50 best employers in Canada

Employers on the 50 Best Employers in Canada list understand that employee engagement can make a difference between winning and losing the war for talent.

According to employee surveys compiled for the seventh annual ranking by consultancy house Hewitt Associates, 78 per cent of employees are engaged at the 50 Best Employers, compared to just 57 per cent at other participating companies.

Cintas Canada, a Mississauga, Ont.-based uniform supplier, leads the list this year, bumping B.C. Biomedical Laboratories of Surrey, B.C., off of its four-year perch.

Second-overall and first among medium-sized employers (300 to 1,499 employees) is the Winnipeg-based financial services firm Wellington West Capital.

There were 137 employers participating in this 2006 edition of the 50 Best Employers list, which is published in the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine and La Presse. Rankings are primarily based on employee surveys.

“The companies that made the Best Employers list are ones that have developed people strategies that are designed to facilitate, promote and achieve corporate success,” said Neil Crawford of Hewitt.

“This is what Hewitt refers to as employee engagement, where employees both see and feel a connection between their daily contributions and the success of their organization. In our experience, this connection is extremely important. The stronger the connection, the greater the motivation and commitment on the part of workers to help their employer achieve its goals.”

In addition to employee engagement scoring higher at the 50 Best Employers than at other participating companies, leaders at the 50 Best Employers are far more likely to believe they are attracting the people they need for business success than leaders at the other organizations (86 per cent versus 68 per cent).

Full-time voluntary turnover is lower at the 50 Best. It’s eight per cent versus 11 per cent at the other organizations. The difference is even greater when it comes to the average part-time voluntary turnover rate: 19 per cent at the 50 Best versus 28 per cent at other organizations.

The 50 Best Employers particularly outshone the other participating employers in three areas: leadership direction, career development and opportunities, and recognition. According to Hewitt, leaders at the 50 Best are more likely to:

-be clear about where the organization is going and what it takes to get there;

-display passion and enthusiasm for the future;

-build trust with employees by making commitments and consistently delivering on them;

-roll up their sleeves and work alongside employees to get the job done;

-focus most of their time and energy on coaching employees to be successful;

-listen to what the front line is saying and taking corrective action quickly;

-create personal connections with employees;

-hire people based on their potential;

-constantly talk about the importance of growth and development, and ensure that resources are available to support career development programs and practices;

-be truly excited at the prospect of grooming their successors and helping employees reach their potential;

-make sure that the most qualified people are promoted;

-be properly equipped and trained to proactively coach employees through career development discussions on an ongoing basis;

-ensure that the human resources function has the expertise and resources to support managers and employees as they pursue their development plans;

-actively work to remove organizational barriers to career development and advancement;

-adopt a bias towards internal promotion rather than external hiring;

-act as consistent role models and demonstrate what recognition looks like, particularly toward new hires;

-notice extra work;

-deliver recognition sincerely and with an expression of true appreciation;

-recognize employees’ family members when appropriate; and

-tailor recognition to the unique situation and the individual involved.

“Excelling in these three areas is not about having the best programs. It’s about building these practices into the culture so that they happen every day and become second nature,” said Crawford in a statement.

“The commitment, patience and single-mindedness required to initially build these practices are extraordinary, but once they are in place they become self-sustaining and the rewards stretch well beyond the bottom line.”

The 50 Best Employers in Canada 2006

Large employers (with more than 1,500 employees):

1. Cintas Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.

4. G & K Services Canada Inc., Mississauga, Ont.

10. Edward Jones Canada, Mississauga, Ont.

11. Johnson & Johnson Family of Canadian Companies

16. Delta Hotels, Toronto

20. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (Canada), Toronto

21. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., Mississauga, Ont.

24. GlaxoSmithKline Inc., Mississauga, Ont.

25. The Co-operators, Guelph, Ont.

32. Groupe Robert Inc., Markham, Ont.

35. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Ltd., Markham, Ont.

38. McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada, Toronto

39. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, Surrey, B.C.

40. Keg Restaurants Ltd., Richmond, B.C.

42. Golder Associates Ltd., Burnaby, B.C.

43. Scotiabank Group, Toronto

49. National Bank of Canada, Montreal



Mid-sized employer ranking (with 300 to 1,499 employees):

2. Wellington West Capital Inc., Winnipeg, Man.

3. EllisDon Corporation, London, Ont.

5. BC Biomedical Laboratories Ltd., Surrey, B.C.

6. Bennett Jones LLP, Calgary

7. Microsoft Canada Co., Mississauga, Ont.

8. PCL Constructors Inc., Edmonton

9. Envision Financial, Langley, B.C.

11. Farm Credit Canada, Regina

13. Sleep Country Canada, Toronto

14. S.C. Johnson & Son Ltd, Brantford, Ont.

15. Proctor & Gamble Inc., Toronto

17. JTI-Macdonald Corp., Toronto

18. Hoffmann-LaRoche Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.

19. Prospera Credit Union & Insurance Agencies, Abbotsford, B.C.

22. Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, Toronto

23. Ultramar Ltd., Montreal

26. Business Objects, Vancouver

27. Flight Centre North America, Vancouver

28. Co-operators Life Insurance Company, Regina

29. Corporate Express Canada Inc., Mississauga, Ont.

30. Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc., Montreal

31. L’Union Canadienne, Quebec City

33. Ceridian Canada Ltd., Winnipeg

34. Thomson Nelson, Toronto

36. Midwest Surveys Inc., Calgary

37. The Murray Automotive Group, Winnipeg

41. HB Group Insurance, Mississauga, Ont.

44. Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals Group - Canada, Kirkland, Que.

45. CONEXUS, Regina

46. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Markham, Ont.

47. Maritime Travel Inc., Halifax

48. Carswell, Toronto

50. Abbott Canada, St. Laurent, Que.