Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers (2017)

VOICES.COM INC.

2017 Winners

p An employee jotting down the weekly

results at Voices.com Inc., one of this year's winners.

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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

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4th Annual Edition

KEVIN VAN PAASSEN/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

CANADA'S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017 Magazine Anthony Meehan, PUBLISHER

Karen Le,

VICE-PRESIDENT

Editorial Team:

Richard Yerema, MANAGING EDITOR

Kristina Leung, SENIOR EDITOR

Stephanie Leung, RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Advertising Sales:

Kristen Chow,

DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS

Amy Wong,

SENIOR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE

Sponsor Content Writers:

Berton Woodward, SENIOR EDITOR

Michael Benedict Brian Bergman Ann Brocklehurst Sheldon Gordon Don Hauka Patricia Hluchy D'Arcy Jenish Bruce McDougall John Schofield Barbara Wickens

© 2017 Mediacorp Canada Inc. All rights reserved. CANADA'S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS is a trade mark of Mediacorp Canada Inc.

p Staff at Toronto-based Uken Studios Inc. launching the iPad version of 'Titans,' one of the company's most successful video games.

INTRODUCTION

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ou don’t have to be big to be best. Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers 2017 offer competitive benefits that can rival any larger company.

This year’s winning organizations display a wide variety of best practices that you might not have expected to find in private-sector commercial enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.

Typically, these include strong support for ongoing career development, formal mentoring programs, maternity and parental top-up payments, flexible health benefits with wellness spending accounts, plus alternative work options that make personal life easier to balance.

Many also offer share purchase plans and the more daring have progressive initiatives, such as unlimited vacation policies – increasingly popular in this sector.

Additionally, many offer the same perks as the biggest employers. If you want workplace bling, you can find on-site fitness facilities with personal trainers, lunch-time yoga, employee lounges

with fresh fruit and gluten-free snacks, popcorn, Popsicles, a beer and wine fridge, or even a fullservice kitchen serving breakfast and lunch. Of course, table tennis, foosball and video games are de rigueur, along with the occasional volleyball court and outdoor skating rink.

Beyond the frills, you’re more likely to feel engaged at a smaller workplace where everyone counts and the boss knows your name. There may also be more opportunities to move up, as many are growing at an incredible pace, particularly tech companies, which are evolving from their startup phase. Some report nearly doubling their work force over the past year, so are truly the nation’s job makers.

Whether you’re a skilled millennial looking for the right fit or a new business looking at how to step up your game, it’s worth taking a look at what Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers 2017 are doing.

– Diane Jermyn

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

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BIG VIKING GAMES INC., London, Ont. Video game developer; 96 employees. Provides employees with a unique employee recognition system using “Vikoins,” which are coins awarded to peers for their excellent work that can be used to purchase items.

METHODOLOGY

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anada’s Top Small & Medium Employers competition recognizes exceptional small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Canada. The competition is limited to private-sector commercial organizations with fewer than 500 employees. Non-profit organizations are not eligible.

The Top 100 editors at Toronto-based Mediacorp Canada Inc. evaluate employers according to the same eight key areas used for judging in the national competition of Canada’s Top 100 Employers: physical workplace; work and social atmosphere; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications focused on how employers capture employee feedback; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement.

Employers are compared with other organizations in their field to determine which ones offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

Whether an employer has positive employment growth is also a factor in determining the basic cutoff point.

As well, the unique initiatives of each employer are taken into account. n

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ALTRAX INC., Calgary. Support for rail transportation; 85 employees. Sponsors a number of fun social events for its employees and their families, including a golf tournament, summer camping and holiday party.

CBCL LTD., Halifax. Engineering; 260 employees. Offers a formal “time in lieu” program that lets employees bank overtime for use later.

CHAMPION PETFOODS LP, Edmonton. Dog and cat food manufacturing; 294 employees. Continues to grow at an incredible pace, adding more than 45 new positions in the past year.

CHANDOS CONSTRUCTION LTD., Edmonton. Construction and project management contractors; 356 employees.

Helps employees balance work and their personal lives through a range of alternative work arrangements.

scavenger hunt to an annual ping-pong tournament.

ACL SERVICES LTD., Vancouver. Computer software; 205 employees. Encourages employees to save for the longer term with matching RRSP contributions.

2017 WINNERS

AERYON LABS INC., Waterloo, Ont. Unmanned aircraft design and manufacturing; 109 employees. Offers a health spending account that lets employees extend their health coverage.

/N SPRO INC., Montreal. Computer systems design; 70 employees. Encourages employees to become owners through a share purchase plan that’s available to all employees.

AGNORA INC., Collingwood, Ont. Glass and glazing contractors; 62 employees.

Encourages ongoing employee development with generous tuition subsidies for job-related courses.

360INSIGHTS, Whitby, Ont. Computer software; 148 employees. Offers an unlimited vacation policy for its employees.

AMBYINT INC., Calgary. Computer software; 28 employees. Provides an employee lounge complete with video games, foosball and table hockey, as well as free snacks every day.

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BILIS SOLUTIONS, Montreal.

Computer software; 127 employees. Features lunch-time employee-led yoga classes at head office, plus free baskets of fresh fruit delivered weekly.

ACCOMPASS, Toronto. Business consulting; 33 employees. Provides a number of fun events during the year, from an urban

a green roof at head office with rooftop gardening plots growing vegetables, herbs and fruit.

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ENEVITY, INC., Calgary. Computer software; 331 employees.

Provides parental leave top-up payments for new moms and dads, including adoptive parents.

CLEARPATH ROBOTICS INC., Kitchener. Robotic manufacturing; 112 employees. Encourages employees to become owners through a share purchase plan, available to all.

CLEARTECH INDUSTRIES INC., Saskatoon. Chemical and equipment distribution; 145 employees. Provides

q An employee at Kitchener, Ont.-based Clearpath Robotics Inc. adds a sensor to a client’s robot.

ARTIS REIT, Winnipeg. Real estate investment trust; 178 employees. Lets employees share in the company’s financial success with year-end bonuses and a profit-sharing plan.

AUTO WEST LTD., Richmond, B.C. Automotive dealers; 210 employees. Features

HANNAH YOON/THE CANADIAN PRESS

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

2017 WINNERS

Continued

employees with a fitness room featuring a treadmill, elliptical trainer and shower facilities.

CLIO, Burnaby, B.C. Computer software; 168 employees. Provides healthy snack options plus a “beverage island” featuring sparkling water, sodas, loose-leaf teas, wine and beer.

CM LABS SIMULATIONS INC., Montreal. Custom computer programming; 116 employees. Encourages employees to recruit their friends with generous referral bonuses for each successful hire.

COMMUNITY TRUST CO., Mississauga, Ont. Financial products and services; 69 employees. Supports employees with older children through a postsecondary scholarship program.

CONNECTED LAB INC., Toronto.

Computer software; 38 employees. Hosts quarterly off-site “Disconnects” such as a weekend camping trip to Algonquin Park.

CONTAX INC., Toronto. Information technology consulting; 60 employees.

Provides new consultants with extensive training in their first two years, spending up to $20,000.

COPPERLEAF TECHNOLOGIES INC., Vancouver. Computer software; 85 employees. Encourages employees to give back to the community with paid volunteer time, as well as matching funds to their charitable donations.

COWELL MOTORS LTD., Richmond, B.C. New car dealerships; 220 employees.

Encourages employee team building through participation in events such as the Vancouver Sun Run and the Tough Mudder race.

CREIT MANAGEMENT LP, Toronto.

Real estate investment trust; 156 employees. Encourages employees to become owners through a share purchase plan with matching company contributions.

CRESTLINE COACH LTD., Saskatoon.

Specialized automotive manufacturing; 180 employees. Considers previous work

5 experience when setting vacation or entitlements for experienced personnel.

CROESUS FINANSOFT INC., Laval, Que. Financial management software and services; 159 employees. Helps the next generation gain professional experience through paid internships, co-ops and summer student roles.

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IAMOND SCHMITT ARCHITECTS INC., Toronto.

Architecture firm; 190 employees. Lets everyone share in the company’s immediate successes through a year-end bonus program.

DIRECT FOCUS MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS INC., Winnipeg. Marketing; 139 employees. Rewards excellent employee performance through on-thespot awards, individual performance bonuses and tailored and unique awards.

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MKAY INC., Toronto. Automotive fleet management; 24 employees. Offers generous financial bonuses for the completion of specific programs.

ESENTIRE, Cambridge, Ont. Computer software; 221 employees. Continues to grow at an impressive pace, adding more than 40 full-time employees in Canada last year.

EXCEL FUNDS MANAGEMENT INC., Mississauga. Financial products and services; 34 employees. Encourages employees to save for the longer term with contributions to a matching RRSP plan.

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RESCHE SOLUTIONS INC., Montreal. Computer systems design; 82 employees. Helps employees keep their skills sharp through a variety of in-house training programs, tuition subsidies for job-related courses and subsidies for professional accreditation.

FRESHBOOKS, Toronto. Software publishers; 243 employers. Maintains a “Compassion Fund” to help employees through extenuating circumstances, such as covering the cost of a stolen bike or an emergency vet bill.

FUSION PROJECT MANAGEMENT LTD., Vancouver. Interior design; 39 employees. Provides secure parking and showers for bicycle commuters.

BLOOMBERG FINANCE LP

q Jack Diamond, founder of Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc., at his office in Toronto. The firm recently won a contract to redesign the main concert hall in Manhattan's iconic Lincoln Center.

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2017 WINNERS

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Continued

EO. H. YOUNG & CO. LTD., Winnipeg. Customs brokerage and trade; 121 employees.

Encourages employees to get involved in the community with paid volunteer time as well as matching funds to their charitable donations.

GREAT LITTLE BOX COMPANY LTD., Richmond, B.C. Box manufacturing; 256 employees. Presents two top-performing employees with the “Award of Excellence” every month, including $500 to the charity of their choice.

GROUPHEALTH GLOBAL BENEFIT SOLUTIONS INC., Surrey, B.C. Health benefits plans; 117 employees. Recognizes exceptional work performance through individual bonuses, peer-to-peer recognition awards, on-the-spot awards and year-end bonuses.

GSOFT, Montreal. Computer software; 142 employees. Provides an employee lounge complete with a skateboard halfpipe, video games, foosball and table tennis.

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ARBOUR AIR GROUP, Richmond, B.C. Passenger air transportation; 243 employees. Maintains a charitable focus on the environment and community-oriented projects, donating more than 800 flights in the past year to non-profit organizations through its Pink Friday sponsorship.

HB STUDIOS MULTIMEDIA LTD., Lunenburg, N.S. Video game developer; 78 employees. Offers new parents the convenience of on-site daycare when they are ready to return to work.

HEMMERA ENVIROCHEM INC., Burnaby, B.C. Environmental consulting; 181 employees. Offers employees who are new mothers the option to extend their leave into an unpaid leave of absence.

HOCKEYTECH INC., Waterloo, Ont. Sports analytics information services; 45 employees. Offers up to five paid personal days off to help employees balance their work and personal lives.

HOSTWAY CORP., Vancouver. Website hosting and management; 51 employees.

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

Provides a quiet room for meditation and religious observance at their head office.

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GLOO SOFTWARE, Kitchener, Ont. Custom computer programming; 90 employees. Offers employees three weeks of starting vacation allowance, moving to four weeks after three years on the job.

INTELEX TECHNOLOGIES INC., Toronto. Software publishers; 350 employees. Manages an academic scholarship program for children of employees interested in pursuing postsecondary studies.

INTELLIGENT MECHATRONIC SYSTEMS INC. / IMS, Waterloo, Ont. Automotive telematics technology; 107 employees. Provides a generous health spending account of up to $2,400, allowing employees to top up levels of coverage as needed.

IQMETRIX, Vancouver. Computer programming; 317 employees. Encourages employees to keep active with access to an on-site fitness facility featuring exercise equipment and a private trainer.

q Mike McDerment, CEO and co-founder of FreshBooks at the company's office in Toronto.

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ENWAY MACK SLUSARCHUK STEWART LLP, Calgary. Accounting; 62 employees. Offers employees up to eight paid personal days, which can be scheduled throughout the year.

KINAXIS INC., Ottawa. Software publishers; 282 employees. Hosts a “Hackathon Week” to challenge employees to utilize their skills and creativity to improve and innovate the company’s products.

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AWTON PARTNERS FINANCIAL PLANNING SERVICES LTD., Winnipeg. Financial planning; 57 employees. Provides a health spending account of up to $1,000 a year, allowing employees to top up levels of coverage as needed.

CLEOD LAW LLP, Calgary.

Law firm; 114 employees.

Offers generous referral bonuses to employees who recruit candidates from their personal networks.

MEDGATE INC., Toronto. Software development; 113 employees. Continues to create employment, adding 14 new full-time positions in the past year.

MESSAGEPOINT, Toronto. Communications management software; 52 employees. Cultivates an ownership culture through a share purchase plan, available to all employees.

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EXT LEVEL GAMES INC., Vancouver. Software publishers; 72 employees. Offers exceptional family-friendly benefits, including a subsidy for IVF for parents-to-be.

DARREN CALABRESE/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

NICOLA WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD., Vancouver. Investment management; 135 employees. Supports a number of local, national and international charitable initiatives each year.

NORTH STRATEGIC INC., Toronto.

Marketing consulting; 61 employees. Provides three weeks of starting vacation allowance, paid time off during the winter holidays and paid personal days off.

NOSEWORTHY CHAPMAN CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, St. John’s.

Accounting; 55 employees. Offers phasedin work options for employees nearing retirement.

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2E BRANDS, Vancouver.

Waste removal, moving and home services; 285 employees. Lets salaried employees

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

2017 WINNERS

Continued

share in the company’s financial success through a profit-sharing plan.

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EOPLE STORE STAFFING SOLUTIONS INC., Mississauga, Ont. Human resource services; 67 employees. Celebrates exceptional employee performance through awards, including individual bonuses, long-service awards and an annual one-week club trip vacation.

PERLEY-ROBERTSON, HILL & MCDOUGALL LLP / S.R.L., Ottawa.

Law firm; 113 employees. Supports new mothers and fathers, including adoptive parents, with maternity and parental leave top-up payments.

PETO MACCALLUM LTD., Toronto. Engineering; 172 employees. Offers students and new grads opportunities to gain career-level experience with summer-student roles and co-op placements.

POINTS, Toronto. Software development; 180 employees. Launched an

in-house “Rabbit’s Lair” competition to leverage employee ideas for the company’s next business innovation.

PROPHIX SOFTWARE INC., Mississauga. Software development; 144 employees.

Supports a number of charitable organizations, focusing on education, poverty, the environment and health.

PUSHOR MITCHELL LLP, Kelowna, B.C. Law firm; 120 employees. Helps employees save for the future with matching RRSP contributions.

PYTHIAN GROUP INC., Ottawa. Computer systems design; 187 employees.

Offers generous tuition subsidies for courses directly and indirectly related to employees’ current position.

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HR TECHNOLOGIES INC., Kelowna, B.C. Computer systems design; 200 employees.

Invests in the education of the next generation through an academic scholarship program for children of employees.

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.F. BINNIE & ASSOCIATES LTD., Burnaby, B.C. Engineering; 115 employees. Provides a health spending account of up to $850 a year, allowing employees to top up coverage as needed.

REDSPACE INC., Bedford, N.S. Website design; 115 employees. Increased its work force by nearly 25 per cent in the past year.

REID’S HERITAGE GROUP OF COMPANIES, Cambridge, Ont. Housing construction; 246 employees. Offers in-house training, tuition subsidies for courses taken at outside institutions and subsidies for professional accreditation.

REUNION ISLAND COFFEE LTD., Oakville, Ont. Coffee processing and wholesale; 85 employees. Supports a number of international charitable initiatives each year.

RLB LLP, Guelph, Ont. Accounting; 99 employees. Helps employees maintain work-life balance with paid time off during the summer months and paid personal days off.

DARRYL DYCK/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

q Robert Meggy, the founder of Great Little Box Company Ltd., at the company's headquarters in Richmond, B.C.

7 ROCKY MOUNTAINEER, Vancouver.

Rail tour operators; 193 employees. Offers new employees three weeks of vacation, moving to a maximum of five weeks for its longest-serving employees.

RODAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC., Mississauga, Ont. Energy metering services; 47 employees. Helps employees prepare for the future with retirement planning assistance and matching RRSP contributions.

ROGERS INSURANCE LTD., Calgary.

Insurance; 313 employees. Encourages employees to become owners through a share purchase plan, available to all employees.

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CALAR DECISIONS INC., Toronto. Information technology; 320 employees. Encourages employees to save for the future with matching RRSP contributions.

SEALWELD CORPORATION INC., Calgary. Oil and gas equipment manufacturing; 47 employees. Offers an academic scholarship program for children of

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

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2017 WINNERS

Continued

employees interested in postsecondary studies.

SEKURE MERCHANT SOLUTIONS, Montreal. Payment processing; 357 employees. Offers flexible work arrangements, including a telecommuting option, shortened and compressed work weeks and a 35-hour work-week option.

SELECTPATH BENEFITS & FINANCIAL INC., London, Ont. Insurance and financial services; 26 employees. Maintains a charitable focus on children and those in need.

