THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA “If a supplier will back me and support me, if they come to the table when there’s an issue, I will never leave them,” he says. “In fact, I’ll pay more money to have a supplier like that.” Internally, that culture of partnership and mutual respect has also taken deep root. Berdick employs approximately 70 people, and Sheldon describes the atmosphere on the shop floor and in the leadership team with evident pride. When he arrived in 2015, he found an organization anchored in old habits and resistant to change. He offered everyone the chance to evolve with the company. Some did but others didn’t. What emerged in their place was a team Sheldon describes as hardworking, motivated, and passionate – people who are empowered to do their jobs without micromanagement. “I’ve hired the top talent I could find,” he says. “I pay them like rock stars and they perform accordingly. They come to me with problems after they’ve already been solved. They take care of all the day-to-day. I don’t need to micromanage them – and I don’t think I could even if I wanted to, because they’re better at their specific jobs than I ever could be. I’ve hired such talented staff that if I tried to do what they do, I’d probably mess it up.” That pride runs all the way down to the production floor, and it shows in the interactions they have with prospective clients and business partners. During factory tours – which Berdick actively encourages – it’s the operators, supervisors, and lead hands who do much of the talking.
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