The right culture provides opportunity for growth. RSM Canada created five attributes it wanted its employees to exemplify – being caring, curious, collaborative, courageous and critical thinkers – helping the company earn a spot on this year’s Great Place To Work® list of Best Workplaces™ and positioning it for a four-fold growth in revenue since its inception.supplied
Continuing the trend of the past several years, health and wellness is on the minds of working Canadians and the companies that employ them. Great Place To Work® research proves time and time again that, when employees feel healthy and well, they and their business are more likely to excel.
“As a global organization, we are seeing that individual wellness and mental health is an escalating problem in our society,” says Alison Grenier, head of culture and research, Great Place To Work®. “The good news is that there has been a positive shift where more people feel safe sharing that they are struggling, and more companies are making substantial investments in programs and supports for their employees.”
AbbVie, a leading research-driven pharmaceutical company in Canada and around the globe, is one of those companies, earning it a spot on the list of Best Workplaces™ published by Great Place To Work®.
“It’s a wonderful recognition and reflective of every one of our employees and how they show up. Being on the list helps us to attract, retain and engage the best people,” says Almir Lourens, head of human resources, Canada.
Since AbbVie was created in 2013, it has launched 44 new medications or indications and grown its operations in Canada to more than 1,100 employees across the country. With such rapid growth, AbbVie has been intentional about making sure employees feel valued and have a sense of purpose.
“The patient is at the centre of everything we do. It’s incredible to see the value we’re adding to the health care system and for our patients. Our employees anchor themselves in that purpose,” Lourens says.
Year-round programs and initiatives are centred on four pillars – inspired futures, balanced lives, healthy minds and active bodies – to give employees the energy and resilience to be their best selves. AbbVie supports workplace flexibility when it makes sense for roles, employees and locations. The company offers healthy choices in its cafeterias with menus available online that describe nutritional details and choices. National and global wellness events and challenges aim to help employees be healthy and active.
During the AbbVie in Motion campaign in the summer, employees from teams across the company kept track of their activity minutes. Last year, they exercised almost 15 million minutes collectively during the AbbVie (WOW) or Week of Well Being, with fun and engaging programs and activities to help employees to relax and refocus.
The company is intentional about reducing the number of meetings and emails, so employees have more time to be creative and feel inspired. Lunch hours are blocked in everyone’s calendars, there are no Friday afternoon meetings and emails are only sent between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The company also transformed its annual directors’ awards to become culture awards three years ago, a step toward reinforcing the behaviours it wants to see in the organization.
Jose Tolovi Neto, managing partner, Great Place To Work® Canada, says things have changed since Great Place To Work® began surveying employees 30 years ago.
“Today, businesses are looking more closely at those things that matter and are relevant to people. What is important for every generation and especially our youth today is that connection to purpose. People want to feel inspired.”
The story of RSM Canada continues to inspire, earning it a place on the Best Workplaces™ for three of its six years in business in Canada. The firm was co-founded by Harry Blum, national managing partner, and Rhonda Kloser, national chief operating offer.
Blum says being on the list validates everything the firm has done to create a best-in-class culture that rivals any in the industry.
“After three years of refining our focus and getting traction in the marketplace, it became important to us that what we were saying about our experience was real,” Blum says. That is when they decided to approach Great Place To Work®. “We wanted third-party validation, and we love that Great Place To Work® asked our employees and didn’t just take our word for it,” he says.
Transforming the business into a value-added advisory to include consulting, tax and audit services, Blum and Kloser set out to create a culture that could be its currency. They created five attributes they wanted their employees to exemplify: caring, curious, collaborative, courageous and critical thinkers. “Where we are different is that these attributes became our defining DNA. The challenge continues to be instilling these attributes in our people and living up to this commitment ourselves,” Blum says.
At RSM Canada, culture also means opportunity for growth. While employees begin as generalists, it is not long before they are encouraged and supported to specialize as an industry expert in an area they are passionate about. “People said it wouldn’t work,” Blum says. “Today, we’ve grown to more than 1,000 employees and quadrupled our revenue. As the original founders, it’s inspirational to see that we are still here, and we’ve got more to go. Our growth is contagious, and people want to be part of that.”
In the wake of the pandemic, Blum witnessed firsthand its impact on the health of its employees. Still young, the firm quickly mobilized a homegrown solution to create and share mental health resources and expertise, including simple tips in the form of Mental Health Minutes for dealing with the realities and stressors of work at that time. They shared the information on the social media platform LinkedIn and in their communities. They brought in guest speakers to talk about addressing burnout and feelings of isolation. Since then, RSM has introduced a third-party application. Employees can sign up for lessons and reminders about their mental health and they can access psychologists and social workers on call.
When looking ahead to the future, Blum says: “We will be different, we will challenge status quo, and always through the lens of how we create best-in-class experiences for our people, our clients and the community.”
Canada’s Best Workplaces™ are raising the bar when it comes to innovative, employee-driven strategies that help recruit, retain and reward their employees. Being acknowledged on the list of Best Workplaces™ is something that companies like Achievers – an award-winning employee recognition software company – never takes for granted.
“Being recognized on the list of Best Workplaces isn’t just an accolade but a testament to putting people at the heart of our organization,” says Achievers’ chief executive officer Jeff Cates. “For us, it’s not about the title but it’s the profound impact on creating an environment where employees can do the best work of their lives.”
Building a healthy company for customers starts with building a healthy company from within. Great Place To Work® offers a wealth of knowledge and resources to help companies strike the right balance. To learn more about how to become certified as a Great Place To Work®, visit greatplacetowork.ca.
Read more about the 2024 Best Workplaces™ in Canada here
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Great Place to Work. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.