SENTRY INVESTMENTS CORP., Toronto. Investment management; 208 employees. Provides flexible hours to employees who are new mothers to help them transition to their new roles as parents.

SIGMA SYSTEMS CANADA LP, Toronto. Computer systems design; 103 employees. Provides phased-in work options for those nearing retirement.

SOLINK CORP., Kanata, Ont. Computer systems design; 18 employees. Provides numerous on-site amenities, including a cafeteria featuring healthy and special-diet menus.

SORTABLE, Kitchener, Ont. Computer software; 45 employees. Increased its full-time work force by 50 per cent in the past year.

SOURCE ATLANTIC LTD., Saint John.

Industrial supplies and wholesale; 380 employees. Maintains a flexible health-benefits plan, allowing employees to top up levels of coverage as needed and transfer unused credits to additional salary or savings.

SPEED SHIFT MEDIA, New Westminster, B.C. Advertising; 48 employees. Offers referral bonuses for employees who recruit candidates from their personal networks.

STRATEGIC GROUP, Calgary. Property management and development; 152 employees. Maintains a charitable focus on initiatives that support the arts and giving back to Calgary’s impoverished.

SWISH MAINTENANCE LTD., Peterborough, Ont. Cleaning equipment and supplies wholesale; 229 employees.

Invests in continuing employee education with generous tuition subsidies for job-related courses.

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ERAGO NETWORKS INC., Thornhill, Ont. Internet service providers; 165 employees. Encourages employees to become owners through a share purchase plan.

KEVIN VAN PAASSEN/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

q Chris Ye (right), the co-founder of Uken Studios Inc., which creates cross-platform video games, at the company's office in Toronto.

TEXTNOW, Waterloo, Ont. Software publishers; 71 employees. Doubled the size of its work force in the past year with 37 new full-time positions.

THESCORE, INC., Toronto. Internet publishing; 175 employees. Encourages employees to keep fit with free access to an on-site fitness room.

TRISURA GUARANTEE INSURANCE CO., Toronto. Insurance; 99 employees.

Longstanding employees move to a maximum of eight weeks of paid vacation over the course of their careers.

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KEN STUDIOS INC., Toronto.

Video game developer; 63 employees. Provides on-site amenities, including a nap room, employee lounge stocked with video games, a pool table and foosball.

ENTANA CONSTRUCTION CORP., Burnaby, B.C. Commercial construction; 147 employees. Offers generous referral bonuses for employees who help recruit candidates from their personal networks.

VERAFIN INC., St. John’s. Custom computer programming; 205 employees. Offers a flexible “no limit” vacation policy, allowing employees to decide how much time they need in any given year.

VOICES.COM INC., London, Ont. Talent Agency; 94 employees. Lets everyone share in the fruits of their labour through profit-sharing.

VOONYX INC., Lac-Beauport, Que. Software development; 26 employees.

Encourages employees to lead active, healthy lives with a wellness spending account each year.

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ATTERS ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC., Concord, Ont. Environmental consulting; 22 employees.

Helps employees save for retirement with matching RRSP contributions.

WILD ROSE BREWERY, Calgary. Breweries; 48 employees. Allows employees to enjoy casual dress daily.

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ENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC., Burnaby, B.C. Biopharmaceutical research and development; 80 employees. Offers signing bonuses for some, year-end bonuses for all, and referral bonuses for employees who help recruit candidates.

– Diane Jermyn

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

O2E BRANDS

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The Fun Factor

p Employees at O2E Brands working together on a project at the home services company's Vancouver head office.

Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employers have a secret weapon to attract top talent

W

ork is work, right? You get up in the morning, you put your best face on, and off you trudge. Another day, another dollar. But if you work at one of Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employers, or SMEs, you may find that work is a bit different.

Like fun.

You could, for example, be working for B.C.’s Rocky Mountaineer luxury train service, where you get paid to take tourists through the scenic glories of the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian Rockies. “You have people who are coming from all over the world to tick off a bucket list item – they’re very excited,” says Charlie Millar, the company’s Manager, Service Excellence. “It’s an incredible thing to be part of, to deliver on that promise, to

be able to show them the Rocky Mountains, the occasional bear, maybe some flying eagles. But also to help them meet new people on board the train – I think that’s one of the most powerful things that happens here.”

Millar is quick to note that it’s still work, but he also calls it the best job he’s had in his life. And even if you work at head office, sooner or later you’ll be riding the train. Everyone in the company goes aboard in their first year – and some repeatedly – to better understand the business. The enthusiasm goes right to the top.

President Steve Sammut has worked for large corporations as well as Rocky Mountaineer, and, like many leaders of smaller companies, he notes that one big difference is the tools you have

available – “you have to be smarter in allocating resources,” he says. But that, he finds, is a small price to pay to be part of a SME (usually pronounced “smee”).

“Overall, it’s a lot more fun,” Sammut says.

“You’re able to pivot so much more quickly, adjust your strategies, take advantage of opportunities.

It’s a lot easier to get the whole team on board. It’s easier to communicate, because in a small and medium-sized company you know each other. It allows us to roll things out pretty quickly.”

Some might say that it’s easy to have fun in the tourism business. How about an industry with less glamour? Say, a call centre.

Come on down, Sekure Merchant Solutions! The Montreal company thrives on its entry-level per-

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

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q Relaxing in one of the employee chill-out

THE SCORE INC.

areas at Toronto-based The Score Inc.

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

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q Rocky Mountaineer employees seeing off another

ROCKY MOUNTAINEER

passenger train through the Rockies in Banff, Alberta.

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

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THE FUN FACTOR

Continued

sonnel who call merchants and companies across the U.S. to offer better terms on their card payment systems. To aid retention, Sekure deliberately set out to make the job fun. Along with bonuses and commissions, there are spin-the-wheel prizes through the day, themed competitions, and pumping music in the background.

“Providing an atmosphere that counters some of the negativity someone will get in a 9 to 5 call centre job is really important to us,” says Jeff Ramaglia, one of Sekure’s four managing partners.

“My partners and I are very passionate and pretty generous in terms of remuneration and benefits. In many cases, people can get a free personal iPhone with their plan paid. We’ve just started free breakfast with baskets of fresh fruit every morning. We do things geared towards keeping our employees happy.”

Melissa Contrino is one of those employees. A former call centre person, she’s now a Research Specialist who supports the sales team. “In a lot of

places, it’s very strict, very quiet,” she says. “There’s not a lot of interaction with the people around you.

There are never any games or prizes or anything like that. Here the workplace is a lot more fun. I’m always happy to come in to work.”

And did someone mention free breakfast? It’s hard to imagine one of Canada’s large corporations, with 50,000 or more employees, providing that perk. But it’s not uncommon among SMEs – typical of the ways these companies of less than 500 people work to attract top talent and keep them satisfied.

One of the breakfast places – every Wednesday – is Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc., based in Waterloo, Ont., Canada’s technology hub.

Recruitment is especially challenging in the tech sector, which pioneered workplace fun with the now-standard video games lounges and foosball tables. “One of the things we looked at about a year and a half ago was how could we attract talent in an area where it’s very competitive,” says Jeoff Shiekh, Chief Corporate Officer of the 18-year-old company.

“What we found was a common theme of a workplace environment that was very relaxed.

When you looked around, you’d see all these things – games rooms, breakfast areas – that you wouldn’t ordinarily see in corporate environments. We began to understand that when you’re in a fast-paced environment like the tech sector, there are ways to create surroundings where people can relieve stress and also encourage creativity.”

Richard Yerema, Managing Editor for Mediacorp Canada, which compiles the list, agrees that SMEs often have the freedom to say, “let’s do this,” both in business and in recruitment. Yerema’s favourite example of fun in the workplace is a photo he received of Simon De Baene, CEO of Montrealbased GSOFT Inc., which says its top priority is “employee happiness.”

“They had set up a half pipe in the employee lounge, and there was the CEO, riding a skateboard on the half pipe,” says Yerema. “That’s a first.” n – Berton Woodward

AGNORA INC.

q Reflecting on an excellent employer in the glass lamination clean room at AGNORA Inc. in Collingwood, Ont.

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

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/N SPRO consultants can work from anywhere

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loria To joined Montreal-based /N SPRO Inc. two years ago, shortly after earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the city’s Concordia University, and she’s found a corporate culture that’s a perfect fit for her. Founded in 2003, the company (pronounced “en-spro”) delivers consulting services for users of SuccessFactors, a human resources software owned by the German multinational company SAP SE. “It’s a very collaborative environment where everyone helps everyone, whether you’re an associate consultant, a practice director or a vice-president,” says To, who is an Associate Consultant. “You wake up in the morning and you’re excited to go to work because you get this great sense of community.”

We’re a rapidly growing company and with growth comes opportunity – both personally and professionally – especially if you’re young and like adventure.

Luc Hedou

President

But as communities go, /N SPRO’s is a little different. There is a strong emphasis on virtual collaboration since about half the company’s workforce is located outside Montreal. “We leverage an online social platform to ask each other questions and to post blogs or short papers on lessons we’ve learned from past projects,” says To. As a professional services firm, /N SPRO provides clients across North

ALWAYS LOOKING TO THE CLOUD AT /N SPRO

America with business consulting, implementation and on-going sustainment services for the cloud-based SuccessFactors software – most of which can be done from any location with an internet connection.

“The hours you work and where you work from are flexible,” says /N SPRO President Luc Hedou. “It’s not necessary to be in a company office and that’s something our people appreciate, especially millennials.” /N SPRO has employees in almost every large Canadian city from Halifax to Vancouver, as well as several employees scattered across the U.S. – from Boston and Florida in the east to Arizona and California in the west.

The company brings all new hires to the Montreal head office for a week of

Elite Team.

Awesome People.

Love Mondays.

onboarding. “The office is important as an incubator,” says Hedou. “It’s very helpful to meet the group, walk the halls, feel they’re part of something and to learn the software.”

Once a year, Hedou gathers his scattered tribe for an annual retreat, usually at a resort in a warm and sunny location. This year the event was held over four days in late March at a resort in Playa del Carmen on Mexico’s Mayan Riviera.

In addition to flexibility and sunny retreats, heavy importance is placed on training and professional development for all team members. This occurs year-round, though a good part of it is delivered online by necessity.

“A lot of our learning comes from a system called the Learning Hub,” says

To. “All our managers and directors give us time to complete this training.

I can meet with my manager and say I want to complete a new section and she will be completely open to it.”

Hedou adds that consultants require a broad array of skills in order to be effective. “First, they need to know the software that they’re going to implement,” he says. “Soft skills, such as assertiveness and being a good communicator, are also extremely important.

We’ve hired external firms to come in and do training on-site and some of it occurs in-house.”

Beyond certification courses, /N SPRO covers the cost for employees to take Dale Carnegie leadership courses and provides subsidies for professional accreditations and unlimited tuition subsidies for jobrelated courses.

“We’re a rapidly growing company and with growth comes opportunity – both personally and professionally – especially if you’re young and like adventure,” Hedou says. “We have our eye on Australia as our next market.”

80 15 35 14

full-time staff in Canada jobs available last year average age of all employees years, longestserving employee

A Rizing Company

n-spro.com

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

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Abilis Solutions brings professionalism to the corrections sector

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hen Abilis Solutions celebrated its twentieth birthday last year, it had grown into a very different company from the one its founders originally imagined. Abilis, which started out in Montreal as a professional services and software company with a wide range of clients, is now sharply focused on the corrections software industry, where it has become a world leader.

The shift began in 2007 when Abilis was called in to rescue a large telecommunication organization with a major corrections project in trouble. “The thing was almost dead,” says President and COO Alain Elbaz. Abilis saw an opportunity where no one else did.

The project was quickly turned around, Abilis acquired the intellectual property of the system and rebuilt it as CORIS Offender Management System, a webbased system.

People are very impressed with the team we’ve assembled. People always feel they’re learning.

Alain Elbaz

President and COO

Given that Abilis Solutions’ strength was always building very robust IT systems for large companies with a lot of users, it wasn’t that much of a leap. “It represented the ideal opportunity for our skill set,” says Elbaz, who co-founded the company with CEO Eric Le Goff.

One of Abilis’s aims, when it bought CORIS, was to diversify away from professional services, which can be a feast or famine business. The company was looking for a more sustainable revenue

EMPLOYEES INTERACTING AND STAYING ENGAGED AT ABILIS SOLUTIONS

stream, which it believed the globally booming corrections industry offered. Its goal is now to become the number one global vendor in the corrections space.

And it’s well on the way, with clients in North America, Europe and Australia.

“People are very impressed with the team we’ve assembled,” says Elbaz, who describes Abilis as a company on the leading edge technologically and a meritocracy. “People always feel they’re learning.

They learn from each other. They feel they’re not stagnant.”

Vice President of Operations Bertrand Double says that in its hiring, Abilis looks for employees with both strong tech and human skills. “We’re extremely multicultural. We have people from all over the world. This multicultural environment has made us richer.” On several occasions, he says, Abilis has hired employees,

who wouldn’t be considered elsewhere because they didn’t speak either French or English. It took steps to integrate the newcomers.

“Today some of those people are our best managers and developers,” he says, citing the example of a young Chinese woman who was brought in by a referral and worked under a Chinese manager while Abilis paid for her to learn English.

“We’ve all grown together with those experiences,” says Double, and now they also celebrate Chinese New Year together.

Raya Zachs, who’s been with Abilis since 2008, says she really appreciates the career-building opportunities and flexible working conditions, which have led to a low turnover rate. If her child was sick, she could take the day off or work from home. More recently, she’s made a major switch and taken on a product manage-

ment role along with being head of software development.

“Product management is cool. It’s really new to me and very interesting,” says Zachs, who has visited corrections facilities in Tennessee including a high-security prison with a death row, a community facility, and an intake facility and prison with 2,500 beds. She regularly attends industry conferences.

“They invest a lot into people,” she says of management, adding that she feels comfortable going to the CEO and asking for advice and support. “We work as a team here.”

Marketing Vice President Ken McGovern, who came to Abilis from another company within the corrections industry, says that around the world, corrections agencies consistently face three main challenges with which Abilis tries to help them: knowing the offender better, running the system as efficiently as possible, and determining how to achieve better outcomes.

For Abilis, he says, “it’s a very exciting time being in a growth phase in the markets we focus on around the world.

Our profile is increasing rapidly.”

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full-time staff in Canada of employees are visible minorities job applications received last year years, average age of all employees

At Abilis Solutions we're humble, but proud.

In our growing company, we believe everyone makes a difference.

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

15

Accompass values its hand-picked talent

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or Wakeef Hussain, an Associate Consultant with Accompass, it was a case of love at first site. Website, that is.

The finance and statistics graduate from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University first came across the Toronto-based human resources consulting firm online when he started job hunting about 18 months ago. “You can see from the site how modern and clean the firm is,” he recalls, “so that was definitely a plus from my perspective.”

The hiring process took a little longer.

Hussain met with executives and staff several times before receiving an offer.

That’s par for the course at the company.

“It’s as much about the right fit for the person coming in as it is for us – so it’s really a two-way street,” says Accompass President Sarah Beech. “As a result, we have very low turnover.”

My vision since we started was for an amazing work experience that inspires our teams’ best efforts in building lasting client relationships.

Michael Worb

Founder and CEO

The process also reflects the firm’s focus on building enjoyable, enduring connections among colleagues and customers. “I’m proud of the hand-picked talent that we’ve patiently brought together over the past 20 years,” says Founder and CEO Michael Worb. “My vision since we started was for an amazing work experience that inspires our teams’ best efforts in building lasting client relationships.”

EMPLOYEES FROM ACCOMPASS ENGAGED IN TEAM BUILDING AND PROBLEM SOLVING CHALLENGES

For Hussain, Accompass offers a supportive, collaborative culture that balances engaging work with professional excellence and a strong sense of fun. “It’s a very flat structure, and your opinion is really accounted for – even for from someone as junior as me,” he notes. “It’s really nice when someone is new and people consider what you’re thinking.”

Creating a strong, diverse team environment is essential for delivering exceptional customer experiences, explains Beech, and has helped fuel the company’s rapid growth in the past five years. “In order to deliver for our clients,

we rely on the breadth and depth of every member of our team, so every role is critical,” she adds. “Everyone has a voice, and we encourage idea creation.”

To keep everyone informed of significant developments, Accompass holds quarterly town hall meetings. Strong bonds are also forged through frequent team-building events, like a Survivor-style challenge last summer, a family baseball day, and a heart-healthy smoothie bar on Valentine’s Day this year.

The Kudos peer recognition program encourages colleagues to thank each other for special efforts. “Accompass shows

its own appreciation for employees in a wide variety of ways,” says Amy Gasparini, Associate Vice-President, Benefits & Health. “It ranges from everything such as getting your birthday off to extra long weekends in the summer.”

The company respects a healthy worklife balance, adds Gasparini. It supports new moms on staff with maternity leave top-up payments to 100 per cent of salary for up to six weeks, and offers a variety of alternative work options to help employees balance their work and personal lives.

Accompass encourages employees to save for the future with contributions to a matching RSP plan. And it lets everyone share in the company’s success with year-end bonuses for all. Tuition subsidies for career-related courses are also available to help employees advance professionally.

