Biblioteca Inc – Technical Library Consulting

Services or benefits range from:

Personal/life balance coaching

Biblioteca Technical Library Consulting meets these criteria by providing continual access to personal/life balance coaching through ongoing communication to determine need within the team. Biblioteca’s philosophy to “quality of life, fairness of employment and family first” creates a true corporate culture of kinship. Therefore, we are generally able to know what and when we need to actively or passively support our team members to meet their personal/life balance. The very nature and structure of our business allows everyone to work in a low-stress, autonomous, flexible, supportive environment – this alone we believe contributes to a balance of life and we have proven result in the loyalty and dedication of our staff, contractor recruitment through staff reference, an outstanding record of satisfied clients, and sustained growth within our industry. We organize social events for our teams and there is no limit to holiday or off time. Further, we provide peer support and access throughout Canada and without the constraints of a 9 to 5 work day or 5 day week. The Human Resources manager provided information on courses and activities of interest to the team.

Information and access to daycare facilities in your area

Our Human Resources Manager will provide in-depth research and a database of available daycare facilities and coordinate assistance within our team for intermittent and emergency child care solutions, if required.

Access to emergency childcare

While we do not have an established childcare on hand in any city to facilitate emergency child care, Biblioteca staff rarely need emergency childcare because if any urgent situation arises, a Coordinator simply rearranges her schedule and attends to her family first. A call to another Coordinator is made (if something cannot be rescheduled by her) and the substitute coordinator attends to the Client for that day or week or month. We are also very supportive; and with notice another Contractor is always happy to help with childcare – this is part of our commitment to the “Biblioteca Family Philosophy”.

Gradual re-entry after maternity leave

Everyone working with Biblioteca makes a choice regarding when they work, how many hours, which hours they will work and works part of their contract out of a home office. Therefore returning from Maternity leave and gradual re-entry into the stream is comfortable, supported and self-directed. If someone, finds that they need more time at home with the kids, then they are encouraged to do so and we try to support this effort by finding more projects or tasks which can be done at home until they choose to return.

Flex-time

Biblioteca fully supports all staff having flex-time, everyone is able to use flex time at their discretion – there are no restrictions.

Part-time or contract positions

This is the only type of employment Biblioteca offers – Part time and/or Contract work; hence this is very attractive to moms and parents as a whole.

Job cooperatives / job sharing

Biblioteca meets this criterion because our Contractors are all interdependent – through constant communication; we are notified of anyone needing time off or assistance with their clientele. If someone needs vacation time, sick time, to work reduced hours or just to take a break for whatever reason, another person fills in until that Contractor is able to return to their regular schedule or job-sharing is organized indefinitely. Further, if anyone requires help to meet contractual obligations, then another team member is provided to assist them until that help is not longer required. We also support each other by being available for telephone calls or e-mails outside of regular business hours. Because our work schedules are non-traditional (generally) and we maintain home offices, someone is always available to provide support or assistance even at 10pm.

Self-directed work schedules

This is probably the most significant and definitely one of the most alluring aspects of this company – every person working with Biblioteca Technical Library Consulting is able to create an individualized work schedule, this is totally flexible and allows for most of us moms to work around family schedules and commitments without the added stress of having someone else to authorize that schedule. Contractors are required to maintain the Client contract and meet those obligations but can do so within their own schedule. For instance, one contractor may choose to work only mornings or from 10am to 2pm daily or three times a week or what ever fits her life.

Ability to work from home

A portion of our work is completed from home every month and each Contractor maintains a home office, this work is also done according to their individualized schedule.

Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto – Progressive Employers List of Canada

We are pleased to be able to feature the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto on the Progressive Employers of Canada List.

For many years, the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CCAS) has been working towards promoting and sustaining a workplace culture and practices that support wellness and work life balance of all individuals working within the Society. We recognized that this would positively impact on all staff. Our priority is people. We accept that “strengthening family life” includes strengthening our own families and communities. We strive to support work and life harmony for all staff, foster caregivers and volunteers.

