After completing an undergraduate degree at the Université de Sherbrooke, Allyson Morissette had a pretty good idea where she wanted to start her career. Cascades Canada ULC, a retail packaging company based in the small town of Kingsey Falls, about 100 kilometres east of Montréal, was her employer of choice.
In 2019, she did a four-month internship with the company and liked what she saw. “There’s so much potential to grow at Cascades,” says Morissette, a communications advisor. “Cascades really makes a place for junior employees. You get a chance to set goals and see where you could be working in five to ten years.”
Apart from all that, the company has won awards for its innovative approaches to recycling, sustainability practices and energy consumption. “Cascades is always trying to find ways to use less energy and have an impact on the future,” says Morissette. “That’s something that really fits with my values.”
From its origins as a family business in small-town Québec, Cascades has expanded and grown over several decades. The company now operates close to 85 plants in Canada and the United States, most of them in Québec, Ontario and the northeastern U.S.
As a manufacturer of packaging for food products and a wide array of retail goods, Cascades was designated an essential service and has had to operate at full capacity throughout the pandemic. “Our first priority for our plant workers was their safety,” says Jennifer Dingle, vice-president, talent management.
To that end, the company established a COVID-19 advisory committee comprising senior executives, legal advisors and medical professionals. Protocols for contact tracing were implemented at all manufacturing facilities and any employee who had to stay home for COVID19-related reasons was eligible for short-term disability payments.
Most salaried staff have been working remotely, which has led to changes that will become permanent. Henceforth, they will be able to split their time between home and office.
“We tell our employees we want to see each other at least 50 per cent of the time and we’re flexible on the time chosen by the employees,” says Dingle. “You don’t have to be three days in the office one week and two the next. You can work from home for a whole week then return to the office the next week. You get to plan your days according to what works best for you.”
Cascades employs people in operations, supply chain management and finance, among other things, as well as chemical engineers, energy efficiency experts and sustainable development specialists. Most of them work at large corporate offices in Brossard, Candiac and St. Bruno, three South Shore communities close to Montréal.
“We recruit from all over North America and internationally as well,” says Dingle. “We look for people who are diverse, innovative and who bring new ideas to the table. Diversity is important to ensure we have different mindsets when we are making decisions.”
Cascades conducts two-part annual reviews, for salaried and hourly employees. Half of the assessment is based on performance against goals, the other half is based on behavioral competencies.
The company’s learning and development team offers in-person workshops, when possible, as well as online modules and virtual sessions. “We have a strong focus on career development, which drives the new generation coming into Cascades,” says Dingle. “They can move around geographically and to different business units. The playing field within Cascades is very large and that’s an attractive feature.”
