Selecting London’s Best

The methodology built by Carswell Partners is one of a kind, and measures the three main ­components of employee engagement

By Terry Gillis, President & Managing Partner, Carswell Partners

CARSWELL PARTNERS FIRMLY believes that London can be Canada’s home to the most engaged employees in the ­country—it’s an integral part of our commitment to building better workforces. But in order to build a more engaged workforce, organizations of all sizes and types first need to understand their current level of employee engagement.

Recognizing the market was crowded with numerous pseudo-scientific and often “feel-good” measures, Carswell Partners wanted to develop a tool that was rooted in ­science. As such, a few years ago, the firm, in conjunction with members of Western University’s Industrial/Organizational Psychology department, embarked on the development of a next ­generation employee engagement assessment. The result of those efforts was the creation of the DEI Employee Engagement measure.

The DEI assessment has been developed based on years of research and is designed to measure the three main ­components of employee engagement: dedication, effort and interest.

Designed with ease of response in mind, employees from participating organizations were asked to respond to approximately 20 questions on a five-point rating scale using a web-based application. From there, only organizations with over 50% employee participation were forwarded, and scores were calculated on the three main components (dedication, effort and interest), as well as an overall engagement score and a net promoter score (would employees recommend their employer as a great place to work to their friends). Organizations with the highest scores were considered a Best Place to Work given their higher levels of employee engagement.

Overall, the scores for these organizations were very good, reflecting a high degree of employee engagement. The Best Places to Work listed on the following pages build ­exceptional workplaces with an array of progressive and innovative ­programs that make life better for their people, and benefit when it comes to attracting and retaining top talent. But that kind of success doesn’t just happen without committed effort, and we have learned that great workplaces are not created through benefits that are unique to a type of industry or workplace size. Instead, a Best Place to Work is one where employees trust the people they work with, have pride in the work they do and enjoy the people they work with.

Terry Gillis, President & Managing Partner, Carswell Partners