The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Halifax insurer receives award
Halifax insurer recognized for progressive employee policies
A progressive program of perks was one of the reasons Admiral Insurance of Halifax has been named the fifth-best place to work in Canada.
The company received that honour from the Great Place to Work Institute, a global research and consulting firm.
The insurer, which is based in Wales and operates in eight countries, employs 400 people at its office in Halifax. Benefits for its employees include an ergonomics fund for home offices, paid gym memberships and significant funding for in vitro fertilization.
Last fall, Admiral rolled out a new policy that provides monetary support and paid time off for any employee, or a member of their immediate family, looking to escape situations of intimate partner violence.
“It’s such a heavy topic but imperative that we addressed it and told employees, ‘If you’re experiencing this, we are here to offer as much support as we can,’” said Rebecca Cable, Halifax site director for Admiral, in an interview Tuesday.
“We realize that it’s a huge issue anyway, especially during the pandemic with the rise of cases, so we wanted to be sure we were aggressive in that area.”
Cable said many items that are now part of the company’s benefits package began as suggestions from staff. That’s the case with the domestic support policy.
“And it can be any level, anybody,” she said.
“We regularly speak to staff, whether it be through tea parties, anonymous feedback. When we’re looking at our benefits package each year, we seek feedback from staff because quite often that can be the most radical of ideas and something that people don’t think of.”
A company’s place on the annual Top 50 Best Workplaces list is largely employeedriven, with two-thirds of the total score coming from confidential employee survey results. Admiral’s 93 per cent positive employee survey score is the highest the company has achieved since it first took part in the competition in 2010.