The Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic led to a win in the Coronavirus and benefits category for an employer with fewer than 1,000 employees at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 18. When the pandemic was declared in March 2020, the organization quickly responded with measures such as […]
Scotiabank is supporting employees with elderly relatives by providing five back-up days for elder care. The benefit provides in-home visits by personal support workers and was modelled after an existing program providing the bank’s employees with back-up childcare days, says Dominic Cole-Morgan, senior vice-president of total rewards. “It was about understanding sources of potential mental-health […]
When Lightspeed Commerce Inc. employees headed back to their office this year, they found a space double the size of their last with a restaurant serving free meals, a smoothie bar and a barista to craft custom drinks. “We’re making it a very unique experience and the entire office is kind of a lounging area […]
The provision of employer-sponsored benefits has evolved significantly over the last 45 years, with the past decade ushering in the most consequential changes, fueled by technology, increased competition and demand. In the 80s and 90s, benefits plans were very siloed and one size fits all, says Chris Pryce, founder and president of Human Capital Benefits, […]
Quebec-based consulting firm Big Bang ERP Inc. is supporting employee well-being through a focus on social and personal wellness, as well as enhanced benefits. Through its wellness committee, known as SoWell, the employer organizes group activities like sports or games nights, as well as yoga classes, healthy lunches and mindfulness mornings, says Julie Brunet, director of […]
Flexibility only goes so far, say two experts, and covers a small part of a healthy and respectful work culture. Tracy Fogale, senior manager of benefits at Kraft Heinz Canada: While flexibility is a critical way to retain employees, particularly women, in the workforce, it can’t tackle systemic issues such as the gender pay gap, […]
In 2018, Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, engaged the services of Women in Governance, an organization dedicated to increasing gender parity and diversity at Canadian employers. “This program helps us ask the right questions to make sure we’re implementing the right policies to increase gender […]
The technology company’s senior benefits consultant on employee well-being, the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion and bikes races in Western Canada. Q: What top challenges do you face in your role? A: Although there can be day-to-day challenges supporting our employees across Canada, Amazon continues to support the increased needs created by the coronavirus […]
With another return to school looming during the coronavirus pandemic, working parents and their families likely feel some concern over how to manage the transition and how it might impact their mental health. About a quarter (27 per cent) of working parents said their dependent children are experiencing anxiety about the future due to the […]
Long before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe in early 2020, a massive transformation of the workplace was well underway. Advanced technologies, growing demand for better work-life balance and rising commercial real estate costs forced many organizations to reimagine the traditional way of working and, more broadly, the relationship between employer and employee. The pandemic […]