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Manitoba’s Top Employers: 2024 Winners

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This article was published 19/03/2024 (542 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a welcoming province – just consider that “Friendly Manitoba” is engraved right on the licence plates – where big-city culture meets small-town friendliness and curling rivals hockey for popularity. It’s also a place where well-managed businesses thrive, given its wealth of natural resources, a well-educated, multi-cultural workforce and strategic location in the heart of North America.

So it’s no surprise that Manitoba’s Top Employers 2024, selected by Mediacorp Canada Inc., are exceptional organizations, recognized for their progressive workplace initiatives and best practices. Looking at the winners, what stands out for Richard Yerema, executive editor at Mediacorp, is their remarkable stability along with a steady rate of growth.

“Year over year, it’s a very calm picture with companies evolving at a nice pace,” says Yerema. “There’s a quiet confidence that comes with that. On the employment side, you can be in any profession and find something here for you – it’s that diverse in terms of its economics.”

Manitoba’s rich diversity of industry ranges from high-tech manufacturing to finance, insurance, health care, education and its popular credit unions. Add in the perks and policies offered by this year’s winners, such as flexible work options, continuous learning and generous parental leave top-ups, and you’ll find employers that are competitive with leading companies nationwide.

For instance, Turning Leaf Community Support Services, a non-profit organization providing crisis intervention and treatment services for vulnerable people, offers competitive wages, a healthy benefits package and a strong focus on opportunities for growth and development.

“We’re constantly growing so there’s plenty of room for growth internally,” says Andrea Whittle, recruitment manager at Turning Leaf. “We prefer to look internally first to fill all our vacancies before searching externally. If people need to increase their skill set, we have a full training department, including internal courses for leadership.”

Whittle describes the organization’s culture as “very person-centered”, not only for participants enrolled in their programs, but for employees as well. That helped the organization manage the challenges of working throughout the pandemic and adapting to a post-pandemic environment.

“We already had a very strong culture, so the pandemic just made us more adaptable and resilient with all the changes,” says Whittle. “We even grew by 50 per cent in our Intensive Home Supports program. Early on, we gave tablets and cell phones to our community participants so we didn’t lose our connection with them and did social events online with staff to stay connected that way as well.

“Our current flexible arrangements are working out very well for employees,” she continues. “The flexibility increases morale and allows those with families and personal commitments to find more of a work-life balance. But for the most part, we try to do as much as we can in person to make that personal connection.”

With a vision focused on helping farmers succeed, the community for Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) extends beyond Manitoba. For four decades, the organization has helped Western Canadian farmers better market their farm commodities and support the working capital needs of their farms by providing farmers access to cash advances. In addition, the association’s work in policy development and advocacy affects positive change in seven key policy areas affecting Canada’s 43,000 canola farmers.

“Agriculture is a very big part of Manitoba’s economy and our people are proud to be part of this vibrant sector,” says Larysa Motruk, vice president, human resources at CCGA. “Our new recruits are really inspired by what we do and how we show we care. As a relatively small organization, we are creative in how we offer learning and career opportunities, and people appreciate that.”

When the pandemic hit, the organization had to quickly adjust to remote work – something its teams hadn’t done before. Today, CCGA has a hybrid policy, with employees working three days in the office and two at home, with flexible options.

“Adapting to hybrid work is a learning process and we continue to make adjustments to adapt to the business and employee needs,” says Motruk. “That may take some time to figure out – it might be completely different two or three years down the road. The key is to listen to what your employees are looking for and how that can work for the business, and then how we can merge those two things so we all benefit from it.”

Whatever tomorrow brings, it’s a fair observation that Manitoba’s Top Employers will still thrive. As Yerema notes, “provinces like Manitoba that are more community-oriented have fared much better in terms of the pandemic. It’s very hard to damage a solid community easily.”

Manitoba’s Top Employers 2024: Methodology

For the Manitoba’s Top Employers competition, employers are evaluated by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers using the same eight criteria as the national competition: (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. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

Any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Manitoba may apply for this competition. Employers of any size may apply, whether private or public sector.

Manitoba’s Top Employers: 2024 Winners

The following organizations have been chosen as Manitoba’s Top Employers for 2024 (employee count refers to full-time staff):

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Inc. / APTN, Winnipeg. Television broadcasting; 145 employees. Offers a northern living allowance for employees living and working in the north and helps employees save through a defined contribution pension plan.

Access Credit Union Limited, Stanley. Credit unions; 701 employees. Offers a full suite of financial benefits, including a defined contribution pension plan, year-end bonuses, and preferred mortgage and loan rates.

Arctic Co-operatives Limited, Winnipeg. Community co-operatives; 129 employees. Encourages employees to help recruit new candidates with generous new employee referral bonuses, up to $5,000 depending on the position.

Artis REIT, Winnipeg. Real estate investment trusts; 141 employees. Employee wellness committee organizes a healthy workplace month in the fall with wellness challenges and lunch and learns on a range of health topics.

Assiniboine Credit Union Ltd., Winnipeg. Credit unions; 486 employees. Supports its younger employees through an emerging leaders committee that arranges mentoring, career planning and leadership development programs.

Boeing Canada Operations Ltd., Winnipeg. Aircraft equipment manufacturing; 1,560 employees. Supports ongoing employee development with tuition subsidies and helps employees launch their careers through apprenticeships, paid internships and mentoring.

