Think of it like a restaurant review for employers. To make it into Canada's Top 100 Employers list for 2010, each winner was judged in eight key areas: 1) physical workplace; 2) work atmosphere and social; 3) health, financial and family benefits; 4) vacation and time off; 5) employee communications; 6) performance management; 7) training and skills development and (8) community involvement.
Employers receive grades, ranging from C+ to A+ in each of the eight categories. No one area carries more weight than the other seven, so it's the overall score that counts.
"Our intention is to spotlight the areas where we think [the companies] are exceptional, as well as those areas where they need improvement," says Tony Meehan, publisher of Canada's Top 100 Employers at Mediacorp Canada Inc., a publishing firm specializing in employment related periodicals.
This year, Mediacorp invited a record 26,000 of Canada's fastest-growing employers to apply, an extensive process that includes a detailed review of their operations and HR practices. "The selection process is very much research driven and we meet at the end of the review process to decide which employers lead their industries on each of the eight criteria."
While those criteria have remained consistent since the competition's inception 10 years ago, Mr. Meehan says the questions are updated each year in response to changes in the broader employment market. "This year, we added quite a few questions relating to applicants' pension plans and related benefits because Canadians are more concerned about these subjects," Mr. Meehan says. "So we dug deeper into the mechanics of each applicant's plan so we can make a better assessment. We collect over 400 data points on each applicant and verify the benefits that are materially different than other employers in their industry."
A distinguishing feature of the Top 100 competition is that the editors publish detailed reasons for selection explaining why each of the winning employers was chosen, available at http://www.CanadasTop100.com/national and http://www.Eluta.ca.
To see the list, click on the link on this page.
