Canada’s top 100 employers for 2012
With all the talk of a double-dip recession and slow economic growth, you might be excused for thinking that employers had gone back to the old days, when just having a job was good enough for most folks. But with the recent announcement of the 2012 winners of the annual Canada’s Top 100 Employers competition, it’s clear that the nation’s leading employers are about recruiting and retaining the best employees.
“We received a record number of employer applications this year,” says Richard Yerema, Author of Canada’s Top 100 Employers at Mediacorp Canada Inc., which manages the competition. “We saw double-digit growth from all regions of the country, across industry categories and especially from the public sector. We have been organizing this competition for 12 consecutive years and have never seen this level of attention from employers.”
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 popular job search site, Eluta.ca. From this initial group, editors invited 12,000 of the fastest-growing employers to apply, plus another 5,000 companies and organizations in industries that it wanted to examine more closely. Employers completed an extensive application process that included a detailed review of their operations and HR practices. Over 2,750 employers started this year’s application process. The final applicant pool was up 15% over last year’s total, which was also a record.
Employers are evaluated by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers using eight criteria, which have remained consistent since the project’s inception: (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. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.
2012 WINNERS (in alphabetical order):
Click the company name to read the full Reasons for Selection, which explain why each employer was selected.
Accenture Inc.
Adobe Systems Canada Inc.
Agriculture Financial Services Corporation
Agrium Inc.
Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc.
AMEC Americas Limited
Bank of Canada
Bayer Inc.
BC Public Service
Bennett Jones LLP
BMO Financial Group
Bombardier Aerospace
British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch
Business Development Bank of Canada
Cameco Corporation
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Capital District Health Authority
Carswell, div. of Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd.
Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto
Cementation Canada Inc.
Ceridian Canada Ltd.
Certified General Accountants Assoc. of Canada
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
Compass Group Canada
Dalhousie University
Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada
Desjardins, Mouvement des caisses
Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.
Digital Extremes Ltd.
EllisDon Corporation
Enbridge Inc.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
General Motors of Canada Limited
Georgian College
Goldcorp Inc.
Golder Associates Ltd.
Great Little Box Company Ltd., The
High Liner Foods Inc.
Hospital for Sick Children, The
HP Advanced Solutions Inc.
Human Resources & Skills Development Canada
ISM Canada
Johnson Inc.
KPMG LLP
Kraft Foods Canada
L’Oréal Canada Inc.
Ledcor Group of Companies
Loblaw Companies Limited
Magna Electric Corporation
Manitoba Hydro
Manitoba Lotteries Corporation
Manulife Financial Corporation
Mars Canada Inc.
McGill University
Medtronic of Canada Ltd.
Molson Coors Canada
Mountain Equipment Co-op
National Energy Board
NB Power Holding Corporation
Nexen Inc.
Next Level Games Inc.
Nuance Communications Canada Inc.
Office of the Auditor General of Canada
OMNI Health Care Ltd.
Ontario Public Service
OpenText Corporation
Ottawa, City of
Pfizer Canada Inc.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Procter & Gamble Inc.
Rescan Environmental Services Ltd.
Royal Bank of Canada
SAS Institute (Canada) Inc.
Saskatchewan Government Insurance
SaskTel
Shell Canada Limited
Siemens Canada Limited
Simon Fraser University
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Stantec Consulting Ltd.
Statistics Canada
Stikeman Elliott LLP
Stryker Canada Inc.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
TD Bank Group
Telus Corporation
Toronto Hydro Corporation
Toronto International Film Festival
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.
Union Gas Limited
University of Toronto
Vancouver City Savings Credit Union
Vancouver Island Health Authority
WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc.
Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
World Vision Canada
Xerox Canada Inc.
Yellow Pages Group Co.
Yukon Hospital Corporation
