Canada's Top 100 Employers

Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions and progressive human resources policies. Winners are announced each October in Maclean's magazine [cite web|url=http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20071015_110184_110184&source=srch|title=Maclean's Magazine Cover Story, October 15, 2007] and approximately two dozen large newspapers across Canada shortly afterwards. The annual competition is organized by Mediacorp Canada Inc., a specialty publisher of employment-related periodicals, which manages the application process and oversees the selection of winners. Following the selection of winners, Mediacorp editors post their reasons for selecting each of the winners (including grades) online. The competition is extensively covered by the press in Canada each year. [cite web|url=http://www.CanadasTop100.com/reviews.html|title=Press Reviews, Canada's Top 100 Employers]

election Process

Employers are evaluated by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers using eight criteria: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. [cite web|url=http://www.canadastop100.com/research.html|title=Selection Criteria, Canada's Top 100 Employers] Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. Any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Canada is eligible for the award. Employers of any size may submit an application, whether private or public sector.

Academic Advisory Board

A blue-ribbon Academic Advisory Board oversees the selection criteria for each year's Canada's Top 100 Employers competition. The distinguished panel members, drawn from universities across Canada, have each written or edited a major human resources textbook in Canada. [cite web|url=http://www.canadastop100.com/advisory_board.html|title=Academic Advisory Board, Canada's Top 100 Employers] The current advisory board is chaired by Dr. Daniel A. Ondrack, who is Academic Director of Executive Programs and Professor of Management at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Other members of the advisory board include: Dr. Richard J. Long, Professor of Industrial Relations & Organizational Behaviour at the College of Commerce, University of Saskatchewan; Dr. Nina Cole, Associate Professor of Human Resources Management at Ryerson University; andDr. Andrew Templer, Professor of Management & Labour Studies at the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor.

2008 Winners

The following employers were chosen by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers for their 2008 list (in alphabetical order):

*AbeBooks Inc.
*Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc.
*AltaGas Ltd.
*Appleby College
*Arcis Corporation
*Assiniboine Credit Union Limited
*Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario, The / AMAPCEO
*Bayer Inc.
*BioWare Corp.
*BitHeads, Inc.
*Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
*Boeing Canada Technology Ltd., Winnipeg Division
*British Columbia Safety Authority
*Business Development Bank of Canada / BDC
*CAE Inc.
*Canada Post Corporation
*Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto
*Cementation Canada Inc.
*Ceridian Canada Ltd.
*Certified General Accountants Association of Canada
*Christie Digital Systems, Inc.
*Deloitte & Touche LLP
*Diagnostic Chemicals Limited
*Durham Regional Police Service
*Emergis Inc.
*Enbridge Inc.
*EPCOR Utilities Inc.
*Export Development Canada
*Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
*Farm Credit Canada
*Fidelity Investments Canada Limited
*General Dynamics Canada
*Golder Associates Ltd.
*Great Little Box Company Ltd., The
*Halifax Herald Limited, The
*Hamilton Health Sciences
*Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co.
*Hill & Knowlton Canada
*HSBC Bank Canada
*I Love Rewards Inc.
*IKEA Canada Limited Partnership
*Jacques Whitford Limited
*Keane Canada, Inc.
*KPMG LLP
*L'Oréal Canada Inc.
*Laurentide Controls Ltd.
*Manitoba Liquor Control Commission
*Mars Canada Ltd.
*Marsh Canada Limited
*MBNA Canada Bank
*McGill University Health Centre
*Microsoft Canada Co.
*Mintz & Partners LLP
*Monsanto Canada Inc.
*National Arts Centre
*NB Power Holding Corporation
*New Flyer Industries Canada ULC
*Next Level Games Inc.
*North Atlantic Refining Ltd.
*Nycomed Canada Inc.
*OPSEU Pension Trust
*Office of the Auditor General of Canada
*Ontario Power Generation Inc.
*PCL Construction Group Inc.
*Patient News Publishing Inc.
*PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
*Procter & Gamble Inc.
*Progressive Solutions Inc.
*Radical Entertainment
*Research In Motion Limited
*Royal British Columbia Museum Corporation
*Royal Canadian Mint
*Russell Investments Canada Limited
*SAS Institute (Canada) Inc.
*Sapient Canada, Inc.
*SaskTel
*Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation
*Saskatchewan Government Insurance
*Shell Canada Limited
*Sierra Systems Group Inc.
*Simon Fraser University
*Spruceland Millworks Inc.
*Suncor Energy Inc.
*Swiss Re
*Sybase iAnywhere Solutions, Inc.
*Syngenta Crop Protection Canada, Inc.
*TD Bank Financial Group
*Toronto Hydro Corporation
*Toronto International Film Festival Group
*Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.
*Trican Well Service Ltd.
*University Health Network
*University of Toronto
*Urban Systems Ltd.
*Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity)
*Veer Incorporated
*Wardrop Engineering Inc.
*Resort Municipality of Whistler, British Columbia
*Yellow Pages Group
*Regional Municipality of York, Ontario

