Best Workplaces, Company Culture
Great workplace cultures are built to last. Our recently published list of Best Workplaces™ in Canada included a handful of very special organizations that are in it for the long haul. This month, Great Place to Work® would like to endorse our ‘Legends’, organizations that have been named to our Best Workplaces™ in Canada list for 10 years or more!
So what keeps these organizations coming back year after year? Sure, the branding as one of the Best Workplaces™ in Canada is nice, (OK, really nice), but the real motivation for embarking on this journey lies much deeper, in a sincere belief that people are the heart of their business. And this commitment to their people goes right to their bottom line.
Ames Tile & Stone Ltd.
Years on the list: 2008-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: Circle Teams at Ames Tile and Stone highlight their commitment to collaboration and inclusion. These ad hoc, cross-discipline teams, facilitated by someone who has line responsibility, address specific business issues and challenges.
"This achievement is one that we all share and reflects our collective dedication to customer service, education and continuous improvement." - Chuck Phillips, CEO
EY
Years on the list: 2006-2013, 2015-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: EY Badges allows employees at EY Canada to showcase their valuable future-focused skills to colleagues and the wider market. Each badge represents a new level of learning, experiences, and contributions; helping to unlock career growth.
Fuller Landau LLP
Years on the list: 2006-2011, 2013-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: When employees at Fuller Landau pass their CFE, Partners invite them to a celebration dinner to mark the momentous occasion. It's a great opportunity for the employee to be honored and to form lasting connections.
"To be recognized, once again, as a Best Workplace™ is a huge honour for Fuller Landau. We are grateful to those who matter most- our team!" - David D'Cruz, Partner
Grant Thornton LLP
Years on the list: 2008-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: Grant Thornton encourages Selfies. These self-assessments involve completing three statements about what employees are doing well, what they could do to improve their contribution, and a positive belief statement. 92% completed a Selfie this year.
"In my role as CEO, my number one priority is making sure we have a great culture. I know if we focus first on our Purpose to help our clients, colleagues and communities thrive, our people will be highly engaged and we will achieve our financial goals" - Kevin Ladner, Executive Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Grant Thornton LLP
Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada
Years on the list: 2007-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: Hill+Knowlton uses its Alumni Page on LinkedIn as a recruitment tool. This enables the firm to attract “boomerang” employees, some of whom may even be living abroad, and welcome them back to the H+K family.
"Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada is a story of endurance; we can sprint with the best of them, but we’re marathoners at heart. We consistently try to create an environment of excellence and entrepreneurship that helps us navigate the ups and downs of the business cycle. A lot of it comes down to culture, and we believe that it’s our job to empower employees to create the culture they want.” - Goldy Hyder, president and CEO, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada
Intuit Canada
Years on the list: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: New employees are personally welcomed to the Intuit family, by the President, at a special breakfast. This is an opportunity to set the cultural tone, but also learn about the employee and their onboarding experience.
"When it comes down to it, although the Intuit leadership team sets the values, goals and strategies for our business, it’s our employees who bring it all to life. I am consistently inspired to see our team’s passion for creating a culture of family, their drive to give back to the community and their desire to live our mission of powering prosperity around the world." - Jeff Cates, President, Intuit Canada
Online Business Systems
Years on the list: 2007-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend:When former Onliners return to Online, they welcome them back with an actual wood boomerang. They typically welcome at least one “boomerang” every year. This past year they had five!
"We don’t take our culture for granted at Online. We operate our company on three foundational pillars: Creating a unique and refreshing experience for our clients, delivering with excellence, and being a great place to work. Those aren’t just words – every Onliner lives by them. And when we’re all pulling together in the same direction, great things happen." - Chuck Loewen, Founder and CEO
Randstad Canada
Years on the list: 2007-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: Randstad has moved away from annual performance appraisals and replaced them with Great Conversations. This helps employees achieve individual and career goals through meaningful, continuous coaching and feedback, with a focused commitment to personal development.
"With our new brand promise, Human Forward, we reaffirm that the real heroes are our people. Every day, they embody with passion, intelligence and dedication our mission to help people realize their full potential." - Marc-Etienne Julien, CEO Randstad Canada
RBC
Years on the list: 2009-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: The My Community platform at RBC enables employees to identify volunteer opportunities; organize or sign up for volunteer activities; apply for RBC volunteer grants for a charity; and donate to the charity of their choice.
