Where are the best places to work in Toronto?

2023 Best Places to Work in Canada awardees (Toronto-based companies)

Best places to work in Toronto – Fidelity Canada

For two-time awardee Fidelity Canada, building a culture centred on collaboration and compassion is among the keys to becoming a great workplace, and according to senior vice-president of HR and corporate affairs Diana Godfrey (pictured below), a big part of their success is being able to encourage employees to speak up.

“We work really hard to give everybody a voice,” Godfrey says. “We work hard to create an environment where it is safe to speak up, share ideas, and innovate.

“We do a lot of work through groups, but what we try to do is bring in people with different perspectives to encourage rich discussion and bring out the best ideas. This captures the essence of collaboration.”

Godfrey adds that Fidelity Canada, which operates as a diversified financial services firm, provides employees with plenty of venues to make their voices heard, including regular engagement surveys, town halls, and cross-functional committees. There is also a confidential line that employees can call if they need support from HR.

“HR people help anybody – employees or managers, and it’s confidential,” Godfrey says. “It gives employees comfort, encouraging them to speak up.

“During town halls, employees can submit questions in advance anonymously or ask questions live, whatever they're comfortable with. We are creating an environment where employees can do that.”

Building a culture of compassion and empathy

Godfrey explains that a huge part of how Fidelity fosters a positive work culture is having members that demonstrate compassion and empathy for colleagues, clients, and the communities they serve. She shares several instances during the pandemic when the company’s leaders have stepped up.

“At the height of the pandemic, we introduced programs to make employees feel safer,” she says. “One of these is virtual health where employees can talk to a physician or nurse and access care and treatment virtually. They can also have prescription medication delivered to their houses.”

Fidelity also held their holiday parties and service awards online, with catered food being delivered to each employee’s residence.

Supporting work-from-home

Meanwhile, to support work-from-home arrangements, the company provided managers with toolkits to better prepare them for handling and assisting their direct reports remotely. 

But these efforts didn’t stop with their employees. Godfrey also reveals how they honoured their commitment to their interns despite the disruption caused by the pandemic. 

“When COVID-19 began, we had just brought in around 50 to 60 students,” she shares. “We just sent home all our employees at that time. I went to the executive team and presented them with two options – do we go ahead with the student program and try to figure out how to do it virtually or suspend it until next semester?”

Every executive agreed “without a pause” to continue the program, according to Godfrey.

“Part of our values and our purpose is to be brave, bold, curious, and compassionate,” she adds. “Whether we demonstrate empathy for our colleagues, clients, or community, it’s how we endeavour to operate, and I think that’s made a difference for our employees.”

Overcoming challenges

But maintaining its status as one of the best places to work in Toronto comes with its share of challenges. A key challenge, according to Godfrey, is operating a hybrid work environment.

“We’re committed to doing a hybrid set-up but it's not without hiccups,” she says. “We’re trying to strike the right balance of in-person and remote work and reach the right level of flexibility. Figuring out who’s going where and when they are going and balancing the right level of autonomy and collaboration can be a bit challenging. Our office wasn't necessarily set up in the best way for hybrid meetings.”

Fidelity had to improve its technology to address these issues. This included upgrading their meeting room to support hybrid work. The company also created a peer-to-peer network for directors and managers for discussions and sharing ideas.

“One of the things we noticed coming out of the pandemic was our Gen Z population was struggling a little bit because some of them never even got to work in the office,” Godfrey adds. So, we've created a social group for these individuals. The group now has around 200 members and we're trying to bring them together and have them meet people.”

Best places to work in Toronto – Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers

Collaboration among all employees is also what makes renowned personal injury law firm Neinstein LLP among the best places to work in Toronto and across Canada. But it doesn’t come easy, according to partner Jeffrey Neinstein (pictured below).

“It takes a village to make this place successful, and I think part of it is that we get everyone involved,” he explains. “It doesn’t matter whether you're an entry clerk or a senior lawyer – everyone has a seat at the table and can make a difference.

“Everyone feels valuable and comes to work feeling that they’re important and that their voice is going to be heard. The collaborative efforts of our entire staff make this place tick.”

Neinstein adds that an essential part of fostering a positive work environment is “listening to our staff.”

“We listen to their concerns, and we definitely want everyone to have a voice without any repercussions,” he says. “If we think that there’s a policy that is important to management but it's having a negative effect on our staff, we need to know about that.

“We want to know what’s working and what isn’t. We do listen, and I can say, without a doubt, having a happy staff leads to better outcomes and output.”

People are happy to work with one another

Another factor that makes Neinstein LLP a great place to work in Toronto is the kind of relationship its employees have.

“We're doing a shared hybrid right now where some of the staff are coming in Mondays and Wednesdays, and some Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we mix and match once in a while,” Neinstien explains. “And I can tell you people really like to see one another.

“We want our staff to be happy, so we’ve created a social environment where our staff has flexibility to enjoy each other’s company during the workday. There are also staff events like going to baseball games and drinks after work.”

Neinsten adds that the firm makes sure that nobody feels left behind.

“At the end of the day, if there’s a few people that don’t feel like they belong or they're not being heard, then all of these events kind of go to waste because you’re only as strong as your weakest member,” he says. “We really want everyone who’s going to be here to be happy and that means looking at the bottom.”

‘We’re empathetic advocates’

This is how Neinstein responds when asked about what the firm’s core values are in an often emotionally charged profession.

“This is a place where victims and their families can come in and they’re crying and explaining what they're going through, as well as the trials and tribulations of dealing with lost and disabled loved ones,” he explains. “A lot of people here wear their hearts on their sleeve.

“It's not commercial corporate work, so there must be an element of empathy and being able to really put the shoe on the other foot and understand what victims are going through in order to argue and articulate and advocate for our clients.”

A major part of what makes their jobs fulfilling, according to Neinstein, is helping people “gain back some level of independence and quality of life they lost.”

“I would say 100% of my clients would rather give their money back to have their quality of life and their health back,” he says. “At the end of the day, if we can help someone get some quality of life back after major losses and trauma, that’s success and success is not always going to be directly linked to dollars and cents.”

What makes a company a great place to work for?

HRD also conducted a survey asking the employees of each participating firm what they consider to be the most important factors that make a company among the best places to work in Canada. The infographic below reveals the survey results.

You can access the full report, along with the complete roster of companies in this year’s Best Places to Work in Canada special report by clicking the link.

Do you have experience in working with the best places to work in Toronto? We’d love for you to share your story in the comments section below.