce. “We are a special place,” he says, “because we build people as well as projects. We want everyone to flourish. We want to ensure our fellow owners are supported in all aspects.”

Those other aspects include a recent increase in health spending for mental health services coverage, with no added expense to employees, as part of the company’s dedication to employee health and safety.

And then there’s the commitment to community, unwavering despite COVID-19. Charitable fundraising continued unabated, matching last year’s total. In Edmonton alone, employees, with a matching amount from the company, raised $2 million for the United Way. “We are committed to the communities we work and live in,” says Cettiga.

Meanwhile, when the pandemic hit, PCL was ahead of the curve in mandating social distancing and face masks on its construction sites while encouraging office staff to work from home. Learning of a mask shortage, PCL donated more than 1,000 from its supplies to provincial health care networks across the country.

Says Cettiga: “It’s all part of who we are. It makes it easy to come to work where the people are honest, transparent and ethical.”

PCL’s youth-friendly style builds careers

Even a decade later, Aravinthan Ahileswaran remembers the exact date: June 15, 2011. Ahileswaran, then a University of Waterloo management-engineering student, was preparing for an on-campus interview for a prized co-op program placement with PCL Construction, the Edmonton-based international construction firm giant. “I’d already had two co-op placements with other companies,” he says, “but I was really pumped for this one.”

Ahileswaran explains: “I had read all about PCL and was super ecstatic about the interview. But when I walked into the room, I was super nervous.”

He needn’t have worried. “The HR people put me at ease right away,” Ahileswaran recalls. “First, we talked about Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals that night. They were very easy to speak with: fun, relaxed and personable. And when I left, I was fairly confident that they would choose me.”

They did, and Ahileswaran also chose to take his next three co-ops with PCL. “The people were amazing,” he says. “Even though I was a student, they treated me as a member of the team. And there was always someone ready to offer a helping hand with a smile.”

When he graduated in 2014, there was a PCL job waiting for him in the Toronto area. He didn’t hesitate. A sense of shared values sealed the deal. “I wanted to work at a place where there was a sense of purpose, as well as opportunities for growth,” says Ahileswaran, now a superintendent on a massive provincial government office retrofit in Toronto.

“Every day on my way to work, I feel proud as I pass by a hospital I helped to build. I know it is benefiting people in need. Everything we do at PCL has a greater significance and purpose.”

Ahileswaran has also had plenty of growth opportunities in the past decade and is currently in PCL’s accelerated superintendent development program, which focuses on fast-tracking development for PCL’s rising stars. Now, he is looking forward to enrolling in its prestigious Leadership Academy to continue his career growth.

Meanwhile, Ahileswaran is proud to be part of the 90 per cent of staff that owns a piece of PCL through its employee-share purchase plan. PCL is 100-per-cent employee owned. “I couldn’t wait to become a shareholder,” Ahileswaran says. “It makes you care a lot more about your work since you own a piece of the pie. It also creates a sense of belonging.”

Mike Olsson, PCL’s vice-president of human resources and professional development, says that’s the idea. “When new hires come aboard,” he says, “they are embraced and supported because when they are successful, everyone benefits.”

While Ahileswaran’s path to PCL was paved by its co-op program, mostly filled by engineering students, Olsson stresses that students from other disciplines also have opportunities to intern at the company. “At any one point in time, nearly 10 per cent of our staff can be students,” he says. “We work with more than 50 post-secondary institutions to fill up to 600 four-month work terms. It speaks to our confidence in young people.”

Clearly, that approach is working. More than half of entry-level hires are former PCL student workers. “The exposure we offer is second to none,” Olsson says. “For a young person, the PCL world’s an oyster.”

These days, Ahileswaran is a mentor to incoming hires. And he returns to Waterloo to sit in on the co-op interviews. “I can imagine what’s going on in their heads, and I do whatever I can to relax them. It’s cool.”