Support for employees is expressed in a lot of little ways, says Gasparini.

That includes fresh fruit, healthy snacks, and a kitchen on each floor with a fully stocked refrigerator and pantry. “It’s a great perk,” she notes, “whereas, if you go to work somewhere else, you’re not really going to have that.”

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full-time staff in Canada years, longestserving employee of managers are women charities helped last year

BUILDING HIGHER TOGETHER. Thank you to our extraordinary team at Accompass for your spirited dedication and commitment.

BENEFITS & HEALTH | INVESTMENT & RETIREMENT | BROAD-BASED COMPENSATION | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

accompass.com

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

16

Best in glass: how AGNORA succeeds

“I

’d worked for Richard Wilson for about three years when he said, ‘Hey, guess what we did?’ And then he asked me to join AGNORA,” says Wendy Sholtz, the company’s Customer Service Coordinator, in Collingwood, Ont. “There was no guarantee of success, but I knew how they treated their employees, and I trusted Richard.”

Wilson had started several companies over the years and earned a reputation as a strong leader and caring employer. In 2011, he founded AGNORA Inc. to meet a demand for a North American fabricator of oversized architectural glass. He also aimed to raise the standard of customer service in the glass industry.

Our environment is designed to make employees love coming to work and to inspire them to deliver their best.

Richard Wilson

AGNORA EMPLOYEES (L-R) MARK RALSTON, EVAN HAWTON, CATHY HAWS AND JASON WORSLEY

President

With 71 full-time employees, AGNORA fabricates the largest architectural glass in North America. The company’s specialized equipment can temper, machine, laminate, digitally-print and insulate glass in a variety of thicknesses up to 3.3 meters by 7.6 meters long.

From the all-glass storefront of H&M’s flagship retail outlet on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to the glass enclosure surrounding Damien Hirst’s ten-foot-tall woolly mammoth on display at the Faena Hotel in Miami, AGNORA has become the leading provider in North America of high-quality, oversized architectural glass.

Considering the size of the panels and the processes involved in fabricating

glass, visitors arrive at the company’s 280,000-square-foot facility about two hours north of Toronto “expecting to find a factory,” says Wilson.

Instead they find a light-filled, aweinspiring workplace where a 16-by-40foot glass panel separates the offices from the shop floor and employees take a break to work out in a glass-enclosed company gym or play wallyball on an on-site court. The work environment not only gives AGNORA an opportunity to show off its glass-related expertise, it also encourages employees to excel.

“When people work in a nice environment, they’ll do a good job,” says Wilson. “Our environment is designed to make employees love coming to

work and to inspire them to deliver their best.”

For Curtis Appleton, Tempering Operator & Team Leader, the company has provided him with the opportunity to assume a leadership role. With over 14 years of experience in the industry, Appleton was recruited because of his fit with the company’s culture and his passion for glass fabrication. “When the glass plant I worked for shut down, I was one of seven or eight people to be called in to work for AGNORA,” he says. “We’re a big happy family here.”

For Wilson, a commitment to his employees brings a variety of benefits.

Happy employees take fewer sick days, for example, and work more produc-

tively. “And if you start with satisfied employees, you’ll achieve the ultimate goal of a satisfied customer,” he says.

As a self-described “lifelong entrepreneur”, Wilson has experienced first-hand the consequences of dissatisfaction in the workplace. “One person with a bad attitude can bring down an entire company,” he says.

In order to protect and grow their customer-service culture, AGNORA goes to great lengths to invest in its team. This includes employing a full-time fitness instructor and massage therapist and encouraging ongoing employee development with an internal cross-training and skills-development program. AGNORA also helps employees to save for the longer term with matching RRSP contributions and offers phased-in retirement work options for those nearing retirement.

“Everything’s about customer service and making people happy,” he says. “You have to make people smile. “ For Wendy Sholtz, Wilson has created a workplace that’s the pride of her community. “I tell my friends to come and take a look,” she says. “There aren’t many companies in this area that are so committed to their people.”

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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

17

Artis REIT connects people to purpose

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van Varela came to Calgary from Colombia as a refugee four years ago. He struggled to find his footing, working first in asbestos removal and then as a house painter.

Last year, after completing a five-month building operator training program with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS), Varela served a four-week internship at the Calgary arm of Artis REIT, a Winnipeg-based real estate investment trust that specializes in commercial properties. The company hired him as a full-time building operator last July.

“You can’t imagine the change this has made in my life and that of my wife and four-year-old son,” says Varela. “As well as letting me provide for my family, the company is helping me develop my skills and knowledge and build my profile as a professional.”

The message is: everybody’s work counts and matters.

Morgan Johnson

Senior Manager, Human Resources

Artis REIT, which also has satellite offices in Edmonton, Toronto and the U.S., benefited as well. The company began partnering with the CCIS three years ago, as a way of finding and hiring high-performing individuals to operate its buildings in what is a very competitive employment market.

“For us, technical know-how isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to recruitment,” says Morgan Johnson, Senior Manager, Human Resources. “We will often look at people who may be a little less technically experienced, but who excel at cooperation, team work and

ARTIS REIT BUILDING OPERATORS HECTOR, IVAN, ADRIAN AND JAKE, AT HERITAGE SQUARE

customer service. We then help them with training and development programs to bring their technical skills up to where they need to be.”

Continuous improvement – both at the individual and corporate level – is a core value for Artis REIT. Employees are reimbursed up to $1,800 annually to pay for continuing education they feel would assist them in doing their current job better or to pursue another position within the company.

Employees also take part in an internal training program, Artis Fundamentals, that provides them with a better understanding of the company and their role within it. “The idea is to connect people to purpose,” says Johnson. “The message is: everybody’s work counts and matters.”

That tone is set from the top. Chief Financial Officer Jim Green likens investment in people to the company’s improvement of its balance sheet and real estate holdings. “Artis REIT’s commitment to learning and development results in a committed team and internal career growth,” he says. “Year over year, things get better here because of our knowledgeable, professional team.”

While the size of its workforce has grown rapidly in recent years, Artis REIT strives to maintain an inclusive and collaborative workplace culture.

“This is a very open organization where, as an employee, you are encouraged to bring forward any idea you might have to make the company better,” says Varela. “The fundamental thing is

that we all have respect for each other.”

While there is a high expectation at Artis REIT that employees will work hard and perform well, there is also a strong commitment to ensuring a positive work/life balance.

All employees enjoy access to on-site or nearby fitness facilities. The company’s health and wellness committee also organizes a wide range of activities, including walking clubs, fitness challenges and “lunch-and-learn” sessions on everything from nutrition to personal financial planning.

In addition to competitive salaries, benefits and vacation time, the company offers “family days” (rather than “sick days”) which take into account the need to sometimes be away from work to attend to family concerns – something Varela particularly appreciates.

“Before joining this company I was, as an immigrant, afraid of asking for time off to deal with a medical situation in the family,” he says. “Here, you are told upfront that it’s okay to do so. Along with all the other kinds of support we receive, this makes you feel an even greater commitment to the company.”

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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

18

Auto West staff know how to treat a luxury car

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hen Adam Klassen was 21, he went to work with Auto West Group’s BMW dealership in Richmond, B.C. as a “wash boy.”

Two months later, he enrolled in the technician apprenticeship program. Now, at 29, he is a full-fledged technician, servicing five to 10 BMW cars a day. He celebrated the completion of his apprenticeship by leasing a brand-new BMW 4 Series Coupé for a year.

But he didn’t apply the brakes to learning when he finished the apprenticeship.

With Auto West’s encouragement and support, Klassen did four years of online and classroom training in the BMW program.

This May, he will try for certification at the fourth – and highest – level of the program, Master Technician. “We believe in immersing ourselves in the product, not jumping around from brand to brand,” he says.

The import car business was built upon service. That’s the culture with which we grew up and it’s the culture we set among our employees.

Joachim Neumann

President

“These cars are so advanced electronically that you need to spend a lot of time with them, gaining as much knowledge as you can,” adds Klassen. “The electronics are mini-computers, and the software is constantly being updated, so you need to stay current.” He says it’s like doing diagnostics and repairs on a 747 jetliner – if the plane “were getting the latest software conversions every two weeks to a month.”

THE MINI RICHMOND TEAM CELEBRATES WINNING BACK-TO-BACK #1 NATIONAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR MINI CANADA IN 2015 AND 2016

Auto West BMW, opened in 1986, is one of the Group’s three luxury-car dealerships, the other two being MINI Richmond and Auto West Infiniti. Auto West also has a fourth location, Performance One, an independent repair, tuning and specialty shop.

Auto West Group employs 210 staff.

The company hired 67 new employees in 2016, mostly salespeople and technicians.

“In certain technical areas, with specialized skill sets, we need to hire people who have automotive experience and can fit right in,” says Joachim Neumann, Auto West’s President. “To fill other positions, we can look outside the industry to get new ideas. We believe in growing our own technicians, so we hire people like Adam Klassen who want to go into the apprentice program.”

A big factor in Klassen’s enjoyment of his job is his passion for the BMW brand.

He grew up around BMWs because his father was an automotive tradesperson. The son is such an enthusiast that he owns two older BMW models. But beyond his love of the brand, Klassen has great loyalty to Auto West. “They’ve always been there for me,” he says. “They helped me grow myself as a professional in my trade.”

Neumann says that the family-owned business aimed to make a comfortable, sustainable organization for the staff, with high values and integrity. “Rather than growth for growth’s sake, our mission has been to build lifelong relationships between our customers and employees.

The import car business was built upon service. That’s the culture with which we

grew up and it’s the culture we set among our employees.”

It’s not unheard of for customers to ask for specific technicians to service their cars, says Klassen. “We are always willing to answer customers’ questions and build relationships that way.”

Auto West promotes esprit de corps in its workplace. An employee social committee organizes a variety of events every year, from the Christmas party to family summer barbecues, and from outings to CFL football games to lunches delivered by visiting food trucks.

The company is also doing its part for the environment. It has an array of solar panels at Auto West BMW and at MINI Richmond. Auto West BMW has installed a 53-foot vertical-axis wind turbine. These initiatives help offset the company’s consumption of energy from the B.C. hydroelectric grid.

In addition, the BMW dealership has a green roof with rooftop gardening plots and a honeybee apiary whose honey is shared with staff and customers, as well as a green wall consisting of 1,590 potted plants. “We wanted to make a statement about sustainability at the retail level,” says Neumann.

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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

19

Benevity does well by doing good

B

enevity Inc. has made “doing well by doing good” its mantra, using technology that enables corporations and their people to make a positive difference in the world.

At the same time, the fast-growing tech company based in Calgary is also helping clients with their talent acquisition and management.

“We enable employers to help people be their true and best self in the workplace,” says founder and CEO Bryan de Lottinville. Benevity’s cloud-based Spark platform makes workplace giving, corporate matching, grant-making and volunteering easy and flexible, while empowering employees to choose the causes that resonate with them personally.

We enable employers to help people be their true and best self in the workplace.

Bryan de Lottinville

CEO

The traditional approach to corporate giving has been mostly top-down, notes de Lottinville, with employers exhorting workers to participate in an annual fundraising campaign with a Yes/No decision about whether to allocate part of their paycheque to someone else’s idea of a worthy cause.

“In the past, it was more of a box-ticking exercise,” says the CEO, recalling workplace charity drives that did little to inspire or involve employees. “Today’s workers – especially Millennials – have grown up web-savvy and empowered. They want to be able to do some good in the world in a more democratized and interactive way.”

THE BENEVITY TEAM GETS INSPIRED AT AN INTERNAL EVENT WITH FOUNDER & CEO, BRYAN DE LOTTINVILLE (LEFT)

Several hundred global Fortune 1000 companies, including Microsoft, Google, Nike and Coca-Cola, use Benevity’s marketleading solution to power corporate giving programs. According to de Lottinville, honouring employees’ wishes to give to causes that matter to them is a powerful tool that helps attract, engage and retain a diverse workforce. As socially conscious Millennials reach 50 per cent of the workforce by 2020, the alignment of corporate and personal values will become even more crucial.

With software available in 15 languages, Benevity has almost 3 million users and has processed over $1 billion in donations and millions of hours of volunteer time to more than 100,000 global charities.

Corporate giving is a growing field that has seen Benevity’s employee numbers double in each of the last five years. Today,

with offices in Victoria and Toronto, in addition to its Calgary headquarters, Benevity employs primarily tech and client services professionals. They share a passion for the company’s culture, values and social mission, and they walk the talk. Through their own internal program, 81 per cent of them give time, money or expertise back to their favourite causes.

As one of Canada’s first certified B Corporations, Benevity is part of a growing international community of for-profit enterprises that are committed to using the power of business to solve social and environmental challenges. In recruitment, the company looks for people with the “Benevity Unicorn Factor,” the blend of unique attributes that will make someone successful at the company. With its people considered its most sustainable differen-

Dreamers & Doers JOIN OUR TEAM OF

benevity.com/careers

tiator, the company takes orientation and on-boarding seriously, with de Lottinville himself hosting a two-hour session every few weeks with new hires.

Amy Steen was recently promoted to a team leadership role after starting work in Benevity’s Victoria office last year as a software developer. She’s impressed with the company’s commitment to gender equality, from the senior levels to the tech roles, long a male-dominated field. The company provides mentoring, training and the time and tools she needs for professional development, Steen says. “Benevity is really stepping up to the plate.”

She also appreciates that the company works hard to make everyone feel like they’re integral to the team. Events like Benevity Hugs and Fist Bumps, companywide meetings where people share their successes, help her stay informed and connected.

For Steen, an avid equestrian who directs her giving to horse rescue organizations, it’s ultimately the culture that makes Benevity such a special place to work. “It rubs off when you’re surrounded by passionate people who want to make the world a better place,” she says. “On a deep personal level, I feel I have become a better person.”

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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

20

Trust is the key ingredient at Champion Petfoods

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ost people plotting their career path consult with a counsellor or trusted friend. Mackenzie Pinch got help from her dog, Ollie. Thankfully, the Stakeholder Relations Analyst for Edmonton-based Champion Petfoods LP was barking up the right tree.

As a dedicated dog lover, Pinch wanted to feed her new Siberian Husky puppy the best quality food she could find. That led her to Champion Petfoods, which has created a swiftly expanding, international market for what it calls Biologically Appropriate dog and cat food that is made from fresh, regional ingredients and is never outsourced to other producers.

“It’s kind of crazy to think of it that way,” says Pinch, “but Ollie really did lead me to my career. I can see so much growth here. The sky’s the limit at Champion because there’s so much opportunity.”

Our employees are huge stakeholders for us. We value them and their development, and we want to make sure they’re happy.

Lee Hodgins

Executive Vice-President of Corporate Services

The company, which was named Alberta’s 2016 Exporter of the Year, expects its sales will reach 100 countries by next year. In addition, Champion opened a new purpose-built, state-of-the-art pet food kitchen in Kentucky last year.

Despite its rapid growth, Champion Petfoods – which was launched as a

AN EMPLOYEE AT CHAMPION PETFOODS INSPECTS THE QUALITY OF PET FOOD AT THE COMPANY’S NORTHSTAR KITCHEN

family-owned business in 1985 – still has a friendly, family feel, says Lee Hodgins, Executive Vice-President of Corporate Services. “Our roots are in the family-owned business,” he explains, “and I don’t think we’ve ever lost that.

That means we treat employees like they are family.”

Pinch calls it a very nurturing environment. “They’re very focused on what their employees want to do next and their development,” she notes, “and they’re very open to supporting any educational goals you have.”

Pinch, who has a degree in international business from Edmonton’s MacEwan University, was originally

hired as a summer student, then recruited for a permanent role when she graduated in December 2015. She currently works in the company’s global affairs department.

As the company expands, its culture is also evolving -- but Champion is taking ownership of that change, observes Hodgins. To meet the challenges of growth, it is investing heavily in highperformance team training for managers and leaders in the organization. Last year, it held a two-day, global leadership forum in Edmonton that brought together about 70 leaders from across the entire company, including its managers from eastern and western Europe.

The company’s corporate culture is built on its core values of teamwork, responsibility, authenticity, innovation and leadership (TRAIL). But the vision underlying those values is to be trusted by pet lovers everywhere, says Hodgins.

“When we say we want to be trusted everywhere, that includes internally,” he says.

“Our employees are huge stakeholders for us. We value them and their development, and we want to make sure they’re happy.

We’re not driven by policy, per se. We’re driven by trust.”

Employees are supported in part by a strong benefits package. The company’s health plan includes a health-spending account of up to $750, which can be carried over for a maximum of two years and used for any health-related expense. The amount can also be transferred to a lifestyle spending account, which offers more flexibility.

“We try to personalize things when it comes to how our benefits are structured,” explains Hodgins.

Recently, the company introduced maternity leave top-up payments of up to 70 per cent of salary for 17 weeks. It also offers flexible hours when new moms return to work.

Employees are even allowed to bring their pets to the office on designated “dog days.”

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TRUSTED EVERYWHERE.

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We are proud to be named one of Canada’s Top 100 Small-Medium Employers and proud that our employees have helped us create award-winning pet foods that are trusted by Pet Lovers worldwide.

