Employees' Changing Priorities
Saskatchewan employers keep pace and improve
2025 Winners
Meet the 2025 winners of the Saskatchewan's Top Employers competition. Click on any employer name below to discover our editors' detailed Reasons for Selection.
For the University of Saskatchewan, taking part in the Saskatchewan’s Top Employers competition provides an opportunity to showcase the university as an excellent place to work.
Saskatchewan winners keep pace with changing employee priorities
Employers are improving their workplace policies and benefits in response to changing employee preferences
The Canada's Top 100 Employers project celebrates 25 years in 2025 while the Saskatchewan's Top Employers (2025) competition marks its 20-year milestone. While the purpose and the overall structure of the competition have remained steadfast over those years, "the questions we ask are more detailed today," says Richard Yerema, executive editor of Canada's Top 100 Employers.
The Saskatchewan's Top Employers (2025) competition is organized by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers. Winners for both competitions are judged on criteria including: (1) 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.
Certain trends, such as the evolution of maternity leave and paternity leave to universal top-ups for all types of parents, clearly emerged through the years. Time off is another noticeable area. "While three weeks starting vacation is the standard in Saskatchewan, we used to see two-weeks for roughly one-quarter of employers across the country," explains Yerema. "Today, the two-week group is down to six per cent and we've seen four-week and unlimited vacation policies being adopted by almost one-third of the winning employers nationally."
Kristina Leung, managing editor of Canada's Top 100 Employers, notes employers have adopted perks and policies to appeal to younger generations coming into the workforce. "They want to have more flexibility. They want to have the ability to work from home and they expect their employers to be a little bit more in touch with their values, so having community programs with opportunities to give back, and being a purpose-driven organization, are important for those generations."
That philosophy is evident at first-time Saskatchewan Top Employer Croptimistic Technology Inc. The Saskatoon-based tech firm is dedicated to optimizing crop management at home and abroad. All 75 employees work from home, including one in Australia and one in the United States.
"They want to do good in the world and that is something they feel they can do by working here," says Nadine Genest, Croptimistic's human resources manager. "It's a big attractor for many of our employees."
At the University of Saskatchewan, located in Saskatoon — a frequent winner of the Saskatchewan's Top Employers competition — human resources director Keiran Killick points to multiple opportunities for career development within the organization, including free tuition to obtain a university degree.
For Killick, participating in the annual Top Employers competition "gives us the chance to showcase the university, not only as a top university to teach, learn and conduct research, but also as an excellent place to work."
Genest sees recognition of Croptimistic as important for another reason. "Filling out the application helps you tell the story of what you're trying to do. This recognition validates that we're making good decisions and we're on the right path."
Whether you're the University of Saskatchewan, with 4,600 faculty and staff, or Croptimistic, with 75 employees, there are many reasons for participating in the annual competition. In the words of Leung, "One of the best things about the project is that it spotlights organizations that put their people first."
– Ray Penner
This feature appeared in the official magazine announcing Saskatchewan's Top Employers (2025) published online in the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix on February 4, 2025.
Legal Aid Saskatchewan helps its staff improve their professional skills with generous tuition subsidies for courses related to an employee’s current position, to $4,250 per year.
Saskatchewan top employers take a creative approach to recruiting
In the province's competitive labour market, candidates are seeking opportunities to achieve personal and professional goals
Faced with one of the tightest labour markets in Canada, forward-thinking companies made the Saskatchewan Top Employers (2025) winners list by understanding what motivates today's workers and by infusing flexibility, a sense of purpose and personal focus into their policies and programs.
To hire the people you need and want, it's no longer simply a case of "show me the money." Today's workers want their personal goals and values to align with their employer's mission, vision and corporate objectives, including programs to achieve work-life balance.
Offering tuition subsidies is one way to help employees meet their personal and professional goals, says Richard Yerema, executive editor of Canada's Top Employers. According to Yerema, 76 per cent of the companies on the Saskatchewan's Top Employers list subsidize coursework that is not related to an employee's current role. "Opportunities like this are particularly attractive to those younger workers in the Gen Z and Gen Alpha demographics who prize flexible work schedules, time off, connections to community and opportunities for learning," says Yerema.
