Arc’teryx Equipment was recognized with the Benefits Plan Communications award at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Workplace Benefits Awards for its engaging year-round and technology-savvy benefits reminders to employees.
“We have learned that [our] how-to videos with fewer words and more graphics or modern technology resonates better with our groups,” said Mikkaela Fernandez (pictured left), the outerwear company’s manager of benefits, wellness, leaves and retirement.
Arc’teryx launched a new digital wellness hub designed to promote programs through recommended podcasts, books, health articles and discounts at local businesses. The platform, which is updated monthly, crafts targeted communications that encourages employees to keep health and well-being top of mind. It’s also promoted to employees on a leave of absence by sending messages to their personal emails to ensure they feel included.
Read: Who are the winners of the 2025 Workplace Benefits Awards?
The organization also offers virtual and in-person communications sessions that show how different benefits can adapt to different family compositions, lifestyles or other ageing considerations. It also prioritizes cultural diversity by offering a media tool that live translates the sessions’ content to languages like French, Cantonese, Mandarin and Russian.
“There’s a side of our employee workforce segment that isn’t tech savvy,” said Breanna Yee (pictured right), benefits lead and total rewards for people and culture. “For those employees, we really focus on being in person, giving them translation [services] to their own languages, holding office hours, . . . hearing what works for their workforce segments and tailoring our communications for them.”
Taking inspiration from the outdoors, Arc’teryx also ensures new employees receive an onboarding week branded as “Base Camp” where it introduces its total rewards philosophy and hosts onsite education sessions.
As part of the organization’s ongoing communications, employees can expect recurring financial education sessions, celebrations during Financial Literacy Month, well-being fairs and constant reminders on maximizing benefits coverage.
Arc’teryx also introduced a new benefits program this year, one that pushes greater flexibility of choice, removes financial barriers to inclusive coverage and promotes sustainability for the program’s future evolution. The launch considered employee feedback collected through quarterly surveys and the perspective of employee-led councils.
“We also have . . . employee resource groups we call employee belonging councils and we met with each of the groups to figure out what’s working well with [their] benefits [and] what’s not [working],” said Fernandez.
Tune in to Benefits Canada to learn more about the 2025 Workplace Benefits Awards winners in the coming days.