CHAMPIONPETFOODS.COM

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

21

Clio empowers employees to innovate – and draw owls

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or Clio, the difference between being a player in the technology space and a leader that’s disrupting an entire industry comes down to its human and high-performing culture.

Whether you’re visiting Clio’s awardwinning Vancouver headquarters or its Toronto or Dublin office, you’ll have a hard time distinguishing an executive from a frontline worker – employees at all levels of the company are encouraged to bring their ideas and observations forward to anyone, a value Clio refers to as radical candour. And that’s just one of the values the employees collectively created.

CLIO STAFF WORK IN A MODERN WORKSPACE THAT EMPHASIZES EMPLOYEE COLLABORATION

If you want a variety of open-ended challenges, you will thrive here.

Jack Newton

CEO

CEO and co-founder Jack Newton cites culture and people as the driving force of one of Canada’s fastest-growing technology companies. “There’s a high level of trust given – every employee has the passion and drive of a CEO,” says Newton, “I often push employees to think big picture. We all need to be optimizing the way we work and prioritizing impactful initiatives, not just the executive team.”

Clio’s values include openness, a commitment to continuous learning, staying fit and, in techspeak, “drawing the f---ing owl” (step one: draw a smaller circle on top of a larger one; step two: draw the rest of the f---ing

owl). While the latter value might seem a bit brash, the mindset of allowing each employee to just get on with it drives a sense of personal accountability.

Their “only windows” cultural value means, “We are radically transparent,” Newton says. “We share all key information, including financial information.” And if that isn’t transparent enough, Newton’s executive activities are visible to all. All the company’s executives work from an open floor plan, just like everyone else.

Commitment to learning, or “living a learning mindset,” means a lot more than tuition subsidies. With the support of their managers, employees create their own career path and learn by doing.

“We don’t believe working your way up the corporate ladder through one department is the only way to advance your career,” Newton explains. “Last year, 35 per cent of Clio’s employees shifted responsibilities. We want

people to feel empowered to take on a variety of different roles, learning about the company’s operations from different perspectives. If you want a variety of open-ended challenges, you will thrive here.”

Navneet Gill embarked on that divergent career path after university. She started three years ago as an accounting assistant and is now a Data Operations Program Manager. Clio supported Gill as she gained her CPA designation, giving her time off to study and celebrating her academic achievements along the way.

“By providing an open career path, in an environment full of support and mentorship, Clio is investing in my future. I feel that Clio really values me and my career,” says Gill.

With her switch of role and department, Gill says she never feared failure.

“It’s amazing to be surrounded by so many smart people who have your back,” she adds. “Your manager is your

coach and ensures you feel comfortable making decisions – even if it means taking risks.”

As for wellness, Clio among other things provides free access to an onsite fitness facility and brings massage therapists into the office every week.

For those who take comfort from their pets, there are plenty of canines throughout Clio.

Work hours are flexible. “This is not a place where we micromanage,” Newton says. “We don’t care how many hours bums are in seats; we care about the quality of work. When you trust your employees, the balance that comes from being able to work in appointments or pick up kids from daycare means they will be happier, healthier and more productive overall.”

Instead of focusing exclusively on the bottom line, Clio prioritizes keeping people engaged. “If our values don’t resonate with people,” Newton says, “they won’t be happy here, nor will they be as productive. If you have a great team driving a great product, and pursuing a mission they believe in, success becomes inevitable.”

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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

22

Openness fuels employee morale at Community Trust

E

very Monday morning, Christopher Humeniuk tries to join his staff for breakfast in the cafeteria. And once a month, the Community Trust President and CEO likes to have an informal lunch with eight to 10 employees from all levels in the organization. “They are the people on the frontlines, dealing with our clients,” he says.

“I can learn a lot from them – and I do.”

The lunches, known as Innovation Hour, are an opportunity for staff to share ideas with the boss on how to improve existing services and establish new ones for this Mississauga, Ont.-based financial institution that bills itself as a flexible alternative to the big banks. “Innovation is key to driving growth and overall success,” Humeniuk says. “We need new ideas, and we take employee ideas seriously.”

I believe in a flat organization, and I want people to know that I am accessible.

Chris Humeniuk

President and CEO

The free breakfasts – yogurt, bagels, fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs and the like – started as an occasional perk. “But I saw how people were coming out of their offices to engage positively with other employees,” says Humeniuk, “so we made it a fixture.

It’s a great way to start off the week.”

There’s another reason Humeniuk attends whenever he can. “I believe in a flat organization, and I want people to know that I am accessible, along with my managers,” he says.

Along with innovation, Humeniuk says healthy high performance is critical to

EMPLOYEES FROM COMMUNITY TRUST CELEBRATING A VICTORY AT THE COMPANY’S SPORTS DAY

corporate survival in the rapidly changing and competitive financial sector.

“Without incentives and the desire to succeed, people rust out,” he says. “With too much pressure, they burn out.”

To prevent burnout and nurture a “resilient organization,” Community Trust offers a broad wellness program.

Experts are brought in to lecture on sleeping tips and managing stress. Oneon-one nutrition sessions were offered to all at no charge. And there is also a free onsite fitness facility, built in response to employee feedback, at the company’s new Mississauga offices.

Senior Analyst Kyle Howard uses the gym every day after work. “Community Trust really believes in employee well-

ness and wants you to take steps to live a fuller life,” he says. “It shows management cares.”

Howard joined Community Trust two years ago as a risk analyst. “This is an expanding organization, and I wanted to be part of that,” he says. His current job did not exist when he moved into it earlier this year. “It was created to meet a growing corporate need and my desire to take on new responsibilities,” Howard says. “That speaks to how committed the company is to professional development and employee growth.”

As Howard prepared to take on his new responsibilities, Community Trust covered all his costs in obtaining a Financial Risk Management Designation. “And they were

We believe success is built on empowerment and inclusion.

(And a little bit of fun along the way).

very accommodating when I needed time to study,” he says.

Howard also attends the weekly breakfasts and appreciates the accessibility of senior management. Openness to employee ideas is a Community Trust hallmark.

“Even as a relatively junior employee, I saw one of my ideas presented and accepted at a board of directors’ meeting,” he says. “If you have a good idea, people will listen.”

Another source of pride is the annual employment engagement survey. “We’re pleased that we consistently exceed industry benchmarks,” says Humeniuk. “Last year, we had an 83-per-cent-engagement score.

However, we look as much at the employee feedback itself as the scores themselves. It identifies areas for improvement, and we roll that into our business planning.”

As part of his commitment to transparency, he shares the survey results with employees at quarterly town hall meetings, part of frank information-sharing that Howard describes as “heartfelt.” But Humeniuk says what pleases him most about the survey is that the staff rate “organizational vision” as the top driver of employee engagement. Says Humeniuk: “That tells me we are communicating and sharing information effectively with our people.”

94 52% 600 35

full-time employees in Canada of managers are women employee volunteer hours last year years, longestserving employee

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

23

Every voice matters at Copperleaf Technologies

J

ust how democratic is the culture at Vancouver software company Copperleaf Technologies Inc.?

Well, last fall, when the rapidly growing firm needed to expand to another floor, “the company came to us and said, ‘Would you like to design it?’” recalls Gabriel Lessard-Kragen.

Copperleaf uses its C55 software to help organizations – many of them utility companies – make the best decisions about managing their assets and infrastructure. And though Lessard-Kragen is a junior employee who graduated with an Integrated Engineering degree just a year ago, he found himself part of the team planning the new space. He and others who would be working in the new office sat down with modelling programs and developed several walk-throughs before drawing up a plan.

If you’re in a meeting with Judi Hess, our CEO, and you think what she just said is wrong, our culture says you should stand up and say, ‘I disagree with you,’ and why, and share your experience.

Barry Quart

Vice President of Marketing

“We actually built up the place ourselves; there was minimal outside input,” says Lessard-Kragen, adding that they moved in in January. “It gave us an incredible sense of ownership, a sense that this is our place – it wasn’t just being delivered to us. You take someone on a tour and say, ‘Hey, you know, I designed that wall.’”

That illustrates what Lessard-Kragen and Copperleaf ’s Vice-President of

QUARTERLY TEAM-BUILDING EVENTS AT COPPERLEAF REINFORCE THE ‘EMBRACE FUN’ ASPECT OF THEIR CULTURE

Marketing, Barry Quart, describe as a uniquely non-hierarchical, consultative workplace. “Nobody’s opinion is more important than anybody else’s,” says Quart. “If you’re in a meeting with Judi Hess, our CEO, and you think what she just said is wrong, our culture says you should stand up and say, ‘I disagree with you,’ and why, and share your experience.

“Judi doesn’t just sit in an ivory tower somewhere. She’s at the table having lunch with everybody and picking their brains about what’s new in the product and what they’re working on. So there’s this constant effort to integrate all the levels of the organization.”

Lessard-Kragen has been pleasantly surprised by how much his opinion matters.

As a Project Manager on the Customer Experience team, he travels frequently to consult with clients, the current one being National Grid, an electric and natural gas utility operating in the northeast U.S. And he often goes on these trips with one of the company’s VPs. “We spend a lot of time together, and every single decision that we make, I’m asked for input, or she won’t make a decision until I’ve had a say in it. It makes you feel like everyone’s in it together.”

Beyond the work environment, Copperleaf goes out of its way to foster that collegiality and sense of collaboration, Quart says. About four times of year, staff form teams and participate in fun, team-building competitions outside the

Building a better world, one decision at a time.

office, such as seeing who can build the best catapult.

There’s also something called the “RAD” (Random Acts of Delight) Initiative, in which staff members propose community activities for employees to participate in, such as the annual Vancouver Sun Run, which raises money for local charities. Copperleaf is happy to match employees’ fundraising or to pay for staff members’ time when they’re volunteering.

Another positive about Copperleaf is a certain flexibility about work time.

Lessard-Kragen notes that after returning from several very long days with an out-of-town customer, it’s not unusual for him to be told, “Take a day – go skiing.” “We recognize that people cannot work 80 hours a week for their entire life or they’re going to disconnect and get burnt-out,” says Quart. “People need a balance.”

Quart also cites the pleasure of working in a company which sets a high bar for its employees. “People like working with smart people because you’re constantly learning things and challenging one another.”

93 41 3 $2,500

full-time staff in Canada jobs available last year weeks, starting vacation allowance employee referral bonus

www.copperleaf.com/careers

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

24

‘Wow experiences’ drive Cowell Auto Group

W

hen Cowell Auto Group Technician Eric Maitland saw both his bosses coming towards him, his first thought was, “Oh, dear...” It’s not unusual for one of the Cowell brothers to visit the service department, but to have both Rand and Ryan approaching was a little intimidating.

Maitland’s “oh, dear” moment transformed into a “wow experience” when the Cowells presented him with the President’s Award as a top employee at the Richmond, B.C.-based auto group.

“When they both came up together, I thought, ‘what’s going on here?’ Then they gave me a plaque with my name on it,” says Maitland. “Being ambushed by the Presidents – that’s a wow moment for sure.”

RAND COWELL, ERIC MAITLAND AND RYAN COWELL (L-R) AT COWELL AUTO GROUP

When people feel comfortable enough in sharing and living a more fulfilled life, they grow stronger bonds and that definitely translates into a stronger team and better focus on taking care of the customer.

Rand Cowell

President

Providing employees and customers with wow moments has been a key to the company’s success for 50 years. But Rand Cowell doesn’t use the word “employees” – he prefers “internal customers.”

“When we talk about a ‘wow experience,’ it’s not only wowing the external customer, but how do we wow the internal customer?” he says.

“There are external customers, but equally important, there are internal

customers, so to get that family feeling going we want to make sure there’s as much focus on us respecting each other and treating each other as though we’re customers internally as well.”

That family feeling started in 1967 when Rand and Ryan’s father, Gary Cowell opened a Volkswagen dealership. Now the Cowell Auto Group also sells Audis, Jaguars and Land Rovers and has 270 employees.

The Cowells have always been innovators. They developed a mission statement and a set of shared values long before it became corporately popular.

“We didn’t plaster them all over the walls or put it up on the websites,” says Rand Cowell. “They were on a laminated card and everybody had them in their shirt or vest pocket close to their heart to make

sure they were living by them. That’s something we’re very proud of.”

Cowell says the company uses Vertical Mindset Training to get employees to think beyond just selling or fixing vehicles.

“It’s about how you live a more fulfilled and purposeful life,” he says. “When people feel comfortable enough in sharing and living a more fulfilled life, they grow stronger bonds and that definitely translates into a stronger team and better focus on taking care of the customer.”

Every work group has a daily “huddle,” to discuss good news (wow experiences), “pain points” (barriers to wow experiences) and their goals. Maitland, a team leader, says it’s integral to his day.

“It brings forward a lot of information that needs to be shared,” he says. “Com-

munications is huge and that’s our stage to get that information out to everybody.”

Also huge for Maitland and his fellow employees are training initiatives that include apprenticeships, paid internships and tuition subsidies of up to $4,000 annually. There are also generous extended health benefits and matching RSP contributions.

Cowell says another key to success is the company’s on-going connection with the community. In addition to supporting the Alzheimer’s Society, Richmond Hospital Foundation and other charities, the company pays employees to volunteer in the community.

While they’re celebrating a half century of wow experiences, Cowell says the company isn’t going to rest on its laurels.

They’re going to continue to improve and innovate so they can keep wowing folks in the future.

“The retail automobile industry is a very old and established industry that’s ready for change,” he says. “To be successful in the future, we have to be constantly looking at how we do things better, how we do things differently and part of that is collaboration to be able to innovate around the customer experience.”

226 34 39 30

full-time staff in Canada years, average age of all employees years, longestserving employee charities helped last year

For 50 years, we have been continually focused to ensure our team provides the best experiences possible.

Thank you for helping Cowell Auto Group become one of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers of 2017.

Cowell Auto Group | 13611 Smallwood Place | Richmond Auto Mall | 604.273.3922 | cowellautogroup.com

THANK YO U

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

25

Fusion Projects designs and builds a unique workplace

A

fter 11 years in the construction business, Jason Langlois had a pretty good idea of where he wanted to work. Fusion Projects Management, a Vancouver-based design build company, had a strong reputation for being a progressive employer and one that went to extraordinary lengths to promote the professional development of its employees. A little more than two years after joining Fusion, Langlois says his high expectations have, if anything, been exceeded.

Fusion employees typically sign off on a three-year professional development plan of their own design. That plan is reviewed quarterly and amended at the employee’s discretion. The company commits to providing all necessary funding and support to help individuals meet their career goals.

They keep you on track to achieve your own success.

Jason Langlois

Project Manager

Langlois credits this process for his rapid rise within Fusion, from a superintendent to a junior project manager to his current position as a Project Manager.

“I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for the support and encouragement I’ve been given,” he says. “It’s like no other work atmosphere that I’ve ever seen. They keep you on track to achieve your own success.”

EMPLOYEES AT FUSION PROJECTS WORK BY THE CREDO ‘WAAR’ -- WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE

Langlois is also impressed by a work environment that stresses personal accountability and mutual respect.

“There are no set hours of work here,” he says. “As long as you are achieving your deliverables and your clients and co-workers are happy, you are left to manage your own time.

I really value that because I have a young family and Fusion has always given me time off to address their needs.”

Fusion designs and builds office interiors in the health care, educational, legal, financial, and technology sectors. The company’s stated goal is to “improve our customers’ worlds one interior space at a time.”

Fusion President Bryan Brown says a lot of thought and effort has gone into creating a workplace culture that values respect, accountability and open and honest communication.

“The first thing to build is trust,” he says. “We encourage people to come forward with their personal

challenges and to know they will be supported. If, for example, someone is suffering from an illness or has a family or life challenge that at times doesn’t allow them to work, that is a reality of life. In that case, in addition to a three-year career plan, we might encourage them to put together a life/ health plan that we’d also support.”

Brown says Fusion’s managers are expected to help manage employees’ stress by setting realistic expectations and timeframes. They also do a weekly checklist on projects that, among other things, will identify anyone who is struggling to meet those objectives and who requires further support.

The combination of a strong professional development framework and a caring, respectful work environment is paying dividends when it comes to recruitment.

“You can tell you’ve hit a good zone when most of the people you are interviewing and hiring are individuals recommended by people who already

work for your company,” says Brown.

“That’s definitely been the case at Fusion over the past two years.”

For Langlois, working at Fusion has been a unique experience. “There’s so much energy in the office and people are really passionate about what they do,” he says. “It’s more like being with friends and family, rather than co-workers.”

That spirit of camaraderie is encouraged through events like Fun Friday, where the workday ends with colleagues sharing a beer or a glass of wine on-site. It’s also evident in the company-supported volunteer work that employees do.

Langlois was one of seven Fusion employees who recently raised funds for Vancouver’s Covenant House, which supports homeless and at-risk youth, by sleeping out in a downtown alley on a winter’s night.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” he says. “Even if it was just for one night, it makes you a lot more aware of what it’s like to be homeless, hungry and alone.”

40 150 11 8

full-time staff in Canada job applications received last year years, longestserving employee charities helped last year

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

26

Hockey always is top of mind at HockeyTech

M

arty Camins played competitive hockey as a youth and, like kids everywhere in Canada, he dreamed of one day making it to the National Hockey League. A serious injury put an end to that, but to this day hockey remains a big part of his personal and professional life.

