Manitoba's Top Employers

8 AFTER RANKING AS ONE OF THE PROVINCE'S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR THE PAST DECADE, YOU MIGHT THINK CERIDIAN AND ITS MANAGEMENT TEAM WOULD BE TEMPTED TO COAST JUST A LITTLE BIT. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH, ACCORDING TO THE VICE�PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES PROGRAMS FOR THE HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY COMPANY. Kelly Allder said, while being named to the list of Manitoba's Top Employers for a 10th straight year is something to be proud of, it's also a time for the company to reflect on what it can do better as an employer. "I think consistently winning the award the way we have really reinforces that we must be doing something right. Listening to our employees and providing them a great place to work is really a source of pride," she said. "(And) the process of actually applying (for the award) really gives us time to reflect on what we can do better. We fill in what we're doing on the application and see what other organizations are doing and we think 'OK, how can we make it better?' It's not just a case of 'Yay, we won another award.'" Ceridian Canada was originally established in 1968 in Manitoba as Comcheq Services before evolving into Ceridian in 1998. They provide a variety of human capital management solutions including payroll, human resources, workforce management and recruiting. The company currently employs more than 1,600 employees at 12 locations across the country, including 225 at its Winnipeg branch. Many of those employees have been with the company for a considerable length of time. The average seniority for Ceridian employees across Canada is eight years, while that number jumps to 11 here in Winnipeg. Allder said a key factor in the company's ability to attract and retain quality staff is its insistence on taking employee engagement seriously. As part of that effort, it conducts an annual survey of all its employees, as well as other, more specific surveys throughout the course of the year. "When we engage employees we do it with the expectation that we're trying to build an organization that attracts and retains the best and the brightest people," she said. "We know we've got to fight for people at times. In order to attract and retain them we need to make sure we're offering our employees great things, great learning opportunities and career development." A big part of that engagement process is regular town hall meetings at all of the company's offices. The town halls are an opportunity for staff members to meet with senior managers and discuss what's on their minds in a relaxed setting. "Our executives come out and are front and centre for our employees. It really gives our employees a chance to ask their questions directly to the executives," said Senior Human Resources Consultant, Laura Kotowicz-Kimball. "I think it also provides a unique opportunity for the executive team to interact with our employees in a more informal way and get to know them on a personal level." Family is another primary focus for Ceridian. The company provides maternity top-up payments for new moms, a subsidy of as much as $5,000 for families looking to adopt a child, tuition reimbursement of up to $2,000, and scholarships for employees with college-age children. In addition, many Ceridian employees can choose a flexible work schedule that offers a number of options including different start and finish times as well as a compressed work week. Allder says fl ex-scheduling is a win-win for both employees and the company. It allows staff to find the right work-life balance, while at the same time allowing Ceridian to better serve its customers across a wide variety of different time zones by enabling customer support teams to be available for extended periods of time. Ceridian encourages employees to use some of their downtime to attend to their physical well-being. The company provides a fitness subsidy program that reimburses staff for the cost of exercise activities and even offers yoga classes at many of its offices. It also encourages staff to participate in what Kotowicz- Kimball calls "walking meetings." "Instead of just sitting in a boardroom, they'll walk around the block and have their meeting on the go or at the Starbucks down the street," she said. "It's a great way to encourage people to get away from their desk and get some fresh air and activity into their day." Another popular activity among employees is the annual Ceridian Cares fundraising campaign. The employee- driven registered charity has raised over $600,000 in just three years of existence through payroll deductions, fundraising events and annual corporate contributions. To date, more than 300 individuals, families and charities have received funding through the program. "We've always had the concept of giving where we're living, but our employees were telling us that they wanted to do more and wanted to have an impact and know where their money was going," Allder said. While Ceridian and its HR team took some time to savour this year's Top Employers selection, they are already looking ahead to next year. The company has already begun work on providing enhanced career path and leadership training and determining how to assist employees who may be nearing retirement age. CERIDIAN Ceridian focused on great workplace experience By Jim Timlick Human Capital Management | ceridian.ca Mondays. Better Photo of Staff from Ceridian and kids as part of Bring your Kid to Work Day. Photo by Darcy Finley MANITOBA'S TOP EMPLOYERS

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