Fall 2017
The Butler Did It Event Staffing
We, with our partners, succeed
Company History
For over 25 years, The Butler Did It has been staffing events for Toronto’s top caterers, venues, event planners and private functions. Our commitment to customer service and communication has earned us the distinction as Toronto’s finest event and hospitality staffing firm. We treat each function as a unique affair, putting together a team of experienced service professionals to meet and exceed the specific needs of each event.
My Role
At The Butler Did It I work as a Human Resources Generalist Intern. In this position my main job is to process the on-boarding of new hires. I review resumes, interview candidates, process hiring paperwork , assist in running orientation twice a week, as well as serve as the main communicator for existing "Butlers" with the company on general HR issues. The HR team that I work on is comprised of myself and one other co-worker. Most of my time at work is independent but I do work with the other half of the HR team to coordinate many things as well as other The Butler Did It office members to complete some tasks and projects as necessary.
Office Culture
The office team of TBDI is pretty small. There are about twenty people in total working in the office across a few different departments or teams. We have an Accounting team of four that handles all of the company's financial aspects including payroll. Then we have our Bookings team of five which handles the actual placement and coordinating of our "Butlers" on events. The People & Culture team that I work in with one other colleague handles all of the company's human resources and Butler relations. The Butler Did It's newest division is the Culinary department. They handle all of the scheduling and staffing for any back of house or kitchen events. All of the orders for TBDI are taken by our Orders desk which is covered by one member throughout the work week. And finally we have our President and Vice-President who oversee the company and work on management of the office team as well as maintaining business relationships with the many catering companies, event planners, and venues around Toronto.
Given the size of the office team, the office culture is very friendly and somewhat relaxed. Most of the people in the office don't have offices instead we all work in an open space at our own workstations. This allows easier interaction with other co-workers and promotes workplace friendships. Many of the people with the company have worked here for over ten years and are very good friends outside of the office. Even though they are very close knit, my co-workers welcomed me when I arrived in September and were incredibly helpful while I figured my way though the company's processes and policies. They were and continue to be very kind and suggest different places around Toronto to eat and visit.
Given the size of the office team, the office culture is very friendly and somewhat relaxed. Most of the people in the office don't have offices instead we all work in an open space at our own workstations. This allows easier interaction with other co-workers and promotes workplace friendships. Many of the people with the company have worked here for over ten years and are very good friends outside of the office. Even though they are very close knit, my co-workers welcomed me when I arrived in September and were incredibly helpful while I figured my way though the company's processes and policies. They were and continue to be very kind and suggest different places around Toronto to eat and visit.
Canadian Work Culture
One of the main points that I've noticed in Canadian work culture, particularly in my office, is the emphasis on self care. In my office it's not uncommon for someone to leave their desk for a few minutes to just take a walk around the block or just grab some coffee. Everyone encourages each other to get out of the office and move around a bit. This small gesture that is practised almost daily in my workplace is one of the many minute differences between the US and Canada that I always find jarring. In the United States in any of my other work environments breaks were something that you were given in a very rationed schedule and never as heavily encouraged as they are in my Canadian office.
Similarly to American business settings reliability and politeness are highly valued. People in professional settings and through Canada in general expect others to be true to their word. People are expected to do things that they've committed to or to give notice if plans change. People are also extremely thoughtful of how their actions affect others. Canadians and Americans are both polite and cordial with people especially co-workers, it's a necessary trait in any business environment.
The Canadian work environment is something that I definitely expected to be a complete carbon copy of US business environment and I was once again wrong in my assumptions. While Canada is close to the US and we both speak the same language we each have our own unique ways of doing business.
Similarly to American business settings reliability and politeness are highly valued. People in professional settings and through Canada in general expect others to be true to their word. People are expected to do things that they've committed to or to give notice if plans change. People are also extremely thoughtful of how their actions affect others. Canadians and Americans are both polite and cordial with people especially co-workers, it's a necessary trait in any business environment.
The Canadian work environment is something that I definitely expected to be a complete carbon copy of US business environment and I was once again wrong in my assumptions. While Canada is close to the US and we both speak the same language we each have our own unique ways of doing business.