Camins, who earned an electrical engineering degree at the University of Waterloo, is a software developer at HockeyTech Inc., a Waterloo-based company that supplies a vast array of data and technology solutions – everything from games results to player stats to scouting reports – to nearly every elite level team and league in North America. That includes the NHL, AHL, ECHL and Canada’s three major junior leagues as well as the country’s Tier II junior leagues and several U.S. junior leagues.

It’s not a prerequisite, but if you’re a fan or like hockey, it’s one of the things on the list that we check off.

Stu Siegel

Chairman and CEO

Camins joined HockeyTech a year ago and for him it’s been a perfect fit. “It’s not just the software side of things,” he says. “It’s applying your skills to something you’re really passionate about. It wouldn’t be the same if it were mundane stuff.”

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stu Siegel, a former managing partner of the NHL’s Florida Panthers,

EMPLOYEES FROM HOCKEYTECH AT THE COMPANY’S WATERLOO HEAD OFFICE

founded HockeyTech and built it by acquiring five small companies that were all providing different but complementary services. He consolidated them and put them under one roof in Waterloo, largely to be close to the University of Waterloo and its highly regarded engineering and computer software graduates.

“We put a lot of resources into recruiting within the tech industry and into finding really good people,” says Siegel.

That said, it helps if someone with technical ability also happens to be a hockey fan. “It’s not a prerequisite,” Siegel adds, “but if you’re a fan or like hockey, it’s one of the things on the list that we check off.”

Naturally, the corporate culture is built around hockey and Siegel has gone to great lengths to create what he calls a “very modern, very hip, very hockey-oriented workplace.”

TV screens are posted throughout the workplace and there’s generally either a game on or a panel of analysts discussing the sport. There’s also a PlayStation 4 in the staff lunch room and employees can play the latest NHL video games at lunch or during breaks.

“Hockey is always a topic of conversation in the lunch room or the staff lounge,” says Camins. “It definitely ties us together and creates a sense of community among the employees.”

The company also has a very active social committee – the Social Peeps –

that organizes team lunches, summer barbecues, potluck dinners, pub nights and charitable activities. Employees participate in the community’s annual Earth Day Clean-Up. Last year, they organized and hosted a local road hockey tournament to raise funds for the charitable organization Hockey Helps the Homeless.

But for Camins and many of his colleagues, the work itself generates enthusiasm and inspires commitment.

Hockey coaches, general managers and scouts depend daily on the accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date data and information they provide.

“It’s challenging work, but with challenges come fulfilment,” says Camins.

“There’s a real team atmosphere here.

When you encounter complex issues, you can always go to a co-worker or even the CTO and COO and leverage their expertise and knowledge.”

And just like a hockey game, occasionally employees are required to put in a little extra time to get the job done. But as Camins puts it: “The company is extremely flexible if you need time off here and there for personal reasons.”

“OUR PEOPLE ARE OUR GREATEST STRENGTH” WWW .HOCKEYTECH. COM

45 30 5 250

full-time staff in Canada average age of all employees charities helped last year staff volunteer hours last year

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

27

Igloo enhances its workplace with its own product

A

fter increasing its full-time workforce by more than onethird in 2016, Igloo Software, a leading global provider of digital workplace solutions, expects 2017 to be another high-growth year.

The Kitchener, Ont. “scale-up” (at just over 10 years old, Igloo is more mature than a startup) helps companies around the world improve communication, collaboration, knowledge sharing and social engagement through its digital workplace platform. The platform builds on and goes well beyond what used to be referred to as intranets. The ultimate goal is to create a more productive and engaged workforce.

Janine Narvali, a Team Lead for Business Development, joined Igloo in 2015, and she quickly learned the Igloo platform by using it. “I was able to collaborate with colleagues and find the information I needed to do my job successfully,” she says. Her experience was in contrast to that of employees at some companies, who complain that their intranets and portals are confusing or too complex.

Igloo leadership helps the entire team be successful. They roll their sleeves up and get their hands dirty.

Teamwork is very important.

Janine Narvali

Team Lead, Business Development

What Narvali loves about Igloo as a user and a business development team leader is that it brings all the backend systems together in one single destination, or “one source of truth,” as she calls it. “It allows me as an employee to trust that platform,” she explains. “That’s extremely impor-

IGLOO SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS BUILDING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS DURING A HACKATHON

tant for employee engagement.” This is especially so as the workforce becomes increasingly mobile and comprises multiple generations.

“The future of work is all about how a digital workplace can unite an organization around a consistent vision, set of values, and behaviours,” says Narvali. “The result is greater speed and consistency of execution through a seamless work experience.”

This kind of efficiency also drives the bottom line. She points to a call centre client in Mexico with more than 500 employees. The company reduced call times by 355 per cent by using Igloo to create a knowledge base that allowed staff to easily access the information they needed to resolve calls faster.

As she goes about her job, Narvali especially appreciates the support she gets from Igloo’s leadership. “They help

the entire team be successful,” she says.

“They roll their sleeves up and get their hands dirty. Teamwork is very important to everyone who works at Igloo. I work very closely with every single department and almost every single person within the organization.”

Kristen Ruttgaizer, Director of Human Resources, says there are no silos at Igloo.

When she walks past meeting rooms, she often sees representatives from all the different departments gathered together to work on projects. “They’re always connecting. They’re always chattering,” she says of her colleagues.

The Igloo product, she says, is designed to build company culture and to benefit all employees throughout an organization by eliminating specific departmental painpoints. “As an HR leader, the Igloo platform enables better employee self-service,

so I can focus on being a strategic partner to the business,” adds Ruttgaizer.

In its hiring, Igloo is looking for employees who reflect its values of Commitment, Innovation and Achievement. “We want people who are passionate and committed,” says Ruttgaizer. Recent openings have included sales, customer success and software development.

Along with flexwork options, perks of a job at Igloo include a minimum of three weeks’ vacation, two personal floater days, full health and dental insurance, discounted gym membership, paid parking, green transport incentives, and a very active employee-led social committee.

There are two major social events every year on top of regular “cake” days, video game nights and movie afternoons, where Igloo rents out local cinemas, and serves popcorn and drinks.

“I love the onsite massage therapist every Friday,” says Narvali. “It helps me spend my benefits and saves me travel time.”

Adds Ruttgaizer: “Even employees who work from home say, ‘I want to be in the office.’ It’s such a great environment.”

119 47 $1,500 $20

full-time staff in Canada jobs available in 2016 average annual education reimbursement monthly cellphone reimbursement for roles without corporate devices

It’s where you work smarter.

Do you Igloo?

Digital workplace solutions that connect people, processes, and information to create a more productive and engaged workforce.

Learn more at igloosoftware.com

Match your degree or diploma with employers that recruit new grads with your academic background Published annually since 1992, The Career Directory is Canada’s longest-running and best-loved career guide for new graduates.

Each year, our editorial team reviews thousands of employers to determine the academic qualifications they actively seek in younger job-seekers.

The result is a wonderful, free resource that helps new graduates find student jobs that make the most of their university degree or college diploma.

careerdirectory.ca Match your degree or diploma with employers that actively recruit new grads with your educational qualifications!

2017

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

29

Driving a path to safer roads at IMS

T

echnology people like to be on the cutting edge. At Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. (IMS), employees are indeed proud of leading their field technically, but they also cite how their cutting-edge work benefits society at large – improving people’s lives when it comes to driving.

“What we’re doing is important not only for our business, but it also helps people,” says Dale Scott, Lead Engineer.

“It reduces accidents and helps people become better drivers. Staff here are not just excited about technology – they’re also excited about making a difference.”

Waterloo, Ont.-based IMS makes technology designed to advance the connected car, particularly for the car insurance and transportation industries. Its products can monitor a car’s usage so that insurers, for instance, can get information on where and how a car is being driven.

What we’re doing is important not only for our business, but it also helps people. It reduces accidents and helps people become better drivers.

Dale Scott

Lead Engineer

Known as insurance telematics or usage-based insurance, this new field allows insurers to offer discounts to drivers based on their own personal car usage patterns. It can also help claims adjusters reconstruct what happened in an accident. Several major global insurers, including Allianz in Germany, The Cooperators in Canada and Nationwide in the United States, now use the IMS con-

IMS RECENTLY REDESIGNED ITS WORKPLACE TO PROVIDE MORE SPACE FOR EMPLOYEE COLLABORATION AND GREAT PERKS SUCH AS A GAMES LOUNGE, DAILY SNACKS AND A WEEKLY COMPANY BREAKFAST

nected car platform. There are versions, too, that can give drivers, especially young drivers, feedback on their driving habits.

IMS also provides road usage charging solutions that differ from traditional transponder systems in not needing the elaborate reception gantries erected on toll roads such as Greater Toronto’s Highway 407. Now used in Oregon and California, the IMS platform can transmit more data about mileage driven and driving patterns and is much cheaper, says Chief Corporate Officer Jeoff Shiekh.

“As cars become more fuel efficient, and hybids and electric cars increase, governments are getting less revenue at the pump from gasoline taxes,” says Shiekh. “To ensure safe road conditions, they need to maintain the roads and make improvements, and this is a very

cost-effective way to use technology to help fund that.”

Shiekh says that as the leader in this space, IMS has grown quickly, adding more than 30 new jobs and making 22 internal promotions in the past year alone. In recent years, it has focused on creating an attractive, open-plan workspace in a refitted building formerly owned by Conestoga College, complete with a games lounge, daily snacks and free breakfast every Wednesday. Employees also get extended health benefits, gym discounts and yoga sessions with an instructor.

“We have a very forward-looking, innovative, collaborative culture,” says Shiekh. “There’s an open-door policy.

You can walk over to the CEO’s office and have a conversation about the chal-

lenges or the excitement of what you’re working on.”

Scott, who joined in 2004 and now oversees a lot of the engineering work process at IMS, agrees that it is a very collaborative environment where even different teams consult each other. “We have a Buddy Program, for new people when they come in, but what I really like is we have what I sometimes call ‘the anybody program’ where I can just ask anyone a question and get an answer, or the other way round. It’s very open.”

Scott also likes the diversity at IMS, both cultural – “I never knew what Diwali was before” – and in gender. Some 40 per cent of the workforce is female, unusual in a tech company. “People with different backgrounds solve problems differently, and that’s a strength,” Scott says. The company actively celebrates a variety of cultural festivals, from Chinese New Year to Cinco de Mayo.

There are also employee-run “communities of practice”, both professional – discussing the latest trends in technology – and personal, such as board-game nights and hockey skills. Scott says this is a hallmark of the IMS approach. “That culture of letting it be flexible, of saying to the employees, ‘You guys know what to do – go do it. Let us help you and support you.’ In my mind, that’s really important.”

Amazing people. Leading solutions.

Care about the safety of drivers and our environment?

We do too! Join our team of connected car innovators today and help drive change in our communities.

Intellimec.com/careers

126 22 30+ 40%

full-time employees in Canada promotions in the last year jobs created last year of employees are women

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

30

McLeod Law retains its family feel

R

obin Lokhorst remembers the exact day he started at McLeod Law LLP in Calgary as an articling student.

It was June 24, 1991, and the firm was relatively small with a friendly, family feel to it. Now, 26 years later, Lokhorst is the Managing Partner and has helped McLeod Law grow to be one of the largest law firms in Calgary, with 48 lawyers and 75 support staff.

But its people haven’t lost that family feeling and personal touch that’s helped them retain clients for decades.

“We pride ourselves on having grown organically and building from within,” says Lokhorst. “We’re quite proud of that because it creates a real sense of belonging and camaraderie – we’re all in it together.”

EMPLOYEES AT MCLEOD LAW LLP WORK IN SIX PRACTICE AREAS

We pride ourselves on having grown organically and building from within.

Robin Lokhorst

Managing Partner

McLeod Law is one of the 10 largest firms in the city but it’s one of only a couple in that group that are local Calgary firms. It focuses on the local market and, unusual for its size, provides both business and personal client services.

The legal market in Calgary is a highly competitive service industry and the lawyers and staff at McLeod Law recognize it as such. They work primarily in one of six practice groups

to bring in-depth expertise to their clientele.

Clients range from individuals to land developers, builders, energy and natural resource companies, banks and trust companies, accounting firms and government agencies.

Services include corporate and commercial; banking; securities and corporate finance; residential, commercial and condominium real estate; litigation; foreclosure; employment and labour; personal injury; wills and estates; and family law.

Lokhorst says one of the secrets of the firm’s success is an emphasis on building long-term relationships with clients. Some have been with the firm since it started in 1981.

“We take the time to build the relationship with the client and understand their business and their needs,” says Lokhorst. “We want to create a relationship that will go on for many, many years – decades in some cases.”

That long-term relationship approach also applies to lawyers and support staff. The firm offers an employee benefits package that includes flexible work hours, matching RRSP contributions and 10 personal leave days a year – all paid for 100 per cent by the firm.

Employees also get a day off each year to volunteer for any community service or charitable organization they want to donate their time to. They make an even bigger impact working as a home-grown collective team support-

ing charities like the United Way. Suzanne Anderson, senior legal assistant in the Personal Injury Group, says the strong firm culture helps McLeod Law retain both lawyers and staff.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” says Anderson, who has been with the firm for 21 years. “We have very little turnover – people don’t leave.”

Lokhorst says the lawyers are also in it for the long haul because they appreciate the firm’s culture and community focus.

“We’re somewhat unique in that in our law firm, we have 19 partners, 12 of which started with the firm as articling students, which is a real testament to the long-term view and support we want to give people,” he says.

“We value and support our people and we encourage their personal growth and community involvement and I think that’s a recipe for creating engaged employees and members of the firm.”

Anderson couldn’t agree more. “For 21 years, this has been a fabulous place to work,” she says. “I continue to be challenged, which is an amazing thing and I feel very fortunate.”

109 3 43 34

full-time staff in two Calgary locations weeks, starting vacation allowance years, average age of all employees years, longest tenure with the firm

Thank you to our people for making us one of Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employers.

Learn more about joining our team at: mcleod-law.com/careers

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

31

Culture breeds success at Nicola Wealth Management

B

efore Faye Fitzgerald joined Nicola Wealth Management Ltd. (NWM) in Vancouver, she did her homework to learn more about the company.

“It struck me as a well-managed business,” she says. “It had won awards for its performance and its culture. It gives back to the community through charitable activities. It’s grown incredibly over the last few years. And it has a lot of long-term employees, which is always a good sign.”

Now an administrative assistant at the company, Fitzgerald had lived in Canada for less than a year when she landed her job. But with a bachelor’s degree in business from Limerick University in Ireland, and eight years in the hospitality industry as she pursued her education, she knew what to look for in a potential employer.

We try to be innovative in our industry. The people who work here are always looking for ways to help us improve our products, services and processes.

David Sung

President

Fitzgerald’s observations are music to the ears of David Sung, NWM’s President. Several years ago, NWM hired a consultant to interview employees about their ideal corporate culture. The consultant also asked employees if NWM measured up to their ideals.

“At the time, we saw a gap between where we were and where we wanted to be,” says Sung.

The consultant also pointed out that firms with the best culture and most engaged, satisfied employees also recorded the

DAVID SUNG, PRESIDENT AND JOHN NICOLA, CHAIRMAN AND CEO AT NICOLA WEALTH MANAGEMENT

best financial performance. “So we set out to create a culture that lived up to our employees’ ideals,” Sung says.

To show its appreciation of employees’ ongoing contribution to the firm’s success, the firm offers a share-purchase plan that has raised to seven the number of shareholders within the organization.

NWM also offers an industry-leading profit-sharing program with no capped upside, so that employees can participate directly and fully in the company’s success. In addition, the company provides employees with retirement-planning assistance and RSP contributions, and offers phased-in work options for employees nearing retirement.

NWM supports a number of local, national and international charitable initiatives every year and encourages employees to give back to the community by matching employee donations and providing paid time off for volunteer activities.

As Fitzgerald can attest, NWM has achieved its objective. Its employees feel engaged in the company’s success, and its performance proves it. For more than 10 years, NWM has grown by an average of 25 per cent a year. With offices in Vancouver, Kelowna and Richmond in B.C. as well as Toronto, the company’s staff has expanded from 20 employees to 147 employees, and its assets under management have increased to almost $5 billion from $300 million.

Through the firm’s profit-sharing program, employees have received as much as 33 per cent a year of their annual base salary. “We value the contribution that people make to our success,” says Sung. “Satisfied employees are engaged employees.”

For Fitzgerald, NWM’s profit-sharing program “shows how much the company appreciates its employees. You have everything here that you need to succeed.”

That includes financial support for continuing education and “a professional, sophisticated, competent working environment.”

NWM has taken the same innovative approach to investment management as it has to its corporate culture, diversifying its holdings in a similar way to pension funds to reduce risk and volatility while generating impressive returns.

“We try to be innovative in our industry,” says Sung. “The people who work here are always looking for ways to help us improve our products, services and processes.”

Today, Nicola Wealth Management receives almost 90 applications for every available job. “We look for people who think like a business owner and who attract other like-minded people to the firm,” says Sung.

