Award Presented By Morneau Shepell & The Globe and Mail 

(Toronto, ON) March 30, 2017 – Canada’s leading corporate trade company, Active International, is honoured to be recognized as a finalist for the Employee Recommended Workplace Award. The initiative presented by Morneau Shepell and The Globe and Mail, was created to recognize and award Canadian organizations that have successfully fostered healthy working conditions for their employees. The total health of a company’s workforce was evaluated in four areas: physical, mental, work and life, through a confidential survey completed by the employees. Finalists for the award have a total health score of 69% or more, reflecting a healthy workplace where employees are thriving.

“We are honoured to be recognized as a finalist for the Employee Recommended Workplace Award and as a leader in fostering a healthy work culture,” said Andrew Bulmer, SVP and Managing Director, Active International. “Our work environment and culture is created by design, not by default. It is important that our staff on all levels are involved in creating opportunities and solutions. Trust is the cornerstone of our values, and we feel active engagement and collaboration are key to creating a healthy working environment for all.”

In addition to participating in the Employee Recommended Workplace initiative, Active International conducts its own internal annual satisfaction and engagement survey with their staff and have achieved an overwhelmingly positive score of over 90% for the last 3 years. By being transparent about the results and getting employees involved in finding solutions to problems, they maintain a high level of engagement, a positive work environment and strong culture that reinforces their core value of trust.

A commitment to work life balance is top of mind for Active International and they have committed to ensuring they support employees going through big life transitions. When a star performer was moving to Calgary because her husband got a job opportunity he couldn’t pass up, Active declined her resignation and instead offered her an opportunity to support a client in Calgary with a work from home solution. When an employee needed a short leave of absence to focus on fertility treatments, they allowed her to do so and return to her job – no questions asked.

Another area Active is committed to is having a flexible work policy. Employees have the option of working from home twice a week. The reduction in commute time not only gives staff valuable time back in their day to focus on their health, family, errands, etc. but it also plays a role in Active’s environmental commitment through reduced C02 emissions.

Active is so committed to creating a satisfying culture for its employees that it created a “Culture Club” that oversee creating positive experiences in the office. This year the team will additionally be involved in shaping corporate policies, procedures and new programs.

Championing award-winning culture starts from the top. Active believes that their management team should be the starting point for modeling trust. They support and encourage a management approach that focuses on trust, coaching and results versus micro management and clock watching for time spent at a desk. Additionally, Active has invested in training by implementing a global senior leadership program called Agile Leadership. The program focuses on the management skillsets and principles needed to compete in today’s marketplace, to think upstream, manage conflict effectively, and ultimately to retain and attract top talent.

Additional perks such as gym subsidies, daily healthy snacks, a charitable contribution matching program for up to $250, and a relaxed dress code also contribute to staff retention and attracting top talent to the organization.   

The Employee Recommended Workplace Award is the first of its kind to have winners determined by an organization’s own employees. Employees of participating organizations fill out an online survey where they are asked to rate themselves on the four key pillars of total health: physical, mental, work and life. Extending beyond a basic engagement survey or health risk assessment, participating employees receive insights into their own personal health risks, suggested strategies for coping and access to resources to help manage their work and personal lives. For participating companies, the aggregated summary of the total health score for their workforce identifies areas of strength and where more work may be needed to improve.

The Employee Recommended Workplace Award winners will be announced on May 2, 2017 at an awards ceremony in Toronto.  For more information visit employeerecommended.com.