Career Options
Canada's top 100 employersThe new 2006 edition of Canada's Top 100 Employers shows spectacular competition among employers to attract and retain quality employees. |
|
 [ 2005-10-26 ] |
To find out, take this test by eCareerFit, the career assessment experts.
The 2006 list of Canada's top 100 employers, which singles out the employers across the country with exemplary workplace environments, was released last week. The annual competition profiles the companies and organizations that are the leaders in their fields in attracting and retaining high quality employees.
"This year marks a turning point in the competition," says Anthony Meehan, president of Mediacorp Canada Inc., publisher of the book Canada's Top 100 Employers. "We're now seeing exceptional workplace practices become increasingly widespread. More employers are recognizing the demographic changes Canada is facing and asking 'How do we improve our workplace practices to attract -- and keep -- the talented employees we need to stay in business?'"
The task of grading the applicants fell to author Richard Yerema and his team of researchers. Now in his 6th year of overseeing the competition, Yerema is pleased that many of the "exceptional" practices chronicled in previous editions have now become part of the mainstream.
Yerema and his research team were assisted this year by a blue-chip panel of academics, who advised the competition on the criteria that should be used to judge the finalists. These four university professors -- each of whom has written or edited a major human resources textbook in Canada -- provided valuable insights on the emerging issues that the Top 100 review team should consider. The panel is chaired by Professor Daniel A. Ondrack of the Rotman School at the University of Toronto. Rotman is Mediacorp's academic partner on the Canada's Top 100 Employers project.
A key emerging issue this year was the increasing role demographics are having on the benefits being offered by top employers.
"We're seeing more attention being paid to issues such as time off for elder care, retiree benefits and salary top-up for compassionate leave," Yerema says. "Forward-thinking employers are taking the lead in this area because they recognize that these issues are becoming much more important to employees."
The most heartening trend this year, say competition organizers, is how widespread innovative workplace practices have become across Canada. "These are the best conditions for job-seekers and employees in a generation," Meehan says.
In considering each employer's application, Yerema and his team reviewed seven key areas: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; and (7) Training & Skills Development. In the book, they reveal the employer's internal grades for each of these areas -- and the reasons why each employer was selected.
Besides these criteria, Yerema also examined each employer's charitable efforts and community involvement. In the book's first edition, a strong correlation was observed between charitable work and how an employer treats its own employees. Employers who take a broader view of their community responsibilities, it turns out, are almost always better places to work.
In choosing the finalists, the team considered how each employer compared to others in its industry. This book includes large and small employers from a range of industries, offering very different benefits and working conditions. The common thread that runs through the finalists is that each is an industry leader. From oil refineries to videogame designers, the employers chosen this year stand out from others in their industry in attracting and retaining quality employees.
TOP 100 list (in alphabetical order):
Abebooks Inc., Victoria, B.C.
Adobe Systems Canada Incorporated, Ottawa, Ont.
Agrium Inc., Calgary, Alta.
Algorithmics Incorporated, Toronto, Ont.
Alias Systems Corp.,
Toronto, Ont.
AltaGas Income Trust,
Calgary, Alta.
Altana Pharma Inc.,
Oakville, Ont.
Amex Canada Inc.,
Markham, Ont.
Assiniboine Credit Union Limited, Winnipeg, Man.
Atlantic Lottery Corporation Inc., Moncton, N.B.
Bank of Montreal, Toronto, Ont.
Bayer CropScience Inc.,
Calgary, Alta.
BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., Yellowknife, N.W.T.
BioWare Corp., Edmonton, Alta.
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Toronto, Ont.
Blast Radius Inc.,
Vancouver, B.C.
Business Objects Corp., Vancouver, B.C.
Canadian Institute for Health Information, Ottawa, Ont.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., Calgary, Alta.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Toronto, Ont.
Cascades Inc.,
Kingsey Falls, Que.
Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto, Toronto, Ont
Ceridian Canada Ltd.,
Winnipeg Man.
CGI Group Inc., Montreal, Que.
