TORONTO — The National Quality Institute (NQI), Canada's authority on organizational excellence, and Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, are pleased to announce they have entered into a strategic alliance to add value for their respective clients. Enhanced by Hewitt's data, research findings, and tools, NQI will offer management consulting and training initiatives in excellence frameworks, employee engagement strategies, and Healthy Workplace®.

Members and clients of NQI participating in the Best Employers in Canada study will have access to Hewitt surveys, benchmarking data, and a wealth of resources that complement NQI's criteria set in one of the most important areas for organizational excellence: People.

"High employee engagement is a critical measure of success when striving for a Healthy Workplace® culture", said Allan Ebedes, President and CEO of NQI. "Hewitt's Best Employers in Canada study has been surveying vast numbers of employees for the past 10 years, and the aggregate data and collective experience in this area are invaluable tools for pinpointing what an employer should do next."

Many of the 50 organizations recognized each year in Hewitt's Best Employers in Canada study are already well-advanced along the journey to a Healthy Workplace®. "This strategic alliance with NQI will enable them to focus their forward-thinking leadership on meeting the criteria in the other areas of organizational excellence", said Neil Crawford, principal and leader of the Best Employers in Canada study at Hewitt. "At the same time, they will enjoy access to NQI's resources, expertise, and results-driven methodology."

Clients of Hewitt will have the opportunity to benefit from the proven step-by-step approach behind NQI's Progressive Excellence Program for Organizational Quality and Healthy Workplace®, culminating in national role-model recognition under the Canada Awards for Excellence program.

About NQI
The National Quality Institute is a not-for-profit, independent organization whose mission is to "Help Canada Live and Work Better". NQI works with private, public and not-for-profit sectors to help organizations manage self-assessment activities, review business processes, and develop improvement programs that enhance organizational excellence using the NQI frameworks and criteria for Quality and Healthy Workplace®. Today, more than ever, Canadian organizations and businesses increasingly recognize that a healthy workplace is essential to attracting and retaining employees. NQI also manages the prestigious Canada Awards for Excellence program under the Vice-Regal patronage of the Governor General of Canada. For more information, please visit www.nqi.ca

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 works with companies to design, implement, communicate, and administer a wide range of human resources, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation, and talent management strategies. With a history of exceptional client service since 1940, Hewitt has offices in more than 30 countries, including Canadian offices in Calgary, Montreal, Regina, Toronto and Vancouver, 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.

Additional Contact:
Russ Gahan
National Quality Institute
1-800-263-9648, ext. 249
russ@nqi.ca