When you're a guy like Chris Bodley and you've got a job you love at the Sutherland Group, you sometimes have to endure mild annoyances on your way to work.
Like pesky cabinet ministers who want to hang with you just as your shift is about to start.
Bodley, a customer service agent at Sutherland Group's brand-new facility on Old Garden River Road, wasn't sure he had time for shaking hands today with Rick Bartolucci, the province's Minister of Northern Development and Mines.
"I'm just about to get started [working]," Bodley said as the minister introduced himself. After the ribbon-cutting formalities were done, Bartolucci, other political figures and Sutherland's top brass toured the place and pestered otherwise happy workers at their stations. To Sutherland Group Chairman and CEO Dilip R. Vellodi (shown cutting ribbon with Sault MPP David Orazietti), it comes as no surprise that Bodley and other staff working the phones at Sutherland's newest operations centre are enthusiastic about their jobs and just want to get to them.
"It goes to the credit of the leadership chain over here, it goes to the credit of the work ethic of the people that have been recruited and it also has to do with, frankly, the challenge of the job," said Vellodi.
He also said Sutherland Group, which began 18 years ago, intends to recruit an additional 250 new employees in Sault Ste. Marie over the next few months.
In addition to the Sault facilities, Vellodi said his Rochester, New York-based company currently has operations in the United States, India, and other areas.
In January it will open another facility in Vernon, British Columbia.
Then later in 2005, Vellodi says Sutherland will open a facility in the Philippines.
He uses employees from current Sutherland operations to train and bring best practices to new operations and to trade ideas with other centres.
"Over time some of these folks [Sault employees] may end up crisscrossing the globe providing best practices to other geographies where we might open up as well," said Vellodi.