Unlike similar competitions, the reasons for each employer's selection are published by the judges each year, [cite web|url=http://www.canadastop100.com/national|title=List of Finalists, 2008 Canada's Top 100 Employers] which makes the competition transparent and provides guidance to other employers on how they can improve their own workplaces and benefits. The Globe and Mail newspaper has said that the annual publication of the judges' reasons provides "an instant bible to human resources professionals and job seekers". [cite web|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FLAC.20030521.CALIST%2FTPStory%2F%3Fquery%3Dcanada%2527s%2Btop%2B100%2Bemployers&ord=5827158&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true|title=The Globe and Mail, "Much Ado About Lists", May 21, 2003]

Regional and Special-Interest Competitions

In addition to the national competition, the organizers of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project also manage 18 other "top employer" competitions with 22 large newspaper and magazine partners across Canada. [cite web|url=http://www.canadastop100.com/partners.html|title=Media Partners, Canada's Top 100 Employers Project] These include regional competitions in British Columbia, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/bc|title=BC's Top Employers] Alberta, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/alberta|title=Alberta's Top Employers] Saskatchewan, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/sk|title=Saskatchewan's Top Employers] Manitoba, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/manitoba|title=Manitoba's Top Employers] Greater Toronto, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/toronto|title=Greater Toronto's Top Employers] Hamilton-Niagara, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/ottawa|title=National Capital Region's Top Employers] Montreal, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/montreal|title=Montreal's Top Employers] New Brunswick, Nova Scotia [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/ns|title=Nova Scotia's Top Employers] and Newfoundland. Also included are five special-interest competitions that recognize Canada's best employers for family-friendly benefits, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/family|title=Canada's Top Family-Friendly Employers] young people, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/young_people|title=Canada's Top Employers for Young People] recent immigrants, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/immigrants|title=Best Employers for New Canadians] older people, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/older_workers|title=Top Employers for Canadians Over 50] and earth-friendly workplaces, [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/environmental|title=Canada's Most Earth-Friendly Employers] plus the Financial Post newspaper's Ten Best Companies To Work For competition. [cite web|url=http://www.Canadastop100.com/fp10|title=Financial Post's Ten Best Companies to Work For] Employers complete a single application to be considered for all the competitions.

Top Employer Summit

Each spring, the organizers of the Canada's Top 100 Employers competition host a unique policy-oriented conference that brings together the writers and editors who work on the project. [cite web|url=http://www.canadastop100.com/conference/2008_brochure.pdf|title=Conference Program, 2008 Top Employer Summit (PDF)] Held annually since 2004, the Top Employer Summit explores topics related to the competition in a non-commercial format and is Canada's largest annual event for senior-level HR professionals. [cite web|url=http://www.employersummit.ca|title=Top Employer Summit] Presenters at the conference have included Al Gore, Muhammad Yunus, Harry Belafonte, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Stephen Lewis, Joe Clark, Peter Mansbridge, Dick Pound and Richard Bolles. Speakers at the event are selected by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers to bring CEOs and senior HR professionals the latest thinking on becoming an employer of choice.

References

External links

* [http://www.CanadasTop100.com CanadasTop100.com]