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Bruno Arsenault from Bathurst, New Brunswick owns a fishery called Poisson Réalsenault. He is the CEO and co-owner with his brother. The company is organized with four office workers, two salespeople, and two managers. They have around 120 employees in the factory and ship mainly to Japan, Dubai, and the east coast of the US. Their goals include expanding to the west coast of the US. Employees support the company's goals as growth benefits everyone. Workers have specific roles, and some had to be hired to manage the immigrant workers they brought in due to a labor shortage. The work environment can be challenging during busy seasons, but employees are paid well and rewarded. Most employees have a connection to the sea and enjoy their work. Environmental preservation is important to the company, and they invest in preserving lobster and crab ecosystems. The division of power is not strict, and anyone can talk to Bruno or his brother. They visit the factory and boats regularly. Hi, today I'm here with Bruno Arsenault from Bathurst, New Brunswick, who owns a fishery in the French part of New Brunswick called Poisson Réalsenault. He is a co-owner with his brother, and it's a fourth generation business. He is CEO and manager of the business also. So if you want to introduce yourself. Hi, I'm Bruno Arsenault, 48 years old, going on 28 years working for the factory. So your grandfather owned it? Yeah. Is that how it started? Yeah, it works. Okay, so could you just tell me about how your company is organized? So what are the stages? Like if you're people on the boat, people on the... Yeah, just in terms of the factory, we have like, we have four people working in the office just doing accounting, financial stuff. Just we have two salesperson that's doing a great job right now. We also have two managers that just manage the factory and how many people gets in the month, like how many workers we need each month depending on the season. Okay, yeah. And that's pretty much it. We have around 120 employees in the factory, and I'd say about maybe 15 more just working on trucks or on the boats or different sort of things. Okay, cool. So what are the stated goals of the organization? Like who determines them? Well, that would be me and my brother. My brother, of course, we have a lot of help from the offices, so some good ideas. So and I would say our goals for the next few years is definitely maybe not to keep expanding the factory, I think we're as big enough as it is, but definitely expand where we're shipping. We're shipping now in mostly Japan, Dubai, and the east coast of the state, so Boston and just Massachusetts area, a little bit of Maine, and we would like to go like expand to the west coast more, so Oregon, Seattle, Lake, California, all that stuff, for Estoran hopefully in the next two years, that's our project. So do your employees and everyone that works for you agree with your goals? Do they align with what the company goals are? Yeah, I believe so, because everybody wants the company to grow in that way, since the more we grow, like we make sure everybody gets a piece of the pie, so it's better for everyone. The factory workers, it's even beneficial for them since they'll get paid more if we can find ways to just improve our income, and yeah. Okay, and do your workers have specific roles, or is it kind of you hire them and then you structure what they're doing? No, we, well for, it depends where they work in the factory, in the offices of course they need some sort of education, and more importantly some background, or like, especially a manager, like the one who managed the factory worker, like all of them have had a lot of experience with management in the past, so they're doing a really good job as of now, and same with the accounting and the financial people there, of course we hire them specifically. Okay, yeah. Has there been any management problems recently, like in a political sense, or in a cultural sense? Yeah, actually not too long ago, when COVID hit, like three years ago, we had some problems with just not having enough employees, we might have like 20 employees working in the factory, when we actually needed like 80 of them, so we actually went to an agency that actually picked immigrants from Mexico, they come, we give them housing, the whole thing, they get, they're really treated really well, they have like activities, all that stuff, and they've been doing a really good job, and we've been getting more and more each year, as we're growing, just because it just works so well, and a lot of people in the industries actually are opting for that solution, since it's hard to get employees now, especially in Canada, and so, at the first, like the start, we had 20, which wasn't bad, the second year, it's 40, third year, we had 60 of them, which started to kind of, we definitely had some issue management-style, because of the language barrier, and also just having so many people to take care of, we had to actually hire two more people, just someone to manage, just who gets what shift, and just some stupid, like, how can you say that, just... You can say it in French, and I can translate it. Alright, chican? Chican? Oh, um... Yeah, I don't know what I'm saying. Anyway, I'm gonna cut this part out. And, so yeah, and just also someone who's a translator, so we could tell them what to do specifically, but it's been good, like, we definitely adapted, and now it's been going amazing, but definitely a year, a good year of transaction was, took a lot of work, hiring, investment, bought more houses for them, but it's going well, they love it, if they're happy, we're happy, and it's going well. Yeah, for sure. So, next question, how do people look and act when they arrive, when people get to work, do they look excited to work, happy to work, and how do they act when they leave also? I would say it depends. I like to believe that our whole crew has a nice work environment, I think we're doing a pretty good job with that, but for sure, and during, there's