50 Best Employers in Canada - Globe and Mail

For the past four years, BC Biomedical Laboratories has topped our list of the 50 Best Employers in Canada. But in 2006, we crown not one but two new champions. Among medium-sized companies (300 to 1,499 employees), the Winnipeg-based financial services firm Wellington West Capital took the top honour; Cintas Canada, meanwhile, ranked first among larger companies (1,500 employees or more). This is the first year we've separated companies by size, a format that should allow readers to better compare firms.

As always, those that make up our Top 50 this year are a diverse group, ranging from car rental companies like Enterprise to retailers like Wal-Mart, a multinational often portrayed as a foe of labour rather than a friend. In "What can we learn from Wal-Mart..." (next page), writer Steve Brearton explores why employees gave the nod to the store Sam Walton built, as well as to a couple of other firms that occupy less-than glamorous positions in the corporate pecking order—including our co-winner, Cintas. On the following pages, we chart the Top 50 and put a human face on all the numbers, with some key lessons delivered by employees themselves.

Our partner in the 50 Best survey again this year is Hewitt Associates, a leading global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm. Hewitt began work on the project in March, sending out invitations to 1,500 organizations. For each of the 137 companies that ultimately participated, between 200 and 1,000 employees completed a detailed questionnaire; these results account for the lion's share of an employer's ranking. The remainder is based on a survey of leadership qualities among the senior executive. Hewitt also examined how closely employees' and leaders' goals are aligned, and whether workplace practices and programs reinforce corporate vision. All responses were vetted to ensure companies followed the required survey guidelines.

For more information, including instructions on how firms can participate in next year's Best Employers survey, log on to www.hewitt.com/bestcompaniescanada.

Secrets of their success (and failure)

A firm's chances of ending up on our annual Best Employers list often turn on two simple words: thank you. In the seven years Neil Crawford, leader of the 50 Best study at Hewitt Consulting, has been ranking Canada's best employers, several themes have emerged. For one, organizations where managers and leaders show appreciation for their employees—those thank yous are known in HR circles as non-cash recognition—appear in large numbers in our Top 50. Another factor: Companies fare better when managers coach workers up the corporate rungs. Which leads to the final, crucial point, without which all the thank yous in the world are for naught: leadership. If employees have faith in their managers and executive team, if those in power present the corporate strategy clearly and consistently, employees will be engaged and care about the future of the company—the best outcome an employer can hope for.

Building a culture that embraces these ideals every day requires commitment, patience and single-mindedness, but once in place they become self-sustaining, a habit as natural as breathing. This year Hewitt identified a trio of top-ranked companies that have done this particularly well, and organized focus groups with their employees and managers. What follows are capsule descriptions of key characteristics of the 50 Best and ideas on what works from the employees themselves. Just as importantly, Crawford and Hewitt have drawn from their extensive research with other organizations to paint a picture of leadership, career opportunity and recognition practices that, in the end, fall short.

BEST
LEADERSHIP
Every employee has a role in making the organization successful—and each one knows what that role is. What's more, company leaders provide all employees with opportunities to practise their leadership skills.

In practice

* All levels of leadership understand where the organization is headed—and what it will take to get there
* Leaders display passion and enthusiasm for the future
* They build trust by making commitments and consistently delivering on them
* Leaders roll up their sleeves and work alongside employees to get the job done
* They spend most of their time and energy coaching employees
* They listen to what the front-line employees are saying and act quickly to fix problems
* They forge personal connections with employees
*

In the employees' words
* "Our leaders are in the trenches, and they don't see themselves as part of a hierarchy; they make sure we understand the decisions and that we buy into them"
* "The leaders want us to hold them accountable"
* "If we're not doing what management needs us to be doing, they will come right out and tell us—and help us get where we need to be"
* "What I love the most is the motivation that comes from the general manager"

COACHING FOR SUCCESS
Career growth and development is not just about being promoted; it needs to be an organic process whereby employees are encouraged to integrate change and grow, regardless of their position or role within the organization. Broad career development and advancement ensures an organization's future growth and success.

