Since Dmitriy Kirillov’s former employer was formally acquired by Graham Construction in 2021, the health and safety specialist has seen first-hand the ethos that the Calgary-based construction and development company calls “the power of one.”
Kirillov has seen it in the way company leaders are proactive in keeping their teams connected at all times, in the attention executives give to all employees’ careers, and in the regular check-ins, team meetings, casual conversations and company-wide town halls that senior managers hold.
“Employees don’t feel alone; they feel that they’re part of an organization that’s absolutely committed to holding this journey together.”
Dmitriy Kirillov
Senior Regional Safety Manager
“There is continuous and constant access to pretty much every level of management and leadership in the company,” says the Toronto-based senior regional safety manager.
Kirillov says the wildfire situation in northern Alberta, which has threatened Graham employees on several industrial sites in the region in the past few years, epitomizes the company’s all-for-one commitment to its staff. He says the company’s tenacious efforts to assist and support employees potentially in harm’s way – as well as the communities where they work – has been “enormous.” “Employees don’t feel alone,” Kirillov says. “They feel that they’re part of an organization that’s absolutely committed to holding this journey together.”
Keeping all staff connected at 99-year-old Graham – which has offices and projects dotted across North America – is born out of the DNA of a company that is employee-owned.
1568 Alberni Residential Tower — Vancouver, BC // Nisutlin Bay Bridge Replacement — Teslin, YK
“That is really first and foremost who we are,” says Carolynne Laughy, Graham’s Senior Vice President, People. “We truly provide every employee the opportunity to buy into the company, and as a result it’s created a proud group of employees at all levels who are very much engaged in understanding profitability, what we’re building, where, and how we’re doing it.” Our employees challenge each other to make prudent decisions because they genuinely care about Graham’s success.”
Laughy says Graham is very transparent in communicating with its employee-owners. The executives host quarterly financial and strategy updates, and once a year there is a live hosted Meet the Board Session. “Being new to an employee-owned model myself, it’s interesting to see how everybody participates in those discussions and meetings,” she says. “Our people care about each other, our clients and partners, our performance, and what decisions our leaders are making.”
In addition, Graham is competitive in terms of initiatives such as its training programs, flexible benefits package and mental health support, Laughy says. “We provide training for our staff at all levels,” she says. “We have technical training for our junior and mid-level professionals, management training for our new leaders and leadership development for more senior leaders that we hope to advance into executive roles one day.”
Graham is competitive in terms of initiatives such as its training programs, flexible benefits package and mental health support.
Kirillov can attest to the effectiveness of the resources Graham puts into helping its employees advance. He says the company offers a huge variety of options for its staff to broaden their work horizons at the company through internal and external resources.
For instance, given his interest in health and safety issues and the company’s continuous focus on mental health, Kirillov had the opportunity to be sponsored to obtain a psychological health and safety certification through the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Through the program, Kirillov was able to participate in various sets of training around mental health and well-being.
“Our top priority at Graham is the safety and well-being of people,” Kirillov says. “And when we were offered an opportunity to broaden our knowledge around the psychological, personal, mental well-being of individuals and how we can affect that positively, that was definitely an eye-opener for me.”
