While improving a defined contribution pension plan may appear to be simple, ensuring employees fully understand the changes is a crucial part of the exercise, said Ian Baines, head of pensions at Britain’s Nationwide Building Society. Baines told the story of his company’s pension changes at Benefits Canada‘s 2018 Defined Contribution Plan Summit in February. […]
Participants at Benefits Canada’s Defined Contribution Plan Summit spent two days listening to a large roster of speakers offer up solutions on everything from communication tips about plan changes to strategies for allocating members’ assets. So what were some of the key learnings? Janice Holman, defined contribution practice leader at Eckler Ltd., helped sum up some […]
More Canadian employers are investing in employee training and participating in co-operative education programs than they were two years ago, according to a new survey by Morneau Shepell Ltd. and the Business Council of Canada. The survey, which queried hiring managers from 95 of Canada’s largest companies, found that 83 per cent participate in co-op and work-integrated learning programs, […]
The SickKids Foundation, a Toronto-based charity, is encouraging its employees to skip the elevator and use the stairs, beginning with a wellness challenge piloting the Carrot Rewards’ mobile app. Earlier this year, the organization opened new meeting space on the eighth floor of its office location. Previously, the foundation had only been on the 12th, 13th and […]
Multinational telecommunications company Ericsson is adding a peer-to-peer functionality to its recognition program for employees across Canada and the United States. Previously, the program was only open to managers, who could submit employee recognition in the form of cash awards paid out through employee’s paycheques or points they could redeem through an online marketplace. In June 2017, the company offered […]
To celebrate International World Happiness Day on March 20, Klick Health hosted a number of activities for employees at its Toronto office, including canine visitors from the humane society, a catered lunch and bouncy castles. “Basically, a heightened bit of happiness. We want people to get involved and be engaged with the company,” said David Holmes, the company’s […]
In order to understand how much to save, the starting point should be determining a retirement budget. Not only will such an exercise help employees better plan for the future, it may well give them a greater understanding of and appreciation for their employer-sponsored savings program and improve their financial wellness. More accurate retirement planning Even […]
According to LinkedIn Corp.’s 2017 global recruiting trends report, 48 per cent of employers feel employee referrals are the best source of quality hires. Despite that enthusiasm, employers allocated just nine per cent of their recruitment budgets to employee referral programs. Some employers are investing in their programs, however. In its case, Toronto-based Score Media […]
Canada is bucking the global trend towards higher employee engagement. While employee engagement in Canada is still above the global average, it saw a slight decline to 69 per cent of employees in 2017 from 70 per cent the year before, according to a report from Aon Hewitt. Worldwide, engagement returned to an all-time high […]
More than three-quarters (78 per cent) of American employers believe their employees are satisfied with the current benefits offering, but just 52 per cent of employees report being satisfied, according to a survey by business research organization LIMRA. When broken down by generation, the survey, which polled more than 1,000 U.S. employers and 2,500 employees, found generation X employees are […]