Royal LePage Performance Realty
Years on the list: 2008-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: For Administrative Professionals Day, Royal Lepage Performance Realty invites admin staff to the President's home for a home-cooked meal, with the management team acting as waiters. Employees go home with an appreciation gift as well.
SaskCentral (Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan)
Years on the list: 2007-2008, 2010-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: SaskCentral's Truth and Reconciliation Working Group actively promotes the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within the organization. This Group provides different learning events and opportunities that are focused on reconciliation with indigenous peoples.
"Being recognized as a Great Place to Work year after year is a testament to our resilient workforce. Our employees appreciate the work-life balance SaskCentral offers however, it’s to them we attribute the establishment and maintenance of our positive culture. So, this achievement really belongs to them." - Keith Nixon, CEO
SC Johnson
Years on the list: 2006-2014, 2017-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: Remote employees at SC Johnson, have a “Remote Sales Employee Liaison” who keeps them connected by sharing information, updates and best practices to ensure remote employees continue to feel connected and engaged.
Softchoice
Years on the list: 2006-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: Softchoice knows that 70% of individual development occurs on the job, largely through coaching from managers. They deliver 'The Coaching Habit', an innovative and collaborative program designed to help managers use coaching as a habit.
T4G Ltd
Years on the list: 2008-2017
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: At T4G, work-life integration takes many forms: from home, nocturnally, on a laptop in an airport... Work is what they do, not where they go. Work is what they produce, not when they produce it.
TD Bank Group
Years on the list: 2006-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: The Diversity Sourcing Team at TD Bank takes on a strategic sourcing role focused solely on attracting top talent from the LGBT community and executing a LGBT talent strategy enterprise-wide within Canada.
"Our people are our key differentiator. That is why nurturing an inclusive culture that supports our colleagues to unlock their full potential isn't a nice to have at TD – it's a must have. I'm incredibly proud of our bank's culture and the way our colleagues bring our purpose to life each and every day." - Bharat Masrani, CEO
Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd.
Years on the list: 2006-2015, 2017-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: Thomson Reuters has a 'meeting free time zone' between noon and 1:30 pm Monday to Thursday. This ensures employees take time for lunch every day and have dedicated time to focus on work/projects instead meetings.
Trico Homes
Years on the list: 2006-2008, 2010-2016, 2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: Trico's Innovation Lab allows up to five employees to work on a problem for three months during work time. Staff step out of their comfort zones, participate in product development, and experience fast pace learning.
"A strong culture is carefully crafted and nurtured. It cares for and invests in its people, fosters diversity, inspires happiness and continually embraces change" - Wayne Chiu, CEO Trico Homes
Urban Systems Ltd.
Years on the list: 2006-2018
What makes them a Best Workplace™ Legend: After their most recent AGM, Urban Systems shared a video to demystify the meeting. "What Happens at the AGM, Doesn't Stay at the AGM", helped non-partners understand the objectives and process of this annual meeting.
"In convening our people to derive deeper meaning from our purpose - we found our cause together and built an enduring community in the process" - Martin Bell, CEO
THINK YOUR ORGANIZATION IS A GREAT WORKPLACE?
Register today to become Great Place to Work Certified™. Get recognized for the outstanding culture you’ve built or let us help you create a more productive work environment.
ABOUT OUR LISTS
Great Place to Work® publishes a series of Best Workplaces™ lists based on feedback from more than 300,000 employees at Great Place to Work Certified™ organizations across all industries in Canada. Employees complete an anonymous Trust Index© survey, answering questions about how frequently they experience behaviors that create a great workplace, including, the transparency of communication, degree of collaboration, quality of benefits programs, opportunity for professional development, and support for work-life balance. If 7/10 employees respond positively to the survey, the organization becomes Great Place to Work Certified™ for one year. Results from the survey are highly reliable, having a 95% confidence level with +/- 5% margin of error.
ABOUT GREAT PLACE TO WORK®
GPTW (www.greatplacetowork.ca) is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, GPTW recognizes the world's Best Workplaces™ in a series of national lists including those published by The Globe & Mail (Canada) and Fortune magazine (USA). Great Place to Work® provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures.
Follow GPTW online at www.greatplacetowork.ca and on Twitter at @GPTW_Canada
