Eight to nine weeks of vacation upon hiring. Unlimited telecommuting — even abroad — for all employees who request it. The flexibility to choose your benefits based on your needs. The Boucherville SME Tootelo began rolling out the red carpet for its employees long before the current labor shortage, and the strategy now seems to be bearing fruit.
Posted at 8:30 p.m.
Computer programmer Salma Ouchraa was spoiled for choice when she decided to return to the workforce after the birth of her baby. After studying several offers, in the spring she decided on a little-known SME, but one that appealed to her: Tootelo.
Among the many points that attracted her: the obvious complicity between the colleagues at the time of the interview. The possibility of teleworking as she pleases from Morocco, the country from which she immigrated two years ago. And above all: the loyalty of employees, many of whom have worked for the company for 10 or 15 years.
“I saw that there were a lot of people who are veterans, who have been there for 6 years, 10 years, 17 years”, says Mme Ouchraa, leader of a team of five people.
For a company in this field, people who stay so long, it means that there is something.
Salma Ouchraa
This “something”, they are many to feel it in the SME of 300 employees of Boucherville, on the South Shore of Montreal.
A diversified company
The name of Tootelo is little known to the general public, but its products and services are widely used in several industries. Founded first as a call center by Benoit Brunel in 1994, the company has since diversified significantly to become primarily focused on information technology.
Tootelo still provides telephone and computer customer service for a series of clients, such as Aéroports de Montréal, Olymel and the STM, with its subsidiary Telmatik. It operates two digital platforms — Immocontact and Bonjour-santé — which are widely used in real estate and in the health sector. The group has also purchased four medical clinics in recent years.
Tootelo’s activities cast a wide net, and employee mobility between the different divisions is strongly encouraged. This could contribute to the low turnover rate observed in the company, believes Annie Blanchette, interim president, who received The Press with half a dozen employees.
We recently held a recognition activity to underline the 10 years of 40 employees within the company. 10 years ago, we were only 67 employees… and 40 of them are still with us.
Annie Blanchette, interim president at Tootelo
“A la carte” benefits
If Tootelo has a traditional table of baby foot, a good coffee machine and open-plan offices worthy of a young techno shoot, it is above all its corporate philosophy that seems to attract — and retain — workers. The two watchwords: freedom and flexibility.
Tootelo began offering telecommuting in 2006, at the request of certain employees who had specific needs such as disabilities. “It was very innovative at the time to offer telecommuting, and it was the measure that stood out the most,” says Annie Blanchette. The other measure that really stood out was the six weeks of vacation that we offered from the start. »
Tootelo offices
-
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Meeting spaces
-
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A table of baby foot
-
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A privacy booth for private calls
-
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A massage chair in a soundproof room
-
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A coffee area
1/5
Tootelo has continued to improve its working conditions: the group now offers an “à la carte” remuneration system. Employees can choose from a range of benefits that generally represent 12% to 14% of their compensation.
Some will decide to take more vacation – eight or nine weeks – extra group insurance or contribute more to their pension plan. Others, on the contrary, choose to reduce their holidays and their benefits to a minimum, in exchange for a higher salary.
We say to all newcomers: list your benefits that are important to you, and: “Perfect, here is what we can offer you.”
Rosemarie Boulanger, Human Development Manager
“It’s really about finding what connects with you, because everyone’s needs are completely different,” says Rosemarie Boulanger.
Other benefits that Tootelo holds out to its employees include flexible working hours, paid leave on his birthday and participation in the company’s shareholding. The SME makes a turnover of between 20 and 30 million per year, and the value of the shares held by the employees has “always” increased year after year, affirms Annie Blanchette.
The boss is not at all worried about the productivity of employees working from home – barely 10 to 20 of them go to the group’s newly renovated offices these days. “We rely a lot on this relationship, which is a relationship of trust, with small teams, which means that we are not in micromanagement. »