MHI RJ Aviation Group Celebrates Service Awards and Strengthens HR Efficiency with Altrum

MHI RJ Aviation Group (MHIRJ), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, provides comprehensive and critical solutions in operations, engineering, and customer support, including maintenance, refurbishment, technical publications, marketing, and sales activities for the global regional aircraft industry. Although the company is young, it relies on strong expertise and an internationally distributed team, with headquarters in Boisbriand, as well as offices in Toronto and the United States. Today, it employs nearly 1,200 permanent staff worldwide, including engineers, office personnel, and specialized technicians.

Founded in 2020, MHIRJ wanted to quickly lay the foundations for a recognition culture. As a new company, no official program was in place, and the HR team sought to implement a structured solution to acknowledge service anniversaries. This program needed to adapt to a rapidly growing organization with highly skilled employees located in Canada, the United States, and elsewhere in the world.

It was in this context that the team reached out to Altrum, following a recommendation.

MHIRJ faced several unique challenges in establishing its recognition program:

• Wide geographic coverage: During the vendor selection process, one criterion proved decisive: the ability to serve an international workforce with a unified experience. “We didn’t want to work with two different vendors for our various divisions. If Altrum couldn’t provide delivery outside Canada and adapt to our needs, it wouldn’t have worked for us,” explains Kim Danis-Gagnon, Talent and Culture Coordinator and Recognition Program Lead.

• Recognition of prior expertise: A distinctive feature of MHIRJ is that many of its employees have accumulated years of experience at prestigious companies such as Bombardier. For its recognition program, MHIRJ chose to honor these years of expertise, even if they predated the company’s founding. “Yes, the company is young [founded in 2020], but many of our employees have long-standing expertise that we wanted to continue recognizing,” says Kim. This approach, which fully values each employee’s career journey, adds complexity to data management, particularly in reconciling official start dates with recognized years.

• Required contractual flexibility: “In HR, we don’t manage contracts or signatures. That’s handled by our IGS department, which has an established process. If this team believes a vendor doesn’t meet our standards or contractual methods, it complicates collaboration,” explains Kim. Working with a partner capable of adapting to the company’s contractual requirements and demonstrating flexibility was therefore essential.

In 2021, MHIRJ launched its Altitude Service Awards Program, celebrating career milestones starting at 3 years of service, then at every 5-year interval. For employees reaching 15 years or more, the company also organizes recognition events.

The platform implementation went smoothly thanks to the team’s support and their flexibility regarding administrative processes. “Implementation was easy; everything was simple. The team took the time to meet with us, assess our needs, and it went really well,” says Kim.

Each month, the HR team generates a list of employees celebrating a milestone, which is sent to Altrum. This allows recognized employees to automatically receive, on their service anniversary, an invitation to select a gift from an online store, within the budget predetermined by the program. A copy of this list is also shared with managers, who have access to a pool of customizable recognition cards to present to the relevant employees.

The platform’s flexibility greatly facilitates adjustments to staff changes: information can be updated directly in the system, keeping data current and simplifying anniversary date management.

“The platform improves efficiency; I can do many things myself, adjust information, generate reports, without needing to contact the Altrum team. It reduces delays and manual follow-ups, and it’s user-friendly and tailored to our needs,” affirms Kim.

The partnership with Altrum allowed MHIRJ to:

• Deploy a service awards program that celebrates employees starting at 3 years and accounts for prior experience.

• Improve operational efficiency: the platform simplifies management of frequent team data changes, automates invitations, and handles the entire gift process from selection to delivery.

• Create an excellent employee experience: employees appreciate the variety of gifts and the smooth ordering process. In recent engagement surveys, the service award program received only positive feedback.

• Streamline management with autonomy: The HR team now operates independently, minimizing the need to contact the vendor for minor adjustments. Direct access to reporting and data tracking within the platform significantly simplifies day-to-day operations.

• Benefit from high-quality customer service: ongoing support from the Altrum team is particularly valued. “Whenever we have a new project, the team takes the time to guide us, ask the right questions, and help implement our ideas. We can discuss everything, ask all our questions, and we truly receive 5-star service,” says Kim.

• Ensure technical reliability: no bugs or technical issues have been reported since implementation, ensuring a smooth user experience.

• Comply with contractual requirements: Altrum’s approach stood out by adapting to internal processes, facilitating approval by all involved departments.

”The platform allows us to manage the program very efficiently. I can adjust information, extract reports, and follow up without going through Altrum, which saves us a lot of time. Automated communications with employees are always sent at the right time, which greatly simplifies our work.

From the employees’ perspective, they appreciate the simplicity of the process and the variety of gifts offered. Plus, whenever we have a project or a question, the Altrum team is always available to support us. They are truly a vendor with whom we never have problems.”

– Kim Danis-Gagnon, Talent and Culture Coordinator and Recognition Program Lead

MHIRJ plans to further strengthen its recognition culture in the coming months, including:

• Recognizing 1-year service to foster a sense of belonging from the first year.

• Formalizing a retirement recognition program.

• Consolidating and standardizing recognition practices across all departments to ensure fairness and consistency.

• Organizing more recognition events for service milestones beyond 15 years.

The HR team continues to consult resources offered by the platform to stay up to date on best practices and market trends. Finally, with anticipated workforce growth, investment in recognition is expected to increase proportionally. “As we have more and more employees, recognition will become an increasingly discussed topic,” concludes Kim, emphasizing the strategic importance of these initiatives within the organization.