To support these objectives, CCAS has instituted numerous programs, initiatives and benefits to assist employees, including:

PREGNANCY/PARENTAL LEAVE – TOP UP AND LEAVE EXTENSIONS:
(a) Pregnancy/Parental/Adoption Leave Top-up (to 70% of salary) for males or females receiving Employment Insurance Benefits for up to 29 weeks (increasing to 30 weeks in 2010).
(b) Supplementary unpaid leave of 52 weeks is available upon request. In addition, a further 52 weeks of leave for Parental/adoption purposes can be applied for, providing the opportunity for employees to take up to 3 years of parental/adoption leave from the agency.
(c) In addition, pregnant employees are entitled to attend pregnancy appointments monthly

TIME OFF AND FLEXIBLE HOURS
Staff are provided with ample respite time to allow time for rest, relaxation, reflection & personal time. This time off includes:
(a) Vacation
Vacation increases by 1 day per year after 10 years to a max of 6 weeks as follows: 1-10 years 20 days
• 11 years 21 days 16 years 26 days
• 12 years 22 days 17 years 27 days
• 13 years 23 days 18 years 28 days
• 14 years 24 days 19 years 29 days
• 15 years 25 days 20 years 30 days

(b) Statutory and Other Paid Holidays
Employees receive twelve statutory holidays per year, including Easter Monday, Remembrance Day and Family Day.

(c) Additional Annual Days Off:
Employees receive annually a personal absence day and a Christmas floater day.

(d) Family Leave
Family Leave was introduced in 1988 and is precedent-setting for child welfare. These leaves are increasingly being used for employees who are dealing with eldercare issues. Employees receive up to 8 days leave per calendar year for the purpose of attending to “matters” associated with a close family member after the completion of the probationary period. Family in this context means spouse, parent, or significant others.
The leave can be used for:
• Unpredictable family health emergencies where alternative arrangements cannot reasonably be made – elder care or child care.
• Unpredictable “family care arrangement” emergencies where alternative arrangements cannot reasonably be made – elder care or child care.
• Scheduled appointments for family health matters where the appointment could not be reasonably made outside of normal hours of work.
• The birth, adoption of a child or after a child comes into the custody or care of a parent/grandparent
• Leave of Absence – After 5 years’ employment and thereafter, every 5 years, upon request, employees are granted up to one year’s leave of absence without pay.

(e) Flex-Time and Flexible Hours
Voluntary 2-Week Flex Plan: Employees may work extended daily hours, taking into consideration service requirements, for the purpose of earning and banking sufficient credits to allow 1 paid day off in every 10 working days. In 2007, 197 staff signed on for the 2-Week Flex Plan.
In addition to the above-noted Flex Plan, the agency endeavours where the job permits, to offer employees flexibility regarding their daily hours, allowing employees to start slightly earlier or later than the standard 9-5 routine. This is particularly beneficial to parents who may need to drop off or pick up their children at specified times.

(f) Job Shares
Job Shares may be initiated at the request of 2 employees who wish to work the equivalent of one full-time job, each working less than full-time hours. Both employees are accountable for the overall achievement of the required position’s objectives. This program has been particular helpful to new mothers.

