Because of the shortage, some companies compete with ingenuity and don’t hesitate to untie the purse strings to attract and retain workers. Among its initiatives, SME Flexpipe purchased a house in Costa Rica that its employees can use for vacations, telecommuting, or both. Julian Depelto, president of the Farnham manufacturer, explains what inspired this choice.
Posted at 12:00 PM.
In the middle of a pandemic, when the company’s operations were slowing down, Julian Depelto decided to strike a blow: he bought a beautiful little house in a quiet village three minutes from the beach. Fishermen in Costa Rica. His goal: to allow his troops to stay in this Central American paradise for a week, two, or even a few weeks.
“Undoubtedly, this is a taxable benefit,” explains the young entrepreneur. The person who moves there is taxed on the value of that benefit. In other words, it will be included in his salary at the end of the year. I am following the tax rules for more than a certain amount of benefits. »
Six people (mostly office workers) already enjoy a home in the “Pura Vida” land. Six other members have reserved their place, including the marketing manager, who will soon be there for three weeks. “The majority of people go there to pick up, but they all do a little work on the spot,” explains Julian Depelto.
For those who don’t “talk” this initiative, the founder and his business partner Sylvain Lezor set up other material benefits: table tennis (friendly tournaments are organized), arcade games (Pacman And Street Fighter(not naming them), board games etc.
But beyond these “material” interests, Julian Depelto also wanted to establish a “corporate culture based on friendliness, transparency and excellence.” In other words, he wants his employees to be appreciated.
Photo courtesy of Flexpipe
Julian Depelto, President and Co-Founder of Flexpipe and TinkTube
Every two weeks, we stop operations and have everyone participate in a stock-taking meeting. Appreciated the outstanding employees. We present our customers, our statistics. We explain whether we are ahead in our margins, our revenues, our statistics. People love to be told at the right time.
Julian Depelto, President and Co-Founder of Flexpipe and TinkTube
The founder explained that this desire to take better care of his team dates back three years. “Earlier, I was looking less to compete with big manufacturing companies in the region. Today, I have no choice because of labor shortage. »
Group insurance, which is being reviewed as more personalized and costs more for the SME in terms of home benefits in Costa Rica. It doesn’t matter, because it allows Flexpipe to deal with exits and attract new employees.
“We have just filled four positions, one of which was suggested by our employee. The other three applied because they thought we were a human-level company”, boasted the SME’s boss.
Struggling to survey its troops every quarter, the company hopes to soon create a collective RRSP, but also increase its presence in the charitable sector. “Our employees ask us to get more involved in local causes. That speaks to them. We have to listen to them. »
Flexpipe is a manufacturer of modular handling systems. It markets tubes and connectors for building commercial and industrial shelves like a giant mechano game.
A new division (Tinktube) has recently been created to make this system available to the residential sector, where there are many possibilities (furniture, shelving, horticultural stakes, etc.). SME sells 70% of its production in the United States, 25% in Canada, and 5% in the rest of the world (from Cambodia to Mexico).
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