Best WORKPLACE FOR perks and incentives
HR Services directorNaomi Gould isn’t convinced bonuses alone make PCL Constructors Inc. an employer to build a career with. “It’s nice to get those cheques, for sure, but I have to tell you, the culture is so incredibly unique because of our employee-ownership model. People feel like they are entrepreneurs. I’ve never seen a culture quite like it,” she says. Chances are you haven’t either. Here’s how that culture pays dividends for PCL employees.
Best OVERALL WORKPLACE (UNDER 100 employees)
The phrase that Collins Barrow Calgary LLP stands by is succinct: People count. It’s a clever way of revealing in two words that a) Collins Barrow is an accounting firm and b) it’s a company that values its staff and clients. Taking up nearly three floors in a downtown Calgary high-rise, the employee-owned firm (part of a national network headquartered in Montreal) serves a range of mid-level clients, from non-profits to oil and gas companies. It’s also a hub for up-and-coming chartered accountants, acting as a training school for students working towards a CA designation.
The workspace, with its cubicles and neutral-toned walls, is generally nondescript – until we approach a barn-inspired office with a door covered by posters. Inside there is faux straw, horse banners and balloons upon balloons. Students who have successfully passed their Uniform Evaluation (UFE), the three-day test to become a CA, get their office decorated by peers with a theme of their choice.
“There’s a bad perception about accountants,” says partner David Hird, referring to the stereotype of the anti-social number cruncher who sits in the back office. “As a service industry, we hire well-rounded people who are self-starters. We’re an outgoing, dynamic bunch of people, contrary to what you’d think an accounting firm would be.”
Sure enough, I hear boisterous chatter in one of the kitchens where a long table is filled with a dozen 20-somethings. It sounds more like a picnic than lunchtime at the office. But these are professionals. During the busy season from January to April, staff work 150 to 200 hours of overtime on average. Hird says that about two-thirds of the year’s work is done in the first six months of the year. Expectations and responsibilities are high; so are the perks.
“The partners of the firm are extremely generous in terms of salary, perks and the money they are willing to spend on staff,” explains Enid Bradley, director of human resources. To wit, staff can take a sabbatical for up to three months with benefits paid by Collins Barrow. Maternity leave is topped up to 100% of salary for the first eight weeks. Overtime meal and parking allowances are provided during the busy season. All professional dues and association fees are paid for by the firm.
Training and development is where Collins Barrow really shines. The CA School of Business (CASB) requires that every student is assigned a mentor. The Calgary office takes it a step further, assigning each student to one of the firm’s partners as well. “You can pop into anyone’s office with a question and they will make time for you no matter how busy they are,” says staff accountant Graydon Glans. This level of support is critical to flourishing in a high-pressure industry.
Ann McLeod has been with the firm for 24 years. As the senior office manager, McLeod appreciates the constant challenges of her job, one of which was the company’s recent transition to a paperless office. “It’s about making sure the individual has the proper tools to do the job,” she explains. (Some of those tools include junk food. “During the busy season, my office looks like a Costco store,” it’s so full of staff treats, HR’s Bradley says.)
It is obvious that Hird, for one, loves his job. “To feel that people care about you,” he believes, “is a great thing.” And that is what really counts.
Best WORKPLACE FOR BENEFITS
SAIT Polytechnic’s benefits plan has been nine years in the making, with staff suggestions collected through the post-secondary institution’s annual employee survey. “That’s what makes our benefits plan the best, in that it won’t ever be one stable set of benefits,” says Michael Dyer, vice-president of employee and student services. “We will be listening to what our employees are saying and attempting to address what it is they’re looking for in terms of their overall benefits.” That helps explain why SAIT’s staff surveys indicate a 13% rise in employee satisfaction since 2001. Here are a few examples of what SAIT employees (and perhaps your own) are seeking.
Health Spending Account
Offering an already detailed and full list of medical benefits, SAIT provides a health spending account to cover anything else employees may need. If you think this is used to cover physiotherapy, osteopathy, massage therapy, naturopathy, podiatry, chiropractics or acupuncture, think again: each are already included under the basic health plan. And with 10 sick days given each year and free on-site health services, cold and flu season could not be more convenient.
Professional Credential Enhancement Program
Intellectual wellness is another employee concern SAIT has addressed. “They [employees] said developing their educational credits is very important, so we came out with the professional credential enhancement program,” says Dyer. All employees may apply for up to $5,000 in tuition funding per year (with a maximum of $10,000 per certificate, diploma or degree). Related is the “free seat” program whereby employees may attend any SAIT course that has an available space.
Earned Days Off
The annual employee survey reported the desire for a “greater work-life balance.” Dyer explains that the ensuing earned days off program “allows people to work more than their standard workday and take a day or two days off per month.” For example, for working an extra 25 minutes each day, employees can receive every third Friday off. The program varies across the campus particularly as it pertains to faculty who follow school schedules.
Re-employed Retiree Plan
SAIT doesn’t want to lose its long-term employees, even if it is to retirement. So if sunny beaches and time spent with their grandchildren can’t keep retirees occupied, SAIT “will hire them back with full benefits,” says Dyer. They can also contribute into a defined-benefit pension plan (currently funded by the employer at 11% of salary). That way, retired workers can continue doing what they love.
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