Canada's best workplaces

<i>Canadian Business</i> releases annual best workplaces list

Fifty organizations - large and small, publicly traded and private - made the Canadian Business Best Workplaces in Canada list this year.

Management at these organizations forge a workplace culture of respect, fairness, camaraderie and, above all, trust. Those are the findings of more than two-and-a-half decades of research used by the Great Place to Work Institute in San Francisco, a management consultancy that created the Trust Index employee survey.

Companies that have been recognized as having leading workplace cultures by the Great Place to Work model consistently out perform their peers on the stock market over the long run.

And the winners are...

1. Back in Motion Rehab: Based in Surrey, B.C., BiM prefers to promote existing staff, even if that means supporting their additional training. The company has also historically shared 30 per cent to 50 per cent of distributed profits with staff.

2. 1-800-GOT-JUNK?: Based out of Vancouver, with offices worldwide, the junk removal company's management encourage staff to share their "101 Personal Life Goals" and support each other's dreams.

3. Urban Systems: A consultancy based in Kamloops, B.C. The so-called University of Urban Systems is open to all staff and offers courses from effective business writing to leadership training.

4. Environics Communications: A marketing and communications company based in Toronto. The ESRA awards (Arse spelled backwards) get staff laughing at their embarrassing moments, and the "Five for Five" program gets them out of the country in their fifth year: employees are given $5,000 and an extra week of permanent vacation.

5. Karo Design: A communications and design company based in Calgary and Vancouver. Management adapts to staff's needs rather than creating written policies. Staff are given as much time off as they need for volunteer work, and interest-free loans have been given to those in financial need.

The complete list

1. Back in Motion Rehab

2. 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

3. Urban Systems Ltd.

4. Environics Communications

5. Karo Design

6. Vancity

7. Edward Jones Canada

8. Halsall Associates Ltd.

9. iTRANS Consulting

10. Ernst & Young LLP

11. WCG International Consultants Ltd.

12. AdFarm

13. SaskCentral

14. Randstad Canada

15. Keller Williams Ottawa Realty

16. Intuit Canada

17. Windsor Family Credit Union

18. Trico Homes

19. Microsoft Canada Co.

20. The Marketing Store

21. Sandvine Incorporated

22. Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa

23. Fuller Landau LLP

24. Ceridian Canada Ltd.

25. Globex Foreign Exchange

26. Softchoice Corporation

27. Kingston Ross Pasnak LLP

28. Online Business Systems

29. Hill & Knowlton Canada

30. IHS (Canada) Ltd.

31. Tourism British Columbia

32. Heenan Blaikie LLP

33. Coastal Pacific Xpress Inc.

34. Banff Lodging Company

35. Canadian Health Services Research Foundation

36. Pinchin Environmental Ltd.

37. Deloitte & Touche LLP

38. The Personnel Department

39. TD Bank Financial Group

40. Lannick Group of Companies

41. Concert Properties Ltd.

42. Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia

43. High Road Communications

44. Info-Tech Research Group

45. S. C. Johnson and Son Limited

46. Thomson Carswell

47. Sapient Canada Inc.

48. Monster Canada

49. newheights software

50. Cobalt Engineering

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