28 December 2007
Find out if you're on Canada's Best Employers list 2008
Do your company's communication practices earn it a place within Canada's Top 50 companies?
HR consultancy, Hewitt, today released its 50 Best Employers in Canada 2008 list, detailing those companies whose policies and communication have earned them widespread recognition and respect among their employees.
Open and honest communication 
Ted Emond (pictured, right), senior consultant with Hewitt in Toronto, who has been involved in the study for the past 9 years, spoke with the Hub earlier about the employers in 2008's list.
"Looking at the top 10 companies on the list versus the bottom 10 – in the top group, 82% agree that their managers are open and honest in their communication, whereas only 62% in the bottom 10 agree," he said.
What communication styles do employees appreciate?
"Overall, those employers cited in the top 10 communicate better than those listed at the bottom, but it's important to note that the difference is they all communicate differently. For example, EllisDon, which came first, has offices and projects around the world which presents different challenges to Wellington West Holdings, which only runs a single office," said Emond.
Firstly, all the companies on the list know that it's important that there's 2-way communication at their organizations and secondly, all the companies communicate in a way that supports their company values," Emond noted.
How can you make it onto the list?
There are no costs involved in completing the entry process, but eligible organizations must have operated in Canada for at least 3 years, and have 400 or more permanent employees (full-time and part-time).
Participating organizations must administer the following 3 surveys in their organization:
- a leadership team survey;
- an employee opinion survey; and
- an HR survey.
A sample of randomly chosen employees then rate their companies on a number of different factors, all of which combine to produce an overall ranking for their organization. It's with these results – based purely on the opinions of employees – that the 50 Best Employers in Canada list is compiled (see box, right).
Survey responses from more than 100,000 Canadian employees at 115 organizations determined 2008's results.
Spotting new trends
Emond on social media take-up from the 2008 list: "Out of the top 50 companies, not all that many are considered to be at the leading edge of technology. What they do do, though, is use the communication channels they have in the right ways."
Emond on formal employee recognition programs within the 2008 list: "Every employee questioned believes that their company recognizes their achievements. That's not always through formal recognition programs, but the companies realize that it's important that they recognize what good work their employees are doing."
Emond on the labor market: "We're seeing in our companion study of companies with 50-399 employees that companies in Western Canada in particular find the labor market's tightening considerably. Making it onto this list is a real advantage to their recruitment programs."
Results breakdown
The 50 Best Employers in Canada 2008 organizations are companies of different sizes, from different industries, from all across Canada – 23 from Ontario, 17 from Western Canada, and 10 from Quebec.
Have your say
Dispute the findings? Think your company should have made it onto the 2008 list? Vent your thoughts to your communication peers on the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
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