Annual staff retreat, recognition tokens among offerings by top small, medium employers

Canada’s top small and medium employers are offering their employees some unique human resources programs, including a retreat in British Columbia and recognition tokens that can be redeemed through an online store.

According to Mediacorp Canada Inc.’s annual awards, Edmonton-based real estate developer Rohit Group of Companies provides employees with an annual retreat to a resort in B.C. The company pauses work for three days so all employees can enjoy fun and activities together.

London, Ont.-based video games developer Big Viking Games rewards its employers with tokens for exemplary work. They can be used to buy premium snacks and drinks from the work kitchen, at off-site events and items from the company’s online store.

Read: New financial wellness category added as Workplace Benefits Awards opens for entries

Flexible working hours, telecommuting options and parental leave top-up is available to employees at another video game developer. Uken Studios provides maternity and parental leave top-up payments for birth and adoptive parents to 100 per cent of salary for up to 17 weeks. The company also offers flexible work hours and telecommuting options.

Halifax-based engineering firm CBCL Ltd. allows all employees to take part in a profit-sharing plan and provides financial incentives such as signing bonuses, year-end bonuses and referral bonuses.

“This year, we’ve seen tremendous growth at many of the SME winners,” said Anthony Meehan, publisher at Mediacorp Canada Inc., in a news release. “It’s not uncommon to see year-over-year employment growth of 50 per cent at some of the winners, providing excellent advancement opportunities for staff. 

“It’s one of the reasons that small and medium employers have created more than 90 per cent of the private-sector jobs in the past decade.”

Is your organization worthy of recognition. Benefits Canada‘s annual Workplace Benefits Awards are open for entries so submit a nomination here.

Read: ArcelorMittal Dofasco tops list of leading employers for workers over 40