Geneviève Rochon: Homecoming

Sometimes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Geneviève Rochon can attest to that. Several years ago, Geneviève left her job at Sollio Agriculture as an internal communications advisor to stay closer to home and focus on her family.

“I first worked for Sollio Cooperative Group for four years, in communications. Unfortunately, after the birth of my first child, travelling became too complicated.”

Later, Geneviève acquired a few more years of experience and eventually decided to return. Discussing her reasons for coming back to the cooperative, she was quick to mention the importance of human contact.

“The relationships are very strong here. Even when you’re just having a chat with colleagues, people really take the time to ask, ‘How are you?’—and mean it. Everyone genuinely wants to hear your answer.”

Making a difference to your colleagues

“Since we are only back to the office once a week, team spirit and sense of belonging can be harder to develop. Thanks to our work in Internal Communications and Human Resources, we are able to reach out to employees and make sure they’re doing well.”

As someone who loves to listen and make those around her happy, Geneviève feels valued in a role that allows her to make a difference in people’s daily lives in small ways. Her favourite part is having conversations, offering her colleagues a sympathetic ear and, above all, helping them find solutions to their problems. To Geneviève, nothing is more important than taking the time to understand her peers’ realities, so that they can grow into their potential in an exciting work environment, no matter what their job is.

Kindness first

Geneviève has rediscovered the Sollio Agriculture values that mean the most to her—the ones to do with people. In her discussions with Human Resources and other departments, work-life balance comes up a lot.

“The work-life balance is really good, especially with the option of telework. You can manage your time, there’s never any problem. Personally, I have received a huge amount of support from the company since I came back. I have felt accommodated many times when I needed more flexibility in my schedule.”

“I came back to colleagues that I cared about and really liked working with, and above all, I came back to friends. My onboarding was easy, because I already knew the places and people. Even when I left all those years ago, I always had Sollio in the back of my mind.”

For Geneviève, coming back to Sollio was like coming home.