ING DIRECT named one of Canada's best employers

Aon Hewitt survey measures employee engagement to determine 50 best employers

TORONTO, Oct. 28 /CNW/ - For the first time, ING DIRECT Canada has been recognized as one of Canada's 50 Best Employers by Aon Hewitt in its annual ranking, a coveted list that captures the voice of employees across the country.

The primary requirement to be named a Best Employer is high "employee engagement" - a measure of how positively employees feel about their employer, how likely they are to stay, and how committed they are to doing their utmost to achieve business objectives.

"The excitement and overall engagement of our employees is a major focus at ING DIRECT because we recognize how a highly energized workforce can drive superior business results. Engaged employees inspire their teammates, influence customer service and drive innovation. We're honored to be recognized as one of Canada's best employers and proud of every one of our employees for their dedication to and passion for ING DIRECT," said Peter Aceto, President and CEO at ING DIRECT.

Rob Landry, SVP of Human Resources, Legal and Operations at ING DIRECT said, "Our unique 'orange culture' is something that you see reflected in all aspects of our business.  Employees are empowered to challenge the way they work today, to simplify things for our clients and our business and to be open and transparent in everything we do.  These attributes are at the heart of our culture; in our DNA and are why we take pride in awards like this, which are driven by our employees' views and experiences of what it's like to work here."

Employees at ING DIRECT list the company's fun and energetic environment, meaningful development opportunities and programs that promote better work-life balance among the top reasons they feel engaged. A six week sabbatical program for employees who have celebrated a decade with the company is also high on the list.  The program was introduced this year and more than 100 employees are expected to take part over the next 2-3 years. Another highlight for employees is "Orange in the Community", an annual event that inspires hundreds of employees to roll up their sleeves and work alongside local communities in need.

Participants in the Best Employers studies are required to complete three surveys: the Employee Opinion Survey, the Leadership Team Survey and the Human Resources Survey. The results of the Employee Opinion Survey make up the vast majority of a participant's score used to determine its ranking in the study. ING DIRECT ranked 39th out of 121 eligible organizations.

About ING DIRECT
ING DIRECT is Canada's leading DIRECT bank with over 1.6 million Clients and more than $29 billion in total assets. ING DIRECT gives the power of saving to all Canadians by offering high-value, simple products such as high interest savings accounts with no fees or service charges, and low rates on mortgages. Low cost, index based mutual funds are sold through ING DIRECT Funds Limited. ING DIRECT has been operating in Canada since 1997, and paid more than $4.5 billion in interest to Clients. ING DIRECT is open for banking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at ingdirect.ca, on mobile devices at m.ingdirect.ca or by calling 1-800 ING DIRECT (1-800-464-3473)

About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human capital consulting and outsourcing solutions.  The company partners with organizations to solve their most complex benefits, talent and related financial challenges, and improve business performance.  Aon Hewitt designs, implements, communicates and administers a wide range of human capital, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation and talent management strategies.  With more than 29,000 professionals in 90 countries, Aon Hewitt makes the world a better place to work for clients and their employees.  For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

Follow Peter Aceto on Twitter at: Twitter.com/CEO_INGDIRECT
And find ING DIRECT at: Facebook.com/SuperStarSaver; Twitter.com/SuperStarSaver; YouTube.com/SuperStarSaver

For further information:

Lisa Naccarato, ING DIRECT
416-758-5072
[email protected]

Lynnette Visaya, ING DIRECT
416-758-5544
[email protected]