Culture & Career Development
September 18, 2023
Gescan consists of 28 branches spanning throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and into Ontario. Gescan’s President, Javi Richmond has spent the last three years transforming the organization and ensuring Gescan’s culture reflects growth and his vision of success.
“Like any business, our goal is to grow exponentially over the next five years. However, our vision of growth isn’t just for growth’s sake, but to attract, retain and offer career opportunities for the next generation,” Javi stated.
“Education, career pathing, training & development, mentorship and internship programs are just a few ways we are determined to execute this vision.”
“Our priority is to support the growth of our individuals. Therefore, we’ve had to make fundamental changes to enhance our culture.”
Gescan’s goal is to ensure that all associates have insight into where their future lies with the company. “Every associate should be able to clearly say, ‘yes I am a warehouse associate today, but I can work my way to the presidency level based on this specific career path,” he said.
“A true example of this method has been our Branch Operations Supervisor (BOS) positions and their lean/six sigma training. These individuals are our next generation of branch and regional management and we’ve ensured we provided them with the tools needed to flourish in their role. They also have a fantastic gender split of 41%. A gender split we are actively trying to mirror within our entire organization, by creating recruitment strategies that actively target women to our industry.”
In addition, they have taken a similar approach to their sustainability initiatives. “For sustainability to be a priority at Gescan, we’ve recently announced Simon Smolden as our new Sustainability Business Unit Manager, and he’ll be responsible for developing our business offering for our customers,” Javi stated.
“Lastly, our community is a key piece to Gescan’s success and it’s crucial to our longevity that we give back and invest in the future of our society. We’ve been able to effectively accomplish this through our partnership with Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations (CCHF). Last year we raised $146,000 and our goal this year is $250,000.”
