About the Competition
Waterloo-based eSentire helps employees stay healthy with an online platform, fitness challenges, virtual yoga classes and occasional visits from a therapy dog. (Photo: G.Ramos)
Background
Now in its 17th year, Waterloo Area's Top Employers is an
annual
competition
organized by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers.
Cambridge-based ATS Corp. provides ongoing professional development, tuition subsidies for outside courses, and loans to buy new computers and tools.
At Waterloo-based eSentire helps employees stay healthy with an online platform, fitness challenges, virtual yoga classes and occasional visits from a therapy dog. (Photo: G.Ramos)
Cambridge-based ATS Corp. provides ongoing professional development, tuition subsidies for outside courses, and loans to buy new computers and tools.
Selection Process
Employers are evaluated by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers using the same eight criteria as the national competition: (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. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.
ATS Corporation ensures that employees have access to the tools and resources they need to succeed, offering ongoing professional development opportunities, tuition subsidies for courses taken at outside institutions, and loans for the purchase of new computers and tools
Sleeman Breweries offers employee financial incentives, including year-end bonuses, referral bonuses, and free company products ('Beer Privilege').
Media Partners
Our media partners on the Waterloo Area's Top Employers project are the Waterloo Region Record and Guelph Mercury-Tribune. Each year, the winners of the competition are announced in a special magazine co-published with both newspapers. For our detailed Reasons for Selection, please review the full list of winners. Publishing detailed Reasons for Selection is a distinguishing feature of our competition: it provides transparency in the selection of winners and "raises the bar" so that other employers can discover and adopt initiatives that work well elsewhere.
Sleeman Breweries offers employee financial incentives, including year-end bonuses, referral bonuses, and free company products ('Beer Privilege').
Eligibility Requirements
Any employer with its head office or principal place of business in the Kitchener-Waterloo or Guelph area may apply for this competition. For ease of reference, we define this to include the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph. Employers of any size may apply, whether private or public sector.
2025 Competition
Employer applications for our 2025 competition will be available early in 2024. Our 2025 winners will be announced in the Waterloo Region Record in the fall of 2024. Join our mailing list to stay up to date and receive an application for next year's competition.
2024 Winners
- AET Group Inc.
- Arctic Wolf Networks Canada Inc.
- ATS Corporation
- Auvik Networks Inc.
- BlackBerry Limited
- D2L Corporation
- Denso Manufacturing Canada Inc.
- Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada, The
- eSentire Inc.
- Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan Inc. / Farm Mutual Re
- GHD Canada Holdings Inc.
- Gore Mutual Insurance Company
- Grand River Hospital Corp.
- Guelph, Corporation of the City of
- Homewood Health
- NAVBLUE Inc.
- Northern Digital Inc. / NDI
- OCAS Application Services, Inc.
- onsemi
- OpenText Corporation
- Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. / RWDI
- Skyline Group of Companies
- Sleeman Breweries Ltd.
- SLR Consulting Canada Ltd.
- Syngenta Canada Inc.
- System1 Canada ULC
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. / TMMC
- Ulma Construction Systems Canada Inc.
- WalterFedy Inc.
- Wilfrid Laurier University
Grand River Hospital provides employees with a valuable defined benefit pension plan, plus retirement planning and phased-in retirement options.