SAS Canada No. 2 on 'Best Workplaces in Canada' List

Recognized for its commitment to investing in Employee Satisfaction, Community Focused Philanthropy and Environmental Stewardship

TORONTO, April 19, 2012 /CNW/ - SAS Canada, the leader in business analytics, is No. 2 on the 2012 Best Workplaces in Canada list and was also recognized with two honour awards in the respect and fairness categories for large and multinational companies with more than 1,000 employees worldwide. SAS Canada is one of the top companies on the list, published by the Great Place to Work Institute Canada, because of its commitment to investing in employee satisfaction, environmental sustainability, employee benefits, and its dedication and focus to the community.

"Our employees are highly skilled assets that are truly the force driving SAS's success," said Carl Farrell, President SAS Canada and EVP SAS Americas. "Retaining this top talent is good for business; in fact, our success depends on it. This is why we offer our employees a unique value system, one that continues to nurture happy and committed employees that fuel our company's ability to grow and prosper, and have a positive impact on the customer experience that maintains the strong customer loyalty SAS is known for."

The Great Place to Work^® Institute Canada was launched in 2005 and is the Canadian affiliate of the U.S. based Great Place to Work^® Institute, the largest program of its kind in the world. The institute surveys over 4,000 organizations in 44 countries every year, surveying a total of over 2 million employees across the globe annually.

Earlier in 2012 SAS Canada celebrated another successful year, announcing an eight per cent increase in total revenue over the previous year.  In response to ongoing growth and demand, SAS Canada announced that it will continue hiring for the third year in a row, adding over 40 new positions; this move will increase its current employee base by 15 per cent, acquiring further domain expertise in areas like Fraud detection and prevention, Customer Intelligence and Information Management, to support and respond to customer demand for its business analytic solutions in these areas.

"Clearly SAS reaps what it sows and today's ranking is a testament to the employee-centric culture that is defined by work-life balance, flexible work schedules and excellent work environments that SAS is committed to providing to all its employees," said Seta Kouyoumdjian, Senior Director, Human Resources for SAS Canada.

This list of "Best Workplaces in Canada" is compiled by The Globe and Mail's Report on Business and the Great Place to Work Institute Canada.  The competition process is based on two criteria: two-thirds of the total score comes from a 58-statement survey completed by a random selection of employees, along with their open-ended comments about their organization; the remaining one-third of the score comes from an in-depth review of the organization's culture, including an evaluation of HR policies and procedures. This offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective, and an overall portrait of the workplace culture. Together they provide crucial data relative to the five trust-building dimensions of a great place to work: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

SAS Canada has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for ten consecutive years. Its environmentally friendly Toronto headquarters received LEED Silver certification in 2008 and the company continues to generate public recognition for its leadership in corporate sustainability practices. SAS Canada was honored with the Award of Excellence for energy conservation at the 2009 Green Toronto Awards. SAS's Toronto headquarters was also awarded a Real Estate Excellence Award (REX) for Office Development of the Year in 2005.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 55,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW^®.

The Canadian subsidiary of SAS has been in operation for 25 years. Headquartered in Toronto, SAS employs 281 people across the country at its Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montréal and offices. www.sas.com

About The Great Place to Work Institute
The Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc. is a research and management consultancy based in the U.S. with International Affiliate offices throughout the world. At the Great Place to Work(R) Institute, we have been listening to employees and evaluating employers since 1980, to understand what makes a workplace great. We know that the foundation of every great workplace is trust between employees and management. Our ongoing research, measurement tools, and educational services have made us leaders in helping build high-trust workplaces.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.  Copyright © 2012 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

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