by Angela Lovell.
MWAF is excited to continue our series about women who work in Canadian agriculture with an interview with Selest Morley, who is the Human Resources Manager – Canada for Louis Dreyfus Company Canada ULC.
1. What do you do?
I am the HR Manager for Canada with Louis Dreyfus Company. Louis Dreyfus Company is a global agricultural commodities trading company with over 18,000 employees around the world and is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods founded in 1851. I am based in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, at LDC’s canola crushing facility. I have a bachelor’s degree in commerce, with a major in Human Resources from the University of Calgary.
2. What’s your role?
I currently support three sites in my position: Port Cartier Quebec (Grains and Storage Terminal and Shipping Port located on the St. Lawerence River), Calgary Alberta (office) and Yorkton Saskatchewan (office and crush operations). Our Yorkton operations are under expansion, as we are currently building a second crush facility that will double our annual output and constructing a pea protein isolate production facility. Both constructions are expected to be completed before the end of 2025, and we anticipate the need to hire 100 to 150 employees in the next 1 to 3 years for the additional jobs required for these new facilities.
I perform the entire HR lifecycle for these sites, including but not limited to recruitment, labour relations, progressive discipline, campus recruitment. I also support payroll, HR information systems, benefits and retirement programs, and training & development. I also work closely with relevant labour unions.
3. What motivated you to take on this role? How did you get here?
I found out about this opportunity with LDC after receiving a connection invitation and message on LinkedIn, from my current manager. He thought my past work experience and credentials were a great fit. LDC had recently moved the available HR headcount from the USA to Yorkton Saskatchewan in anticipation of future growth and expansions and had planned to put corporate HR representation onsite for the first time.
I can still clearly remember the day my manager contacted me, as my entire world seemed to have been flipped upside down. I was half-way into a maternity leave with my newborn son, feeling reluctant to not provide loyalty to my previous employer and return from that maternity leave, and overwhelmed at the idea of changing jobs as a working mom with two children under two years old. For those who are working moms, you know the struggles of trying to perform fully at work with inadequate sleep – and to have a NEW job, NEW team and NEW company to learn would make that challenge even bigger.
Despite all the worries and anxiety I had, I also knew that LDC was better aligned with the HR structure and leadership, corporate oversight and guidance, hierarchy, sustainability and diversity that I was seeking and missed from the previous jobs I had in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and 10 years prior in oil & gas in downtown Calgary. At the job I was on maternity leave from, I was the only HR professional within the organization – and any HR pro would agree that networking and collaboration with fellow HR is of upmost importance to keep our craft/knowledge relevant and applicable.
In life, sometimes the right door opens when you least expect it. Or when you least plan for it. I was enjoying the sunny days of maternity leave with my small children. But I knew that an HR role with LDC Yorkton was a door that would not re-open in the near future. And by going back to work early from a maternity leave to a job that would provide me with more work-life balance and job satisfaction, I would be a better and happier working mom to my family.
4. Please tell us more about your role and challenges and what your role means to you.
For me, this role combines all aspects of my life. I can contribute to the agriculture industry, which many of the generations did before me in my family as grains & oilseeds farmers. I am able to proudly work close to home, as I was originally from the Yorkton area before going to Calgary for 10 years and still have lots of family in the Yorkton area. I am able to participate in the hiring activities with the crush expansion and pea protein construction projects, which will provide economic and job security to both the Yorkton area and province of Saskatchewan with this major LDC investment. And I am able to apply all the HR experience I acquired in downtown Calgary to all aspects of my Yorkton job. The hundreds of roles I filled within Middle East rig recruitment and office/shop roles across North America, the immigration activity I supported over the years, implementation of a new applicant tracking system, performing HR during COVID-19 at a close-proximity meat manufacturing facility, etc… all aspects of all these jobs provided me with the patience, understanding, knowledge and instincts I now have as an HR professional.
5. Looking back at your career, what have you learned?
At the start of my career, I remember feeling very dissatisfied and worried about my future career path. I wondered how rig and shop recruitment activities would get me to my next career move. I was still in downtown Calgary, so I also had concerns about getting the experience I needed for my next career moves… while competing with the significant HR workforce within the bigger city of Calgary. I did many interviews in Calgary and was feeling defeated about receiving continuous feedback that “if I had more experience” I would have been selected for the role, which was impossible to achieve without being given the opportunity to get the experience.
I would say the best thing I did for my career was remain patient, and never turn down an interview, new project, networking opportunity, or conversation about a new role. Every time a headhunter or HR professional reached out to me over the years, I would try to make time for a conversation. And any opportunity to interview, even if I wasn’t selected for the job, was still worthwhile as I would gain experience and comfort interviewing. Eventually, with the collection of enough experiences and contacts, the right doors would open when they are supposed to.
So, although you can try to set up your career map to get the job/industry you want, you may also need to be open and flexible to fate being the travel-guide and presenting opportunities spontaneously and randomly.
My decision to move out of the large city center also had a positive impact on my career momentum, so you can also say “right place right time” is important.
Another lesson learned that has had a positive impact on my career is preparation. Dress for the job that you want and not the job you have right now; over-prepare for meetings and presentations rather than under; and remember that first impressions leave a lasting impression. Small details such as eye contact, strong and firm handshake, polite and happy gestures such as smiles, etc. will contribute to a memorable reputation for yourself.
6. What advice would you have for other women?
Build a support network that you can rely on, whether it’s with family or friends. Working moms need layers of lifelines, especially when daycare calls for child pickup due to illness and you are about to step into an important in-person meeting. I also have virtual coffee dates periodically with previous HR coworkers to continue to be connected.
Update your LinkedIn profile! The search functionality and networking tools are limitless, and if you don’t have a profile or updated information then there are missed opportunities.
Practice your handshake with a friend or family member.
Purchase one comfortable black blazer and a couple of simple blouses. It will allow you to reflect confidence internally and externally.
Schedule “YOU” time to decompress after a stressful day of work. Find a hobby or positive outlet. For me, I love crocheting and making labels on my Cricut, after the kids have been put to sleep. I have also started doing Spin exercise once a week which has been excellent both physically and socially.
Learn to embrace change. Live your life day-to-day and accept that nothing is constant or definite. Whether it’s with your living arrangement or job opportunity, live in the moment and don’t be afraid to take the occasional calculated risk. This is a very important piece of advice, as I would not have been so lucky to find this incredible job opportunity with LDC if I had not embraced change.
