Peter Pekos
President and CEO
Dalton Chemical Laboratories Inc.

Established in 1986, Toronto-based Dalton employs 90 people and provides contract research and development services to clients in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

Dalton Chemical Laboratories Inc. has become heavily dependent on workers from other countries in recent years. About 70 per cent of the company’s 90 employees are new Canadians, says Peter Pekos, president and CEO. “As a result of that we have over 30 different cultures represented in our company.”

Having so many new Canadians and such a diverse group presents some unique retention challenges, he says. It can be difficult for people to feel comfortable in their new setting.

“One of the things we try to do is make individuals feel comfortable within the company in expressing their own diversity,” he says. “So we have international lunches where we celebrate the different foods of the world. Everyone brings in a dish and people will talk about their foods and maybe some of the history.”

The firm also takes time to celebrate holidays from other countries, and runs English-as-a-second language training. This has really helped a lot of the new Canadians who’ve joined the company, Pekos says.

“We notice that things run smoother within the organization. There is a higher level of understanding when someone is communicating an idea to another person. They pick up the ideas faster.” Or equally important, “they recognize when they are not getting it. And in that way we get less miscommunications.

“What does that mean for retention? People feel more comfortable here. They are respected and they don’t feel as threatened by their communication skills not being at a higher level. They have a certain loyalty to us.”

Efforts to develop loyalty are paying off in a turnover rate that’s below industry standard. The company’s turnover rate is 10 to 15 per cent, whereas the industry norm is around 15 to 25 per cent, he says. But it wasn’t always that way.

“It was like a training ground,” he says of the company’s early days. “They would come and get their six months or one year and then they’d move on. What we have noticed is that if someone gets to two years in our company they are more likely to stay. So the first two years are crucial.”

Of course, people are also more likely to stay if they are a good fit in the first place, he says. And a newly acquired candidate profiling system should help the firm find the right person for the right job.

“There is a certain school of thought that says if somebody isn’t happy in their job then it is very difficult to change their sense of the job and it is better just to ease them out,” he says. “But we have had a number of examples where people haven’t performed well in a particular job function but we thought they were valuable, that they had a pretty good attitude and we have moved them into other jobs in an effort to find a more suitable position for them. With this new profiling system we will be in a much better position to see if it is a job mismatch or a company mismatch.”

The new system is just one indication of a greater organizational overhaul. “I call it a tightening up,” says Pekos. The org chart will be redrawn, reporting structures reviewed, new departments created and new performance management systems put in place. “We are just getting that corporate structure down so that it will improve the flow of work in the company.” And he knows from experience that change like this will test retention practices.

Three years ago when Dalton Chemical left its original York University setting, it lost nearly one-quarter of its staff. “We lost them because it was a totally new culture. Our people liked the university environment.”

But he hopes open and constant communication, as well as his own record of personal involvement with every employee, will be enough to convince people to stick around.

“I want to make sure that people know me and trust me and so by being in front of them and dealing with their issues head on, I have a very strong ability to gain their trust. When I tell them something, they are likely to believe me,” he says. “I believe I have demonstrated that they are important to us. And so by taking that approach, I believe that I’ll be able to manage this company though this change.” 
 

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