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Standing out as a top employer in Canada requires a relentless approach. Of course, there are the standard expectations of flexibility, employee well-being, and career development opportunities. However, there is a series of leading-edge policies making waves in the market.
“This includes enhanced parental leave benefits, such as extended paid leave for both parents, and support for caregivers,” says Nupur Gill, HR management consultant at Robert Walters.
And she adds, “Fertility benefits are also gaining traction, providing financial assistance for treatments like IVF. Mental health initiatives remain critical, with access to therapy sessions, wellness stipends, and burnout prevention programs becoming standard offerings. Some smaller and mid-sized firms are innovating by covering commuting costs or providing free meals for employees who work in-office full-time, a rare but highly appreciated perk.”
Employees are increasingly looking for organizations that align with their values, such as sustainability and social responsibility. Additionally, leading employers are committed to fostering inclusivity across generational preferences, recognizing the diverse needs of a workforce spanning five generations for the first time.
Gill believes there are three key areas that the best employers focus on:
Employee experience: Create a positive day-to-day experience through supportive management, engaging work environments, and opportunities for collaboration. As more firms push for increased in-office days during transitional phases, it’s crucial to make these days purposeful, emphasizing collaborative activities or functions that foster connection and engagement.
Wellness and flexibility: Programs and working arrangements tailored to individual needs. Employers should also ensure their Employee Value Proposition (EVP) reflects benefits that employees genuinely want – customized to meet the diverse preferences of a multigenerational workforce spanning ethnicity, gender, and age groups.
Purpose and values: Build a strong organizational culture rooted in shared values that resonate with employees’ personal beliefs. A compelling EVP can help attract talent by showcasing how the organization aligns with their aspirations beyond just monetary rewards.
Organizations that want to keep core initiatives and projects on track and set themselves up for success in the coming months should be offering competitive salaries and benefits and perks, according to recruitment agency Robert Half’s managing director, Deborah Bottineau.
She says, “They should also be mindful of their hiring processes to help hire top talent quickly, retain valued team members, and ensure they have a good reputation among professionals and job seekers for the next time they need to fill a role.”
Robert Half’s data shows that 26 percent of professionals plan to look for a new job in the second half of 2025, and for the first time since the firm began tracking worker sentiment, better benefits and perks like flexibility rank as the highest motivator for exploring new roles (39 percent), followed by higher pay and more opportunities for career advancement, tied at 38 percent.
All of the organizations were selected by completing an in-depth questionnaire looking at key factors such as employee engagement, turnover rates, average tenure of staff, compensation and benefits, and health and wellness programs. Employers that successfully completed the submission phase were given a link to circulate amongst their employees.
Respondents rated benefits using the scale (where 1 = not at all important and 5 = very important), with CHRR comparing the data across the previous three years.
Flexible work options saw the largest positive change (+0.77), showing a dramatic increase in importance.
Employee reward and recognition programs (+0.40) and access to excellent technology (+0.38) also saw significant increases.
Diversity and inclusion programs had the largest negative change (−0.36), dropping in perceived importance.
Most health-related benefits (medical, dental, and vision) remained stable or saw modest increases.
Long-term care (−0.18) and regular performance reviews (−0.08) also declined.
CHRR’s data also draws interesting conclusions about the common debate of employees returning to the office or maintaining a degree of flexibility.
100 percent office-based: Both current and preferred rates increase slightly in 2025, suggesting a modest shift back to office environments.
Hybrid: Continues to be the most common and favoured arrangement, with both current and preferred percentages rising.
100 percent remote: Both current and preferred rates decrease, showing a small decline in fully remote work as a chosen or implemented model.
Employee’s choice: Both current and preferred rates drop, suggesting fewer organizations or employees are opting for total flexibility.
Robert Half’s Q2 2025 Remote Work Statistics and Trends report suggests that organizations promoting a flexible work environment have an advantage in finding the right talent.
The report also indicates that flexibility and work-life balance are two of the most prominent reasons for an employee to stay put or depart an organization.
Canadian organizations in the technology sector, along with marketing and creative sectors, were more likely to have flexible or remote work settings, while the administrative and legal fields were least likely to employ hybrid or remote workplaces.
“Offering flexibility, including through hybrid work options, can give businesses a major advantage in both attracting and retaining top talent, as well as in their own culture and branding, by signalling trust and adaptability,” explains Bottineau. “Knowing what other employers are offering, what candidates expect, and what matters to them most enables businesses to stay competitive in any market.
The 2026 Canada Salary Guide from Robert Half reveals that 52 percent of workers say they would switch jobs for better work-life balance and remote work options, even if base salary stayed the same, and 7 in 10 say a hybrid model is their preferred structure.
