As the pool of skilled workers slowly drains, employers are looking for ways to attract new workers and to retain the ones they have. A popular tactic that’s developed is offering benefits and pension plans that are of real value to employees, which according to Canada’s 30 Best Pension and Benefits Plan report, is a winning strategy.

The 30 Best companies were ranked accordingly as per satisfaction and engagement studies conducted by Hewitt Associates. The data was collected from over 150,000 workers at more than 200 Canadian organizations. After all, who better to judge than the plan members themselves?

“The organizations that appear on the 2008 list of Canada’s 30 Best Pension and Benefit Plans did not achieve this recognition because they necessarily offer the most innovative employee benefits, but they all do three things extraordinarily well,” says Don Bisch, editor of Benefits Canada. “They listen to their employees and offer programs that meet their needs; they communicate them well, so workers understand and appreciate their benefits; and they deliver them properly so employees avoid any administrative hassle. For high employee satisfaction with retirement and benefit programs, all of these factors must be present.”

He adds, “The report is an opportunity for us to profile these companies—to show what they’re doing right and share their best practices with our readers.”

The 30 Best Pension and Benefits Plans

 

Ranking Company Headquarters
1 Business Development Bank of Canada Montreal
2 AstraZeneca Canada Mississauga, Ont.
3 L’Union Canadienne Quebec City
4 Gibson Energy Calgary
5 Wellington West Holdings Winnipeg
6 Envision Financial Langley, B.C.
7 EllisDon Corporation London, Ont.
8 JTI-Macdonald Mississauga, Ont.
9 CONEXUS Regina
10 Prospera Credit Union & Insurance Agency Abbotsford, B.C.
11 Intuit Canada Edmonton
12 PCL Constructors Edmonton
13 Northern Savings Credit Union Prince Rupert, B.C.
14 National Bank of Canada Montreal
15 Midwest Surveys Calgary
16 Canadian Western Bank Edmonton
17 Ceridian Canada Mississauga, Ont.
18 OMERS Toronto
19 Abbott Canada St-Laurent, Que.
20 GlaxoSmithKline Mississauga, Ont.
21 Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Dorval, Que.
22 BC Biomedical Laboratories Surrey, B.C.
23 Business Objects Vancouver
24 Aecon Group Toronto
25 ATB Financial Edmonton
26 Deloitte & Touche Toronto
27 Nexen Calgary
28 Dillon Consulting Limited Toronto
29 Procter & Gamble Toronto
30 The Co-operators Guelph, Ont.

 

For a more detailed information about the 30 best companies, click here.

Read The Best Made Plans for more about the 30 Best Pension and Benefits Plans report.