Workforce development

Our people
We are focused on attracting and retaining high-quality and productive employees for a long-term career with the company.

Our business success is dependent on hiring the right people. The long-term strategic nature of our business is reflected in our employment and development processes, which are designed to attract and retain people interested in a career with the company. To support our employee’s achievement of success, we offer a variety of challenging and rewarding work opportunities, training and supportive work environments. We also have programs to recognize our employees for their experience and reward them for their performance.

Recruitment
We strive to attract a diverse workforce of individuals who aim for excellence and have passion for what they do. To support this goal, we:

• participate in career fairs and information sessions at leading universities across Canada
• offer summer student, co-op and internship programs
• support apprenticeships and technical career training programs at local colleges
• are members of technical advisory panels to provide feedback on curriculum development

In 2010, intern and co-op assignments were provided to more than 200 university students. During the year, we hired 115 new university graduates.

Total employment offer
Our total employment offer is designed to encourage continued employment with Imperial, and is designed to address employees’ needs throughout their careers. This long-term approach benefits the company as employees build up knowledge over their careers. The programs we offer, combined with a variety of job opportunities, support a culture at Imperial that encourages employees to grow both personally and professionally.

Here are just some of the programs we have to ensure we employ the best:

• compensation that is competitive overall in an industry that typically leads other industries and is also designed to be competitive for individual employees over their career
• annual performance assessment and development process that recognizes performance and contribution to determine compensation and advancement
• fully company paid defined-benefit pension plan, and savings up to six percent of salary matched by the company in its savings plan
• personal development and training, and paid education assistance
• a commitment to ethics and professional behaviour, maintained by a requirement for our people regularly to confirm their understanding of our Standards of Business Conduct including guidelines addressing conflicts of interest, directorships, gifts and entertainment and ensuring a harassment-free workplace

In 2010, we paid $1.25 billion in compensation and benefits to employees, maintaining a robust compensation program in challenging economic times. In keeping with our long-term career focus, our compensation program is designed to provide salary increases that compound from year to year rather than variable compensation (e.g., bonuses).

Recognition
We recognize the importance of showing appreciation for our employees within our total employment offer. Recognition guidelines encourage managers to express their appreciation to their employees by providing awards for service, safety or exceptional performance. Other informal tools that can be used by anyone to say thank you are available.

Work-life balance
We also recognize that employees need flexibility at points during their careers to deal with family or personal interests. Our workplace guidelines and programs offer a wide range of options that provide flexibility and assist employees in achieving balance.

Training and leadership development
We provide employees with many opportunities to upgrade their skills and capabilities over the span of their careers through programs such as:

• job rotation
• classroom learning
• performance feedback and mentoring

Individuals with the potential to perform at senior levels are included in a management development program supported by job rotations in order to expose them to other parts of the business.

In 2010, there were close to 2,100 attendees at the approximately 110 in-house courses offered across the company on topics with broad application and designed to help employees achieve their maximum potential.

The number of employee training days has increased nearly 50 per cent since 2005. In 2010, employees spent a total of 4,106 days in core competency and managerial training programs. For these programs, Imperial invested an average of $460 per employee.

Across the company, Imperial invested $2.5 million in training initiatives in 2010. In addition, the company offers mentoring programs, on-line and self-study courses.

Over the past five years, Imperial has paid $2.7 million to employees through its education refund program, which provides financial support to employees who pursue work-related courses on their own time.

Higher education awards
In 2010, Imperial paid out more than $4.5 million under the Higher Education Award program, which offers the dependents of employees an opportunity to pursue post-secondary courses.