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Celebrating the cream of the crop

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This article was published 13/03/2022 (920 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been another interesting year for the local employment scene as the pandemic continues to create a ripple effect of impacts.

For Manitoba top employers, they’ve continued to adapt and excel, while also responding to their employees’ changing needs.

Manitoba’s Top Employers, now in its 16^th year, highlights the best in our province through an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, which is now in its 22^nd year. This sought-after designation acknowledges Manitoba employers that offer exceptional places to work.

Managing editor Richard Yerema draws attention to the ways organizations have been handling the ever-changing situation.

“It’s been a unique year on top of another unique year leading into another unique year in the world of employment,” Yerema says.

“How an organization can respond is very much dependent upon the type of work that they do. If it’s an office-based type of work, there’s been the quick shift to work-from-home arrangements. For other organizations where you have a variety of types and styles of work, such as manufacturing companies and post-secondary institutions, that’s not easily done.”

Nonetheless, Manitoba’s top employers have forged ahead — and perhaps sparked ideas that other companies can strive to achieve.

Each year, a panel selects Manitoba’s top employers by evaluating their performance based on eight criteria. Across the province, other organizations can review the qualities of these top companies to see how they compare.

“This competition helps organizations benchmark themselves and find ways to improve. It also speaks well of the organizations that want to throw their hat in the ring because they need to have good policies and address all aspects of employment,” Yerema says.

“The end result is they also get to showcase themselves as decent places to work. Having the rationale clearly laid out is very important for transparency — not just for readers who are looking for work but also for employers knowing that they might have a fair chance.”

To become more competitive in attracting top talent, companies can adopt some of the forward-thinking programs and policies of Manitoba’s top employers.

“The evolution of benefit programs has been very much the hallmark of this program. If you look at the early editions of this competition, you’ll see how much things have changed over the past 16 years,” Yerema says.

“What you see is that organizations will mimic and copy in an effort to do better and to get people to apply.”

At the same time, job seekers can gain information about the best places to seek work. For example, they can get a sense of which companies offer top-notch benefits such as vacation time or maternity supports.

“In a world competing for talent, this competition has provided a way in which organizations can showcase what they offer people. Today, a job seeker has really no excuse not to be informed before they decide whether or not to apply at an organization,” Yerema says.

“Competitions like this help them sift through and understand the expectations of some of the very best employers.”