Long View Systems

Purpose Delivers operational technology solutions including virtualization, server-based computing and network management to clients including EnCana, WestJet and the Government of Alberta.

Size 332 permanent and 36 contract employees in Calgary. 583 across Canada.

If you get to the 31st floor of Bow Valley Square and hear a bell clanging, don’t be alarmed. It’s just a member of the Long View Systems (LVS) sales team ringing in their latest success and spreading the good news.

The suit-wearing employees at LVS like to celebrate, and they have a knack for throwing great parties to do just that. Every few months, after-work “round-ups” are held with staff teaming up for friendly competitions. Amazing Race-inspired games with computer avatars handing out clues, to more low-tech cake-baking and salsa-making contests have all gone down in the office tower.

The bake-offs and bell ringing are all in good fun, but they’re also part of the LVS business strategy.

“Almost everything we do has a moral and a business reason,” says CEO Don Bialik, who takes time to have lunch with every new employee, asking for their advice as much as giving his own.

According to Bialik, his employees are more productive because they are having fun and connecting socially.

Togetherness at LVS also includes weekly team and monthly company-wide meetings with catered hot lunches. Coffee chats are encouraged and the office’s “family room” is set up with video games and a TV for informal gatherings.

Employees from offices in LVS’s seven other offices across North America keep in touch through video links at desktop computers or through TelePresence, a high-definition form of videoconferencing used for virtual face-to-face meetings.

Also keeping the staff and company progressing is LVS’s “no regrets” mantra. Quarterly career-life planning meetings are held with every employee. Short- and long-term goals are laid out along with strategies to achieve them, including professional development training.

Kevin Crowe, director of Managed IT Services, is just one of many who earned his MBA while working at LVS. He says he appreciates the push for growth within the company. “I know that tomorrow will be more challenging and I’ll be able to grow my career and my experience.”

longviewsystems.com

Key Employee Benefits
Retirement contributions; quarterly performance-based incentives; Christmas, Stampede and bi-monthly parties.

Why it’s the Best Place to Work
Fun is one of its core pillars, along with integrity, competency and value. The company offers long- and short-term career planning and advice. A busy social calendar keeps staff connected to each other.

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