“At the end of the day, employees tend to be the best recruiters of new employees.”

147 27 1,200 22

For over 20 years, NWM has provided sophisticated financial advice and investment management to Canada’s entrepreneurs, affluent families, and foundations.

Vancouver | Kelowna | Richmond | Toronto | www.nicolawealth.com

full-time staff in Canada jobs available last year job applications received last year years, longestserving employee

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

32

One team, one vision at employee-owned Peto MacCallum

A

ndrew Jones, Matt St. Denis and Priyanki Patel each have different roles, locations and years of service at the engineering consulting firm Peto MacCallum Ltd. But what unites them is a sense of teamwork and a shared dedication to excellence while serving the company’s clients.

Because they are co-owners along with 80 other employees, they are committed to the company and its success.

“Employee ownership promotes an ethos where all employees work together as one team, with one goal and one vision – to build a stable future for all stakeholders,” says Andrew Injodey, President and CEO. “The unique ownership structure not only reflects the diversity of the staff but aligns the staff and the company’s priorities.”

Our staff are invested in the jobs they do. They take pride in doing an excellent job.

Andrew Jones

Director and Manager, Inspection and Testing Services

The company has its head office in Toronto, with other locations throughout southern Ontario – certified laboratory facilities in Barrie, Hamilton and Kitchener and satellite offices in London and Collingwood.

“Our staff are invested in the jobs they do,” says Jones, a 30-year employee who started out as a field technician. Since 2004, he has been Manager, Inspection and Testing Services in the Barrie office and was recently elected as a Director. “They take pride in doing an excellent job,” he says.

“That’s the feedback I get from clients.”

One of those clients is Honda Canada.

PETO MACCALLUM EMPLOYEES AT THEIR ANNUAL SUMMER BBQ

Jones worked on the automaker’s original plant in Alliston, Ont. and subsequent expansion and renovations. “This entrepreneurial spirit and the involvement of all staff have meant that the company can adapt quickly to changing market conditions and be competitive, successful and sustainable,” he says.

St. Denis was hired by Peto MacCallum right after completing his B.Eng. degree in civil engineering in 2005 at McMaster University. He is now Manager, Geotechnical in the Hamilton office. “Everyone works well together,” he says. “I enjoy dealing with clients on a day-to-day basis.”

He is proud of the contribution that he and and his project team made recently to the Randle Reef remediation project for the Hamilton Port Authority. “Our part of the project was providing additional geotechni-

cal information to be used for the structural design of the containment facility for contaminated sediment.”

Patel joined Peto MacCallum in 2007 as a computer programmer and system administrator, six months after immigrating from India. Since last December, she has been Manager of IT. “I like that every day there are new challenges,” she says.

“Never a dull moment.” She and her three software developers have played a vital role in computerizing the operations. More recently they have created six different web applications to enhance efficiency while driving down costs.

The workforce at Peto MacCallum averages 170 employees, mainly comprising engineers, geoscientists, hydrogeologists, geologists, technologists, IT, CPAs and support staff. The company prides itself on

involving staff. Senior management goes out of its way to consult, share information about the company and challenge staff with newer responsibilities.

All the employees under age 60 are eligible to become shareholders. “It’s by invitation only, and as a recognition for superior performance,” says Jones, who has bought shares annually for the past 20 years. “It’s not who you are or whom you know that matters; it’s what you do, how you perform and how you contribute that counts.”

Peto MacCallum encourages ongoing employee education with tuition subsidies for job-related courses. Patel found her employer very supportive when she was earning her M.Eng. part-time. “The firm allowed me to leave work early for classes,” she recalls. Later, the firm paid the fees for her P.Eng. accreditation.

The company helps employees balance work and their personal lives, providing alternative work arrangements and up to 10 paid personal days off, which can be scheduled throughout the year. Says Patel, the mother of two young children: “This flexibility to take time off when it’s not a planned vacation is really helpful.”

172 45 39 100%

full-time staff in Canada years, average employee age years, longestserving employee employee-owned

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

33

Pushor Mitchell’s dragon boat team ethos

L

ast summer’s annual Kelowna, B.C. Dragon Boat Festival reveals much of what you need to know about working at local law firm Pushor Mitchell LLP. Some employees approached the partners to say they wanted to form the firm’s first team for the August event. “And of course, the leadership here said, ‘Absolutely, what can we do to help that?’” recalls Human Resources Manager Jennifer McKenzie, noting the partners were happy to take care of entrance fees.

Paralegal Caitlin Kessler was one of the 22 paddlers – lawyers and other staff – who placed fourth in their division, with the partners cheering them on. “We just gave it our all,” she says. “We went to this tournament and shocked everyone because it just showed how much we enjoy each other and can work well together. It was great to see that the staff I work with on a daily basis are way more than just my job, they are part of my entire life.”

They’re not expecting you just to be static at your desk. They want you to grow.

Caitlin Kessler

Paralegal

Staff initiative, collaborative spirit, teamwork, mutual support, work-life balance – they’re all hallmarks of the fullservice law firm. And Managing Partner James Paterson believes those principles are key to Pushor Mitchell’s success. He says PM has maintained the close-knit feeling that goes back to its founding just over 40 years ago by a group of friends who’d attended UBC law school together.

PUSHOR MITCHELL STAFF AT THEIR OFFICE IN KELOWNA, BC

And Paterson notes that 99 per cent of respondents in client surveys say they’d recommend Pushor Mitchell to others.

“We think that if we’re healthy in our organization, then we’re really going to outperform other legal organizations in providing service to our clients.”

Another key part of the Pushor Mitchell ethos is a deep commitment to the community. “It runs from being on the board of almost every major charity and community group in town,” says Paterson, “to closing the office for half a day every year in order to participate in the United Way Day of Caring, which involves volunteering on projects for various local groups.”

For Kessler, that local involvement contributes to the esprit de corps. “The focus is not just on ourselves, our desks or the work that’s in front of us. The focus is also on each other and working and communicating with each other to connect with our neighbours outside of our office.” Kessler points out that Pushor Mitchell has various committees and regular social events that also promote cohesiveness. How many other law firms, she asks, have fundraising karaoke sessions involving lawyers and other staff members?

Meanwhile, the 25-year-old says the firm actively promotes professional development. Kessler, who’s been at PM for

Thank you to our amazing staff and lawyers, you are the reason we’ve been named one of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers for 2017!

three years and works in land development and estate administration, has been mentored (all employees are assigned a mentor before they even begin work) in corporate records, conveyancing, land development and Native land development. “They’re not expecting you just to be static at your desk. They want you to grow.”

In addition to various other subsidies to help employees upgrading their skills, Pushor Mitchell offers benefits including matching employee RRSP contributions, bonuses pegged to profits and individual performance, and wellness subsidies, including a monthly fitness credit and annual wellness credit. It doesn’t hurt, either, that the firm is located in Kelowna, situated on Okanagan Lake, with its beaches, sunny summers, golf courses, wineries and proximity to hiking trails and both Nordic and alpine ski areas.

HR Manager McKenzie says all that means many employees stay at Pushor Mitchell a long time, with four staff members being awarded for 30 years of service last year. “People work hard to come into our organization because they know it will be an employer that’s going to commit as much to their career as they are.”

120 34 77% 3

full-time staff in Canada years, longestserving employee of employees are women weeks, starting vacation allowance

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

34

At REDspace, it pays to push digital boundaries

A

sk some IT professionals what they do for a living and they might respond with a lot of insider jargon. Not Luke DeWitt. As a Web Team Lead with digital studio REDspace Inc., he lets the work speak for itself.

Of course, it helps when your clients include entertainment and media giants like Sony Pictures, CBC, PBS and various Viacom cable networks, to name just a few, and your job is to create innovative ways they can connect with their audiences worldwide. DeWitt’s team and others at REDspace help transform branded properties into digital companions that fans can interact with across multiple devices.

“I love to show off what I’m doing,” says DeWitt, “but a lot of my friends outside of work aren’t very technically minded.

I just load up their tablet or smartphone and they can see what I’ve been doing. I don’t have to explain it.”

We’ve shown we can live outside the urban centres, but still get to work for some of the biggest entertainment brands on the planet.

Mike Johnston

President & CEO

Halifax-based REDspace designs and develops websites, apps, games and video platforms for corporate as well as entertainment brands. The goal for each project is the same: to provide an unforgettable interactive experience. But the technology is continually changing, presenting challenges as well as opportunities.

For DeWitt, one of the joys of working with REDspace’s media clients is their

EMPLOYEES AT REDSPACE WORK IN AN OPEN-SPACE ENVIRONMENT THAT ENCOURAGES COLLABORATION

willingness to deliver their content in groundbreaking ways. “Our clients are all fighting for eyeballs and they trust us to pitch them ideas that will capture people’s attention,” he explains. “It’s exciting because we’re not just re-releasing the same old thing. We get to be really creative.”

President & CEO Mike Johnston is justifiably proud. “We’ve shown we can live outside the urban centres, but still get to work for some of the biggest entertainment brands on the planet,” he says. “Our employees don’t have to choose between cutting-edge assignments and a high quality of living, including affordable housing and short commuting times.”

When Johnston founded REDspace in 2000, the company initially focused

on corporate e-learning software. But the leadership team soon decided to expand the business model and REDspace has been pushing digital boundaries ever since.

REDspace has been rewarded with international accolades and awards, including Digital Emmy Awards, Kidscreen Awards and Digi Awards. What’s more, referrals have spurred a dramatic growth in the company’s client base. To keep pace, the REDspace head count has doubled in the last three years.

The hiring spree is ongoing, with people at all stages of their careers in demand.

“We want to maintain an ideal balance,” says Johnston. “New grads have fresh ideas and perspective and we can learn from them. Senior people bring a wealth of

knowledge and experience and can help to mentor junior staff.”

Beyond a resume that ticks all the right boxes, REDspace is looking for people who enjoy a collaborative workplace culture. “There’s not a lot of knowledge hoarding here,” says Johnston. “We work and celebrate as a team.”

The perks extend beyond the opportunity to work with a high-calibre roster of clients. REDspace offers fully-funded benefits, pension plan contribution matching and an interest-free employee purchase plan for personal high-tech equipment. It also has a generous allowance for professional development and career growth, including international travel to the world’s foremost industry conferences.

At age 33, DeWitt jokes about being one of REDspace’s “old guys” so it’s a priority to stay current in a field that’s always evolving. The training, he says, has given him the needed skills to reinvent his career several times in his 10 years on staff. His latest challenge includes lessons in how to be a mentor and a team leader.

“It’s fun to always keep learning,” DeWitt adds. “REDspace is a great place to be if you’re always looking to the next big thing.”

150 29 20 $1,026

full-time staff in Canada new hires last year charities helped last year spent on Pop-Tarts

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

35

Reid’s Heritage builds on training and development

H

ere are some of the things Ilia Routkevitch and Vincent Harris like about working for Reid’s Heritage Group of Cambridge, Ont. There are the work perks – like the $100 a year safety boot allowance, the $250 a year health and wellness allowance and the talent ambassador program in which team members receive $1,500 if the company hires someone they’ve recommended.

More importantly, though, there’s the corporate culture built around promoting excellence and providing training and development opportunities for team members at all levels.

“Everyone from labourers up gets trained,” says Harris, a Sheet Metal Supervisor. “It’s an ongoing process and it really helps develop our people.”

You tell us where you want to be and we’ll help you get there.

Tim Blevins

President

“It keeps people interested and makes them feel like they can have a long career here,” adds Routkevitch, a Project Manager.

Reid’s Heritage builds single family homes and mid-rise condominiums. The company’s workforce runs the gamut from labourers to skilled tradesmen to university-educated engineers and accountants. That said, the company offers team members plenty of opportunity to advance regardless of where they start.

THE HUGE SUMMER BBQ FOR TEAM MEMBERS AT REID’S HERITAGE GROUP IN CAMBRIDGE, ON

“You can start as a labourer cleaning up a job site and wind up supervising a job site,” says President Tim Blevins.

“We’ve had people who started as trimmers or framers. By the end of their careers they were partners or regional managers. You tell us where you want to be and we’ll help you get there.”

That is due, in part, to the company’s training and development program, called the learning ladder, which has four components. The first is the Continuing Education Opportunity (CEO) program under which Reid’s Heritage offers up to $1,000 annually in tuition subsidies for courses offered by third-party institutions.

Next, there is in-house leadership training, along with culture and

team development sessions, which are offered quarterly. These meetings take place off-site, usually in a hotel meeting room. All managers and supervisors participate in the leadership sessions and all other team members attend the culture and team development sessions, which generally run for two to three hours.

The company also has a suite of 150-odd online tutorials that any team member can download free of charge. They cover everything from health and safety issues and effective leadership to time management and building communications skills.

The last leg of the program is “Jobservation” or job shadowing.

“If somebody says they’d like to be a supervisor or a salesperson, we’ll give them an opportunity before they

go down that path to work beside someone in that position for a period of time,” says Blevins. “They can see if that’s what they really want. A lot of people will say they want to work on a job site – until it’s minus 25 and the snow is blowing on a windy day. Then they realize they want to be an inside supervisor.”

Every year, Reid’s Heritage retains an outside company to conduct an employee engagement survey. In the latest survey, the company attained its best results to date. A remarkable 80 per cent said they were engaged.

“We really believe that if we look after our team members they’ll look after our customers,” says Doug Sider, Vice-President of Team Development, Resources and Corporate Culture.

“People spend a lot of time at work and you want them to enjoy working together.”

Reid’s Heritage Group appears to have gone a long way toward achieving that objective. “The great thing about working here is that it’s enjoyable to come to work,” says Routkevitch. “It doesn’t feel like a job. You want to be here.”

246 33 $1,000 35

full-time staff in Canada years, longestserving employee available annually for continuing education

Thanks to Our Extraordinary Team for Achieving this Prestigious Award

charities helped last year

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

36

At Rocky Mountaineer, all aboard the excitement train

O

n his first day as a guest service manager at Rocky Mountaineer, Charlie Millar remembers walking into a meeting room for orientation.

“Within minutes, I had half of the on-board managers surrounding me, telling me stories, getting me excited, affirming my decision to work there,” he says. Their enthusiasm validated a line he had recently heard from a hiring manager: “Working on board the train is the hardest job you’ll ever love.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” says Millar, who is now Manager, Service Excellence, for the Vancouver-based tourism company which runs luxury trains through the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian Rockies. “It’s the most rewarding job I’ve had in my life.”

It’s the most rewarding job I’ve had in my life.

Charlie Millar

Manager, Service Excellence

That kind of positivity permeates the growing organization, which puts a premium on hiring highly social, outgoing people, especially as on-board hosts. “We’re very proud that we’ve been scored as one of the leading tourism businesses in the world based on people’s likelihood to recommend your product to others, and you can’t do that without great people,” says President Steve Sammut.

“From the frontline and rail operations teams, to the global sales team and head office, everyone has a sense

ROCKY MOUNTAINEER TEAM HUDDLE BEFORE THE DAY BEGINS

of a shared purpose, and I think that’s what makes it such a fine place to work,” he says. “It’s that idea that you can do something really special, and have a profound impact on someone’s life, through the product that we have.”

The company has 252 full-time employees globally, including 182 in Canada, but between April and October, when the trains are running, the number swells to nearly 700, as the seasonal teams come aboard. Sammut says about 80 per cent are Rocky Mountaineer veterans who return every year.

For the hosts, who both explain the sights and serve food and drink, each trip is different, as the particular mix of tourists get to know each other and the employees. Some 85 per cent of the guests come from outside Canada, mainly from English-speaking countries, and most hosts have stories of, “if

you’re ever in Australia, look us up” – and often stay in touch.

“At the end of my very first trip, I had 50 people forming a conga line to get off the coach in Vancouver,” says Millar. “The last person, a little old lady, pinched my cheeks and gave me a kiss, then ran away laughing to herself.”

The hosts are not the only ones who get to enjoy the ride – so do head office staff. “We make sure every employee gets on the train in their first year,” says Sammut. “You have to experience the trip to understand our business.”

Sammut says the company gets important feedback about the service from staff. One suggested a train checkin service at the hotel, so passengers could avoid line-ups at departure the next morning. The company also holds semi-annual town halls and smaller roundtable conversations with execu-

tives. “We promote two-way communication, because it’s amazing what you can learn when you listen to your team members,” says Sammut.

Employees were also consulted before the company recently moved into its new headquarters in downtown Vancouver. It features floor-to-ceiling windows, sit-stand desks, an onsite gym, a rooftop function area, plenty of collaborative spaces, and a staircase connecting the company’s two floors. “It encourages people to walk up and down to see each other,” says Sammut. “Some of the best ideas happen in the hallways.”

The company believes its people are its greatest asset, explains Human Resources Vice President Adam Charania. “We offer a robust compensation program and attractive policies that support our team in balancing work, life and family commitments.”

To Millar, an experienced hospitality professional, Rocky Mountaineer stands out for the way it treats its people. “This is an organization that wants to take care of you, and truly believes in setting its people up for success,” he says. “They really focus on the personal and professional growth of their employees.”

