Christine Whelan, FEO March 31, 2022, VOL. 3 ISSUE 16
Marina Butler, the President, is amazed that she is at the 30-year mark of her business. “You put your head down and you just do what you’re supposed to be doing. Then, when you look up and you see how big it’s gotten and how successful it’s been, you have to take a step back and realize it all, after all these years. There’s a great appreciation for it.”
Marina knows her town. “I’ve lived in Fort Erie all my life, with the exception of the five years I was away in Toronto for my post-secondary schooling and I live in Toronto for a while.” Marina went to school for Journalism.
About the Fort Erie Observer, the local community newspaper she founded, “It was something I thought was needed in the community after the Times Review closed, to create something new so that the town had something to provide local stories.”
Butler is also Ward 4 Councillor for the Town of Fort Erie.
THE BEGINNING OF EPC
“My husband was one of the co-founders of the employment and human resource firm. I was the person who ran the entire entity from its inception.”
Marina spoke of her husband, Ron Butler, who has since passed away. “Erie Personnel Corporation was a company that he and I built together.”
Erie Personnel was incorporated in 1992 when Ron joined the company. Marina came on board shortly after and became an equal partner. Ron and Marina took it over in 1993. “And we never looked back.”
Ron has left his mark with EPC. Marina carries it on. “My husband and I worked very closely together to operate the business, up until his death in 2004. When he passed away, I took 100% control of the company.”
Prior to these years, Ron Butler was the original manager, for the first seven years, at the Friendship Festival.
ABOUT EPC
While other employment agencies such as Job Connect are non-profit, government funded and client driven, EPC, with their Fort Erie location at 1220 Garrison Road, is an incorporation and is employer driven, focusing on making matches, providing the employers with the best suited employees.
When asked about the biggest growth over the 30 years, Marina reflected, “The biggest growth has always been in finding great people for the positions that employers are looking to fill, followed by talent acquisition for executive placements, and consulting in human resources.
“Human resources has really become a real defined area of expertise for us because it’s so valued in the marketplace. Not a lot of businesses have an HR department. And the ones that do are so busy that they actually gravitate to a partnership with an organization so that they can get the assistance when they’re too busy to write their own policies.”
EPC’s staff come from an HR background and are registered professional recruiters “We put them through a training course and a certification program.”
While EPC doesn’t work with retail or restaurants, Marina explained, “We work with manufacturing companies and tech companies. We do a lot of bio-diversity and environmental diversity work.
“We do have a lot of entry-level positions for those who don’t have the skills but want to start out somewhere and gain that valuable experience, building on their skill sets.”
I asked Marina what she was most proud of. The answer was not surprising. I’ve noticed, this is a theme, a Fort Erie way of thought. Teamwork. “I am proud of the fact that there have been a lot of people who have contributed to the success of the company. It’s impossible to do it by yourself. You may have the goal and the vision but it’s really the people around you who get you to the landing mark.”
Few have had as much access and exposure to the local economic and employment effects of the pandemic as Marina Butler. “It’s been a challenge for every employer across the board, in any marketplace that you can imagine.”
Butler describes the present state. “It is now an employee’s market. It’s almost like selling a house, where it was the seller who got to set the rules and the buyer really had no choice but to give in to the price that is out in the marketplace. It’s the same now for the employment marketplace.
“It’s finally become an employee’s market, where they can say, ‘I’m valued and I am worth more, and in order to keep up with the current economy, I need this amount of money.’ Employers are catching up to that thought process. They are starting to become aware that there has to be a level playing field to move forward.”
When talking about the effects of, and the stories around, Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), Marina offered some insight, “Everybody received a wake-up call during the pandemic. What transpired was this awakening of what their values are and how people have been valued in the marketplace. I think people were getting what they needed to just barely survive because $2,000 a month is just not that much.
“I think what happened wasn’t really what was being said, that everyone was getting lazy with a subsidy. I think the reality was quite different. The reality was, that people thought that if they were going to put themselves in harm’s way, then they’d better be compensated for it because they didn’t want to get sick.”
Then that turned into a fear of getting sick. “That compromised a lot of people, developing more mental health issues. There was this tidal wave of emotions out in the marketplace that really stalled the ability to hire individuals because the individuals weren’t coming forward. They were afraid. It’s all well and good if you have an occupation where you can work at home and still get paid. It’s a different story when you have to be present at a workplace and run the risk of not knowing what the pandemic was going to do next. The longer we stayed shut down, the worse it became for everybody.”
Marina feels that these days, all employers need to have conversations with their employees about the emotional issues of being in the workplace these days, exposed to risks and their reactions to them.
THOUGHTS OF THE FUTURE
Looking forward, she sees the light at the end of the tunnel. “It’s a different situation for everyone. But I think it is starting to turn around and everyone is starting to put their best foot forward. I firmly believe that, if we don’t get another wave of the virus, we will, within the next four to six months, start to see things get back to a semi-normal pace. I say semi because, when I look at the work/life balance, I believe that the better part of the population has now experienced that there is life beyond work. And they are not willing to settle for anything less anymore. And that’s a good thing. We all have worked way too hard at such a fast pace to keep up. This break was good for all of us. “
Marina sees great things in the future. “I see the economy exploding and I see that our company is going to expand, even further than where we have already. Currently, we are across Canada, in different provinces. We have seventeen sites and two physical locations in Niagara.” The second location is at 3550 Schmon Parkway in Thorold.
“With the pandemic, we’ve remained status quo; very low-keyed but very operational in the background. Now that things are changing, I think things are going to speed right up.”
MARINA’S MESSAGE TO WOMEN IN BUSINESS
“As a woman in business, even taking over the helm in 2004 as a sole owner, it was a very difficult transition. I got static from the bank. I got static from some employers. But for the majority, I had whole core employers, clients and candidates who were very supportive.
“Even though things are better today, there are still obstacles in our way. But the keyword is perseverance. I think if you can keep up that level of optimism and perseverance, I feel that you can accomplish anything and jump over any obstacle that is in your way.”
To check out Employment Professionals Canada (EPC), go to the website employmentprofessionalscanada.ca
