The top 50 employers for 2007

Winnipeg's Wellington West Capital tops the list

Alberta employers may be doling out signing bonuses and other forms of cash compensation. But in return for this largesse, they’re getting the lowest employee engagement scores in the country.

That’s according to Hewitt Associates’ 50 Best Employers in Canada survey, which had 120 organizations participating. Engagement scores in Alberta average at 61 per cent compared with the national average of 63 per cent. Quebec’s engagement scores average at 71 per cent, the highest in the country.

“While it’s important to offer competitive salaries, our analysis of employee data, even from Alberta, suggests that other factors, such as managerial support, recognition, work processes, and opportunities for learning and development, have a bigger impact on employee engagement,” said Ted Emond, senior consultant at Hewitt.

Employers on the best 50 list on average have higher employee engagement scores and lower voluntary turnover rates than other employers in the study. On average, 77 per cent of employees are engaged at an organization that’s on the list, compared with just 55 per cent at other participating organizations.

The average voluntary turnover rates among the organizations on the list are 9.4 per cent for full-time employees and 22.4 per cent for part-time employees, compared to 12.4 per cent and 33.6 per cent, respectively, for participating organizations that didn’t make the best 50.

Hewitt also found organizations on the best 50 list have an easier time attracting new employees, with an average of 47 applications for every externally posted job opening compared to 30 applications received by the 50 lowest ranked participants in the study.

This is the eighth edition of the Best 50 Employers in Canada survey, which is open to organizations with 400 employees or more. Most of the scoring is based on employee opinion surveys, and interviews with business leaders account for the rest of the scores.

The 50 Best Employers in Canada 2007

1. Wellington West Capital Inc., Winnipeg
2. EllisDon Corporation, London, Ont.
3. Edward Jones Canada, Mississauga, Ont.
4. Bennett Jones LLP, Calgary
5. PCL Constructors Inc., Edmonton
6. Sleep Country Canada, Toronto
7. Envision Financial, Langley, B.C.
8. Farm Credit Canada, Regina
9. JTI-Macdonald Corp., Mississauga, Ont.
10. GlaxoSmithKline Inc., Mississauga, Ont.
11. Intuit Canada, Edmonton
12. Desjardins Groupe d’assurances générales, Lévis, Que.
13. CIMA+, Montreal
14. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Canada Inc., Windsor, Ont.
15. Ultramar Ltée, Montreal
16. Procter & Gamble Inc., Toronto
17. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, Surrey, B.C.
18. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Mississauga, Ont.
19. Cintas Canada Ltd., Toronto
20. The Co-operators, Guelph, Ont.
21. Marriott Lodging Canada, Mississauga, Ont.
22. Midwest Surveys Inc., Calgary
23. Rocky Mountaineer Vacations, Vancouver
24. BC Biomedical Laboratories Ltd. Surrey, B.C.
25. Flight Centre North America, Vancouver
26. Delta Hotels, Toronto
27. McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited, Toronto
28. Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, Toronto
29. G & K Services Canada Inc. , Mississauga, Ont.
30. Ceridian Canada Ltd., Markham Ont.
31. Deloitte & Touche LLP, Toronto
32. Federal Express Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.
33. AstraZeneca Canada Inc., Mississauga, Ont.
34. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., Mississauga, Ont.
35. Abbott Canada, St. Laurent, Que.
36. Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc., Montreal
37. Starwood Hotels & Resorts (Canada), Toronto
38. Xerox Canada Inc., Toronto
39. British Columbia Automobile Association, Burnaby, B.C.
40. Nexen Inc., Calgary
41. Golder Associates Ltd. , Burnaby, B.C.
42. Business Objects, Vancouver
43. Saint Elizabeth Health Care, Markham, Ont.
44. Scotiabank Group, Toronto
45. Keg Restaurants Ltd., Toronto
46. National Bank of Canada, Montreal
47. Canadian Western Bank, Edmonton
48. CONEXUS, Regina
49. Bell Nordiq, Montreal
50. Bentall Capital LP, Toronto

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