Shaw Communications in Calgary also supports both its new moms and dads, including adoptive parents, with maternity and parental leave top-up payments, as well as providing a variety of alternative work options to help employees balance their work and personal lives. Not surprisingly, the new-baby benefits are well-used. In the most recent one-year reporting period, 230 employees participated in the Maternity and Parental Leave Top-up program as part of the Shaw Choices benefits plan, which paid over $1.5 million in top-ups.

That translated into meaningful life experiences for Shaw's many new moms and dads who chose to take parental leave and enjoy irreplaceable time at home bonding with their newborns. As well, the company offers support with articles and resources on its online benefits website, including advice on staying in touch with work while on parental leave, returning to work post baby, and easing the transition back to work after having a child.

Many of Alberta's Top Employers, such as Champion Petfoods LP in Edmonton, also offer flexible schedules that allow new parents to transition back into the workforce more easily after their leave. Then comes the additional challenge of a busy family life. It can be a true balancing act, particularly in demanding professions such as law. Bennett Jones LLP in Calgary understands that lawyers have long hours and high stress so it is using current technology to provide them with more freedom.

"Work-life balance is challenging in a law firm because there are demands put on lawyers that don't exist in most businesses," says Daryl Refvik, National Director, Human Resources at Bennett Jones. "Right now we're initiating a program where a number of the lawyers will have laptops from the company to use so that they can log in from anywhere. Wireless access allows them to work remotely if they need to on a particular day or to use while they're travelling. We're just starting down that path and will be building on that project this year. The laptops give the lawyers a bit more freedom. For instance, if a child was sick, they could work from home to deal with that."

The firm has also set up an emergency childcare backup through a daycare provider that is available to all staff, both the lawyers and administrative side.

"If a staff member's regular daycare breaks down for some reason, we have arrangements with Kids & Company where you can phone them in the morning and they'll try to find a spot for your child in one of their many locations across Calgary," Refvik explains. "Administrative staff also have some personal days each year, in addition to sick and vacation days, that they can use as needed, whether to look after a sick child or for medical appointments where they might have to accompany a parent or child. It gives everybody more flexibility in their personal lives."

– Diane Jermyn

From the official magazine announcing Alberta's Top Employers (2018), published on February 21, 2018 in the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal.