Top Employer: Digital Extremes Ltd.

Recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2022):

By Richard Yerema and Kristina Leung, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Nov 11, 2021)

Here are some of the reasons why Digital Extremes Ltd. was selected as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2022):

Digital Extremes' charitable focus is helping local families in need -- the company supports several local initiatives, along with the company's onsite chef working with the London Culinary Federation to create meal donations for front-line workers as well as people in need
Digital Extremes helps employees save for their retirement with matching RSP contributions and provides a variety of helpful financial perks along the way, including discounted home and auto insurance, low-interest home loans and discounted auto lease rates
Digital Extremes provides generous maternity and parental leave top-up payments for employees who are new mothers (to 80 per cent of salary for up to 34 weeks) and offers the option to extend their leave into an unpaid leave of absence

Digital Extremes employees present a donation to the Unity Project

Employer Background

Industry	Software publishers
Established in Canada	1993
Publicly traded	yes
Parent company	Leyou
Parent company head office	China
Major Canadian hiring locations	London ON
Full-time employees in Canada	333
Full-time employees worldwide	345
Workforce engaged on a contract basis	11%
Average age of employees in Canada	36 years
Longest serving employee	28 years

COVID-19

Pandemic response

enabled employees to bring home office furniture, offered a one-time $300 subsidy for home office set-up, introduced virtual health care, employee draw each Monday for meal delivery kits sent to their home

Physical Workplace Rating: A+

Editorial note	due to the pandemic, some workplace amenities may be temporarily unavailable
Commuter amenities	transit subsidies, subsidized parking, electric vehicle charging stations, secure/sheltered bicycle parking
Workplace features	open-concept head office features 30-foot open ceilings with exposed beams, as well as a number of unique amenities including 2 in-house theatres, a motion capture studio, 4 private shower rooms, telecommuter workstations, sit-stand workstations, sleep pods, self-serve lunchroom
Employee lounge amenities	comfortable seating, fireplace, music, television, video games, pool table, table tennis, 2 classic arcade games, video game library (features video games and related books), mini-putt green and hockey practice kits, and 4 massage chairs
Snacks available	3 snack stations with free freshly baked muffins, bagels, bread, cream cheese, apples, oranges, bananas, cereals, pretzels, yogurt, freshly popped popcorn, Goldfish and Ritz crackers, granola bars
Onsite cafeteria	healthy menus, special diet menus, free meals daily
Onsite fitness facility	shared-use facility, subsidized membership, treadmills, stationary bikes, stairmasters, instructor-led classes (yoga, spin, BodyPump, Peak), rowing machines, weights, sauna, shower facilities, squash court, running track and swimming pool
Other nearby amenities	YMCA, GoodLife Fitness, Victoria Park, Harris Park, Thames River Park, Ivey Park, Budweiser Gardens (home of the London Knights), Citi Plaza, Covent Garden Market (operates year-round with a range of great food options and unique vendors)

Work Atmosphere & Communications Rating: B

Past social events	virtual employee appreciation event and celebration of a new game launch (included live music, DJs, bartender demonstration, remote puppy therapy, and gifts shipped to employees' homes), virtual Halloween event (costume and pumpkin carving contest), virtual Christmas holiday parties for employees' children (with live music, entertainment, and meals sent home), and a number of online hangouts over the course of the year, from yoga to singing to food demos
Cultural aspects	casual dress (e.g. jeans) daily, music while working, employee sports teams
Employee communications	intranet site
Other in-house communications	enhanced online and video communications from senior leadership over the course of the pandemic

Financial Benefits & Compensation Rating: B+

Employee salary reviews	individual salaries are reviewed every 12 months
Long-term savings	matching RSP
Long-term planning	retirement planning assistance, life & disability insurance
Year-end bonuses	available to all employees
Referral bonuses (max)	new employee referral bonuses (up to $2,000) for some positions
Additional financial benefits	share purchase plan available to some employees, profit-sharing plan available to some employees, corporate discount program (e.g. retail, services, travel, etc.), discounted home insurance, discounted auto insurance, low-interest home loans, discounted auto lease rates, discounts through Perkopolis

