Rooted in history, looking to the future: This year's 'Waterloo Area's Top Employers' are announced

WATERLOO, ON, Nov. 24, 2017 /CNW/ - With its rich history of reinvention and innovation, the Waterloo area has long punched above its weight when it comes to exceptional employers.  This year's list of Waterloo Area's Top Employers, released today, showcases the organizations that lead their industries in creating forward-thinking workplaces and progressive HR policies.

"Today, the Waterloo area is an integral part of Canada's technology corridor," says Richard Yerema, Managing Editor of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which manages the Waterloo competition. "But in the early days, many of these winners started in incubators affiliated with local universities. The region has a history of reinvention and innovation, and has nurtured the development of the high-tech industry, just as it has done for other industries before."

This year's list of winners includes familiar names such as Economical Insurance, OpenText and University Waterloo -- as well as first-time winner Sleeman Breweries, singled out for its generous employee tuition subsidies and student co-op programs.  Also making the list is Toyota Motor Manufacturing, a long-time advocate of allowing employees to enjoy more time-off early in their careers, offering up to 19 days of paid vacation after an employee's first year on the job.

Now in its 11^th year, Waterloo Area's Top Employers is a special designation that recognizes employers in Kitchener-Waterloo and the Guelph area that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.  Employers were evaluated by the editors at Canada's Top 100 Employers using the same criteria as the national competition: (1) Physical 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 offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. The annual competition is open to any employer with its head office in the Kitchener-Waterloo or Guelph area; employers of any size may apply, whether private or public sector.

Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 18 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach over 13 million Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, the largest Canadian job search engine, which includes editorial reviews from the Canada's Top 100 Employers project and is used by almost 7 million users each year. Together with Willis Towers Watson, Mediacorp also hosts the Top Employer Summit, Canada's largest conference for senior-level HR professionals.

The full list of Waterloo Area's Top Employers for 2018 is attached. Detailed reasons for selection with hundreds of additional stories and photos were released on the competition homepage this morning.  The winners are also featured in a special online feature published by the Guelph Mercury Tribune today and in a special print and online feature that will be published by the Waterloo Region Record tomorrow.

Waterloo Area's Top Employers
2018 Winners

Allianz Global Assistance, Kitchener
Centre for International Governance Innovation, The, Waterloo
Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc., Kitchener
D2L Corporation, Kitchener
Economical Insurance, Waterloo
Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada, The, Waterloo
eSentire Inc., Cambridge
Farm Mutual Re, Cambridge
Gore Mutual Insurance Company, Cambridge
Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. / IMS, Waterloo
Novocol Pharmaceutical of Canada, Inc., Cambridge
OCAS Application Services Inc., Guelph
Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan, Waterloo
OpenText Corporation, Waterloo
Reid's Heritage Group of Companies, Cambridge
Sleeman Breweries Limited, Guelph
TextNow Inc., Waterloo
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. / TMMC, Cambridge
University of Waterloo, Waterloo
Waterloo North Hydro Inc., Waterloo

SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.

Kristina Leung, Senior Editor, at 416-964-6069 x1464