(g) Part-Time Employment

Part-time employment – currently, there are 61 part-time staff, the majority of whom are women.
(h) Compassionate Care Leave & Top-Up
Compassionate Care Leave & Top-Up to attend to gravely ill or dying child, spouse or parent; 70% of salary for up to 8 weeks.
(i) Sick Leave
Sick Leave provides salary replacement for up to: 100 days for employees who have completed a minimum of 3 months continuous service
(j) Other Leaves/Time Off
• Long Term Disability Insurance provides coverage at 66 2/3% pay after 150 calendar days (equal to 100 working days) of continuous illness.
• Bereavement Leave – up to 5 paid days to grieve the death of a family member (husband, wife, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, child or parent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren including significant others). Additional unpaid leave if needed.
• Employee funded leave – may elect to self-fund a one-year leave of absence under this leave provision. Employees who are retiring can use this plan to phase themselves into retirement.
• Medical appointments for employee – 3.5 hours paid per month
• Voluntary leave days – 15 days per year upon request; payroll deductions spread throughout the year. Some staff use these days for pre-retirement planning.
• Long Service Recognition — For long service staff, a Recognition of Long Service Leave is provided (in addition to normal vacation entitlement) in the calendar year in which they have completed: 20 years of service – 1 week; 25 years of service – 2 weeks; 30 years of service – 3 weeks; 35 years of service – 4 weeks; 40 years of service – 5 weeks.

BENEFIT PLAN
Health Benefits
Effective April 1, 2009, the Society pays for 100% of the Group Life, ADD, Health and Dental Premiums
• Medical travel insurance – Discount rates for staff over 10 years of service through membership in the OPS Quarter Century Club
• In 2004 the Society introduced Cataclysmic drug coverage. We purposely enhanced the drug plan to coverage for diseases, which often are more associated with individuals who are over 50 years. These drugs are often referred to as cataclysmic drugs.
After $5000 in eligible expenses is incurred, reimbursement increases to 100%.
• Hearing Aids – $700 every 2 years (includes batteries).
• Vision Care/Laser Surgery – $500 – every two years for adults or every twelve (12) months where there has been a change in prescription and every year for each child.
• Basic dental at 100% co-insurance and crowns and/or orthodontic at 60% to an annual maximum up to $2,300.
Our health plan also provides for alternative treatment and covers other Para medical practitioners which employees, their spouses and dependants can use including Homeopathy, Physiotherapy, Massage therapy, Chiropractor, Osteopathy, Podiatrist, Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Speech therapy, Nutrition planning & Home care. Employees are eligible for up to $800 annually. There is no annual limit on the number of different paramedical services an employee can access in any given year.
• Life Insurance – 2.5x salary
• Supplementary Life Insurance
• Accidental Insurance

OTHER BENEFITS:
(a) Fitness Club Membership
• GoodLife Fitness or Extreme Fitness Group rate covers employee, spouse & children Corporate discount – 30-40%. Paid through bi-weekly payroll deductions
(b) OMERS Pension
• OMERS Pension – The Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System (OMERS) provides pension upon retirement as well as disability and survivor benefits.
(c) Group RRSP
• The Society sponsored Group RRSP provides employees with the opportunity to supplement their retirement income and save taxes at the same time. Contributions are fully portable.

INFORMATION AND ACCESS TO DAYCARE FACILITIES

Information and access to daycare facilities is readily available at CCAS, however, due to the agency having staff working from several branches in different locations, an onsite daycare has not been a viable option.

ANNUAL RECOGNITION EVENT
Staff and retirees are honoured at an Annual Recognition Event. It is recognized that the effectiveness of service provided to children and families served by the staff of the Society is the direct result of the dedication and varied skills of staff members at all levels. It is the policy of the Society to formally acknowledge those members of staff whose personal contribution extends over many years. The Society hosts an annual recognition dinner with awards for service at 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years, 35 years, 40 years and new retirees. Retirees are invited to return to the agency and celebrate with staff.

LUNCH & LEARN SERIES
The lunch & learn series is part of CCAS’s wellness promotion strategy. Employees are invited to attend and have their lunch in a relaxed atmosphere during a series of health and wellness presentations. The topics are designed to reflect the types of wellness concerns employees might experience at different times of the year.

