There is a stark contrast between the company’s "Canada’s Best Managed" public image and the actual day-to-day internal experience. In recent years, there has been a systematic pullback on employee value. I worked for them for over 4 years and the decline is compounding.
We saw a clear decline in health benefits; the company surveyed staff regarding a switch in providers, but ultimately moved to a less functional, more expensive plan that resulted in lower coverage and higher out-of-pocket costs - a sharp drop from the quality of coverage that used to be a point of pride. Furthermore, perks like yearly company retreats were eliminated entirely, which resulted in a massive downfall in their overall company morale.
The disconnect is further exacerbated by the "#Best Team" branding. Leadership uses this hashtag to maintain morale, but it feels increasingly performative - a slogan used by those in management to mask a lack of active effort in supporting the actual team. This was most evident in the recent, mandatory return-to-office policy. Despite staff expressing a strong preference for the productivity and comfort of remote work, leadership imposed an in-office mandate under the guise of "improving morale." It was a top-down decision made without regard for staff input, and it created an unnecessary imbalance where certain employees were exempt based on location, while others were forced to commute for no functional benefit. Even the administrative exit process for my leaving was handled with a lack of professionalism and urgency, highlighting a disregard for an employee who was dedicated for over 4 years and worked late hours into the evening just to ensure deadlines were met.