182 415 70 25

full-time staff in Canada seasonal staff for 2017 permanent jobs available last year years, longestserving employee

THIS CALLS FOR A HIGH FIVE! We’ve been named one of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers for three years in a row.

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

37

Engineering an innovation culture at Rodan Energy

W

hen Wesley Bristol joined Rodan Energy Solutions Inc. as a Director of Business Development in March 2015, he didn’t have long to wait for his first industry event. Within his first week, he was attending the two-day Enercom conference, meeting senior officials of Ontario power utilities that would be part of his target market. “I was getting the chance to meet them before even calling on them as prospective customers,” he says. “It was great to get my name out there.”

Rodan Energy is a leading clean technology company that integrates green energy and smart grid solutions for power producers, distributors, industrial, commercial and institutional consumers. The company is headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., with an Innovation Hub in KitchenerWaterloo and a Western Region office in Calgary.

We try to promote from within, as that builds loyalty to the company. Our success in recruiting and retaining top talent is also attributable to our family-friendly culture and providing a flexible work environment.

Paul Grod

President & CEO

“I wanted to get into the energy industry,” Bristol says of his choice of Rodan Energy. “I liked that it was a smaller business where I would be

RODAN ENERGY EMPLOYEES AT THE COMPANY’S ANNUAL CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

exposed to many different elements of work, from quoting to project management. With other companies, I might be limited to one specific task. It’s turned out to be a great fit.”

In its 14 years, Rodan Energy has grown from a local metering service provider to a national company that combines expertise in metering, engineering, demand response and energy management information systems. Its workforce has increased from six employees to 70.

A further 10 per cent growth in staff is expected in 2017, with the possibility of more hires as more projects come online, primarily in the U.S. Rodan Energy employs field service technicians, software developers, engineers, energy analysts, business analysts, program managers, and marketing and sales people. The Innovation Hub is home mainly to software developers and energy analysts.

“The corporate culture is client-

centric and innovative,” says Paul Grod, President and CEO. “The focus is on helping our clients reduce their total energy spend by finding ways they could operate their facilities more efficiently, and manage their energy usage.”

As Bristol discovered early in his job, the company is keen to promote the professional development of its staff.

Rodan fosters a culture of innovation by encouraging staff participation in various industry events and by developing new solutions in cross-functional working groups.

During performance reviews, employees are asked what courses, seminars and conferences they are interested in. “We rarely say no,” says Grod. “We encourage them not only to become better technically at their jobs but also to become better leaders.”

Rodan Energy has an Educational Assistance Plan which reimburses

We’re Hiring Join Our Team! www.rodanenergy.com/careers/

professional off-the-job training and subsidizes accreditation programs like Certified Energy Manager, Project Management Professional, and Certified Measurement and Verification Professional.

The Employee Initiatives Committee, with employee representation from all locations, organizes a series of fun social events throughout the year. These include an off-site holiday party, an Oktoberfest luncheon, a charity golf event, table tennis tournaments and foosball games. Each department has annual team-building activities. Bristol, for example, took part in the Sales and Marketing team’s outing to a Toronto Marlies game.

To compete with much larger energy companies, Rodan Energy must differentiate itself. “We try to promote from within, as that builds loyalty to the company,” says Grod. “Our success in recruiting and retaining top talent is also attributable to our family-friendly culture and providing a flexible work environment, which enables staff to balance a challenging career and a demanding family life.”

70 10 1,417 43.2

employees in Canada jobs available last year job applications received last year years, average age of all employees

RODAN

Energy Solutions

Mississauga | Kitchener-Waterloo | Calgary

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

38

At Scalar Decisions, having fun is a core value

W

hen you think of an IT company involved in building critical systems for hospitals, banks and other institutions, the first word that comes to mind may not be “fun”. But sooner or later, everyone who works at Scalar Decisions Inc. uses that word to describe the experience.

“I’ve been here for about eight months,” says Alex Bielecki, a Cloud Sales Specialist in Toronto, “and from my first week, I’ve had a lot of fun.”

The fun at Scalar occurs by design, not by accident. Fun is one of Scalar’s five core values, along with accountability, teamwork, doing the right thing, and pushing forward.

If you want the opportunity to work in cutting-edge IT in Canada, this is the place to do it.

Alex Bielecki

Cloud Sales Specialist

“We’re involved with our clients’ critical systems,” says Scalar’s Chief Operating Officer, Eric Ng, “so it’s stressful. To keep stress levels in check, we make our workplace conducive to high productivity and fun. We’re consciously building camaraderie.”

With its core values in mind, Scalar’s social committee continually organizes activities that keep employees in a positive frame of mind, “everything from ping pong to axe throwing,” says Bielecki.

“We also do a lot of stuff geared toward people with kids,” he says. “At our Christ-

TEAM BUILDING AT SCALAR’S ANNUAL COMPANY KICK OFF

mas party, we had animals and bubble shows. And we got to meet other families.”

As for the work, Scalar has attracted an impressive range of clients since its founding in 2004. Its assignments range from developing computational medicine facilities for the Hospital for Sick Children to providing security solutions for Mountain Equipment Coop’s nationwide computer systems and building a robust technology platform to meet regulatory standards for a major bank.

“It’s an opportunity to solve complex problems with IT expertise,” says Bielecki, who works with Scalar’s growing team of cloud architects and engineers to develop solutions for novice, intermediate, and experienced cloud users. “It’s cutting edge and quickly growing. It’s like a startup

Proud to be a top employer.

Thanks to our exceptional people that deliver a great experience to our clients every day. Learn more at scalar.ca/careers

within a bigger company, and we have a lot of horsepower behind us.”

With its focus on teamwork and quality, Scalar’s revenues have grown by more than 25 per cent a year for more than five years.

In 2016 alone, its workforce at the company’s eight Canadian locations increased by 75 per cent, to 320 employees.

Along with fun, Scalar’s continuing growth helps to attract good employees, says Eric Ng. “People like to work for a successful company.”

Scalar provides more practical rewards as well. The company encourages employees to save for the future with matching RSP contributions or take a four-week sabbatical for every four years of service.

As part of its flexible health benefits plan, Scalar offers a health spending

account of up to $1,000 a year, allowing employees to top up coverage based on their personal needs.

Even as the company grows, Scalar emphasizes more strongly than ever the values that have contributed to its success.

The company builds project teams of engineers, architects, financial experts and sales specialists working together for a particular client.

“It brings tremendous benefits,” Ng says. “It allows us to attack challenges from various perspectives and come up with the best solutions.”

It also strengthens the bonds between employees as they become familiar with their teammates’ skills and talents. “I support the account executive team,” says Bielecki. “I’m constantly having the opportunity to work with new people.”

For Bielecki, the decision to join Scalar last July not only enhanced his work-life balance by enabling him to take the subway to and from Scalar’s downtown Toronto office, it also expanded his career choices.

“If you want the opportunity to work in cutting-edge IT in Canada,” he says, “this is the place to do it.”

320 60 2,200 11

full-time staff in Canada jobs available last year job applications received last year years, longestserving employee

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

39

Fun, games and prizes at Sekure Merchant Solutions

D

oes this sound like a call centre? There is pumping music in the hall, some employees are walking around with wireless headsets, others are laughing, and every so often someone gets to spin a wheel for a prize. Well, at Montreal-based Sekure Merchant Solutions, that’s how they roll.

“It’s very lively on the sales floor,” says Jeff Ramaglia, one of Sekure’s four Managing Partners. “There’s music, there’s contests, there’s giveaways. We like to keep it light.”

Sekure’s call centre is the hub of a sales operation that contacts merchants and companies across the United States to offer them cheaper ways of collecting customer card payments, whether at the store checkout or online. Ramaglia says that as an independent provider, Sekure can rely on the volume its call centre generates to offer better rates even with customers’ existing equipment.

Everyone here is very upbeat, they’re very caring. They move as far away from negativity as possible.

Melissa Contrino

Research Specialist

It’s an entry-level job in the centre, where staff turnover can be relatively high, but Sekure goes all out to keep its people. Starting pay is well above Quebec’s minimum wage, and after a certain period, successful employees receive a paid-for iPhone for personal use. There are also weekly bonuses and commissions.

Moreover, every morning, there’s a free breakfast served. A 2,500-sq.-ft. staff

SEKURE MERCHANT EMPLOYEES IN THE COMPANY’S STAFF LOUNGE

lounge is a centre for ping pong and other tournaments. The 360 employees also get 50 per cent of their premiums paid for extended health benefits, often a challenge for smaller companies to provide.

And you’ve heard of casual Fridays?

Sekure has turned it around, by making the dress code casual all week except for “Dress for Success Mondays”. “It sets the tone for the week,” says Ramaglia. “It’s nice to come in and see everyone dressed up.”

For the many who stay, there are plenty of opportunities to move up. In the call centre, the entry-level role is known as a Lead Generator – one who finds prospects.

These are then passed on to the Senior Account Managing team, who discuss rates

with the customer and propose a plan. Beyond sales, there are also jobs in customer service, support and corporate functions.

And experienced Lead Generators can expect pay increases the longer they stay, plus bonus and commission.

Melissa Contrino started in the call centre in 2010, possessing a high school diploma and some experience in tech support. She made the calls, but found that despite a lot of encouragement and helpful tips from Sekure leaders, she wasn’t getting great results. “It turned out sales was not my strong point, but I really liked working here,” she says. “I asked if they had anything else.”

In a period of fast expansion, Sekure did. Contrino became a Research Special-

ist, now leading a team that backs up the sales group with detailed information and other support services. So what is it she likes about working there?

“It’s the environment in general,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun. Everyone here is very upbeat, they’re very caring. They move as far away from negativity as possible. Everyone gets along.”

She points to the annual summer barbecue and the Christmas party held in a major theatre with well-known bands.

There are monthly themes in each department, such as wellness or work-related trivia (e.g., Terms and Conditions), paired with competitions in which the prizes have included drones, hoverboards, iPads and TVs. One staffer also brings in a MIRA Foundation dog for training as a support animal. It’s a largely Anglophone group, since the job involves calling the U.S., so people come from across Canada.

Ramaglia says he knows plenty of business people who constantly try to shave costs. “We actually go the opposite direction and give back to our employees,” he says, “because we know that will go right to sales and better retention. It’s what’s made us so successful.”

360 157 32.5 50.1%

full-time staff in Canada entry-level employees promoted in 2016 years, average age of all employees of employees are women

THE SECRET TO OUR SUCCESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR AMAZING EMPLOYEES.

Thank you for your continued support and hard work!

Join our team!

www.sekurecareers.com

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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

40

Sigma culture: from ice cream to career coaching

H

aving spent most of her career working for large corporations, Jasmine Roswell was struck almost immediately by the collegiality and spirit of cooperation that prevailed among her new colleagues when she joined Torontobased Sigma Systems in April 2016.

“People really care about one another,” says Roswell, Sigma’s Director of Knowledge and Learning. “There’s a willingness to help. They’ll put aside their own work to help you get the job done. A big part of the attraction for me is the Sigma culture.”

Sigma develops and sells software to communications, media and high-tech companies globally. Their solutions serve as a vital link between service providers and their customers, enabling agility and rapid product innovation in the digital age. Sigma’s portfolio helps operators seamlessly create, sell and deliver any service, through any channel, across any network technology, to enterprise, SMB and consumer markets.

Our people work hard, and they are very dedicated and engaged, but we also know how to have fun.

Jocelyn Bryce

Vice-President Global, Human Resources

Sigma operates in a highly competitive field and that, too, shapes the corporate culture. “We’re a performance-driven company,” says Jocelyn Bryce, Vice-President Global, Human Resources. “Our people work hard, and they are very dedicated and engaged, but we also know how to have fun and always take time out to celebrate our successes together and with our customers.”

EMPLOYEES AT SIGMA SYSTEMS ENJOY COMPLIMENTARY FRUIT AND DRINKS IN THE COMPANY’S NEW LUNCHROOM

Sigma goes the extra mile to promote engagement. For one thing, the company’s profit-sharing plan kicks in as soon as a new hire has completed a three-month probationary period. “The reward is based on corporate objectives as well as individual performance,” says Bryce. “We are open and transparent, so that our people understand what our financial goals are and how they can impact those goals.”

The company is also open to flexible work arrangements. “Sigma entrusts employees to work wherever they have to and that trust is empowering,” says Roswell. “I am able to work from home when work or family needs demand it. That type of work-life balance is greatly appreciated.”

That said, there’s lots of reasons to come to the office. The company ensures

Our strength is in our people. sigma-systems.com/careers

that there is fresh fruit in the lunch room every day, as well as free beverages. Tim Hortons breakfast happens every Wednesday morning, when the company provides coffee, bagels, donuts and croissants. On Thursdays at 2:30 p.m., the executive team makes the rounds with an ice cream cart. If a group of employees and customers happens to be in a meeting, well, they are encouraged to take an ice cream break.

The company’s HR team recently introduced the Sigma Way Career Adventure, which allows every employee to plot their yearly goals, as well as their three- to fiveyear objectives. “If you’re looking to move into a new role, you’re able to see what skills and competencies you will require,” says Bryce. “We provide the tools, resources and support necessary to get you there,

but you are empowered to be responsible for your own career success.”

Community involvement, whether local or across the globe, is important at Sigma.

The company has a “Give a day, get a day” program in support of Me to We, a charitable organization which raises money to build schools and provide clean drinking water, among other things, in small, impoverished communities in developing countries.

Under this initiative, Sigma employees can donate a day’s salary to Me to We, which entitles them to an extra day of vacation, and their contribution is tax deductible. Over a period of several years, the company’s employees have contributed $250,000 toward community development projects in two villages in India. Sigma staff participate each year as volunteers at the annual We Day event in Toronto, which supports local students in the development of their plans to change the world at the local, national and international level.

Sigma also encourages employees to contribute to charitable initiatives in a number of ways. Employees have entered teams in the Scotiabank Rat Race, a fivekilometre run in support of the Toronto United Way, and the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s annual Big Bike event.

100+ 42 52% 600

full-time staff in Canada average age of all employees of employees are visible minorities staff volunteer hours last year

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

41

Learning, growing and having fun at Strategic Group

A

s one of Canada’s largest privately held real estate companies, Calgary-based Strategic Group prides itself on taking an unconventional and creative approach while delivering on the fundamentals of real estate.

For Strategic Group, which owns, manages and develops office, retail and apartment properties across Canada, that approach is summed up by the corporate mantra: “Creating value others can’t by seeing what others don’t.”

Strategic Group takes a similarly purposeful approach to team member engagement. “Our workplace culture embodies our core values,” says Chief Executive Officer Riaz Mamdani. “Those values are about learning, growing and having fun.”

TEAM MEMBERS AT STRATEGIC GROUP GATHER FOR A QUARTERLY UPDATE

If you are smart, hard-working and self-motivated, you can do a lot of things in our organization.

Riaz Mamdani

CEO

Team members are able to learn in a variety of ways, including internships, online teaching tools and day-to-day coaching and mentorship. They are encouraged to grow by pursuing personal and corporate “stretch goals” and bringing forward their own ideas about how to improve the business.

“We have a history of promoting people from entry-level positions to much more senior roles,” says Mamdani, who practised corporate, commercial and securities law before founding Strategic Group in 2001. “If you are smart, hard-working and

self-motivated, you can do a lot of different things in our organization.”

And the fun part?

“Beyond the social activities we have on a regular basis, I believe people have fun when they are engaged and being challenged and getting to try things at a professional level that their peers do not,” says Mamdani. “Because we are creative and unconventional, the job is a lot of fun.”

Kyle Follett, who joined Strategic Group three years ago as a senior development analyst, concurs with that assessment.

“It is an entrepreneurial company which encourages us to push the envelope and always be learning,” says Follett. “They have allowed me to explore and grow and take on responsibilities that weren’t

originally part of my job description. It’s been exciting and has given me the flexibility to take my career where I want it to go.”

Follett credits the company’s open-doorways with helping him thrive. “This is a small-tomid-sized company that knows people engagement is important. I get to deal with our CEO and other senior executives on a regular basis and receive the mentorship to take on new challenges –something they are always open to.”

He agrees that the net result is a fun work environment. “It feels kind of like a family outside of the home,” says Follett. “The fun for me is just coming to work with like-minded people with similar goals.”

With over $1 billion in assets, Strategic Group is a fully integrated property owner, manager and developer of real estate as well as an investment company spanning a variety of North American industries. But while there is

plenty of challenging work to be done, the company stresses the need for a positive work/life balance.

“We don’t encourage people to stay late or work weekends – that’s not an expectation at all,” says Mamdani. “And when we are hiring, we look for people with the right values – balanced human beings who work hard, but who also have lives and interests outside of work.”

The company also emphasizes the importance of giving back to the community.

“Our core values when it comes to community and volunteer work are impact, pride and legacy,” says Mamdani. “We want to be involved in initiatives where we can make a real difference. For example, because we are involved with the Project Warmth Society of Alberta, we know there were fewer homeless and underprivileged children facing the cold this winter. And because we contributed to the Calgary Food Bank, we know we had an impact on the number of hungry families in Calgary.

“At the same time, our goal is to build a legacy by making sure that, every year, we find ways to increase the level of contribution and better serve what I believe are our societal obligations.”

