Top 13 reasons Ryerson is a top employer

For the fourth straight year, Ryerson University has been selected as one of Greater Toronto’s top employers.

The Greater Toronto’s Top Employers Competition (external link)  evaluates workplaces on eight criteria: physical workplace; work atmosphere and social; health, financial, and family benefits; vacation and time-off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement.

“Being named a Greater Toronto Top Employer for the fourth year in the row speaks to the value that all our faculty and staff contribute to make this a great place to come to work,” says Christina Sass-Kortsak, assistant vice-president of Human Resources. “We strive to develop an environment where faculty and staff can learn and grow in their careers and where employees are valued, respected and recognized for the work they do. This means a continued commitment to our values of equity, diversity and inclusion and to individual health and well-being as priorities.”

Here are just 13 of the many reasons Ryerson is an amazing place to work:

1. Focused employee communications: Launched in November 2016, the administration and operations Ryerson Works newsletter strengthens Ryerson’s People First work culture and helps employees find information they need to get their work done.
2. Community networks: The university supports a number of community networks created by employees for employees to give visibility to a diversity of voices and create inclusive spaces, to address barriers and foster community engagement.
3. Encouraging two-way dialogue: Ryerson’s Human Resources twitter account, @RyersonHR (external link)  is the second-most followed HR account at any Canadian university.
4. Comprehensive benefits and a commitment to the whole person: Ryerson’s robust plans include extended health care premiums that are 100 per cent employer paid. In 2016, Ryerson extended its coverage for psychologists and social workers to most full-time employees and their dependents. To learn more about your coverage, visit Employee Resources, select your employee group and click on “Benefits.”
5. Commitment to employee well-being: Ryerson offers well-being workshops for employees to support their own well-being and learn how to support the well-being of others.
6. Access to employee perks: Employees receive discounts on computers, travel and home and auto insurance.
7. Recognition and awards: In 2016-2017, Ryerson celebrated 127 employee award recipients.
8. Support for continued learning: In 2016, 1,308 employees and dependants benefited from the tuition waiver program. To learn more about the tuition waiver program, visit Employee Resources, select your employee group and “Tuition Waiver & Rebate.”
9. Opportunities for leadership learning and growth: In 2016, Human Resources launched a Leadership Community of Practice for events and informal networking for leaders.
10. Continued creation of new resources for employee development: In April 2017, Ryerson HR launched a new networking event series, the first of several initiatives planned to support career development at Ryerson.
11. Time away for refreshment and rejuvenation: Most employees receive three weeks of vacation after one year of service and all employees receive Ryerson Day, an additional paid day off each summer. Additionally, there is a two-week paid break for the December holiday period.
12. A focus on equity, diversity and community inclusion: Leadership puts equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) as core values in our academic plan. In 2017, Denise O’Neil Green was named Ryerson’s first vice-president of equity and community inclusion.
13. Shared responsibility to improve Ryerson’s EDI: As part of its commitment to transparency, Ryerson’s diversity data is available to our community and the public. This is reflective of the university’s recognition that to reach our equity and inclusion goals, we’ll need intentional support from our whole campus.