“It goes a long way to reflect some of the work that we’ve been doing in terms of trying to make this a great place to work,” said Jamie Callahan, vice president of human resources for the PAPHR.
A list of Saskatchewan’s top employers is evaluated and released annually by the editors at Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This year, 20 Saskatchewan employers, including the PAPHR, cracked the list.
“There are a lot of employers -- and not just in health care right now -- that are really struggling with not only recruiting good people, but also retaining them,” Callahan added. “It’s really important to us to have a workplace that supports good workplace practices and, basically, provides for employees to be healthy.”
Employers are selected based on a set of criteria, including physical workplace, work atmosphere and social, health, financial and family benefits, vacation and time off, employee communications, performance management, training and skills development and community involvement.
“We are very pleased to once again receive this recognition,” CEO Cecile Hunt said in a release. “Our purpose is to help people in need every day. That would not be possible if it weren’t for the hard work and dedication of more than 2,500 employees.”
According to the release, staff members’ well-being is one of the PAPHR’s top priorities.
It is noted on www.canadastop100.com/sk that the PAPHR was recognized for investing in ongoing development, encouraging employees to save for the future, providing maternity and parental leave top-up payments, supporting new parents with extended health benefits coverage and participating in Medicine’s “Pink Glove Dance Contest.”
Among the other employers recognized was the Ranch Ehrlo Society, which has a branch in Prince Albert. According to Kevin Mugford, director of residential services for the Prince Albert branch, Ranch Ehrlo employs about 60 people in Prince Albert and more than 700 in the province.
“Ranch Ehrlo’s greatest contribution in Prince Albert -- and in the province -- is to youth,” he said. “We feel that acknowledging our employees leads to the positive treatment and therapy for the youth that we are attempting to support.”
Employees at Ranch Ehrlo start at three weeks of paid vacation and receive additional personal paid days off and are helped to save for retirement with contributions to a defined contribution plan.
As well, employees who are new mothers are afforded maternity and parental leave top-up payments, while new parents are offered extended health benefits coverage. It is noted that Ranch Ehrlo also supports a number of local, national and international charitable initiatives.
For the full list of Saskatchewan’s Top Employers, visit:
www.canadastop100.com/sk
alex.dipietro@paherald.sk.ca
