By Marianne Helm

Each week, the Financial Post profiles a winner of Waterstone Human Capital’s 2008 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures program. This week, Sanam Islam spoke with Robert Johnson, chief executive and president of Purolator Courier Ltd., about how the company demonstrates excellence in the five areas used to evaluate companies nominated for the program.

Company: Purolator Courier
CEO: Robert Johnson
Number of employees in Canada: 12,500
Annual revenue 2007: $1.45-million

Vision and leadership At Purolator, every team manager is seen as a leader. “Leadership to me is 500 people communicating effectively and treating their employees as they would want to be treated,” Mr. Johnson says.

At the beginning of every shift at a delivery hub, managers talk to drivers about their priorities and ensure they do their job effectively. At the executive level, leaders stay as visible as possible and consistently communicate to employees the company’s strategies and the reasoning behind them.

Cultural alignment, measurement and sustainability Purolator maintains an Intranet where employees can view corporate priorities, news and other information, as well as results from opinion surveys. And it publishes a newsletter that reiterates those strategies and goals. In addition, Purolator offers employees an in-house orientation program to learn about company culture. However, “real alignment isn’ t just memorizing corporate objectives,” Mr. Johnson says.

“It’s every employee recognizing the value of what they contribute to the company, and what they must do to optimize that.”

Quarterly employee surveys, as well as daily, monthly and quarterly reports on each aspect of the business, help executives gain insight into corporate culture.

Rewards and Recognition One of Purolator’s awards programs, the Circle of Excellence, recognizes between 20 and 30 outstanding employees through a weekend trip with executives. Similarly, the President’s Club program awards the top 20 sales executives with a week’s vacation with executives.

In addition, drivers are eligible for awards based on safe driving; managers are placed on a performance incentive program; and each year, the top three to six Purolator depots in Canada are rewarded for high achievement.

The company also offers a share ownership program, in which about 3,000 employees participate. “When you have the confidence of employees, they can achieve better returns by investing in their own company than they can elsewhere,” Mr. Johnson says. “It speaks volumes about the type of culture we have.”

Corporate performance In 2007, Purolator made $83-million in profits — an increase of 20% a year earlier. In fact, the company has seen an increase of almost 100% in profits since 2003, and expects to continue doing well despite a tough economy. Only eight years ago, Purolator was a small express
package company with weak financials, but since 2001, its results improved every year, allowing it to invest in a $500-million program to create new jobs, launch new products, improve technology, and make
the workplace safer.

“Businesses have been changing and we have to react to them so we don’t become irrelevant to their needs,” Mr. Johnson says.

Corporate social responsibility Purolator supports United Way, and is involved in several programs aimed at tackling hunger in Canada. One such program, in partnership with the Canadian Football League, has raised 1.5 million pounds of food across the country.

The company also invested in more than 150 electric hybrid trucks that reduce emissions by 40%, and last year, it introduced a vehicle that eliminates the need for fossil fuels entirely.

“We’re very aware of a corporation and individual’s responsibility to be responsive to the needs of environment,” Mr. Johnson says.