Location: Brampton, ON
Employee satisfaction rating: 84%
Operating fully remotely, the firm attracts a wide range of experienced job seekers looking to find an alternative to their in-office workplace, according to COO Matt LeMaire. “We’re able to hire quickly, and part of that is because we are a remote organization,” he says. “That tends to bring in not only a lot more candidates but also some of the better candidates because they may be at a place where they’re stuck going into the office, having to commute.”
LeMaire details the need to keep employees highly engaged with their fellow coworkers, which includes Teams channels to discuss non-work-related subjects. “The thing I’ve stressed to our managers and to staff on the whole is that you need to take that extra step to make sure that you’re making the culture vibrant. That includes going on video calls, keeping in contact with each other, and being social,” she says.
The integration of AI into companies has led to confusion and concern among Canadian workers, with many wary of being replaced. Peel Mutual keeps staff up to date while explaining the role it can play to aid them.
“We have monthly staff meetings and talk about some of the AI developments that we’re seeing within the industry and some of the ways we might use it in the future,” LeMaire says.
“But we also emphasize the fact that we’re trying to use it as an augmentation. It’s not a replacement; it’s a way to help people focus more on the high-value items in their work and leave the low-touch, low-value stuff to AI.”
Location: London, ON
Employee satisfaction rating: 90%
Having a remote-first office has helped Cognition+, as the insurance software company sources talent from across Canada.
“What we’ve seen is a higher degree of candidates, more choice, more applicants,and some really good people that are applying to the opportunities that we've posted,” says Matthew Scott, president and CEO. “And that’s changed. I think it was much more competitive about two or three years ago when things were more uncertain.”
Internships and co-ops with regional universities have also been a key component to Cognition+’s success, according to HR manager Katie Thibeault. She notes that in recent years, several former co-op students have risen to senior roles.
“It’s the best way to interview someone through a four-month, 12-month, or 16-month-long interview,” Thibeault notes. “They get to know us, they know they like it here, and we know we're happy with their performance.”
Location: Ottawa, ON
Employee satisfaction rating: 80%
After receiving feedback from employees on the need for further training, people and culture manager Laurie Mezger introduced “lunch and learn” sessions.
Recently, they have specifically focused on management and developing skills such as:
how to deal with difficult conversations
setting employee goals
carrying out performance reviews
improving hiring processes
“We’re working on developing soft skills. Right now, psychological safety is so important,” she says.
During the first months after being hired, employees are given regular check-ins to ensure everything is running smoothly.
“We have a 30-, 60-, and 90-day engagement survey. That just goes out to new employees to see how their first couple of months are going,” Mezger explains. “If someone is not feeling as supported as they should be, we can step in and make sure they’re getting that support.”
Frontline workers start with three weeks’ vacation, and managers get four weeks, contributing to an environment where workers are encouraged to recharge their batteries. Sick days can also be accumulated up to 120 days, a feature Mezger says provides peace of mind.
Mitigating burnout is particularly pertinent for the organization’s housing department, which regularly deals with emotionally challenging work situations.
“That’s where wellness check-ins are really important,” says Mezger. “Especially for our housing employees, as they’re working with homeless populations, so they do their check-ins once a month.”
Location: Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON
Employee satisfaction rating: 80%
There is no dearth of choice for Claudette Banks, director of human resources, who is consistently inundated with applications.
She says, “When we’re posting jobs, we have a lot of interest and volume. That’s a good problem to have, and I’m not complaining, but it puts more onus on us because we’re getting hundreds of applicants for a posting.”
A recent four-year strategy for the town of Stouffville was centred around the employee experience, and cultivating a close-knit team has delivered tangible benefits.
Team-building events outside of work, such as mini golf and cooking challenges, are essential to maintaining high spirits.
“It’s very important to be connecting with individuals, finding their connections and their similarities,” adds Banks. “We offer a comprehensive and people-first approach to employment that supports the well-being, growth, and success of every team member.”
Peel Mutual Insurance
Salary reviews on an annual basis at minimum, and review current market data quarterly, and then make changes as needed. Consistently promote internally each year, which also triggers some salary reviews.
LeMaire says, “We have found that we’re maybe not as competitive as a bigger organization for salaries. But as a smaller company, if a claims employee is working at a bigger company, for example, they might be handling 200 claims at a time, whereas for us they would handle 60.
Cognition+
Review all salaries annually and as needed based on the market conditions.
YMCA
Regular salary reviews to ensure compensation remains competitive and aligned with market trends.
