Fun events help Vidir Solutions build community

Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, which has a metro area population of 23 million, Dimitri Caldeira now lives in Arborg, Man. – population 1,200 – where he works as director of engineering for Vidir Solutions Inc. It’s a different pace of life, but Caldeira wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Many places I lived before, I didn’t even know my neighbour,” he says. “But the feeling here is that you are part of the community and can make a difference. I love it.”

That sense of community, he adds, is very much fostered by Vidir, a family-owned manufacturer of automated material-handling solutions that’s mainly based in Arborg and the nearby town of Teulon. Vidir sells products and solutions in over 40 countries and has performed over 40,000 installations, many for Fortune 500 companies.

The company hosts at least one social event monthly, including annual multicultural potlucks, where Vidir’s diverse employee base is encouraged to share recipes and culinary creations from their native countries. Caldeira will often contribute Brazilian dishes.

Other events include pool parties, movie nights and the company’s hugely popular annual Christmas gala.

Vidir also strongly promotes service recognition, handing out awards for employees who have reached milestones of five-year increments, up to 30 years of service.

Caldeira recently received a five-year service award, which he sees as an example of a company that values and encourages a sense of mutual loyalty. “People and companies don’t often have that sense of long-term commitment anymore,” he observes. “To me, that’s priceless.”

Together with the regular social events, Caldeira is impressed by the effort that’s made to keep employees connected and motivated. “That kind of mindset is unbelievable,” he says. “There’s always someone thinking about how to entertain, engage and embrace employees.”

One of those people is Carissa Rempel, Vidir’s program manager, human resources & public relations.

Rempel is responsible for planning the regular social events, at least six of which include employees’ families. She’s always looking for new ideas, like the chartered steam engine train ride the company sponsored last year from Winnipeg to a heritage village in rural Manitoba.

The event included a tour of the heritage village, a picnic and train-themed goodie bags for employees’ children.

Vidir’s annual Christmas party, held at Winnipeg’s historic Fort Garry Hotel, attracts some 500 attendees. The event includes a formal dinner, live entertainment and free accommodation at the hotel for employees and their families.

“We like to give people the opportunity to do something fun with their families and fellow employees,” says Rempel. “We’re also conscious that these are sometimes things they couldn’t afford to do on their own.”

Rempel notes that one of Vidir’s core values is that “community creates meaning” and the regular social events are one of the ways the company lives that value.

“It’s about creating a sense of community in the workplace. When you know and care about the people you work with and their families, it really makes a difference.”

The service recognition awards also foster community. Based on length of service, employees are offered an expanding scale of compensation across a menu of options, including RRSP top-ups, financial support for their children’s post-secondary education, travel and gift cards.

The awards are given out during a cocktail reception at the annual Christmas party.

“It’s one of the ways we ensure everyone feels valued for the time they are putting in and the contributions they are making,” says Rempel. “That’s a big part of our culture.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing the winners of this year's Manitoba Top Employers competition, published March 19, 2024 in the Winnipeg Free Press. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, who did not write or review the content.

Vidir Solutions ‘raises up’ employees to succeed

In 2022, Jasmine Nault was hired to a newly created, and critical, role at Manitoba-based Vidir Solutions. As program manager, learning and leadership development, her job is to help the manufacturing company roll out initiatives to improve the skills and career opportunities of all employees while also training the next generation of company leaders.

“One of the core values at Vidir is about ‘raising others up’ by helping them do what they do best,” says Nault. “All of our efforts in skills upgrading, career advancement and leadership development are very much rooted in that value statement.”

Founded in 1986, Vidir is a family-owned manufacturer of automated material-handling solutions based mainly in two small Manitoba communities, Arborg and Teulon. The company sells products and solutions in over 40 countries and has performed over 40,000 installations, many for Fortune 500 companies.

Vidir is also on a significant growth curve: the number of full-time employees has more than doubled in the last three years as global demand for the company’s products and services steadily increased.

Because of that growth, recruiting and retaining talent, as well as raising up leaders from within, are key priorities.

This is done on multiple fronts. Vidir has a robust student intern program and makes a special effort to recruit locally through targeted scholarships.

Once onboard, employees can take advantage of a wide range of learning, skills upgrading and professional development programs. This includes everything from a popular apprenticeship program for welders to sponsoring employees who are pursuing their chartered professional accountant certification.

Because Vidir regularly recruits from non-English-speaking countries, the company also offers on-site English-as-a-second language (ESL) classes.

Recently Vidir has put a strong focus on succession planning and leadership development. Within that, there’s been a special emphasis on fostering a respectful workplace and recognizing the importance of mental well-being.

In 2023, the company expanded its traditional safety operations training program for leaders beyond issues of physical safety to encompass psychological safety, emotional well-being and respectful work practices.

“Our respectful workplace training looks at the differences between a positive and a poisonous workplace,” says Nault. “We talk about the impact of incivility in the workplace and issues ranging from bullying to sexual harassment. We want to give leaders the tools to better identify disrespectful or unsafe situations and know how to respond to them.”

In 2024, Vidir will launch another new leadership development program that addresses issues such as communications skills, emotional intelligence and workplace mental health training.

“There is no health without mental health,” says Nault. “So that’s a big focus for us.”

Cristina Vieira, director of human resources, says the learning and leadership development initiatives all have something in common: they give team members the ability to grow and advance within the company, while also making Vidir a stronger and more effective employer of choice.

“If people are able to show up as the best versions of themselves, that leads to greater engagement, improved morale and superior performance,” she says. “It’s also good for the company’s bottom line because we have less turnover and we are not having to spend as much money on recruitment and retention.”

Coaching and mentoring the next generation of leaders is particularly important, she adds.

“The stronger leaders we have, the more competitive we become. We are in the business of manufacturing the software and automation of tomorrow. There’s a lot of opportunity for us, but we need the right mix of talent to fully realize it.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers winners, published April 2, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.