Making hybrid work

HRdownloads and Northern Commerce named top hybrid workplaces in Canada

TWO LONDON COMPANIES have landed on this year’s Best Workplaces for Hybrid Work Canada 2022 list, a list produced by the workplace research firm Great Place to Work.

The two local companies named on the list were HRdownloads, a human resources service company, and Northern Commerce, a local digital marketing agency. Both landed on the list with 98 other companies from across the country.

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“When the pandemic began, we were like many other Canadian organizations; we had never operated in a fully remote working environment,” says Sharon Bunce, chief of staff at HRdownloads. “We knew we had to adapt quickly without losing focus on our culture or our clients.

“We are so proud of how our teams rose to the challenge and managed not only to keep things moving but to thrive,” continues Bunce. “Throughout this successful change, we have continued to grow our amazing culture and transition to a ‘work where you are most productive’ model, letting employees determine which work model is most successful for them.”

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“At Northern, we believe that maintaining peak performance comes down to offering flexibility to accommodate a modern and diverse workforce,” says Michael DeLorenzi, president of Northern Commerce. “We’re proud to be able to offer the option for our employees to seamlessly collaborate with team members and clients across the country, regardless of their location, and it means that we can hire the best talent regardless of their location.”

It’s the second time in two months that HRdownloads has been recognized — last month, they were also named on the 2022 Great Place to Work list, irrespective of hybrid work. Northern Commerce is also accustomed to appearing on such lists, having been recognized several times last year as a Best Workplace in Canada, Best Workplace for Women and Best Workplace for Mental Wellness.

This year’s list was selected in collaboration with Microsoft, who (like most tech companies) have taken a great interest in remote work. Last year, Microsoft released their first Work Trend Index, which predicted that hybrid work would soon develop into one of, if not the, most common arrangements for white-collar workers.

“Over the past two years, Canadians have undergone a monumental shift in the way we work,” offered Kevin Peesker, president of Microsoft Canada, in a video accompanying the release of the list. “While organizations continue to experiment with different approaches to meet the unique needs of their people, there’s something we can all agree on: successful hybrid work arrangements do not happen by accident.” Kieran Delamont