A New Employee

In 2009, we heard about an opportunity to hire an employee of one of our competitors who was unsatisfied with his situation. The employee had been with them for several years and was looking for a change of scenery.

Having collaborated with him on several projects previously, we knew his reputation as a strong worker and expressed our interest. We were able to get in touch and ultimately extended a job offer.

The employee had been working in Canada on a long term work visa from France. To work with Quartet, he began the application process for an extension on his visa.

As he neared the end of the application, we were told by the government that we were cleared to hire him. He began the following week and it soon became apparent how well he fit in with the rest of the Quartet staff. He showed great initiative and his work ethic impressed our management.

However, we soon received a call from Canadian immigration. As it turns out, his former employer had kept him on his visa for too long and the government had rejected his request for an extension.

Quartet hired a labour lawyer for him in an attempt to find a solution to the pressing issue. Unfortunately it was no use. The employee was forced to resign and leave the country with his family.

We stayed in touch with each other in the interim but largely loss contact with him after a year or two.

At the beginning of December 2012, the employee reconnected with us and was able to share some good news; he had been issued a new visa. We hired him on the spot. He showed up to work the following week, reconnecting with old friends and meeting new employees who had arrived since his departure. He was even able to reclaim his old desk.

It had been more than a year since he had been forced to leave but he was finally back right where he belonged.