Helping employees and supporting the community: 'Alberta's Top Employers' for 2021 are announced
CALGARY, AB, Jan. 26, 2021 /CNW/ - In a year that has challenged Alberta more than any in living memory, the province's leading employers are doubling down on looking after their employees and supporting the communities where they operate. That's the message from this year's Alberta's Top Employers, which was announced today by Mediacorp Canada Inc., organizers of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project.
"Well-being has taken on new meaning this year," says Kristina Leung, Senior Editor of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. "With the uncertainty of the past year, organizations have had to go the extra distance to ensure that folks are cared for and have the necessary supports for their physical, emotional, and financial well-being."
Across this year's list of winners, employees are being supported during the pandemic in important new ways. Three-quarters of this year's winners now provide support for mental health services, while a remarkable 80% provide paid sick-days in the event of illness. In addition to various in-house programming that support health and wellness, many of this year's winners have launched initiatives to connect employees now working remotely.
"Maintaining open and frequent lines of communication with employees has been particularly important during this time," notes Richard Yerema, Managing Editor at Mediacorp. "This is something new for most employers and, in the past year, we've seen many employers on this year's list step up to the task in terms of keeping employees connected and informed."
Some notable initiatives the editors highlighted this year include:
- Lacombe-based Agriculture Financial Services Corporation / AFSC launched a special campaign ('Connections') to provide mental health and well-being resources and keep employees connected through a virtual break room.
- Bennett Jones, a national law firm based in Calgary, encourages employees to prioritize their health and well-being with monthly newsletters ('Life Lines') on topics related to improving quality of life and a mental health practitioner benefit of $1,500 annually.
- Calgary-based Enbridge helps employees save for the future by providing a defined contribution plan in the first five years of employment, which becomes a defined benefit plan after five years. Enbridge also provides retirement planning assistance, financial education seminars, phased-in work options for those nearing retirement, and a health benefits plan that extends to retirees (with no age limit).
- Alberta Blue Cross, based in Edmonton, offers a variety of in-house wellness programming through a dedicated wellness department and offers a unique grant program ('Healthy Communities'), which awards $300,000 in grants for community projects that promote active living as well as health and wellness.
- Calgary-based Canada Energy Regulator offers new moms a full year of maternity and parental leave top-up payments (to 93 per cent of salary), as well as exceptional parental leave top-up for new fathers and adoptive parents (to 93 per cent of salary for 35 weeks).
First published in 2006, Alberta's Top Employers is a special designation that recognizes Alberta employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. Employers throughout Alberta were evaluated by the editors at Canada's Top 100 Employers using the same criteria as the national competition: (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 offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. The annual competition is open to any employer with its head office in Alberta, and employers of any size may apply, whether private or public sector.
Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 18 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach over 15 million Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, one of Canada's largest job search engines, which reaches millions of unique visitors annually and features editorial reviews from the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. The company also publishes The Career Directory, now in its 28th year – a free online guide for recent college and university graduates looking for employers hiring candidates from their educational background.
The full list of Alberta's Top Employers for 2021 were announced this morning in a special magazine featured in the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal. Detailed reasons for selection with hundreds of additional stories and photos were also released today at: https://www.canadastop100.com/alberta
SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.
Stephanie Leung, Assistant Editor, 416-964-6069 x5334
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