some seasons, say May, June, even July, even April, May, June, July, these are four months are extremely busy, some higher up employees do have some crazy hours, I also have some crazy hours, as well as my brother, but they are paid currently, and we make sure the salary matches, the amount of work, and the quality of work they put in, so for sure, some frustrating week, or the lobster seasons, when the shipment doesn't work, or, especially a lot of stress for me and the managers, when things don't work, so definitely some weeks are harder than others, but at the end of the week, you can all have a nice laugh, go eat some supper with the managers, and I feel like the using workers also, they like their bonuses, they get a lot of other things that's really useful for them over the course of the lobster season, so there's definitely some harder days, where I think at the end of the day, everybody's happy. Okay, cool, yeah, and do all your employees kind of like sea life, and fishing, and boating, like they all have the same value for the sea? Yeah, I think most people do, especially because, like a lot of people that work for us just grew up on the sea, or next to the water, and it's kind of an inner culture, except for the manager, and our accountings, and they all like that stuff, and for the immigrants, it's just a new, it's Canada's whole new thing, the East Coast, so they're loving it, with the beach out here, it's a little different than Mexico, I believe, but still, I think everybody's liking it, and just the other people from Bathurst that work there, they all like lobster, they love their discounts, so I think everybody's having a good time. Okay, cool, yeah, how important for your organization is the environment, and who monitors, and if so, who monitors, like, if you're doing well for the environment or not? It is extremely important to us, because, well, we rely on natural resources, so we do have some of the managers, especially from the factory, make sure everything's done accordingly, if it happens that we have any kind of issues with the water, it's getting taken care of immediately, and more so, it's more so our investment towards one of the, like, well, multiple organizations, this is for lobster preservation, or crab preservation, we had biologists going on our boats before, just taking samples, some stuff, making sure the lobster ecosystem's going well, we've bought some bricks, like 10,000 tons of bricks, and put them in the ocean, near where all the lobster fishermen's fish is, and it's also good, just because they like the, like, more rocky the bottom of the sea, better it is for the lobster, so, and we wanted all of the fishermen from our region to succeed too, it's good for the economy, it's good for us, good for them, everybody's happy, and for sure, a big part of it, especially in the natural resources businesses, people are all a little scared sometimes, climate change, storms, but, yeah, the only thing we can do is do our best and make sure it's really important on our agenda to make sure everything goes the best it could possibly go. Okay, yeah, awesome, that's good to hear. So, just a quick question, like, how, the division of power, how strict is it, kind of, like, can anyone just knock on the main office and talk to you, or is there a lot of levels to get up there? To be honest, no, we like to, anyone can come knock, it doesn't mean we're gonna address them immediately, we're gonna, we, even though we have so many employees, we make sure to all know their names, or somebody in the management, in the office knows. If we're super busy, and it's a matter, it takes a little more time, we'll just tell them to come by during the day, and it'll be fine, but usually, like, if there's complaint or concern, it goes pretty quick, we just have a five-minute chat with them, give them the documents they need, if they need to, but, yeah, they don't need to go through management on their lunch break, or on their break, they'll just swing by, or whatever, like, we're pretty open, and me and my brother, too, we'll, we'll, we try to, like, stay away, but, from, like, like, altercation, but still, like, our door is never locked, they just knock on it, they know our offices, and we'll have a conversation with whoever. So, are you and your brother considered just, you guys are recognized as people of power for everyone? Yeah. And, how often do you go down on, to see the factory workers, or go down on the, like, where the fishermen are on the boats and stuff? I would say, at least, for me, the factory, probably five times a day, to see the shipments, everything's going well, I just like to say hi to the people that have been working for us for longer than I was, people, I've worked there since my great-grandfather, or, yeah, my grandfather, sorry. So, it's always nice to say hi, and I would say my brother, Martin, is probably at the wharf every single day, I probably go once every two days, so, yeah, we're definitely involved, definitely involved everywhere. Okay, yeah, good, good. And, what issues produce conflicts in your organization, like, are there certain topics that start arguments or issues within the workers, or? Definitely with the fishermen, sometimes, just about the pricing, or some of them, like, not the wages, it's just the prices of the lobster, because, you know, we don't decide the prices, what we pay for, what we sell it for, it's all about, really, the economy, how it goes, how much lobster this restaurant goes, if people have less money, you know, kind of, like, economies, they're not going to go to the restaurant and buy a hundred dollar plate worth of lobster, so, lately, the price has definitely been a little up, since we're selling less, it's basic economics, so, yeah. So, this is probably the most, the number one, like, altercation we see, it's about the prices of anything, lobster, and, like, a lot of people, clients, just get really mad sometimes, and it's frustrating for everyone, for prices, it's hard to control, but, yeah, for sure, we do our best to reduce our