The 17th Annual Survey Identifies Canada’s Leading Employers for Workplace Excellence

Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of Aon plc, released the results of its 2016 Best Employers in Canada Study, which found that 80 companies set the mark for engaging employees, demonstrating effective leadership, building a performance culture and leveraging the strength of their employer brand. The recognized companies include 39 large organizations (more than 400 employees) and 41 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs.)

The benefits of being a Best Employer are compelling. Globally, Aon has found that Best Employers drive four percentage points higher operating profit than the average organization and six percentage points higher sales growth. They also have a third less staff turnover than their counterparts.

HR Technology Insights: Phenom Launches AI to Solve Hiring & Retention Challenges

Aon’s Best Employers in Canada Study has been the country’s most comprehensive and widely recognized assessment of workplace excellence. Aon’s methodology reflects 20 years of learnings and best practices from Aon Best Employer and employee engagement studies conducted all over the world. Over the last five years alone, data was collected in more than 150 markets from over 5,000 organizations in 68 industries, including over 625,000 employees and more than 600 companies of all sizes in Canada.

“In an increasingly international business landscape, more and more Canadian companies have been looking for a consistent global standard to assess their work environment and identify ways to improve,” said Neil Crawford, Partner and Canada Talent Practice Leader at Aon Hewitt. “The 2016 Best Employers Study provides that standard, while providing a much more comprehensive picture of the qualities that define employer excellence.”

Where previous studies focused on employee engagement as the primary requirement for Best Employer status, this year’s study is based on four indices of workplace effectiveness:

• Engagement: Employees speak positively about their employer (Say), intend to stay (Stay) and are motivated to exert extra effort at work (Strive)
• Leadership: Leaders treat employees as valued contributors, engage employees in the vision and lead the organization to success
• Performance Culture: Employees are aligned to organizational goals and are rewarded and recognized for their contribution
• Employer Brand: Employees are proud of being part of the organization and can clearly explain what makes their employer different from others

The Challenge of Change

The business environment since the global recession has, arguably, been marked by an unprecedented degree of change. Faced with generally slower economic growth and heightened regulation, while seeking to respond to accommodative monetary policies, companies in Canada and around the world have undertaken new strategies, implemented staff restructuring, or participated in mergers and acquisitions. All of these developments can place enormous stress on the employer-employee dynamic and on organizational leaders.

HR Technology Insights: 9amHealth Survey: Access to Glp-1 Meds Is Critical for Job Retention, Hiring

Aon’s global research of Best Employers has found that the factors driving workplace success change in periods of change. For instance, during periods of no change, the visibility of senior leadership is a relatively small contributor to employee engagement. However, during a merger or acquisition — which causes the number of highly engaged employees to dip more than 10% below the global baseline for an average period of two to three years — senior leadership’s visibility becomes a top engagement driver. Aon’s Best Employers understand the need for best practices in times of change, and respond accordingly.

A Canadian example of how Best Employers successfully navigate change is Intact Financial Corporation, an insurance company with 11,000 employees across the country. Intact began surveying employee engagement with Aon in 2009 — its first year of independence from its previous majority owner, facing the fresh challenge of establishing a new consumer and employer brand. As well, the company undertook a major acquisition in 2011, and consistent with Aon’s research, this significant change did disrupt some of the initial momentum Intact had experienced in improving their overall level of employee engagement. Intact continued applying a very disciplined focus on key drivers of engagement, and by 2014 its performance in the Best Employers Study had risen well above the industry average. The key to that success: commitment at all levels of the organization, driven by placing senior leadership and management front and centre — and holding them accountable — to drive employee engagement.

“What we have seen, year in and year out, is that Best Employers are not just good at maintaining best practices, but are also smart and responsive when faced with the challenge of change,” said Crawford. “All companies undergo change, sometimes negative, sometimes positive, but either can have important impacts on employee engagement and performance. Responding effectively begins with a commitment to understanding exactly how effective your employment practices are — and, as with Intact, being open to adopting new ways of doing things and getting their leadership team involved ensured that employees stay engaged.”

HR Technology Insights: Energage Partners With Retensa to Boost Employee Retention Insights

To participate in our interviews, please write to our HRTech Media Room at sudipto@intentamplify.com

Source: GlobeNewswire