Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2014 Are Announced
TORONTO, October 21, 2013 – The 2014 winners of the Canada's Top 100 Employers were announced this morning, marking the 14th consecutive year for one of the nation's best-known editorial competitions. This year's list features some familiar organizations, but also many new winners – more than a quarter of the list changes each year. But there are a handful of employers among the winners that have succeeded in staying on the list for almost a decade.
What's their secret to staying on the list? "We get asked this question all the time," says Richard Yerema, who is the Author of Canada's Top 100 Employers and has managed the editorial side of the competition at Mediacorp Canada Inc. since the project's inception. "As the years go by, I am increasingly of the view that it really comes down to a question of leadership. Winning organizations consistently have leaders who recognize the importance of becoming an employer- of-choice, making it part of their organization's DNA from the shop floor to the boardroom."
To develop this year's Top 100 list, Mediacorp examined the recruitment histories of over 75,000 employers across Canada that it tracks for its widely-used job search engine, Eluta.ca. From this initial group, editors invited 25,000 employers across the country that created new opportunities in the past year. Employers completed an extensive application process that included a detailed review of their operations and HR practices, comparing them to others in their industry and region.
"We have also seen an increasing familiarity by job-seekers with the benefits and workplace policies that make a difference in their lives," adds Anthony Meehan, Publisher at Mediacorp. "From company-paid pension plans to issues like vacation allowance and family-friendly maternity leave, today's job-seekers are more aware that significant differences exist among different employers in an industry. Leaders at the winning organizations have recognized this change and understand that their organizations need to improve constantly to attract and retain the best and brightest."
The Canada's Top 100 Employers competition is the largest editorial project of its kind in Canada, with thousands of employers taking part in each year's application process. The project's distinguishing feature is that its editors publish detailed reasons, providing transparency in the selection of winners and practical guidance for job-seekers about exceptional workplaces. Each employer is graded by Mediacorp editors on eight key areas: (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. The same eight criteria have been applied since the first edition.
Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals and guides. For 15 years, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 20 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach over 13 million Canadians through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners. The company operates the popular job search engine, Eluta.ca, which brings job- seekers new job postings directly from employer websites and exclusive editorial reviews from the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. Last year, more than five million Canadians used Eluta.ca, performing eight million monthly job searches. Mediacorp also hosts Canada's largest conference for senior-level HR professionals, the Top Employer Summit, now in its 10th year. This year's sold-out conference, taking place November 13-14, 2013 in Toronto, explores the theme of workplace leadership and features former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as keynote speaker.