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| Last updated at 4:09 PM on 02/06/08 |
Precision Biologic named one of top 50 places to work in Canada 
STEPHANY TLALKA
The Burnside News
Precision Biologic is one of the top 50 places to work in Canada, making it the first company in Atlantic Canada to make the list.
In April, the company was announced as 31 on the list. Precision Biologic Chair and CEO Michael Scott says it’s not a bad place to be and some employees are already thinking of ways to get to number one.
Scott says Precision Biologic was chosen because of it’s policy of open communication and its profit sharing pool: everyone discusses finances and strategies together and employees share 20 per cent of the company’s profit.
“If people are doing their job in a context they understand and they can see how things fit… that’s pretty motivating,” Scott says. “Soon enough they’re offering up an idea or a creative solution.”
Precision Biologic develops, markets and diagnoses products used to assess blood coagulation disorders. With a staff of 50, the company has taken steps to get everyone on the same page and working on a sense of community.
Scott explains that Precision Biologic was chosen in part by its use of an exercise called Appreciative Inquiry (AI). With AI, employees from across the company paired up with other employees they had little contact with from day to day. Next, the pair would interview each other to find out what they liked about the company and recall where it was most successful.
Scott says communication at Precision Biologic is different from a lot of companies, where management might post notices on the wall asking employees to do certain things. With AI, employees get a say in how the company runs.
“We came up with a picture of the company’s values that everyone contributed to,” Scott says.
Scott says Precision Biologic has continued other AI initiatives, giving employees more opportunities to voice their ideas.
“It went in a whole direction that I didn’t have any control over at all, and it was great,” Scott says.
The most recent addition is Culture Club, run by an employee instead of a facilitator. Every few weeks, employees get together and think up new ideas to make the company work better. Scott says a lot of little things come out of it, like having cubes with text on them in the meeting room – reminding employees to make sure everyone has voiced their opinion – and other visual aids. For Precision Biologic, the hope is that these little things will prepare the company for any big challenges.
Tawyna MacNeil started with the company in 2005. Now the manager of regulatory affairs, MacNeil says she got her position after showing interest in the area – she had no previous background in it. Compared to past jobs, MacNeil says this one is the best yet.
“It’s definitely rewarding to me, it’s definitely employee-focused,” MacNeil says.
MacNeil adds it’s the little things that build community, like the Culture Club, having a vegetable garden, and a shower so she can take a run during lunch.
Canadian Business Online publishes Canada’s Best Workplaces. The winners were selected by The Great Place to Work Institute Canada based on survey responses given by more than 24,000 employees from companies across Canada.
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02/06/08
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