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville
Market compensation reviews every four years.
Banks says, “Our market compensation review is about ensuring that we’re staying competitive. Our competition is all the municipalities in the province of Ontario, and we want to ensure that when individuals are looking for either a change or to enter into the government sector, we can be seen as an employer of choice.”
Peel Mutual Insurance
Short-term incentive program that awards individual and corporate performance. Employees can earn up to 22 percent of their salary in bonus at the highest level and 10 percent at the lowest level. The individual portion is tied to specific metrics based on position and ongoing development plans.
Staff received up to $1800 to spend on gym equipment or anything focused on the wellness space. This can include nearly all medical expenses along with items like daycare, kids' activities and sports fees, and similar services/items.
Cognition+
Bonus payments are calculated based on corporate, individual/team, and training goals that are set at the beginning of the year and pursued throughout the year. Depending on the achievement of those goals, bonuses are disbursed in February of the following year. Employees who are eligible to participate in our Group RRSP have the option to deposit any portion of their bonus into their Group RRSP.
Opportunity to take a small biweekly pay deduction to access the most comprehensive benefit package offered.
“We have employees near retirement, new grads, people who have families, and people who don’t,” says Thibeault. “By moving to a flex benefits plan, we were able to offer three different plans, meaning more variety for folks.”
YMCA
No.
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville
All full-time permanent employees are enrolled in the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), a defined benefit pension plan that provides long-term financial security and peace of mind.
Extended health benefits package:
â—¦ Drug plan: Fully funded direct drug plan
â—¦ Health care professionals: Coverage for licensed practitioners, including chiropractors and mental health providers
â—¦ Dental: 100 percent reimbursement for standard and supplemental services, plus coverage for major restorative and orthodontics
â—¦ Vision: Coverage for eye exams, prescription eyewear, and laser vision correction
â—¦ Other: Includes Employee Family Assistance Program, life and dependent life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (ADD), and emergency travel coverage
Peel Mutual Insurance
Service awards (cash payments) in five-year increments for team members. There is also a provision of bonuses for employee referrals for positions.
Cognition+
At monthly staff meetings, individuals with service anniversaries occurring that month are recognized in front of the entire company. In addition to celebrating this accomplishment with peers, there are two loyalty programs. The Service Award Program honours annual service anniversaries with Lego. During an employee's first year with Cognition+, they choose the features (hat/hair and facial expression) for their Lego figure, and they receive the figure along with a base featuring their name. Each subsequent year, they receive a Lego block marked with that year. The Service Milestone Program acknowledges each increment of five years of service by offering employees the option to select a gift card for a retailer of their choice, up to a specified dollar value. This dollar value increases with the length of service.
YMCA
Yearly Recognition Event celebrates employees for their dedication and outstanding contributions. We honour Long-Term Service Awards for milestone years of service. Above and Beyond Awards for exceptional performance and impact as a way of saying thank you to the people who help our organization thrive.
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville
Employee discount program.
Peel Mutual Insurance
Ongoing training and development opportunities for staff, which include customized development plans for individuals and are supported by internal development opportunities. Staff are encouraged to consistently upskill and improve their abilities while considering Peel Mutual Insurance a career destination for them to achieve their goals.
Monthly “learning challenges,” with targeted skill sets changing each month.
Access to online learning courses such as LinkedIn Learning and Udemy.
Cognition+
Every year, the company sets a training budget for all employees. As outlined in the Training & Development Policy, the company will reimburse job-related training expenses, including course/seminar fees, professional association certification exams and annual fees, tuition fees, required training materials, and reasonable travel expenses to receive training.
Any job-related training may be supported by the company with the manager’s approval, and job-related training would vary greatly between the wide variety of technical (i.e., software developer, quality assurance analysts, IT/DevOps, etc.), non-technical (i.e., account managers, finance, business analysts, project managers, etc.), and leadership positions we have at Cognition+. However, as a provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, employees in all positions are encouraged to gain knowledge in the insurance domain to better support clients.
YMCA
Expanded training opportunities based on engagement surveys. Growing their training library to support both leaders and frontline employees. These offerings include a mix of online and in-person sessions, covering practical and high-impact topics such as how to resolve conflict and emotional intelligence in the workplace. The goal is to provide relevant, engaging learning experiences that help employees grow both personally and professionally.
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville
Career conversations program: Encourages regular 1:1s between employees and managers, with a focus on SMART goals, developmental planning, and feedback loops. Team initiatives: Employees lead team-building activities that promote collaboration, communication, and inclusion, reinforcing shared values and engagement.
