First annual competition recognizes 50 most engaged workplaces
The health-care research industry is very competitive and has an average turnover rate of about eight to 10 per cent, according to Gord Johnston, vice-president of human resources at Bayer in Toronto. But at Bayer, that rate is below three per cent, he said.
A contributing factor to the lower-than-average turnover is Bayer’s focus on employee engagement, said Johnston.
“It’s important to capture the hearts and minds of employees,” he said. “Our success really comes through them.”
The company, which has 800 employees across the country, does annual employee surveys to find out what Bayer’s doing well and what it can improve upon. For example, even though the company has a lot of career opportunities, employees didn’t know how to grow their careers, found one of the surveys.
So Bayer created CareerFlexx, an online career development portal where employees can find out what steps they need to take to reach certain career aspirations and where they can begin career development discussions with their managers.
“We want to understand the aspirations of our employees and meet as many of their needs as we can,” said Johnston.
The company’s efforts are paying off. Over the past three years, the company’s engagement scores have stayed in the high 80-per-cent range, despite all of the economic uncertainty, he said.
“We’ve kept that engagement high and we’ve also kept our turnover very low in comparison to our industry,” said Johnston.
The company’s focus on employee engagement was recognized by I Love Rewards’ first annual 50 Most Engaged Workplaces competition. The winning organizations displayed leadership and innovation in engaging employees and created an environment where engaged employees are the organizations’ greatest assets, said Razor Suleman, CEO of the Toronto-based recognition company.
“The most leading indicator of business success, we believe, is having an engaged workforce,” said Suleman. This is especially the case in a knowledge-based economy, he added.
Participating organizations (Suleman declined to say how many organizations applied this year) filled out an application, detailing their initiatives under eight elements of employee engagement: communication; leadership; culture; rewards and recognition; professional and personal growth; accountability and performance; vision and values; and corporate social responsibility.
The elements were determined through a review of research on employee engagement and surveys of different HR leaders and CEOs to find out what engaged workplaces had in common, said Suleman.
Organizations could also submit supplementary information such as employee engagement survey scores or videos demonstrating the various initiatives, he said.
A panel of three judges compared each applicant to other organizations based on those elements to come up with the 50 winners.
All the winners have a clear strategic focus on employee engagement that comes from the very top, said Suleman.
“This is not an afterthought,” he said. “It is methodical, it is deliberate, it has executive buy-in and it is something they focus on as a company.”
Also, all the winners have incorporated the eight elements into their strategies but have done so to different degrees. So other organizations looking to boost employee engagement can’t just copy one of the winner’s strategies — instead, they need to find the mix of elements that works best for their organizations and employees, said Suleman.
The judges also rated each of the 50 winners to name the “Elite Eight” — organizations that did the best in each engagement category (see sidebar on page 8). Bayer was recognized for its communication efforts, which include a weekly e-newsletter for employees, a social-media-style employee intranet and regular town hall meetings to update employees on the business.
Also, Bayer’s president and CEO Philip Blake has breakfast six times a year with about 15 different employees. He talks to them about how the company is doing and where it’s going. Employees can also ask him any questions they want, said Johnston. The CFO has a similar breakfast series as well.
“Employees feel like there’s an opportunity to understand what’s going on and how they fit into the business’ success,” said Johnston.
At LoyaltyOne, which created and administers the customer loyalty program Air Miles, giving back to the community is an integral part of the company’s employee engagement strategy.
In 2009, the Toronto-based company launched CommunityOne Day, where employees spend one-half day volunteering for one of several charities and then they all meet back at the company’s headquarters for an afternoon barbecue.
“We believe it’s important to donate our time as well as our money so our entire employee base feels they’re actively participating in positive change in the community. They also get to gain valuable skills outside the workplace,” said Sofia Theodorou, vice-president of human resources at LoyaltyOne.
LoyaltyOne’s president and CEO Bryan Pearson also meets with employees on a quarterly basis to find out what they’re doing, why they like working for the company and what can be improved upon.
“It’s a great way for Bryan to check the pulse of associates while making it clear that he really cares about what they have to say. By the end of each year, Bryan will have sat down for a chat with at least half of all our associates. This lets them know that their voices are being heard,” said Theodorou.
The company, which is the winner of the leadership category, also holds bi-annual town hall meetings with the senior executive team and offers a manager-once-removed program. Under this program, introduced in 2008, an employee’s manager’s manager mentors and provides career coaching to the employee, said Theodorou.
Based on the anecdotal information in the applications, the companies that made the 50 Most Engaged Workplaces list added employees and grew top-line revenues during the economic downturn, said Suleman, while other organizations either laid off employees or had static head count and revenue.
“In the worst economic environment in 70 years, the companies that focused on employee engagement outgrew their competitors,” he said.
This was especially apparent at Workopolis. Even though the company’s business is based on other companies hiring, Workopolis still grew revenue by 43 per cent in 2009 and hired employees, said Suleman.
“They attributed this to staying true to their vision and values, their culture. They stayed with them in good times and bad times,” he said.
50 Most Engaged Workplaces
• 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
• Access America Transport
• Aird & Berlis
• American Express
• Apex Distribution
• Bayer
• B.C. Housing
• BlueCat Networks
• Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business
• Century 21 Canada
• Cliffstar
• ConAgra Foods Canada
• Dayforce
• Delta Hotels and Resorts
• Empathica
• Flight Centre
• Fusenet
• Gap Adventures
• Genesis Hospitality
• Highmark
• Hydro Ottawa
• IQ PARTNERS
• Kootenay Savings Credit Union
• LoyaltyOne
• M5 Networks
• Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
• Marriott Hotel — Calgary and Edmonton
• Medcan Clinic
• Mercedes-Benz USA
• Meridian Credit Union
• Milestones Restaurants
• Molson Coors Canada
• NetSuite
•peopleCare
• Polar Mobile Group
• Royal SunAlliance Insurance Company
• Servisair
• SIRIUS Satellite Radio Canada
• Softchoice
• Speakers’ Spotlight
• Supply Chain Management
• Syncapse
• Synovate
• Varicent Software
• We Care Home Health Services
• William Osler Health System (Osler)
• Workopolis
• XO Communications
• Young & Rubicam
• Zappos.com
The elite 8
Communication: Bayer
Corporate social responsibility: peopleCare
Leadership: LoyaltyOne
Accountability and performance: 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
Rewards and recognition: ConAgra Foods
Culture: Zappos