CELEBRATIONS AND SOCIAL EVENTS:
The Society also supports a number of celebrations & social events some of which include Staff Children’s Christmas Party, Christmas Potluck Lunch, Annual Long Service Recognition Dinner, Christmas door decorating competition between departments, Annual Admin Staff Day Away, Annual Supervisors Day Away, Branch Christmas Baskets to Staff From Senior Executive, Wellness Fair 2004, Administrative Professionals Day, Promotion of Health & Safety Week, Participation in 20 Minute Toronto Makeover, Weekly Advent and Lent Reflection in the Lobby, Scholarship Event for Youth in Care, Foster Caregivers Recognition Event, Volunteer Recognition Event, Multi-cultural potluck lunch, Branch-based staff picnics, Branch-based baseball and volleyball teams and fitness classes at some locations.

TRAINING AND EDUCATION
CCAS subsidizes 100% of tuition for courses directly related to work. Employees submit requests for work related training and workshops and if appropriate, approval is given and fees are paid. In addition, employees get the required time off work for other approved courses – up to 3.5 hours per week.

IBM Canada Ltd. – Progressive Employers of Canada List

Introduction:
IBM has a long history of commitment to diversity. It began in the mid-20th century, grounded in Equal Opportunity legislation and compliance. Moving forward with a focus on eliminating barriers and understanding specifics, IBM continues to keep our women’s constituency in the spotlight. As they face challenging life choices and decisions throughout their careers, motherhood is a topic that raises questions and discussion for women who have children as well as those considering parenthood. IBM has adapted our workplace to allow for flexibility and the focus on work/life integration enables our working moms to fulfill their commitments to family while excelling in achieving their professional goals.

Career Development:
Through a series of global web seminars, teleconferences, newsletters and town hall events women have benefited from technical and business skills development, career counseling, mentoring and resources to manage work/life integration. Examples include “Taking the StageTM”, a successful program to help IBM women gain a leadership presence, and Mindset workshops, which explore perceptions and create awareness of the differing experiences of men and women in IBM. These services ensure that women’s careers continue to grow along with their families.
In order to facilitate networking, mentoring, and skill development between female professionals, IBM has created more than 40 Women’s Councils globally with each catering to specific objectives. One such council, the Canadian Women Leadership Council’s (CWLC) vision was to achieve proportional representation across all levels by enhancing the technical, professional and personal development of women in IBM Canada. In addition, the Women’s IBM Networking Group (WING) is one of the 9 Diversity Network Groups within IBM Canada and the only one specifically catering to women’s needs. Its goal is to enhance the development and advancement of IBM women through regular networking, mentoring and learning opportunities, skills transfer and sharing of knowledge. WING’s main purpose is to provide a sense of community for all women, as well as a set of enablement tools to collaborate, network and grow skills to further enable our success.
IBM Canada Ltd.

Life balance and coaching:
IBM offers a variety of resources that help employees balance their personal life and work. By providing ample opportunities through networking groups, mentoring programs and initiatives that are designed to bring together mothers within IBM, their specific needs can be properly addressed through the force of their unified concerns. The use of internal social networking tools (Beehive), blogs, forums as well as Women’s Councils allow women from across the company to come together and share their experiences and work towards solutions.
Other initiatives are intended to help support employees who have child and/or elder care responsibilities by offering unique quality enhancement opportunities for both, employees and their dependents.

The Global Work/Life Fund (GWLF) is a multi-year, $50 million fund designed to address strategic work/life challenges for IBM employees worldwide, focusing on dependent care.

IBM created the Global Work/Life Fund to develop and support dependent care programs benefiting working families. The first of its kind to address this issue worldwide, the IBM Global Work/Life Fund:
• Serves communities where IBMers live and work
• Supports research in dependent care topics such as family-friendly policies
• Invests in national initiatives to improve the quality of dependent care
• Invests in more than 150 child care centers throughout the world where IBMers receive priority

