By McGill Reporter staff
An active sustainability program, strong support of diversity, beautiful physical surroundings, and excellent pension benefits have helped earn McGill a spot among Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2008, a list unveiled in the October 13 issue of Maclean’s.
This is the eighth annual study into workplace benefits established by the magazine with Toronto publisher Mediacorp. As part of the ranking, grades were assigned in seven key areas, including work atmosphere, family benefits, vacation, and performance management.
“We are delighted to be recognized for the efforts we continue to make to improve our workplace,” said Associate Vice-Principal (Human Resources) Lynne Gervais. “McGill is already known worldwide for its groundbreaking research and scholarship programs. It is very gratifying to be known as well for our leadership as an employer, for all the things we do to try to make McGill a stimulating, interesting, rewarding place to work.”
The study awarded McGill an A+ in its “physical workplace” category, no doubt due in large part to its park-like downtown campus, where most of its employees work. Reduced summer hours – otherwise known as Summer Fridays, subsidized on-site daycare, and a phased-in retirement program also contributed to the University’s overall ranking.
In the Public Sector and Non-Profit category, McGill is joined by such organizations as the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint and the City of Vancouver.
The recognition is based both on an application submitted by the employer and by research conducted by Mediacorp. This year, Mediacorp editors reviewed the recruitment histories of more than 75,000 employers across Canada and invited about 16,000 of these to apply. There are two main qualifications to be considered for the top 100 employers competition: an organization must be a leader in its field in attracting and retaining “quality employees,” and it must offer good job prospects.