171 80 43 37

full-time staff in Canada jobs available last year years, average age of all employees community investment initiatives

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

42

Family-owned Swish cleans up in staff loyalty

W

hen Fred Leicht joined the Swish Group of Companies as an Operations Manager, it was a mid-life career switch from manufacturing. Leicht was brand new to the Swish world of cleaning and sanitation solutions and products, but he caught on fast.

“Swish does a very good job at training programs and mentoring,” he explains.

“There’s always someone within Swish who can give you a quick answer.”

After six years with the company, he now knows well that cleaning and sanitation products are constantly changing and customers need to be kept up to date.

Swish helps them clean everything from hospital operating rooms to factory floors.

Swish does a very good job at training programs and mentoring.

There’s always someone within Swish who can give you a quick answer.

ALL EMPLOYEES AT SWISH MAINTENANCE TAKE PART IN SOME KIND OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVE PLAN

Fred Leicht

Operations Manager

“Our company focus is we’re experts in complete cleaning solutions. We go up against national and international companies, also Mom and Pop shops,” he says.

“We strive to ensure that all of our staff are as educated as possible.”

Leicht oversees operations at the Barrie, Ont. branch of Swish, which is headquartered in Peterborough, Ont. with 15 locations coast-to-coast in Canada and in the northeast United States. Since it began operations as a two-man business in 1956, Swish has grown into one of the country’s leading experts in cleaning and sanitation solutions and products including organic

and eco-friendly lines. It employs approximately 230 people in Canada.

The company’s growth has been both organic and through acquisitions. “We are growing because the opportunity is there,” says Michelle Kirkland, Director of Human Resources. After Swish acquired a B.C. company to help expand Swish’s national footprint, Leicht and others were sent there to provide operational support, an assignment he really enjoyed and which built a connection between the new Vancouver branch and its eastern counterparts.

Kirkland says that along with the expertise, quality and value Swish provides to customers, its green product line is “another piece that sets us apart in the marketplace.”

Swish also continues to see itself very much as a family company. Kirkland, who came to Swish two years ago from a U.S.headquartered multinational, says it’s a very different atmosphere. And she sees a lot of loyalty in two directions. The family owners always ask, “What will the impact be on our employees?” when any change is being considered. Likewise, she says, “you see a lot of loyalty to the company.”

Like Kirkland, Leicht too came from a bigger company where he says he sometimes felt treated like “a number or a commodity.” He likes being able to pick up the phone and talk to employees at all the different branches or head office to find the information he needs to help customers.

“I’ve never ever had a bad Sunday night when you’re thinking, “Oh no, I have to go to work tomorrow,” he says.

Kirkland emphasizes that employees aren’t “siloed.” Unlike at a bigger, publicly traded company she and others have more latitude to work with employees across the organization to quickly respond to changing business needs and improve operational processes.

Recognition and rewards are important to Swish. “All of our employees participate in some type of incentive plan,” she says. “For non-commission employees, we just recently launched a new plan, which is transparent and tied directly to the metrics of the business.” Employees are also incentivized for operational achievements under the Do It Right The First Time Program.

The company matches RSP contributions and offers a tuition assistance program as well as an annual scholarship program for employee’s children pursuing post-secondary education.

During the summer months Swish offers a flex time program, barbecue lunches and an annual family event. At Christmas time, the children’s party is a much-loved tradition.

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full-time staff in Canada jobs available last year job applications received last year years, longestserving employee

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

43

At TeraGo, employees provide annual ‘Stay Interviews’

L

eading business solutions provider TeraGo really wants to hear from its employees.

In a departure from normal practice, staff are encouraged every year to provide confidential feedback on how they feel they and the company are performing. Called Stay Interviews, these are one of several ways the Thornhill, Ont.based cloud and connectivity solutions supplier engages with its workforce.

“What you learn from a traditional exit interview is too late to retain that employee,” says President and CEO Tony Ciciretto, who held senior positions in a number of other organizations before joining TeraGo last year. “I’ve not seen this approach anywhere else.”

It’s also part of TeraGo’s commitment to continuous learning, he says.

“We want to make sure people have all the tools they need to do their job and grow. It’s a way for managers to learn how they can become better managers and coaches. And it’s a chance to make the company better.”

I didn’t want it to be a traditional top-down exercise.

Tony Ciciretto

President and CEO

Another example of TeraGo listening seriously to what its people have to say came when the company put together a new strategic plan. Ciciretto insisted that all employees have input. “I didn’t want it to be a traditional top-down exercise,” he says. Half way through the process, Ciciretto ran draft proposals

EMPLOYEES AT TERAGO NETWORKS GATHER TO CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS

by people who would be impacted to ensure the company “got it right.”

Says Ciciretto: “I wanted to make sure we weren’t missing anything. At the end of the process, the plan belonged to everyone. Everyone bought in because they could see how they had helped develop the strategy. That made them more committed as they executed the plan. The engagement process was starkly different from other organizations I have been with.”

TeraGo cares for its employees in other ways. Before new employees start work, they receive a welcome card in the mail, signed by everyone, from Ciciretto on down. Once they begin, they can take advantage of a share-purchase plan

and look forward to annual bonuses that can top one-half of salary.

To relieve any office pressure, there’s a games room with ping-pong and foosball tables. Free bagel breakfasts are provided every Friday, and free fruit is available 24/7, part of an overall commitment to wellness, including subsidized health club memberships.

Prizes are given for pursuing healthy habits at work and for weight loss. Says Ciciretto: “People often spend more waking time at work than at home. We want to make sure the office environment is just as supportive and welcoming.”

And what surely must be a one-of-akind perk, the subsidized staff vending machine doubles as a treasure trove.

Purchasers might find a “golden ticket” on their items entitling them to prizes ranging up to an extra day of paid holiday. “It’s a creative way to bring energy to the office,” says Ciciretto. “It also instills employee camaraderie, key to a tech company remaining ahead of the curve.”

For his part, Central Sales Director Josh Druxerman enthuses over the company’s openness and emphasis on team building. “I never spoke to the CEO at places where I worked before,” he says.

“Here, I speak with him every day.”

Druxerman also latched onto the CEO as his coach, part of the company’s mentorship program. “That accessibility is another example of how our relatively small size benefits us,” he says.

“We emulate some of the major tech companies, but we are small enough to get everyone involved in different areas and projects. We are nimble and can act more quickly.”

Ciciretto agrees. He says: “We’re small enough to be agile and let people have a direct impact and see the results of their work. But we are not so small that we can’t offer benefits and programs that allow everyone to grow and achieve their goals.”

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full-time staff jobs available last year job applications received last year weeks, starting vacation, plus three flex days

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

44

Trisura brings start-up culture to insurance

T

here are “no jerks allowed” at Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company, says Mike George, President, CEO and co-founder of what’s a very rare enterprise indeed in today’s business landscape: a homegrown Canadian insurance startup.

Within a minute or two of conversation, George quickly shatters any stereotypes you may have about the insurance business. He’s both an insurance evangelist and entrepreneur.

“I love deal-making. Every single time you’re placing a policy you are making a deal,” says George, who describes himself as falling into insurance after a stint at one of the big five banks. “It’s absolutely a fantastic industry.”

You’re assessing risk in this business.

That’s the exciting and really fun part about it.

Andrew Cartwright

Manager

When George and his co-founders – CFO John Garner and Chairman Robert Taylor – set up their own company in Toronto in 2006, they knew it was their people who would distinguish them. Insurance, says George, is a business built on relationships and trust. Trisura’s founders, who had worked together at another insurer before it was sold to a multinational, wanted to create a “winning culture” in which they gave employees the skills to thrive.

“Our first 14, 15 employees almost all came from our old shop,” he says. “It was like getting the band back together.”

Due to the consolidation in the industry, the founders saw gaps they could fill

TRISURA EMPLOYEES FROM TORONTO, CALGARY AND VANCOUVER MEET IN EDMONTON TO CELEBRATE A DECADE OF BUSINESS

with specialty insurance, surety and risk solutions products. “There was an opportunity to focus on specialty lines and deliver great service and products – all with great people,” says George.

Trisura also got lucky with its timing.

Had it started up in 2008, the year of the global financial crash, things might have been very different, says George. Instead, last year it made PROFIT’s list of Canada’s 500 fastest-growing companies.

Along with banning jerks and telling it like it is, George likes to get to know Trisura employees. Andrew Cartwright, who first worked at Trisura as an MBA coop student, describes the CEO as “a very real guy.” Trisura, he says, has a family feel where “everybody knows everybody else.”

Cartwright recalls that shortly after he was hired in a permanent position as

a financial analyst assessing risk, George “came down and said, ‘Hey let’s work together on this file.’” For the next few months the junior employee and the CEO attended meetings together, George asked for Cartwright’s feedback, and he made Cartwright part of the conversation.

“I think that’s pretty rare,” says Cartwright, whose father and grandfather both worked in insurance. He shares George’s love for the industry. “You’re assessing risk in this business. That’s the exciting and really fun part about it.”

Cartwright also appreciates the varied nature of the job – visiting end clients, meeting contractors, and assessing the three C’s: character, capacity (to do the job) and capital.

After just over two years at Trisura, Cartwright and a colleague headed to

Halifax to open the company’s Atlantic Canada office. As an underwriter managing his own portfolio of accounts, he was empowered to build business relationships with brokers and contacts.

While the colleague stayed on in Halifax, Cartwright returned to Toronto after two and a half years. He now manages Atlantic Canada business and part of the Toronto business.

Cindy Grant, Vice President of Human Resources, says that as a result of its growth, Trisura is hiring across the board, looking for people who will be a good fit with the company’s entrepreneurial culture. She wants employees with a sense of teamwork, who are ready to dive in and be service-focused whether dealing with brokers or colleagues. “One of the things I like to say is there’s no competition inside the organization. The competition is outside the door.”

Grant says the company is “very open to flexwork”, with about one-third of employees having some personalized arrangement, be it a four-day week, shifted hours or working one day a week from home.

Other perks include summer hours, days off to work for a charity, tuition subsidies and profit sharing.

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full-time staff in Canada jobs available last year years, average age of all employees weeks, starting vacation allowance

What Makes a Winning Team?

Enthusiasm, passion, and an unwavering belief that we can do it better.

Learn more at www.trisura.com a step above Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company is a Canadian owned and operated Property and Casualty insurance company specializing in niche insurance and surety products. We are a proud supporter of the Insurance Boroker’s Association of Canada

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

45

Ventana Construction builds a family culture

V

entana Construction Corporation builds all kinds of structures, from high-rise condominium towers and recreation facilities to state-of-the-art green buildings and corporate headquarters. But what the Burnaby, B.C.-based company builds best is relationships.

“We always talk about relationships and respect,” says John Sharp, President/Principal. “Everything is based on a respectful relationship, so you can work through anything with that core belief.”

Using relationships as a foundation, Ventana Construction has built a corporate culture with pillars that include support, concern and caring. The company does everything it can to treat its employees like family, starting with that most basic human bonding exercise: sharing meals.

Lunch is brought into the office twice a week and once a month to all construction sites so the entire team can socialize.

We’re here to support each other, we’re here to challenge each other and make each other better.

John Sharp

President/Principal

That’s in addition to the picnics, toboggan days, Christmas parties, fishing trips, softball tournaments and other activities woven into the work year. Sharp says they’re constantly thinking of ways to get the group together out of the work environment so people get to know each other on a human level. It creates a fun, out-going corporate culture in which employees like Project Superintendent Don Reedman thrive.

EMPLOYEES AT VENTANA BUILD STRUCTURES, FROM RESIDENTIAL HIGH-RISES TO CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

“They really go over and beyond what you would expect an employer to do,” says Reedman.

“This company is the epitome of an extroverted culture. They mingle, they try to get everybody involved. It’s all about families and relationships and respect.”

It’s not all fun and games, of course.

Reedman says he and his fellow employees show their appreciation for the company’s support by working just as hard as they play. “They treat me very, very well and as a result, I give back as much or more,” he says.

Employees also challenge each other to get the best results for the company and their clients. Working in an open office environment, they’re encouraged to learn from each other as much as they learn from the educational program open to them via Ventana Construction’s compre-

hensive benefits package.

“We’re here to support each other, we’re here to challenge each other and make each other better,” says Sharp. “Everybody’s learning in real time and real life situations.”

The respect for experience as a great teacher is one of the things that drew Reedman to the company. But the critical thing for him was the family feel of the business.

“The company values are very much about making sure the employees are happy and they treat them with the utmost of respect,” he says. “That’s why I became employed here and why I’m still employed here.”

Sharp traces that family feel back to company founder Jim Bond, who instilled a philosophy of caring for people and relationship-building. Sharp experienced

it immediately when he joined in 1991.

It was a much smaller company then, but as the operation grew, management and employees worked hard to maintain that tight-knit spirit.

“There were just five or six of us and we did everything together – that’s the feel that we’re trying to keep here,” says Sharp.

“We care about each other.”

The company also cares about the community. Ventana Construction actively supports charities like the Variety Club Telethon, the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, B.C. Children’s Hospital, Union Gospel Mission and the Pacific Autism Family Centre. And they’ll match any donation made to a charitable organization by an employee.

It’s a commitment to caring that permeates the entire corporate culture, from head office to the construction site.

“When they come and meet you on site, the ownership of the company know who you are, they know what you’re about, they know something about your family, whether your health is good, they ask about your holidays – they’re just really involved because it matters to them,” says Reedman. “They know you as a person, not just an employee.”

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full-time staff in Canada jobs available last year years, longestserving employee charities helped last year

CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS 2017

46

At Watters Environmental Group, trust is the terrain

T

hey were pancakes with a purpose – and a lot of fun mixed into the flour. Pancake Tuesday at Toronto-based Watters Environmental Group Inc. this year was a chance to raise some money for cancer research while enjoying the company of colleagues.

“An employee at our company has been personally affected by cancer,” explains Project Coordinator Brittney Espinola, “and the events and fundraisers we as a company will be participating in this year will be focused on raising money for cancer research in honour of his battle.”

Strong connections with co-workers and clients are ingrained in the culture at the rapidly growing environmental consulting firm. “We don’t just work together – there’s a strong friendship,” says Espinola. “I think the team members are a big reason why people stay with the company. When anyone is in a hard place, everybody will come together to help. It feels really family-like.”

We don’t just work together – there’s a strong friendship.

I think the team members are a big reason why people stay with the company.

Brittney Espinola

Project Coordinator

For founding President and CEO Rob Watters, it comes down to trust. It’s one of the company’s core values -- along with collaboration and innovation. But it begins with trust. “Trust is a foundational element of any business,” he observes.

STAFF AT WATTERS ENVIRONMENTAL PACK SHOEBOXES FOR THE COMPANY’S HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER

“You have to trust yourself, your colleagues, and you have to be trusted by your clients.”

The result is a comfort level than encourages colleagues to work together to push the envelope on new ideas, without fear of criticism. Communication flows easily across all levels of seniority. “When issues come up,” says Espinola, “nobody is afraid to talk to senior staff. That’s a huge benefit of working here, whereas if you’re working for a larger company, it can be so big it’s almost scary and you’re not sure who to go to for help.”

To build a sense of common purpose and fun, Watters Environmental Group organizes team-building exercises and activities several times a year, and the CEO holds town-hall meetings to keep employees up-to-date on the latest developments.

Through the company-sponsored Living Planet@Work team, employees also enjoy a number of social events and celebrations each year. Recent gatherings have included a holiday party at Weber’s Grill Academy, a “Spring Fling” wine tour in Niagara, and an offsite session at Briar’s Resort.

Many events combine the company’s commitment to giving back to the community, and employees often join fundraising events involving their clients for causes like the Ride for Heart and Habitat for Humanity.

Watters says creating a supportive environment includes offering competitive benefits. Along with a year-end bonus program, the company helps employees save for retirement through matching RSP contributions.

“Everything here is about making

Join The Watters Team

people feel comfortable, making people feel collaborative, and helping them to expand their comfort zone,” he says.

“That’s why we’ve been so successful as a company.”

Watters Environmental Group also supports ongoing employee development with tuition subsidies for job-related courses (to $1,000 annually), subsidies for professional accreditation, and a variety of in-house and online training options.

Espinola, who joined the company five years ago as a receptionist, has been promoted three times. “What’s made me want to stay and advance here is the opportunity for growth,” she says. “The sky’s the limit. Whatever you want to do and feel passionate about, within reason, they’ll make it happen for you.”

The firm’s distinctive performance review system looks at not only the employee’s professional goals, but the individual’s personal goals. “A company in itself doesn’t exist,” says Watters. “At the end of the day, it’s the employees that make the company. Our goal is to help them develop personally and professionally.”

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years, average age of all employees years, longestserving employee charities helped last year staff volunteer hours last year

Become a team member in a young, energetic culture that embodies our core values of Trust, Collaboration and Innovation!

Tell us your story If you are an exceptional employer with progressive human resources programs and initiatives, we invite you to submit an application for next year’s edition of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers.

Now entering its 18th year, our national project is Canada’s longest-running and best-known editorial competition for employers.

For information on next year’s application process, please visit:

CanadasTop100.com/2018 Applications for our 2018 competition will be released early in the New Year and must be submitted in May.

We’re proud to be named one of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers.

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