Leadership development: Includes coaching, mentorship, and formal leadership training to support growth and succession planning.
Recognition programs: Formal and informal recognition initiatives, such as monthly awards and milestone celebrations, help foster a culture of appreciation and motivation. Wellness and flexibility: Programs like flexible health spending accounts and parental leave top-ups support employee well-being and work-life balance.
Tuition reimbursement and continuous learning opportunities.
Peel Mutual Insurance
Flexible hours for all staff, the makeup of which differs based on individual and company needs. 95 percent of staff are fully remote on a permanent basis, providing exceptional flexibility in how they manage their work.
Cognition+
All full-time employees work a 35-hour workweek.
Also a remote-first employer, which means that most employees primarily work from a home office within Canada. Maintain a head office location in London, Ontario, and utilize the modern office space for in-person meetings as well.
Additionally, offer a compressed workweek through the Summer Friday Program, providing greater flexibility with working hours during the summer months. The Summer Friday Program allows all employees the option to earn days off (EDO) by working extra hours early in the week(s), resulting in either four full Fridays or eight half Fridays off during July and August. To receive a full Friday off, an individual must work 70 hours over the nine preceding days. To earn half a Friday off, they need to work 35 hours in 4.5 days prior.
YMCA
Remote work: Opportunities to work from home or other locations outside the office.
Flexible hours: Options to adjust start and end times to better fit your individual schedule.
Committed to providing flexibility that supports productivity, well-being, and a healthy work-life balance.
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville
Option to work 50 percent of the time remotely.
Banks says, “It’s about giving the employees a bit of opportunity to balance things in their own personal lives, whether it be commitments they have outside of work like childcare or elder care.”
Peel Mutual Insurance
No.
Cognition+
Each year, employees have one to two social events where they can bring their families. These family-friendly events have included attending a London Majors baseball game, tickets to the Reptilia reptile museum, and a private suite at a London Knights hockey game.
In addition, the health and dental premiums for our Group Benefits Plan are 100 percent paid for by Cognition+. This means that employees can include their eligible dependents on our plan without incurring any additional cost to them.
YMCA
Offer valuable benefits such as discounts on child care and camps: Enjoy a 20 percent discount to help make child care and summer camps more affordable for families.
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville
Paid parental leave.
CHRR asked all survey respondents, who operate in a range of industries, to list what they felt would improve their employee experience.
Here are some of their insights:
“Greater budget transparency and policy change communication”
“Find ways to be more efficient, so managers don’t need to work well beyond their 40 hours”
“More full-time positions and hour flexibility, plus no forced transfers”
“Proper air circulation in the summer for the warehouse”
“More help from HR in terms of building departments, custom training, and support for 2ICs”
“Provide benefits for continuous learning”
“To anticipate lost revenue and plan accordingly to diminish risks of not getting the results we expect”
“The company has recently grown, but employees who have been here for a while are gatekeepers and won’t let the newer employees in on information. It results in a very frustrating work experience”
“Better pay on par with living wage and more incentives to go above and beyond”
“More opportunities for collaboration between departments; senior-level team meetings happen, but lower staff are unaware of how the teams work together”
There’s no doubt the demands and expectations on Canada’s best companies to work for will continue to evolve.
Industry expert Gill lays out the direction of travel in her eyes. “Over the next two years, workplace flexibility will continue to evolve, with trends like four-day workweeks and asynchronous schedules gaining momentum. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) will shift from policy-based approaches to measurable outcomes, ensuring accountability and transparency.”
While she also acknowledges the growing prevalence of technology-driven solutions, such as AI-powered recruitment tools and personalized learning platforms, she foresees a fundamental issue coming to prominence.
She adds, “Pay equity evaluation requirements are developing in Canada, signaling a growing emphasis on fair compensation practices.”
The entry process for the 2025 Employers of Choice (previously Best Places to Work) comprised two steps: an employer submission followed by an employee survey. First, organizations had to complete an in-depth questionnaire looking at key factors such as employee engagement, turnover rates, average tenure of staff, compensation and benefits, health and wellness programs, diversity initiatives, professional development, corporate culture, flexible work options, reward and recognition, and green programs.
Companies that successfully completed the submission phase were then sent a link to an online employee survey to be circulated internally. To ensure the integrity of the data collected, employees were requested to provide their company email addresses.
To be eligible for the Employers of Choice recognition, organizations had to meet a minimum number of responses based on company size. The survey asked employees to rate their company across a range of metrics that constituted drivers of employee satisfaction. An employer needed to achieve an overall satisfaction rating of at least 75 percent to be recognized as an Employer of Choice.