While the sustainability of defined benefit pension plans have long been a central talking point in the industry, they took a real hit during the 2008 financial crisis, a sting many plans feared would linger in public opinion. “DB plans were obviously affected. Actually, all retirement savings plans were impacted,” says Darryl Mabini, senior director of growth and […]
While mental health is often a sensitive area, the Co-operators Group Ltd. aimed to bring the issue into the open by introducing an online Yammer group as a safe place for employees to talk, share information and support one another. “It’s a way for us to have those organic conversations crop up from our staff,” said Stacey Kennedy, […]
For Manulife, building its benefits plan communication strategy was all about choice. Recognizing there are different ways employees prefer to access information, it rolled out a strategy that ensured a number of different communications options were available. This strategy helped Manulife earn the benefits plan communications award at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Workplace Benefits Awards in Toronto on Oct. 12. […]
By presenting pension information in simpler, bite-sized chunks and introducing a colourful character, the Alberta Local Authorities Pension Plan undertook a digital revamp that earned it the pension communications award at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Workplace Benefits Awards last week. Facing the challenge of engaging members on the difficult topic of pensions, the organization took on the task of […]
A newly hired business graduate, predicted by senior managers of a major bank to have significant potential, left the organization after one year. He sued for harassment and bullying, saying among other things that he had a manager who set out to prove he had limited potential and frequently assigned him impossible tasks and deadlines, […]
As employee engagement garners more attention as a key performance indicator, it’s also weaving its way into the way employers design and construct their workplace policies and benefits programs. There are many compelling reasons why organizations focus their attention on employee engagement. There’s clear evidence that high engagement leads to improved organizational results, such as […]
The Michael Garron Hospital is adding to its diversity and inclusion program by creating a gender diversity policy to support employees in the workplace and help them from a patient-care perspective. The Toronto hospital began developing its diversity and inclusion program with employee training around lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities in 2014 and […]
How does an employer go about creating a mental-health strategy? In the case of Ontario’s Workplace Safety & Insurance Board, it brought its own employees into the conversation. Speaking during an event hosted by Manulife Financial Corp. in Toronto on Thurday, Lilian Riad-Allen, a senior consultant for the mental health and wellness program at the […]
Pension plans have developed an appetite for real assets in recent years, but what does the term actually include? In response to demands from asset managers for more information about real assets, the S&P Dow Jones Indices created a benchmark index for the area in 2015, said Jodie Gunzberg, the organization’s managing director of product management. “We […]
Financial concerns weigh heavily on employees’ minds both at home and at work, according to a new survey by Ernst & Young. As such, many organizations recognize the need to help their employees by providing a financial wellness program. The majority (86 per cent) of human resources professionals surveyed said their organization offers such a […]