In Canada, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offered through Shepell-FGI, provides confidential help via phone and e-mail 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Dependent Care Consultants provide one-on-one consultation that offers relevant information, resource referrals and educational materials. The Consultants assess, identify and locate care-giving services to suit individual needs. They research provider locations, current availability, fees, and provide options on topics such as
• Parenting classes
• Daycare centers and after-school programs
• Schools, educational services and special needs programs
• Adoption and multiple birth services
• Emergency home care services
• Caregiver support groups
• Rehabilitation and home support programs
• Outreach and transportation services

Flex-Time , Job sharing & Part time positions:One of the key reasons people choose to work for IBM is its commitment to workplace flexibility. More than 40 percent of IBM’s global workforce works in non-traditional work environments such as a home office or a client site. In Canada, flexible work options were introduced in 1993. They remove the rigidity between employees work and home lives and allow for better balancing of two worlds without priority being denied to one or the other. This flexibility is designed to help allow moms within IBM to manage their commitments to their families as well as their careers. IBM’s Flexible Work arrangements avoid strict and continuous schedules, allow employees to work outside IBM locations, and enable them to meet responsibilities in all areas of life. Programs that facilitate this balance are:
• Individual Work Schedule
• Workplace Flexibility (Mobility)
• Flexweek
• Home Connectivity
• Leave Programs
o Pregnancy
o Parental
o Personal
o Educational
o Military Peace Time Training
o Opportunity Leave of Absence
o Compassionate Care

• Flexible Summer Workweek
IBM continues to offer innovative policies and benefits that help our employees manage their work and family responsibilities.
Re-entry After Maternity Leave: Though IBM does not have a specific program targeted for the re-entry of moms, the company works hard to accommodate all employees returning from a personal leave of absence. Additionally, IBM management is urged to maintain regular contact with each employee on a Leave of Absence to ensure easy transition back to the workforce.

Lactation rooms/Concierge services:
There are various locations in North America which provide a Lactation Space Directory. This Directory contains a list of locations that nursing mothers may use — and includes dedicated lactation rooms, as well as multipurpose rooms with priority access for nursing mothers. IBM locations without designated rooms accommodate all employee requests for space on an as-needed basis. In all instances –whether locations with or without designated space – IBM ensures that these locations are ready before the return of nursing mothers. Nursing mothers are also provided use of flex time or other arrangements which allows for sufficient time to express milk during working hours.

Onsite Daycare:
While IBM recognizes the importance of allowing flexibility in the lives of its employees, it is also sensitive to the needs of those who must work from IBM facilities. In order to ease the pressure of finding daycare centers for children, every effort is made to provide convenient access to daycare facilities to employees as close to company locations as possible. Leading this measure is the availability of onsite facilities through IBM’s partnership with various local organizations across Canada. These daycare centers remove the hassle of finding reputable, safe and accessible places to leave children while parents are at work by providing them for employees. Shepell-FGI also provides additional child care support for locations without onsite daycare by compiling listings of daycare centers and afterschool programs. Additional support during Spring Break and summer through camps are also provided to IBM employees.

Maternity and Parental leave top-up:
To make the experience easy and transition pleasant for the mothers to be, IBM has a Maternity Supplementary Benefit Plan in place which applies to regular or regular part-time employees on a Pregnancy LOA. The IBM top-up plan does not apply to employees on paternity/ parental leaves of absence.

For all Provinces except Quebec, IBM employees are eligible to receive 95% of their salary. For the two-week EI waiting period, IBM will provide 95% of regular salary (for an RPT (Regular Part Time), the salary is based on the RPT salary) and for the next four weeks, IBM will provide the difference between EI benefits and 95% of regular salary (for an RPT, the salary is based on the RPT salary). Employee Payments (Payroll) processes the 6 week salary top-up and forwards one cheque to the employee’s home at the time the employee begins the Pregnancy LOA and at the time the Record of Employment (ROE) is mailed. For incentive compensation employees, the Maternity Supplementary Benefit is based on 100% salary equivalent
For Quebec employees, IBM Maternity Supplementary benefit will be provided in accordance with the QPIP plan selected by the employee (Basic or Special).
All employees are offered these resources through EAP and referral provider, which offers educational materials, seminars and moderated chats for this population of employees.

