It's 10 years great for 10 years straight

Hill+Knowlton Strategies named one of Canada's Best Workplaces for a decade

TORONTO, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada (H+K) is proud to be named one of the Best Workplaces in Canada for the 10^th year in a row. The Great Place to Work^® Institute Canada has awarded this honour to only 100 companies in the country—a list published in The Globe and Mail's special national report today. H+K, Canada's top-rated public affairs and public relations firm, is just one of 11 organizations who have been recognized for 10 consecutive years.

"It's always an honour to be recognized as one of the Best Workplaces in Canada," says Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of H+K. "But, to be recognized as one for 10 years running is a particularly great honour. Having a decade under our belt confirms that we're on the right track. We're happy to be judged by the company we keep—and we're in particularly fine company this year, including several clients who made the list."

The firm is also the proud recipient of the 2016 Great Place to Work Certification Program. In its first year, this is an enhancement to the Best Workplaces Program; organizations that earn a minimum Trust Index score during the submission process are officially certified as a great workplace on a national scale.

At the Best Workplaces awards gala last night in Toronto, H+K also became a fifth-time recipient of the Best Workplaces for Women Award.

"With the industry landscape shifting at a remarkable pace, client challenges more intense than ever before, and a strategic acquisition in Montreal under our belt this year, it's important that we maintain a consistently strong corporate culture," adds Hyder. "We know that it's not just about the work we do; there's more to it. Our benefits range from fun to flexible to formal at H+K. For women, it might be our maternity leave top-up benefit, or knowing that senior roles are predominately female. Stars-on-the-rise have opportunities to work with the best and brightest in their fields on interesting, inspiring and thought-provoking assignments. Our giving-minded employees take advantage of dedicated pro bono and volunteer time off from work. We try to ensure there's something for everyone at H+K."

Jose Tolovi Neto, managing partner of Great Place to Work® Canada says: "Our global Best Workplace lists stand out for our consistent use of rigorous methodology in 52 countries, and are the only lists where employee opinions account for two-thirds of measured data. We applaud Hill+Knowlton Strategies, now in its 10th year as one of Canada's Best Workplaces, for maintaining its strong position in today's competitive marketplace through its commitment to a culture of trust."

Best Workplaces Award criteria
The competition process for "Best Workplaces in Canada" is based on two criteria: two-thirds of the total score comes from an in-depth survey completed by a minimum number of employees, along with their open-ended comments about the organization; the remaining one-third of the score comes from a review of the organization's culture, including an evaluation of HR policies, procedures and benefits. This offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective, and an overall portrait of the workplace culture.

Great Place to Work^®
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. We are a research and consulting firm whose mission is to build a better society by helping companies transform their workplaces. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services and employer branding programs, including workplace certification and Best Workplaces lists, Great Place to Work® provides the benchmarks, framework and expertise needed to create, sustain and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In Canada, Great Place to Work® produces the annual 100 Best Workplaces list, released in a national feature in the Globe and Mail. This is part of the world's largest annual workplace study, which culminates in a series of national lists in almost 50 countries, including the study's flagship list of 100 Best companies published annually in Fortune magazine. Globally, this survey represents the voices of 11 million employees, including approximately 300,000 from Canada alone. It's what makes this study so credible: the primary determinant used in selecting winners is an employee survey. There's only one way to get on this list—and that's if your employees put you there. Follow Great Place to Work® online at www.greatplacetowork.ca and on Twitter at @GPTW_Canada.

Hill+Knowlton Strategies
With nine offices across the country, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada is a leader in both public relations and public affairs. Headquartered in Toronto, the company is the No. 1-rated strategic communications firm in the country. Its experts specialize in corporate communications, content marketing, research and measurement, public affairs, marketing communications, crisis, energy, technology, health care, social and digital communications, financial communications and transactions. The only communications firm to have earned the Canada Order of Excellence for Quality from Excellence Canada, it has been recognized as one of the Best Workplaces in Canada for 10 consecutive years. Its parent company, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Inc., has 87 offices in 49 countries as well as an extensive associate network; and it is a member of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world's largest communications services groups.

SOURCE Hill & Knowlton Canada

Sarah Brandon, [phone], [email protected]