Released on February 9, 2012
Eighty-three per cent of Innovation Place employees are fully engaged in their work making them some of the most highly engaged workers in the country. These are the findings of a recent survey of 200 small and medium sized businesses conducted by Queen's University School of Business and Aon Hewitt which ranked Innovation Place in the top 50 employers in Canada, for the second year in a row.
"Employees are engaged when they believe their work has value and the high level of engagement of Innovation Place employees demonstrates the entire team's commitment to serving the province's science and technology sector," Minister responsible for Innovation Place Rob Norris said.
Research shows organizations with high engagement have lower turnover, decreased absenteeism, better employee health and lower job stress and higher productivity. All this leads to enhanced customer service. Innovation Place employees work closely with the tenant organizations to ensure they have what they need to succeed. As engaged employees they are empowered to provide creative and flexible solutions helping facilitate local technology startup companies and helping tenants compete nationally and internationally.
The high level of customer service seems to be appreciated by the tenants of Innovation Place. A 2011 survey of the tenant CEOs or senior on-site managers shows a high degree of satisfaction, with more than 99 per cent of survey respondents indicating they would recommend Innovation Place to another organization. A similar result occurred in a survey of tenant employees where 99 per cent said they enjoy working at Innovation Place facilities.
Innovation Place is the organization responsible for managing Saskatchewan's technology parks in Saskatoon and Regina as well as the Forest Centre in Prince Albert.
This is the fifth time in seven years that Innovation Place has been ranked as a Best Small and Medium Employer in Canada. A full list of Canada's top BSMEs can be found at www.profitguide.com.
About Innovation Place
Innovation Place has 110 employees and operates 1.77 million square feet of facilities that support organizations in the advanced technology sector. There are 190 tenant companies in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert, employing 5,200 people and contributing more than $900 million annually to Saskatchewan's economy.
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For more information, contact:
Austin Beggs
Innovation Place
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-933-7464
Email: austin@innovationplace.com
ara Wilkinson
Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada Study
Kingston, ON
Phone: 613-533-6000 ex
Email: kwilkinson@business.queensu.ca