The People Bank
It takes just minutes in the company of Gail Pierre-Jérôme to get caught up in her enthusiasm for Nova Scotia.
It was her passion for the province, in fact, that led her in January 2006 to contact the CEO of The People Bank – a national staffing and recruiting firm – and suggest opening branches in Eastern Canada.
Today, Pierre-Jérôme is the Eastern Canadian regional director for The People Bank, responsible for operations in Halifax, Montreal and Ottawa. The People Bank is a division of Design Group Staffing Inc., which Pierre-Jérôme defines as Canada’s “largest and most profitable independently-owned company in our industry.” The company has also attained platinum status for repeatedly making the list of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies.
The Halifax branch of The People Bank opened in July 2006 and makes more than 1,000 placements a year. “We work with firms in all sectors to find top talent – whether it’s on a temporary basis for a week, a maternity leave or a long-term placement,” Pierre-Jérôme says. “They call us, and we can find the right person because we have a database of over 400,000 people right across Canada.”
The People Bank fills contract, temporary and full-time positions and covers areas including finance and accounting, hospitality, legal, healthcare, administrative, executive search, manufacturing, construction, and other skills and trades. In Halifax, information technology and engineering staffing is handled by sister divisions INTEQNA and DG Technical.
“We specialize in people, and providing the right person for the organization,” Pierre-Jérôme says. “Our model is that we work very closely with the companies to understand the culture of the organization. We understand their environment and from there we provide them with the perfect match. So the personal contact, that one-on-one, is very important for us.”
Building a relationship with job seekers is also key. “Our process is to make sure that everyone feels comfortable, everyone feels welcomed, that they’re not treated like a number and that we really work for them.”
In addition to a full range of recruitment services, the firm offers human resources consulting in such areas as health and safety, repatriation and retention.
Retaining employees in Atlantic Canada was a key thrust of the innovative program developed by the Halifax branch of The People Bank. The “Keep it Atlantic Jobboom Road Show” brought employers and job seekers together at 13 career fairs throughout the region. At the 2007 Atlantic Canada Human Resources Awards, Pierre-Jérôme received the Innovation in Human Resources award for the program.
“It’s a good example of innovation, but it’s innovation with a purpose,” she says. “It’s not creative for just being creative. The purpose behind this program was to provide a message, create awareness in our job seekers and in our youth.”
In her remarks at the awards night, she said to attendees: “I encourage you to entice the youth. I encourage you to entice people that have experience to stay and remain within Atlantic Canada. You have an amazing region, and I think it is probably among the best in the world, not just Canada, so let’s be proud, let’s encourage people to stay here….”
The Halifax branch of The People Bank has also worked with the provincial government program, Opportunities Nova Scotia, to connect employers and employees and raise awareness throughout Canada of the jobs and potential in the province.
“They’ve been great partners since day one, and they’ve been very good at communicating with job seekers and employers,” says Jacques Pelletier, the project lead for Opportunities Nova Scotia and Director of Labour Market Partnerships with the Department of Education. “I’ve received nothing but very good feedback from all those involved with Opportunities Nova Scotia.”
Paul Keinick, manager of recruitment for Sobeys Atlantic, was also impressed with The People Bank’s work with Opportunities Nova Scotia. Sobeys has since called upon the firm to provide temporary employees for hard-to-fill positions.
“They have strong followup and good customer service interaction,” says Keinick. “They approach problems with solutions rather than creating more problems.”
Finding creative solutions together is part of the approach for the team of six employees who work at The People Bank’s Halifax branch. “The attitude is all about teamwork,” says Pierre-Jérôme. “It’s working together, it’s sharing, it’s a win-win attitude.”
Pierre-Jérôme, who grew up in Montreal, speaks highly of working and living in Nova Scotia. “It’s a work environment where people say ‘sure come on in and talk to me about your business and I’m willing to listen,’” she says. “In some other environments, that takes multiple phone calls, and even then they’re not always sincere when you arrive.”
When asked about work-life balance, she replies: “Work-life balance is working in a job that you love and going home and loving that environment as well. It’s also enjoying the people that you work with to the point that when I come to the office I feel like I’m at home. That’s my work-life balance.”
One aspect about life in the province that Pierre-Jérôme appreciates is the friendliness of its people.And there are many other items on her list including a favorable climate and access to the ocean. She continues: “I love the fact that I don’t have to commute an hour and a half to get to work. I love the fact that I can stroll down the street in my community and feel very safe. I like everything about this place.”
Yes, Pierre-Jérôme’s enthusiasm for Nova Scotia is undeniable. “I am a very passionate and firm believer that Nova Scotia is the best place to live in the world,” she says.
Feature story written by Marie Weeren