At BHP Canada Inc., the push is on to hire people for the 2026 launch of operations at their Jansen potash mine. Lisa Wild, principal lead of talent acquisition and onboarding at BHP, says that candidates often ask questions related to hybrid and work-from-home arrangements, flexibility, sustainability, community involvement and career progression.
To address the need for people with specific mining skills, she points to a "new-to-industry" program called The Potash Academy, created by the company in partnership with Carlton Trail College. "We take completely inexperienced candidates with no prior mining experience and we give them all the essentials to be successful with BHP," notes Wild. "We focus on local and diverse candidates, and it has really shifted the dial in terms of our diversity statistics." For its most recent session, which produced 14 successful placements, BHP had more than 1,900 applicants.
Kirk Zawislak, executive director of human resources at Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation, faces another challenge familiar to many well-established companies. "At SCIC, we've been fortunate to have a lot of long-service employees with a lot of knowledge and experience. Now that we see those employees transition into retirement, we need to have a stronger focus on recruitment and training to build up knowledge and experience."
A key to successful recruiting at SCIC is a focus on transparency in its job postings and the corporation's requirements, compensation and benefits. "Candidates are looking for that transparency," says Zawislak. "They want to understand the workplace and the culture we have. When we're interviewing them, they are just as much interviewing us. We're very aware of that."
David Gwilliam, director of human resources at the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board, says, "It's a lot harder now than it was 10 years ago when it comes to finding qualified candidates, so we have to be creative in our recruiting. For every generation, what's important to them is a bit different."
He points to time off as "a very big and popular perk," so in its recruitment advertising, WCB emphasizes its policy of giving in-scope employees every second Friday off. Once candidates are hired, the emphasis shifts to the organization's purpose and history. The onboarding is conducted by WCB executives, which often impresses young recruits and helps to instil a sense of pride and belonging. "Our organization's purpose is about working together to get injured workers back to work and preventing injuries in the first place," says Gwilliam. "You can work here and make a difference."
That same feeling of purpose is readily evident at Saskatchewan Blue Cross. "Employees feel they fit with us," says CEO Kelly Wilson. She meets with all new employees "to get to know them and have them get to know the organization."
Wilson asks the new hires why they chose to work for Blue Cross. "They often cite our purpose and the sense of giving back to the community. It's part of our DNA," she says.
Blue Cross addresses its workforce recruitment challenges by aligning its hiring strategies with its culture, mission, vision and values. "We have a strong corporate culture centred on employee well-being, and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion," says Wilson.
This year's Saskatchewan's Top Employers understand the days of "one size fits all" are over. So, too, are glossy corporate statements that go no further than ink on a page. They know that to attract and retain the people they want, they need to ensure that employees feel appreciated as individuals, know they belong and want to belong.
– Ray Penner
This feature appeared in the official magazine announcing Saskatchewan's Top Employers (2025) published online in the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix on February 4, 2025.
Methodology
Any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Saskatchewan may apply for Saskatchewan’s Top Employers. With significant economic growth in 2024 and the creation of 14,000 new jobs, employers have a strong motivation to ensure their benefits remain competitive to attract the province’s top talent.
To determine competition winners, employers are compared to organizations in similar industries and of similar size. Employers are evaluated on eight selection criteria, which are: (1) 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.
While the underlying criteria have remained consistent since the project’s inception, areas of review have expanded and evolved with the advent of new programs and policies. Examples include workplace safety, hybrid and remote work options, and health and wellness.
Now in its 20th edition, Saskatchewan’s Top Employers represent the most progressive and forward-thinking organizations in the province.
– Sonja Verpoort
This feature appeared in the official magazine announcing Saskatchewan's Top Employers (2025) published online in the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix on February 4, 2025.
Regina-based Information Services Corporation / ISC employees rolled up their sleeves this spring to help make cookies that were sold to help local food banks.
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If you are an exceptional employer with progressive HR programs and policies, consider applying for next year's edition of Saskatchewan's Top Employers. Now entering its 26th year, our project is the nation's longest-running editorial competition. Applications for 2026 open in February. Join our mailing list for more info.
