The Fifty Best Employers in Canada: ROB Magazine and Hewitt Associates
Examine Employee Engagement

Interview opportunities from the January Report on Business magazine

TORONTO , Dec. 30 /CNW/ - Today, Report on Business magazine releases the 11th annual list of the Fifty Best Employers in Canada and looks at how the best organizations ensure employee engagement over the span of their careers.

This year's Fifty Best Employers represent a range of industries and sectors, including financial services firm Edward Jones , computer hardware company Cisco Canada , WestJet airline, and Edmonton's PCL Constructors Inc. which took the number one spot. One capability all 50 share is knowing what it takes to inspire greatness from employees and keep them engaged in the success of the business. In this edition of the highly anticipated rankings, writer Steve Brearton examines how companies engage employees at different career stages.

"Right from the honeymoon phase, individuals assess whether promises made during contract negotiations are being kept," said Neil Crawford , leader of the Fifty Best Employers study at Hewitt Associates. "It's easy to admire and respect your new boss, but the best employers continue to evaluate the relationship with their employees throughout their careers and long after the honeymoon is over."

The Top 10 companies in this year's Fifty Best Employers in Canada ranking are:

    
    1.  PCL Constructors Inc., Edmonton. After coming in a close second last
        year, the Alberta construction and engineering firm with more than
        2000 employees takes the number one spot.
    2.  EllisDon Corp., London. The 1900-person construction and engineering
        firm continues to score among the best, coming in second place.
    3.  Cisco Canada, Toronto. The information technology and communications
        company has the highest new entry in the top ten and has over 1,200
        employees in Canada.
    4.  Bennett Jones LLP, Calgary. The law firm has over 900 staff and
        continues to appear among the top ten.
    5.  CIMA+, Montreal. The engineering firm with over 1,100 employees
        remains in fifth place for a second year in a row.
    6.  WestJet, Calgary. The airline is a new entry into the top ten for
        2009 and boasts over 7,500 employees.
    7.  JTI-Macdonald Corp., Mississauga. The tobacco company is a new entry
        and has more than 450 employees.
    8.  BC Biomedical Laboratories Ltd., Surrey. The health care services
        firm moves up from ninth last year to eighth this year. BC Biomedical
        has over 650 employees.
    9.  Farm Credit Canada, Regina. The Saskatchewan financial services
        company has more than 1,400 employees.
    10. Edward Jones, Mississauga. The financial services brokerage firm
        employs over 1,900 people and consistently lands in the top ten.
    

The Fifty Best Employers in Canada study, where employees determine the ranking, is conducted by Report on Business magazine and Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company.

This year, 134 organizations registered to participate in the study. More than 100,000 employees and 1,200 leaders completed the confidential surveys designed to measure employee engagement and how closely leaders and employees work together toward a common vision, as well as the collective energy that goes into making an organization a best employer. To be eligible for the Fifty Best Employers in Canada , organizations must have at least 400 permanent employees in Canada , and have operated here for at least three years.

Also in this issue of Report on Business magazine:

To have, not have not

Saskatchewan has always been viewed as a great place to grow stuff, specifically wheat. It has also had the highest population growth in 50 years. So can the prairie province shed its long-standing have-not status by letting the seeds of capitalism start to bloom? Writer John Gray takes us to the small town of Allan, talks with Mayor Larry Sommerfeld , and discusses whether Saskatchewan can be the next economic powerhouse.

Astral projections

Ian Greenberg may not be the biggest showman in Canada's media industry- but as Montreal-based Astral mounts its national power play, he's definitely the mogul worth watching. Writer Grant Robertson examines the family photofinishing company, founded half a century ago, and whether they are one acquisition away from becoming Canada's next media empire.

Report on Business magazine is Canada's most-read business publication. Published on the last Friday of every month in The Globe and Mail, Report on Business magazine offers readers insightful, award-winning coverage of Canadian and global business and economics and is available with copies of The Globe and Mail and online at www.reportonbusiness.com/magazine. The Globe and Mail is a division of CTVglobemedia, a dynamic multimedia company that also owns CTV, Canada's leading private broadcaster.

For further information: For the full list of the Fifty Best Employers in Canada or to arrange an interview please contact: Jill Anzarut - Environics Communications, [email protected], [phone]