Health benefits:
IBM’s commitment to work/life balance would not be complete without maintaining the physical and mental health of employees and their families. Initiatives such as the Global Well-Being Services (GWBS) allow a comprehensive list of services within IBM as well as support from affiliates across Canada. These services range from Disability Management, Medical Counseling, and the reimbursement of eligible courses in many categories that support employees and help to improve their health and personal lives. These courses can range from:
• CPR
• Driver Improvement
• Water Safety
• Lifestyle Management
• Financial Planning
• Smoking Cessation
• Stress Management
• Weight Management
• Nutrition

Furthermore, IBM’s Flex Credits program rewards employees who actively take part in their physical health through rewards that go towards their medical insurance and supplemental health coverage. By working in conjunction with their physicians, employees who record and log hours spent doing physical activity can offset the cost of their coverage simply by keeping fit. While the marathon days that moms work do not count towards this program, by engaging themselves and their family within this program, it insures the well being of all members within the IBM family.

Summary: IBM’s dedication to attracting and retaining its women employees is undiminished. Through the many programs, initiatives, and benefits described above, IBM offers flexibility, supportive leadership, and innovative programs that recognize the dynamic needs of working mothers. We believe these key programs provide a foundation for our women and our ultimate measurement is for women employees, particularly working mothers, to aspire to both an executive life and a family. Our goal is to be the premier global employer for women — particularly working mothers.

Kraft Canada – Progressive Employers of Canada

At Kraft Canada, our commitment to a Healthy Organization through Employee Wellness fosters a winning work climate that embraces and encourages flexibility.

Managing life both personally and professionally is an ongoing challenge, and requires a degree of flexibility to meet life priorities. Kraft recognizes that flexible people can adapt to and are more resilient to change, which increases opportunities for winning solutions, successful business results, greater employee satisfaction, and greater productivity in all areas of life.

All Kraft employees have access to daily flexibility in how they plan their work and personal schedules, but recognizes there are times when a more formal flexible work arrangement (FWA) is needed.
Formal flexible work arrangements (FWA) support individual circumstances and provide custom solutions to employees. Varying life stages and life stage transitions may be best managed with an FWA, intended to provide employees with the individual flexibility to navigate the challenges of busy lives and make life circumstances manageable. Kraft has many tools and resources available to support these decisions.

Our flexible and inclusive culture, along with many support tools offered to working moms, helps them achieve their potential both personally and professionally.

Here are some of the great resources Kraft has to offer:
MATERNITY/PARENTAL LEAVE RESOURCES & PROGRAMS
Maternity Leave Top-Up: Kraft Canada tops up maternity leave pay to 100% for up to 17 weeks, depending on length of service.
Adoption Assistance: The adoption assistance program is available through Kraft’s benefits program, and is designed to provide an adoption consultation and referral service, as well as adoption expenses reimbursement of up to $2500 per child.

Expecting & New Parents Handbook: Successfully Navigating the Transition to & from Work: This handbook provides employees the tools and resources to effectively manage their leave, including planning and preparation, transitioning between work and home, being on leave, and transitioning back to the workplace. This handbook is supplemented by an on-line “Parents that Work” resource that provides parents at all stages access to external information and tools related to pregnancy, child development, child care, health & safety, products & services, and government resources.

Manager’s Handbook: Successfully Managing Maternity & Parental Time Away from Work: This handbook acknowledges the accountability a manager has in this important life stage, and the influence they have on an employee’s perception of their value to the organization. This step-by-step guide provides tools and resources, and outlines the manager’s role at various stages of the employee’s leave.

“Welcome Baby” Gift Box: When baby arrives, it is an exciting time for the family and Kraft wants to participate in this celebratory life event. In partnership with Invest in Kids, Kraft distributes a gift box to all Kraft families welcoming a new life. This box contains helpful resources and information about Kraft’s maternity & parental leave programs and partnerships, a small gift for baby and a personal letter from our President.

