It’s amazing how fast time flies – and that’s especially true in the workplace when you have a team and colleagues that you respect and love working with. For me, this is the case at Salopek & Associates. Yesterday we had the pleasure of celebrating one of our amazing Consultants and rock star mamas, Clementine Crooks, who recently welcomed the sweetest baby boy into the world. The Sip N See, held at our Calgary office, was a great opportunity to get our team together and celebrate success and growth of a different kind than we might normally celebrate in the workplace – and yet, it felt just as important and made me really appreciate the team we have built, the culture we’ve created and the professionals we have been able to attract and retain as a result of this culture.
Clementine joining our team 3 years ago was the past meeting the present (and a great example of how maintaining & working your professional network can lead to new career opportunities!). Having both attended the University of Calgary, and actually living on the same floor in residence together, we were acquaintances through school and then went separate ways as Clementine returned to Victoria to graduate and work for 10 years. After having a darling daughter there, her family was planning a move back to Calgary and she was interested in joining an HR Consulting firm that would allow her to continue developing her career while having the flexibility that a growing family can require. An online search for Calgary HR Consultants brought her Salopek’s website (a name she recognized from varsity days), and after coffee meetings and conversation, it was mutually decided that a great fit had indeed been found!
Three years later and there has been a lot to celebrate – both professionally and personally – with Clementine! In addition to her outstanding work and countless training workshops, which Clementine has given to rave reviews from clients, she also achieved her CPHR designation while consulting with Salopek…all while managing motherhood with two beautiful girls! That’s right, 2 – about a year after joining our team we held Salopek’s first ever Baby Shower to celebrate Clementine’s second baby girl. And I swear, I think Clementine gave a workshop that morning! Truly devoted to her clients, passionate about their success and in high demand by clients knowing she’d be on a bit of a maternity hiatus, Clementine wowed everyone with her commitment to completing projects and transferring work so that the client received consistent support even while she was away.
Now, having welcomed her 3rd child three years into working with Salopek, it is a special moment because it celebrates the success, both as a professional, mother and wife, that Clementine had hoped to achieve when she joined Salopek. This professional and personal growth was something we candidly discussed in our initial coffee meetings and I am so happy to see it come to fruition for both her and Salopek.
So, Clementine’s Sip N See was a big celebration for me – it not only provided the opportunity to applaud an amazing mother and colleague, but also an incredible professional who has successfully managed to achieve a work-life balance that really works for her, her family and her employer. At the same time, it also felt like a celebration of Salopek – or perhaps it was simply a proud moment for me. I’m proud of our team, of the professionals we attract and of the culture we’ve created that allows employees to achieve a balanced lifestyle that provides flexibility, autonomy and the support of an amazing team. I love that our team cares enough to come together and celebrate the personal successes of our colleagues, and I greatly value that these opportunities will also be available for me as I continue growing professionally and personally as part of the Salopek team.