Co-operators General Insurance Company,
Guelph, Ont.
Cognos Incorporated,
Ottawa, Ont.
Conexus Credit Union,
Regina, Sask.
Consilient Technologies Corp., St. John's, Nfld.
Credit Union Electronic Transaction Svcs. Inc.,
Regina, Sask.
Cronus Technologies Incorporated, Saskatoon, Sask.
DALSA Corporation,
Waterloo, Ont.
Diagnostic Chemicals Limited, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Dofasco Inc., Hamilton, Ont.
Ecotrust Canada, Vancouver, B.C.
Enbridge Inc., Calgary, Alta.
Epcor Utilities Inc.,
Edmonton, Alta.
Ernst & Young LLP, Toronto, Ont.
Export Development Canada, Ottawa, Ont.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Toronto, Ont.
Frank Russell Canada Limited, Toronto, Ont.
G.A.P. Adventures Inc.,
Toronto, Ont.
General Dynamics Canada, Ltd., Ottawa, Ont.
Great Little Box Company Ltd., The, Vancouver, B.C.
Halifax Herald Limited, The, Halifax, N.S.
Halsall Associates Limited, Toronto, Ont.
Hamilton Police Service, Hamilton, Ont.
Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co., Mississauga, Ont.
Hill & Knowlton Canada, Toronto, Ont.
IBM Canada Ltd., Markham, Ont.
IKEA Canada Limited Partnership, Burlington, Ont.
Indigo Books & Music Inc., Toronto, Ont.
Keane Canada, Inc., Halifax, N.S.
Komex International Ltd., Calgary, Alta.
L'OrDeal Canada Inc.,
Montreal, Que.
Laurentide Controls Ltd., Kirkland, Que.
Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto, Ont.
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., Richmond, B.C.
Manulife Financial Corporation, Toronto, Ont.
Matrikon Inc., Edmonton, Alta.
MBNA Canada Bank,
Ottawa, Ont.
Medavie Blue Cross,
Moncton, N.B.
Merck Frosst, Pointe-Claire, Que.
Microsoft Canada Co., Mississauga, Ont.
Murray Automotive Group, Winnipeg, Man.
National Capital Commission / NCC, Ottawa, Ont.
Nature's Path Foods Inc., Richmond, B.C.
New Flyer Industries Ltd., Winnipeg, Man.
Nexen Inc., Calgary, Alta.
North Atlantic Refining Ltd.,
Come By Chance, Nfld.
ParkLane Homes Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.
Patient News Publishing Inc., Haliburton, Ont.
PCL Constructors Inc., Edmonton, Alta.
Pfizer Global Pharmaceutical (Canada), Kirkland, Que.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto, Ont.
Procter & Gamble Inc.,
Toronto,Ont.
Progressive Solutions Inc., Vernon, B.C.
Radical Entertainment Inc., Vancouver, B.C.
Rogers Communications Inc., Toronto, Ont.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa, Ont.
SAS Institute (Canada) Inc., Toronto, Ont.
SaskTel, Regina, Sask.
Seven Oaks General Hospital, Winnipeg, Man.
Shell Canada Limited,
Calgary, Alta.
Sierra Wireless, Inc.,
Richmond, B.C.
Sophos Inc., Vancouver, B.C.
Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc., Waterloo, Ont.
Suncor Energy Inc., Calgary, Alta.
Surrey, City of , Surrey, B.C.
Thunder Bay, City of,
Thunder Bay, Ont.
Toronto Hydro Corporation, Toronto, Ont.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., Cambridge, Ont.
University Health Network / UHN, Toronto, Ont.
University of Toronto,
Toronto, Ont.
Urban Systems Ltd.,
Kamloops, B.C.
Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, Vancouver, B.C.
Vancouver Port Authority, Vancouver, B.C.
Wardrop Engineering Inc., Winnipeg, Man.
Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd., Toronto, Ont.
Yanke Group of Companies, Saskatoon, Sask.
Zenon Environmental Inc., Oakville, Ont.
Would you ever work for a social or charitable enterprise in the third sector?