costs, and try to do a better deal, as well as trying to make money, so, yeah, that's probably number one. Okay, and what seems to motivate your employees? Is it different throughout the levels and the roles of the work, or is there one thing motivating your employees, do you know? I think, just by seeing, there's a lot of people that started in factory, and they've made their way up, and got really good salary offer to them, and better job position, it's just really how motivated they are, I think. Seeing other people motivated, and just climbing the ladders, definitely motivate other people to do well, get in early, get the job done, be nice, it's a big thing, just be nice to other people, just having a good, nice smile on your face, and not just being, well, I don't know how to say that, like, you can't come to work every day, like, mad, like, it's not a good environment for anyone, so, yeah, just seeing people work really hard, your coworkers work really hard, and make a lot of money, bonuses, you know, I feel like it definitely motivates people to come in and do their best. Okay, yeah, and is the company unionized? Are you guys in a union, or no? No. No, no union. Okay. Do you have a system, or a kind of way to resolve conflict in the organization in a more subtle way? Yeah, we have two different boxes where people punch in in the morning, there's one just for suggestion, and you can sign your name, and there's another one just for conflict, maybe you're seeing something at work that you know isn't right, you don't really want to rat on your coworker, so you just want to put it on a sheet of paper, put it in a little box with a lock on it, nobody can know who it is, we just, we open the box at the end of the day, the manager takes a read at them, I usually don't really read them, or pay attention to them, because our managers usually take care of it, it's usually, people do use it a lot, but it's usually really small things that can be quick change, or quick conversation, and usually it's, it has been really a good thing for us in the past year, we just recently started doing it, and it has been really good for all of us. Alright, awesome. In your organization, is there sometimes like subcultures that happen, kind of like cliques that happen with certain people, because of a common interest or value, or? Yeah, definitely, definitely, in terms of where they work, because basically, you could say the whole business is divided in four, so we got the usine, the factory, we got the offices, with all the accountings, us, the owners, managers, then we have the little market we have in front, it's like a fish shop, they have their own manager, the workers, there's some hired up people in this little fish shop, they have like a certificate, and stuff like that, so the usine is also divided in two, divided for cook product, and life product, just for sanitary purposes, and they have their own lunchroom, so it doesn't mix, it's for sanitary purposes, we have to do it, it's regulation, so definitely the people who work in the factory, the life factory part, they definitely stick together, eat lunch, some of them, sorry, as you were saying? Yeah, some of them just also just drive to work together, or whatever's happening with the cook side, you know, they eat lunch together, all that stuff, they're usually friendship made, because you have to make friends at work, especially in the harder times, the busier times of the year, you know, there's definitely weeks they work an insane amount of hours, which they're, you know, it's fine, but same with the little market we have, they're all, every summer we have a student that works there, they're made really good friends, the manager, they still go out to eat together, and all that stuff, and that's really good, and same thing with the offices, they mostly eat lunch together, and sometimes afterwards we'll stay for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, debrief, and just talk about nothing and everything, you know, not necessarily work, maybe have a glass of wine, you know, I think it's important to spend some time with your coworkers. You were saying there's, you guys hire a lot of people from Mexico to work for you guys, is there kind of a division with the locals and the Mexican people working for you, or do they kind of... At first, definitely, but surprisingly, I'd say even on the weekends when they have off, the local people will go over to their house, have supper, because they're really, really nice people, their cultures are really interesting, they make really good food, they're super friendly, they like to party, they're really funny, but yeah, for sure, at the start, and it was kind of like a separation for sure, but now they're all mixed up for sure. So it sounds like your organization, everyone's kind of very friendly and cordial together. Yeah, which is, we try to, there is, there has been some situation this year actually, because for the housing system, housing situation, the Mexican people that live in the house, they have some application, and it's just, we have to change some houses, and it all works out, but yeah, definitely have some... That's good, and how many houses do you own for them? I have three for now. Three houses? Yeah, looking for a fourth one, if not... Do they live like on the, where the factory is? No, they live, let's say, all of them about like a 15 minute radius from the factory. 