Calm Air International LP, Winnipeg. Air transportation; 455 employees. Helps employees prepare for life after work with retirement planning assistance services and a defined contribution pension plan.

Canada Life Assurance Company, The, Winnipeg. Direct life insurance carriers; 10,982 employees. Manages a community volunteer grant program that encourages employee volunteerism with charitable donations where employees volunteer their time.

Canadian Canola Growers Association, Winnipeg. Business associations; 83 employees. Supports its new parents with maternity and parental leave top-up payments, up to 90 per cent of their salary, along with a phased-in return to work option.

Cardinal Capital Management Inc., Winnipeg. Investment management services; 82 employees. Offers generous referral bonuses when employees successfully help to recruit a new candidate, up to $2,000 depending on the position.

Emergent BioSolutions Canada Inc., Winnipeg. Pharmaceutical manufacturing; 400 employees. Lets employees share in the company’s financial successes through year-end bonus and stock option programs.

Fusion Credit Union Limited, Hamiota. Credit unions; 148 employees. Along with maternity leave top-up payments for six weeks, new parents have the option to extend their parental leave into an unpaid leave of absence.

IGM Financial Inc., Winnipeg. Financial services; 4,018 employees. Encourages employees to become recruiters for the company with generous new employee referral bonuses, from $500 to $2,000 depending on the position.

Johnston Group Inc., Winnipeg. Insurance and group benefits; 336 employees. Offers generous mental health practitioner coverage as part of the health benefits plan, up to $2,500 annually.

Manitoba Blue Cross, Winnipeg. Insurance and group benefits; 314 employees. Head office employees enjoy free access to an onsite fitness facility along with a lounge where employees can shoot a game of pool or play foosball.

Manitoba Hydro, Winnipeg. Hydroelectric power generation; 4,950 employees. Helps employees plan for life after work with retirement planning assistance services and offers the security of a defined benefit pension plan.

Manitoba Public Insurance, Winnipeg. Direct property and casualty insurance carriers; 2,045 employees. Supports birth mothers with generous maternity and parental leave top-up payments, to 93 per cent of salary for up to 31 weeks.

Payworks Inc., Winnipeg. Payroll services; 445 employees. Employees are encouraged to keep fit with an onsite fitness facility complete with regular yoga and Zumba classes.

Red River Co-op, Winnipeg. Grocery retail co-operatives; 287 employees. Encourages employees to recruit their friends though generous new employee referral bonuses, from $350 to $2,000 depending on the position.

Riverview Health Centre Inc., Winnipeg. Rehabilitation and long-term care; 243 employees. Offers subsidized memberships to an onsite fitness facility that includes monthly 30-minute massage therapy sessions.

Roquette Canada Ltd., Portage la Prairie. Plant-based protein manufacturing; 130 employees. Encourages healthy snacking at the head office through a free healthy snack program that includes fresh fruit, protein shakes, yogurt and more.

St.Amant Inc., Winnipeg. Child and youth services; 729 employees. Helps employees plan for a secure retirement with contributions to a defined benefit pension plan.

StandardAero Ltd., Winnipeg. Aircraft engine maintenance services; 1,780 employees. Supports ongoing employee development through generous tuition subsidies for courses at outside academic institutions, to $5,250 annually.

St. John’s-Ravenscourt School, Winnipeg. Elementary and secondary schools; 145 employees. Supports new moms with maternity and parental leave top-up payments to 90 per cent of salary for 27 weeks.

Transcona Roofing Ltd., Winnipeg. Roofing contractors; 65 employees. Offers employees three weeks of paid starting vacation along with a holiday shutdown between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

True North Sports + Entertainment, Winnipeg. Sports and entertainment; 291 employees. Employees enjoy an active social calendar that includes a “learn to play hockey” program and an annual 3-on-3 hockey tournament.

Turning Leaf Community Support Services Inc., Winnipeg. Community support services; 356 employees. Helps employees balance their day-to-day responsibilities with a variety of flexible working options, including hybrid, flexible hours and 35-hour work weeks.

Université de Saint-Boniface, Winnipeg. Post secondary schools, university; 219 employees. Employees enjoy numerous places to reset and unwind across the campus, from religious observance spaces and a student lounge to fitness facilities.

University College of the North, The Pas. Post secondary schools, university; 291 employees. Along with full tuition subsidies for job-related programs, employees may apply for extended education leaves of absence.

University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Post secondary schools, university; 5,149 employees. Supports its new moms with maternity and parental leave top-up payments to 95 per cent of salary for 35 weeks and offers onsite daycare options when they return.

Vidir Solutions, Inc., Arborg. Storage systems; 234 employees. Offers generous referral bonuses when employees successfully help to recruit a new candidate, to $1,000 depending on the position.

Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co., Winnipeg. Insurance; 3,379 employees. Supports employees through a number of in-house mental health initiatives along with a dedicated mental health benefit as part the health plan, up to $2,500 annually.

Westoba Credit Union Ltd., Brandon. Credit unions; 210 employees. Helps employees save through a defined contribution pension plan and retiring employees may be able to transition slowly with phased-in work options.

Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc., Winnipeg. Airport operations; 226 employees. Ensures employees can do their best work with free access to an onsite fitness facility and a wide range of options in the airport’s food court.

Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Workplace health and safety programs; 598 employees. Helps employees balance their work and personal schedules through an earned days-off program that lets employees earn up to two days off each month.