“Welcome Back” Package: Kraft recognizes the potential difficulty of a transition back to work from parental leave. To support this transition, a package is given to each returning employee highlighting the organizational support available. This includes re-orientation guidelines for both the employee and their manager, a highlight of the work life tools & resources, external partnerships & services available, and a reminder of key company information such as payroll dates, statutory holiday schedule, and learning & development calendar.

External Parenting Partnerships & Services: Kraft has a number of partner organizations that offer resources and support to parents. These partnerships include Kids & Company for permanent and emergency childcare, as well as our EAP provider. Through these partnerships families can gain information and access to daycare facilities.

Community Groups: Kraft has two community groups of interest for working mom’s – our Family Community Group (FCG) and Women’s Community Group (WCG). The FCG helps individuals achieve their personal and professional goals by providing a source of useful family information and a support network of colleagues. The FCG also sponsors a “New Mom’s Group” which provides a forum for expecting and new moms to discuss the many topics associated with being a parent, including the transitions to and from work. It also creates an opportunity to build a network of fellow supportive moms to whom they can ask questions on a variety of topics. The WCG sponsors and hosts a number of events for all women, focusing in the areas of life coaching, career leadership, mentoring, personal development, goal setting, networking, and engaging in the external community.

CONVENIENCE SERVICES
Concierge Services: This service is available to all Kraft Canada employees to help busy employees simplify their life.
On-site Conveniences (varies by location): Kraft recognizes the time-starved employee and offers convenience to employees during working hours. Examples of these services include on-site:

 fitness centre
 massage, chiropractic and naturopathic services
 flu shots
 blood donor clinics
 “drop-off” dry cleaning and film processing
 availability of greeting cards, gift certificates, and stamps for purchase
 “5 o’clock Solutions” program through which employee’s can order ready-made meals to take home to their family

Workshops & Fairs: Kraft hosts a number of informative workshops in topics ranging from parenting to financial planning, to estate & will planning, to organizing & decorating your home. We also host a number of fairs that provide convenient access to a wide-variety of information & providers focusing on health, community volunteerism, or parenting support.

Microsoft Canada Development Centre – Progressive Employers of Canada List

The Microsoft Canada Development Centre (MCDC) would like to officially be considered for the 2009 Progressive Employers of Canada List. I am pleased to provide details about the MCDC based on your criteria. Please let me know if you require any further information.

Personal/life Balance Coaching

The MCDC offers personal/life balance coaching through its Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which is available to all employees.

Flex Time

The MCDC provides flex-time as necessary to employees. Employees are able to set their working hours in consultation with their teams and manager.

Job Co-op / Job Sharing

While we have not done this in the past we would consider this on a case-by-case basis.

Part Time / Contract Positions

These are available and again are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Gradual Re-entry After Maternity

While we have not done this in the past we would consider this on a case-by-case basis.

Lactation Rooms

A designated “mother’s room” is available at our offices

Information and access to daycare facilities in your area

Our EAP program would assist with this information

Maternity and parental leave top-up

Top up is provided for maternity leave only

Health benefits
A “flex” health benefit program is in place allowing employees to customize their health care coverage based on their individual and family needs. In addition to the dental and extended health benefits employees also have access to an annual wellness allowance to reimburse employees for such things as gym memberships and other fitness activities. We provide annual flu vaccinations free-of-charge, have regular yoga classes on premise and provide leisure activities on-site such ping pong, foosball and pool.

Other

• We undertake a variety of morale type events on a regular basis
• We provide employees with up to five paid days for volunteering in their communities
• We organize initiatives through our MCDC Cares program for employees to give back to the communities in which they live and work
• We provide free bus transportation for employees (utilizing our own buses) from downtown Vancouver and downtown Richmond to our offices