Leaving their mark and out-manoeuvring larger competitors: this year's 'Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers' are announced

TORONTO, April 2, 2024 /CNW/ - It's often the smaller employers that leave the biggest mark when it comes to creating better workplaces for Canadians ? so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the nation's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are more than holding their own against larger employers. That's the message from this year's Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers, announced this morning by Mediacorp Canada Inc., organizers of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project.

Limited to smaller enterprises with under 500 employees, Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers focuses on SMEs that are often resource-constrained, both in terms of finances and organizational capacity. However, they are nimble and have more dexterity: they adopt initiatives faster than large employers, in many cases based on employee feedback and being closer to front-line operations. In addition, SMEs are often more willing to try bold HR initiatives that are untested elsewhere.

"What's remarkable about the employers on this year's list is how quickly and effectively they've worked to create rewards and other programs developed from employee input," says Kristina Leung, managing editor of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. "SMEs have enviable levels of customization, flexibility and speed-of-implementation that are difficult for larger employers to match."

"There's an interesting relationship we see between SMEs and larger employers," says Richard Yerema, executive editor at the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. "SMEs are often the trendsetters, taking risks on initiatives like enhanced paid time-off, flexible hours and hybrid work options long before these types of improvements are considered by larger employers. As employers of all sizes compete to attract and retain staff, the best SMEs take notice of what larger employers are offering employees, such as parental leave top-up, mental health programs, and even retirement assistance. Both groups of employers end up moving the dial to ensure that programs improve and benefit all their employees."

Now in its 11^th year, Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers is an editorial competition that recognizes the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that offer the nation's best workplaces and forward-thinking human resources policies. Editors at Mediacorp review employers on eight criteria, which have remained consistent since the project's inception: (1) Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. The editors publish detailed 'reasons for selection' for these criteria, providing transparency in the selection of winners and a catalogue of best practices for employers and job-seekers alike. The competition is open to any enterprise in Canada that: (a) has less than 500 employees worldwide, including staff at affiliated companies; and (b) is a commercial, for-profit business, i.e. non-profit organizations aren't considered SMEs under the Statistics Canada definition.

Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 19 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach millions of Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners, including The Globe and Mail. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, one of Canada's largest job search engines, used by millions of job-seekers annually to find new job postings and discover what the nation's best employers are offering.

The full list of Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers (2024) was announced today in a special magazine published by Mediacorp Canada Inc. Detailed 'reasons for selection' for each of this year's winners, as well as stories and photos of their initiatives, were released today by the editors and are accessible via the competition homepage.

Join the discussion about today's announcement on social media:
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3a11Fkf
Instagram & Facebook: @topemployers
Twitter/X: @top_employers
Hashtags: #topSME, #topemployers2024

SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.