Alumnus and professor help redefine company culture

Collaboration born in EMBA classroom transforms Drummondville workplace

August 13, 2013

By Joel Barde

Ten years ago, it would have seemed unlikely that construction-materials manufacturer Soprema would ever be celebrated for its employee relations.

“Human resources was not a priority in the company,” says vice-president of North American operations Richard Voyer, EMBA 07. “Before, we hired and fired. If someone wasn’t performing, they weren’t told. The problems would get bigger and bigger until we’d have to fire them.”

Yet last May, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois presented Voyer with a Best Employer in Quebec prize from Emploi-Québec. The award recognizes Soprema’s success in creating a healthy and stimulating work environment for its Drummondville plant’s 300 employees. The multinational Soprema has three plants in Quebec.

Richard Voyer, EMBA 07 | Photo courtesy: Soprema

Voyer attributes much of the win to his executive MBA experience and to Concordia Professor of Management Steven Appelbaum. Over the past seven years, Voyer and Appelbaum have worked together to effectively turn the culture of Soprema around, from one that’s dysfunctional to one that’s celebrated.

Appelbaum taught Voyer organizational behaviour and human resource management during the 20-month EMBA program, whichThe Economist magazine recently ranked second best in Canada and 47th in the world.

Voyer draws a direct link between completing his EMBA and Soprema’s recent growth in North America, where current annual revenues have increased from around $250 million in 2007 to close to $1 billion today. “My MBA was 100 per cent worth it. It had a major impact on the profitability of the company,” he says.

Voyer, who recognized human resources to be a weak point in Soprema prior to starting the program, was struck by Appelbaum’s ability to blend theory with real-world examples. “He talked about subjects in a smooth way. It was extremely practical.”

The two began speaking after class about some of the issues Soprema was facing. Their conversations led Voyer to invite Appelbaum to assess the company’s Drummondville operation.

It soon became apparent that management was largely composed of people from technical backgrounds — like Voyer, who holds a PhD in chemistry — with little managerial expertise.

Professor of Management Steven Appelbaum | Photo credit: Christian Fleury

So Appelbaum began giving workshops which Voyer now refers to as Management 101. “They covered basic subjects including leadership and conflict resolution,” he says. “and because everyone was taking the workshops together, everyone one was learning at the same time. It was great.”

Appelbaum also began working with the company’s human resources department, for which he designed a new performance-appraisal system. Tailored specifically to the Drummondville plant, it requires managers to keep logs of employee performance and meet staff members for two-way conversations.

“I designed the program around Soprema’s values and culture. And it took a long time. There was a lot of back and forth. But we got it right. Everyone bought in,” he says.

Appelbaum notes that the system has had a tremendous effect on the workplace and wasn’t surprised to hear of the company’s recent accolade. “They take care of their employees. Turnover is low. People like the company.”

The management professor regularly consults for businesses, such as Union Carbide Corporation in Philadelphia and the Bank of Canada in Ottawa. “The work is always changing,” he says. “And it allows me to tie theory with practice.”

Appelbaum adds that his consultancy with Soprema has been among the most interesting of his career.

He is also grateful for the close relationship he’s developed with Voyer — one forged by thousands of disagreements as they’ve searched for the best way to both increase the company’s profitability and create a healthy workplace for its employees.

Appelbaum laughs when recounting a recent trip back from one of Soprema’s American-based facilities. The two were quarrelling about a pending decision, and Voyer wasn’t budging. So Appelbaum joked that maybe Voyer just wanted him to give in, to admit he was right.

“Richard said, ‘I don’t pay you to agree with me. I pay you to argue with me,’” Appelbaum recalls. “It takes a special kind of guy to say something like that.”

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Alumnus and professor help redefine company culture

Alumnus and professor help redefine company culture

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