15 minutes? Yeah, we have a school bus driver that brings them to the grocery store twice a week, we have a 24 hour one for any emergency, I've had myself have to drive some of the hospitals like 2 in the morning, stayed there for about 10 hours for him. Do you guys drive them to work also? Yeah, every morning we, the school bus pick them up and bring them to work, I know some people, sometimes you just need some part of the factory yard, so we'll bring them back home, then come back to the factory, wait an hour, then bring another batch home, and same, we also like started, some people just not fortunate enough to have a car or a license, local, so we do offer some driving services, it's not too far. Okay, yeah, and since you're a fishing organization, mostly, what parts of the organization close during off-seasons? I would say the factory, I think it was slower, but there is some like, for instance let's say 2 weeks or a month throughout the year, that our factory is back up and running again, and it's just to prepare ourselves for some order we have in, or some season that are not too far away from us, maybe Nova Scotia, or PGI, or down south in New Brunswick, or maybe in Quebec, you know, Boston, Maine, sometimes we buy a little lobster if it's back up and running again, but I would say, except for April, May, June, July, and the end of August, start of September, the factory is not booming as much. Same with the, I would say the office is always full, but just the hours are a lot less demanding than usual. Oh yeah, okay, yeah. When you first started managing the company and taking over after your father, was there any obstacles you had to go ahead with the staffing, or just the organization in general? Yeah, definitely I had to learn from some hard mistakes, just when me and my brother bought it from our dad, actually, just the way we saw him work, you know, he pretty much did, him and his brother did everything by themselves, but we were really ambitious and got a lot of improvement right away, we were trying to go bigger, and we were trying to do all by ourselves, and that was just bad in terms of the management, like a lot of problems came up early on, and we just, it took us a while to adjust, to be honest, and to go talk to people, talk to friends out of business, and who to hire, what better choice we can take, like managing, because trying to manage everything is usually, it's like, it's usually setting up yourself for failure or mistakes, so for sure just, we got in touch with the right people and got some really, really good quality employees to manage. And when you guys fully took over the organization, was there a bit of pushback from the already existing employees, or did everyone kind of... No, I don't believe so, I think it's fine, like some of them I was working with them in the factory when I was younger, and they're still there to this day, we have a lot of respect for each other, I think it's actually a good thing, you know, it's a small town, everybody knows each other, we try to be as friendly as possible, and as much fun as we can, and have a nice little work environment. Okay, yeah. Now can you tell us a bit about the organization's history, like the company's history? Yeah, for sure, so it was founded by my grandfather in 1962, so the middle of the 70s, let's say, beginning of the 70s, and then, sorry, in the 70s I believe, yeah in the 70s then, my dad and his brother took over the company, soon after it like went officially, like an official market, and after, I would say in 1983 or 84, a lot of expenditure from the company, so got some more licensing, some renovation for the factory, and at the time it was still only my dad and his brother working, and then in 2009 I worked there for about 20 years, like at that time, and so after a little less than 30 years of management, my dad decided to sell us and retire, to retire and sell us the company, me and my brother, and yeah, that's when we started our little journey in 2009, and never looked back since, which is nice, and I think a lot of people said not to mix business with family, but we're the third generation, going on the fourth generation, with my son coming up, and I think that it's worked great so far, we've been having a lot of fun, a lot of faithful customer, so yeah, we're looking good so far. Alright, cool, so switching things up a little, how diverse is the educational background for your employees, are they mostly, or like how old is the education level? In the offices, me and my brother, I actually never graduated from university, funny enough, and our employees are required either a certificate in accounting or finance, or a bachelor in accounting or finance, to work in the offices, and then for the few managers that we have in the offices, we have two in the main one, and then two in the factory, and also in the market, and they're not necessarily in need of education, two of them do have a bachelor, but most of them just have a really good work experience, and we've just known them from being in such a small town, and good workers, and in terms of managers, what we're really looking for is people that we can trust really well, so yeah, that's been it so far. And do you try to hire people that are a little bit more social, like what are their social styles? We don't really look into that, to be honest, we just, mostly skill, and if, you know, some people that worked for us before are really skilled, just at work, you know, for some people they'll do a horrible job, one job, they'll do a job, another job, nothing, there's no mold, you know? Yeah, for sure. Yeah, we definitely find some good workers that have been with us for a long time now, so we adjusted, but yeah, definitely have some nightmares. Yeah, no, I can imagine. Is there a big range in age in your organization, or is everyone kind of the median age? It depends, I would say the office is pretty much all over 40, just because while hiring we're looking for people with experience, that's our main requirement, and for the market up front, the little lobster shop we have, the seafood shop, in the summer that's our busy time of the year, and it's mostly, I would say, college students coming back home, or high schoolers getting some jobs, but for the factory it ran from 17 all the way up to 6 years old, I would say. Okay, yeah. And how old were you when you took over? I was 34, I believe. 34? Yeah. Okay, okay. Well, that's all the time we have, thank you so much Bruno for taking your time for coming in. Thank you, I hope my broken English wasn't too hard on your professors. No, I think your English is quite understandable. Perfect, thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye.