Dear Colleagues,
I wish to extend my deep appreciation and congratulations to each of you as we announce that Algonquin College has been named a National Capital Region’s Top Employer for 2024. This makes the 11th year in a row that the College has been recognized for this accomplishment.
This is a meaningful achievement for our institution. One of the foundational goals in the College’s Strategic Plan is to be recognized as an exceptional place to work by our employees and the community — and because of all your contributions, we have been recognized again!
Our award was driven by several key initiatives focused on supporting our employees’ well-being as well as on creating an inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible workplace. We wanted to highlight those for you:
Employee Psychological Well-being
Algonquin College continues the journey to support the psychological well-being of its employees. We have created a baseline analysis for measuring psychological safety through the work of the Psychologically Safe Workplace — Mental Well-being project.
To further strengthen and support mental health of Algonquin College employees, the College undertook steps to certify a trainer under the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s the Working Mind — Train the Trainer program. The Working Mind is an evidence-based program designed to promote mental health and reduce the stigma around mental illness in the workplace. Watch for details as we embed this program in our Employee Learning offerings! Click here to read more about the Working Mind program.
Finally, the College’s Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) is a key benefit, and ongoing enhancements to the program continue to be made to support employees. In September 2022, the program was re-launched to include all College employees, both full-time and part-time. The inclusion of part-time employees into the program creates an opportunity for all our people to have the same access to these supports. The EFAP provides a great new platform that enhances the employee experience and the services provided.
Maintaining Our Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility:
Highlighting this year’s continued momentum towards a culture of inclusion in the work environment, the IDEA Blueprint lays out three areas of strategic focus: Capacity Building, Robust Conversations and Workforce Recruitment. Each focus area has clear tactics and success indicators. Achieving these will help us to realize the benefits of having an Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable and Accessible (IDEA) College work environment.
Among the College’s many other IDEA accomplishments are the Indigenous Wayfinding and Representation Project, the new all-gender washroom standards and gender diverse washrooms, the launch of free menstrual products on campus and the Multi-Year Accessibility Strategy which outlines activities for improved accessibility through to 2026.
More than anything, this award speaks to the efforts of each one of our employees. It is your continued dedication to our learners, your colleagues and the entire College community that drive our unique, inclusive and dynamic culture. You inspire the College to keep building on our strengths and finding ways to do better.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone at the College who makes this such an incredible place to work.
Kind regards,
Diane McCutcheon
Vice President, Human Resources