In practice

* Leaders continuously talk about the importance of growth and development. They ensure the appropriate resources are in place to support career development
* Leaders and managers are truly excited at the prospect of grooming their successors and helping employees reach their career goals
* The most qualified people inside the company are promoted. People are hired based on their potential
* Managers are properly equipped and trained to coach employees. Discussions about career development are ongoing
* Leaders and managers actively work to remove barriers to career development and advancement

In the employees' words

* "They pull out your great potential"
* "I'm a woman who wants a career and a family, and I was concerned this might jeopardize my career. But I don't worry about that here; the managers know my goals, and we worked out a game plan together"
* "There's an openness to learning here—a push to learn"

A RECOGNITION CULTURE
People feel emotionally connected to the organization because their personal contributions are recognized by managers and leaders alike. Moreover, the ways in which employees are recognized are tailored to the individual.

In practice

* Leaders and managers are always looking for ways in which employees can be recognized for their achievements—something that is especially important for those people who are new to the organization
*

* Extra work rarely goes unnoticed
*

* Recognition is delivered with an expression of sincere appreciation
*

* Employees' family members are recognized when appropriate

In the employees' words

* "We had a challenge to meet a specific goal. When we exceeded that goal, the executive team had to wash our cars and we were invited to the CEO's house for dinner"
* "Someone always gives us recognition when we do something extra. They expect us to do overtime, but they also appreciate it and thank us. A little 'thank you' goes a long way"
* "Some individuals are uncomfortable with public recognition, so we're very cautious about who we recognize publicly. Sometimes we just send a handwritten note"
* "People here take their cue from senior management, who have been publicly appreciating people for years"

WORST
LEADERSHIP
Employees are not clear on how day-to-day tasks affect the success of their company; they let their managers take the lead while they sit passively on the sidelines. Meanwhile, managers focus most of their time and energy on pumping up their own status within the company, rather than building their reputations on their workers' accomplishments.

In practice

* Messages from the most senior leaders become distorted as they descend through the layers of management
* Trust collapses as leaders consistently fail to deliver on their commitments
* Leaders tell employees what they are doing wrong but give them no help in fixing problems
* Management imposes its own solutions to problems without considering the advice of front-line employees
* Leaders maintain distance from employees

In the employees' words

* "'Leading by fear' would be an accurate description of our executive management style"
* "Leadership is not open to criticism or question.
* They humiliate the guy who asks questions"
* "A lot of employees feel that if they say too much or provide an opinion they'll get the cold shoulder from supervisors, a situation that persists for days and poisons the workplace environment"
* "In the last four years, we've never seen a business plan.
* The only plan we've seen is what profit margin was required"

COACHING FOR SUCCESS
Career growth and development is fragmented and inconsistent. Employees receive little encouragement to grow and learn, especially the people on the front lines. Career advancement and development is limited to those employees whose experience happens to fit profiles of positions that are hard to fill.

In practice

* Rather than promoting from within, leaders and managers hire from the outside
* Leaders constantly talk about the importance of growth and development, but provide no resources
* Managers and leaders set aside little time to groom successors
* The promotion process is rife with nepotism
* Managers appear to be uncomfortable when they have to discuss career development with their employees

In the employees' words

* "I know of several examples where suitable internal hires were rejected in favour of external people. In most cases, the position would have been ideal for the internal candidate, but the decision for an external hire was made 'because external requisitions are harder to get and we don't want to waste the opportunity'"
* "There are barriers to moving people around in different jobs"
* "Career development does not seem to be a priority in my organization. They've cancelled all the management and staff development programs; the attitude now seems to be all about reducing the cost of training, conferences and travel"

A RECOGNITION CULTURE
Workers are recognized inconsistently if at all, and some groups of employees seem to be recognized more often than others. Recognition is often confined to formal programs like awards for long service; in other cases, recognition attempts backfire because the type of recognition doesn't fit the employee's personality.

In practice

* Planned extra work is treated as business as usual, and goes unrecognized
* Praise is delivered as an afterthought and without sincerity
* Leaders and managers don't know enough about the personalities of their employees to be able to choose the right way of showing appreciation

In the employees' words

* "Some VPs encourage recognition, but they don't practise it"
* "I'm a relatively new people manager, and there's not much support to tell me what should be recognized, how to recognize and how the company feels about recognition"
* "Our recognition plan is flawed at best. It creates the impression that you have to know the right people to get enough recognition to win an award"
* "It's the local sales and service in each region that drives this company, but recognition always seems to happen at the corporate level. There are many more local success stories that could be recognized and communicated to the entire company"