TORONTO — The annual Best Employers in Canada study is underway for the eleventh time. To date, the number of organizations that have registered to participate in the study is almost twice that registered at this time last year, according to Hewitt Associates, the global human resources outsourcing and consulting company that conducts the Best Employers in Canada study each year.

"The current economic environment has sparked increased interest in the study and the role of employee engagement in successfully addressing challenging times," said Neil Crawford, leader of the Best Employers in Canada study. "The study measures employee engagement. Hewitt's research over the last decade has demonstrated that organizations with high engagement have lower turnover, higher productivity, less absenteeism and greater sustainability in the face of business challenges. Participation enables organizations to measure the engagement level of their workforce and learn where best to target efforts to increase it." Employee engagement is measured through the administration of an employee survey — a key component of participation in the study.

In addition to individualized reporting and the opportunity to benchmark their results against those of the year's 50 Best Employers, participants gain access to the findings from the annual special research topic. This year, the study will focus on the connection between employee engagement and corporate social and environmental performance.  Hewitt has partnered with Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) to measure the impact that corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity has on employee attraction and retention, productivity and other engagement indicators.

"We believe that the Best Employers in Canada study will demonstrate that employers who are perceived by their employees to be socially and environmentally responsible will tend to have higher levels of employee engagement," said Barb Steele, Director of Membership, CBSR. "What will be particularly essential, however, is for companies to have the data to better understand the nature of the linkages between engagement and corporate social responsibility."

All eligible participants will have the opportunity to be publicly recognized as one of Canada's best employers. The year's 50 Best Employers will be recognized in both the Globe and Mail's Report on Business magazine and the French-language newspaper, La Presse.

Any organization that has operated in Canada for at least three years and has 400 or more employees is invited to participate in the study. Employers with 50 to 399 employees may take part in the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada study, conducted by the Queen's University School of Business and the Queen's Centre for Business Venturing in conjunction with Hewitt.

Interested organizations have until May 31 to register online to participate.  All surveying must be completed by the end of June.

"We expect to see a record number of participants this year," said Crawford. "Organizations from Atlantic Canada, the public sector, and the manufacturing industry have seldom appeared on the Best Employer list, so we're sending out a special call-to-action to these employers."

For additional information about the Best Employers in Canada study and to register online, please visit the Best Employers Web site at www.hewitt.com/bestemployerscanada.

About Hewitt Associates

Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) provides leading organizations around the world with expert human resources consulting and outsourcing solutions to help them anticipate and solve their most complex benefits, talent, and related financial challenges. Hewitt consults with companies to design and implement a wide range of human resources, retirement, investment management, health management, compensation, and talent management strategies. As a leading outsourcing provider, Hewitt administers health care, retirement, payroll, and other HR programs to millions of employees, their families, and retirees. With a history of exceptional client service since 1940, Hewitt has offices in 33 countries, including Canadian offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Regina, and employs approximately 23,000 associates who are helping make the world a better place to work. For more information, please visit www.hewitt.com/canada.

About CBSR

Founded in 1995, CBSR is a business-led, non-profit CSR consultancy and peer-to-peer learning organization that provides its members with candid counsel and customized advisory services as they formulate powerful business decisions that improve performance and contribute to a better world. For more information please visit www.cbsr.ca.

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