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50 Best Workplaces in Canada
Extracts from
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2008
About the survey
By Jen Wetherow
Director, Great Place to Work
Institute Canada
Most Canadian employers like to think that they are decent, even pretty good places to work. But with today’s competitive labour market and the need to make the best use of all talent in a company, the bar for work workplace quality has been rising. Being "good" is no longer enough.
Organizations participating in the Best Workplaces in Canada list have a unique opportunity to find out where they are on their quest to become – or maintain – great workplaces. The rigorous list assessment process provides metrics for tracking progress, benchmarking with the best, and sharing lessons about effective people practices.
Research from the Great Place to Work Institute’s best workplaces lists over the past decade in many countries confirms that trust is the foundation for quality jobs and performance excellence. And the good news is that high-trust relationships require behaviours that can be learned and embedded into an organization’s culture.
Organizations on the 2008 list of Best Workplaces were all assessed using an employee survey, the "Trust Index," developed by the global research firm Great Place to Work Institute Inc. There are 57 multiple choice and two open-ended questions that provide an accurate, employee perspective on what it is like to work in the organization.
Each question measures one of the five dimensions of the Great Place to Work Institute’s trust-based Model: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. Completed surveys are sent directly to the institute, and results are only ever reported in aggregate form so employees can be confident that opinions are confidential.
Two-thirds of each organization’s final score is taken directly from its Trust Index survey. The remaining onethird of each organization’s score is taken from the institute’s assessment of the company’s "Culture Audit" submission. This is a significantly more detailed questionnaire that is completed by senior HR representatives. It helps to provide a more complete picture by capturing the core values and philosophies that underpin people practices.
The organizations on the 2008 Best Workplaces in Canada list come from a variety of industries, range in size from 51 to 43,302 employees and are located from coast to coast. Each has taken a different path to creating and sustaining a great workplace, but in the end, each has forged a strong link between culture and performance.
During the 2008 list assessment process, a total of 24,063 Canadian employees were surveyed using the Trust Index tool. Internationally, the Great Place to Work Institute surveyed over 1.2 million employees last year for similar lists around the world.
"On the quantitative side," says Dr. Graham Lowe, a national workplace expert, professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, and partner at the Great Place to Work Institute Canada, "the best workplaces list data help us to differentiate between good and great organizations. On the qualitative side, the Culture Audit offers us insights into the people practices of very successful organizations that understand the strategic importance of culture."
"It goes far beyond offering the best perks," says Dr. Lowe "You can’t compete on perks and benefits alone. It comes down to the quality of the relationships throughout the workplace, the support people are given to succeed in their jobs, and their overall enjoyment of the total work experience."
The power of peer recognition
A well-placed thank you or a pat on the back – particularly coming from the right person – can be powerfully motivating. And if not, at very least recognition is part of what makes some companies great places to work.
"It’s not just about business," says Sunny Daljit, chief executive officer of Keller Williams Ottawa Realty. "At the end of the day, it’s also about having a life worth living. And recognition is part of that."
Mr. Daljit introduced a peer-to-peer recognition initiative to the Ottawa-based affiliate of Keller Williams International that exactly captures this spirit and has clearly contributed to the company’s standing as one of the 50 Best Workplaces in Canada.
"Fill the Bucket" is a program that encourages employees to publicly acknowledge and thank each other for exceptional effort or work. All of the company’s major meetings begin with at least one person’s words of praise. Usually, says Mr. Daljit, there are several people anxious to share.
According to Mr. Daljit the initiative helps reinforce positive, productive behaviour. But more importantly, he says, it fosters camaraderie, breaks down hierarchical barriers and makes the company’s meetings more productive because it frames them for success.
And, in at least two instances that he’s aware of, Fill the Bucket has impressed meeting guests so much they have left positions to go work for Keller Williams. Most outsiders, says Mr. Daljit, have not experienced that level of gratitude and recognition and are inspired by the company’s warm feeling and attitude.
Top ranked employer IT/NET Ottawa Inc. also shares a desire to nurture a warm, family-like corporate culture.
Joanne Beaton, vice president of corporate services, says employees at the IT consulting firm are encouraged to acknowledge colleagues’ exceptional work by sending them a cash-valued gift certificate through the company’s "My Thanks" peer-to-peer recognition program.
My Thanks is not regulated, meaning the value of certificates is determined by who ever is awarding it and can be done any time and as often as employees choose to pass on recognition. Those who receive certificates can spend the value they’re awarded as they like.
In 2007, the company spent approximately $4,000 to $5,000 on this program, but according to Ms. Beaton, it would be well worth even a much higher cost. Like Keller Williams, IT/NET’s program reflects a philosophy that acknowledges employees are motivated by more than salary and that well-placed recognition reinforces a culture that recognizes employees’ contribution from a personal perspective.
"People really enjoy the ability to give this gift certificate – it feels good to award recognition when it’s deserved," says Ms. Beaton. "I have received a couple – senior employees tend to receive it less. But it’s pretty cool to be recognized by my own!"
The message and feel that My Thanks has helped foster throughout the company, says Ms. Beaton, is very much in keeping with its collaborative, inclusive approach. It’s part of what has generated the company’s tight-knit, family feel.
And – as with Keller Williams Ottawa Realty – peer-to-peer recognition is part of what has made IT/NET Ottawa Inc. one of Canada’s 50 Best Workplaces.
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