Consulting engineering firm in Top 50 employer list

Golder Associates, consulting engineers of Vancouver, placed 20th in the Report on Business magazine’s Top 50 Employers in Canada. It was the only consulting engineering firm to place in the top 50, although construction company Ellis-Don of London, Ontario, placed 29.
The ranking is based on factors such as employee morale, their perceptions of the CEO, their relationships with co-workers and opportunities for advancement. Each participating company (there were 161) distributed a detailed questionnaire to 250 randomly selected employees, and completed a comprehensive human resources practices survey. The CEO also completed a questionnaire about his or her philosophy about the value of people, which counted for 5% of the evaluation mark.
The top employer in the survey was Australian company Flight Centre, where staff appreciated constant encouragement, monthly parties called “buzz nights,” and having their managers take out their own trash.
Second-ranking company, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly Canada, gained points with time-pressed employees by providing take-home meals for $3.50 each.
Some of the more mainstream employee benefits that set the 50 apart in the employee popularity stakes were fitness facilities, formal diversity programs to encourage women and minorities, and stress reduction programs. Employee ownership was also found to be important; in the 50 best firms, an average of 24% of the employees owned stock in their company, versus 3% in the rest. Golder was cited as a company that is 100% employee-owned.