Beyond Group’s General Manager, Ryan McKeen’s story is one of working hard and working his way up.
Ryan has been with Beyond for 12 years starting as a helper in the insulation division. While he had a little construction experience, he had no knowledge of spray foam. Ryan would sweep the floor and help the crews on site however they needed it, and it wasn’t long before Ryan was identified as somebody that Beyond wanted to build into.
"he had no knowledge of spray foam"
Originally from southwestern Ontario, Ryan grew up surrounded by farmland, so he started out working on farms and after high school he attended the University of Waterloo to become a pharmacist. That path turned into paramedicine which Ryan worked for a few years in northern Ontario before he followed his good friend turned wife, to Alberta where he worked as an EMT while simultaneously working at Beyond Group.
"My wife is the reason I'm here [at Beyond],” says Ryan. “She actually moved out here first, before we were even dating. She and I knew each other for along time, and as soon as she told me she was leaving the province, I was like, well, I got to make my shot here. So, I did and it went well, and we ended updating long term for about a year before I moved out to Calgary chasing her.”
Through the grapevine, Ryan’s wife, Steph heard about the job at Beyond, and long story short, Ryan got the job.
“It was originally supposed to be a stepping stone for me to continue my career as a paramedic in Ontario,” says Ryan. “And honestly, I just love the company, the people, and what they were about, so it made the transition pretty easy for me.”
Inspired by the culture at Beyond, Ryan worked his way from insulation helper to crew mate working the spray foam gun, and then on to lead spray foam installer.After a few years in the field, Ryan took on an estimating role and eventually sales manager.
When the former General Manager left Beyond, Ryan took on some of the responsibilities and has been engaged in that for about two years now. He has officially held the GM title for six months.
Ryan's background as a paramedic has been very valuable to his current role at BeyondGroup. As a manager he has to handle conflict between employees or with clients, and his experience in handling intense situations as a paramedic has benefited those instances.
"It really helped me to remain calm in what is a very chaotic situation at times so I'm able to think fast on my feet. I'm able to stay cool in what is otherwise a really hectic situation,” he says.
The most unexpected thing Ryan has experience working at Beyond is the growth pattern.
When he came on board, there were 12 people in total on staff, half of that on the floor.
"If you asked me then, and said I was going to be [the GM], and the company was going to have 80 to 90 people on staff, I definitely wouldn't believe you because that's pretty far from where we were at the time.”
That growth has been the best and, in some ways, the worst thing about working at BeyondGroup.
“The best thing is definitely the people. The people make it what it is. I just enjoy coming to work. I can trust the people that I'm around and we get to have a good time while working hard.”
As to why growth also not so good at Beyond?
“There has been a little bit of a lack of structure at times because we grew faster than we were able to implement certain processes,” explains Ryan. “That's actually been my biggest goal as a general manager: to implement more structure.”
With that in mind, Ryan’s goals are to create a work environment that’s fun but also has clear accountability.
To help him achieve that goal, Ryan hired Operations and People Manager, Lisa Desilets. Together, they work collaboratively to implement consistent processes around performance management across the board at Beyond.
Inside the Beyond office, Ryan is often made fun of being a big Toronto Maple Leaf's fan.
Outside the office, Ryan is an avid collector of Pokémon Cards and Lego.
With thousands of cards in his possession, he is often under the admiration of other collectors, including his son’s friends.
“I probably have two or three hundred cards that many people would consider themselves lucky to have one of,” he says.
In addition to his impressive Pokémon acquisition, Ryan also owns an extensive Lego collection. His favourite being Barad-dûr tower from the Lord of the Rings series.
"I also have the Rivendell set, which a lot of people would say is their favourite, but I prefer the Barad-dûr one,” Ryan says.
Above all, Ryan’s best collection is his family. Happily married for going on 10-years, Ryan and his wife Steph share two children, an eight-year-old boy and a soon-to-be six-year-old girl, and they're definitely what's the most important, says Ryan.
"I got to make my shot here"
