Insurers make list of “50 Best Employers”

Several insurers have made the list of Canada’s “50 Best Employers”, as compiled by human resources firm Hewitt Associates and published annually in the Globe and Mail.
Among those who made the cut are Sillery, Quebec-based L’Union Canadienne (#12); Guelph, Ontario-based The Co-operators (#16); Toronto, Ontario-based Chubb Insurance Co. of Canada (#17); and Desjardins Groupe d’assurances generales of Levis, Quebec (#30).
Hewitt Assoc. says the top employers have one thing in common they have managed to “engage” employees, i.e. to develop an emotional and intellectual commitment from employees for their work and the success of the overall corporation. “Best employers know that a highly engaged workforce provides a strategic advantage that will benefit them in working through any current and future human resources challenge including attraction and retention,” says Hewitt consultant Chris Howe.
Employees at these organizations see “a connection between their own daily contributions and the success of the organization”, adds fellow consultant Ted Emond.
The ability of employers to attract and retain talent is even more crucial in light of the impending mass retirement of the “baby boom” generation, the survey notes. This means organizations must look internally for future leaders and must have proper succession planning in place.
And from a bottom-line perspective, Hewitt’s research establishes a link between employee engagement and business results, explains consultant Neil Crawford. The publicly-traded companies on the “50 Best” list have an average compound annual growth rate of revenue for the past five years of 16.4%, versus 6.1% for 70 other organizations surveyed which did not make the list.
The survey includes 120 organizations, with surveys conducted of more than 80,000 employees and over 1,200 leaders.