Health & Family-Friendly Benefits Rating: B

Health plan premium	as part of the health plan, the employer pays up to 100% of the premiums
Minimum hours worked for coverage	25 hours per week
Waiting period for coverage	90 days
Family coverage option	yes
Dental coverage	routine, restorative, orthodontics
Paid sick days	employees receive 8 days off each year
Health plan includes	traditional coverage (e.g. prescription drugs), employee assistance (EAP) plan, semi-private hospital room, physiotherapy, medical travel insurance, homecare, medical equipment and supplies, massage therapy, nutrition planning, podiatrist, osteopathy, chiropractor, alternative coverage (e.g. acupuncture, naturopathy), virtual healthcare services
Mental health practitioner benefit	up to $2,000 each year
Fitness club subsidy	up to $800 each year
Additional health plan information	fitness club subsidy can be used for most health-related activities (personal trainers, exercise equipment, recreational sports league fees), corporate memberships for nearby downtown GoodLife Fitness
Wellness initiatives	celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month in October, providing information and resources to employees as well as wellness-themed prizes (private online fitness coaching, a massage chair delivered to an employees' home)
Maternity top-up (mothers)	up to 80% of salary for 17 weeks
Parental top-up (mothers)	up to 80% of salary for 17 weeks
Parental top-up (fathers)	up to 100% of salary for 3 weeks
Adoption top-up	up to 100% of salary for 3 weeks
Additional family-friendly benefits	extended parental leave to unpaid leave
Flexible work options	flexible work hours

Vacation & Personal Time-Off Rating: B+

Vacation allowance	new employees receive 2 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job
Vacation jump	vacation increases after 2 years of employment
Maximum vacation allowance	employees move to a maximum of 6 weeks of vacation over their career
Previous experience	considers previous work experience when setting annual vacation for new employees
Paid holiday shutdown	during the Christmas to New Year's holiday break, employees receive an additional 5 days off
Personal paid days off	employees can schedule 8 personal days off each year, as needed
Unpaid leave of absence option	yes
Additional time-off information	vacation increases to 4 weeks after only 5 years on the job

Employee Engagement & Performance Rating: B+

Employee performance reviews	employees receive individual performance reviews every 6 months
Managers receive performance review training	yes
Exit interview	exit interview option is available for departing employees
Performance recognition	individual performance bonuses, on-the-spot rewards, tailored and unique rewards (e.g. travel), is implementing an Applauz recognition and rewards app to enable employees to give and receive on-the-spot awards

Training & Skills Development Rating: A+

In-house training initiatives	mentoring, leadership training, paid internships, subsidies for professional accreditation, mentoring to transfer retirees' skills
Related tuition subsidies	employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year
Annual tuition maximum	employer pays up to $2,500 in tuition subsidies for job-related courses per year
Unrelated tuition subsidies	employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year for courses unrelated to current position
Unrelated tuition maximum	employer pays up to $2,500 in tuition subsidies per year for courses unrelated to current position

Community Involvement Rating: A

Scope of charitable involvement	local, national, international
Employee charitable involvement	employees are involved in selection of charities, employees receive paid time off to volunteer
Some of the community organizations supported	Alzheimer Society London and Middlesex, Autism Ontario, GuardianCon (gaming event raising funding for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital), Black Lives Matter, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada
Charitable giving	matches employee donations
Community highlight	Digital Extremes' primary charitable focus is to help local families in need. The company's annual DE Gives Back campaign supports a variety of local initiatives during the holiday season, including at-risk youth, veterans experiencing homelessness, and a local animal rescue organization.
Pandemic-related community initiatives	Digital Extremes provided a donation to the London Culinary Federation and helped to set up meal donations for front-line workers as well as people in need.

The Career Directory

Digital Extremes Ltd. has been selected for The Career Directory, our guide to entry-level recruitment for recent college and university graduates.

Actress Lucy Lawless (centre) visiting the staff at Digital Extremes

Highlights for New Grads

Industry	Software publishers
Full-time employees in Canada	251 to 500
Parent company	Leyou
Parent company head office	China
Major Canadian hiring locations	London ON
Student opportunities	paid internships, summer jobs, co-op opportunities
Training	subsidies for professional accreditation, orientation program, in-house training, mentoring, leadership training
Annual tuition maximum	employer pays up to $2,500 in tuition subsidies for job-related courses per year
Typical new grad positions	Customer Support Specialist, Community Coordinator, Programmer, Technical Game Analyst, 3D Artist, IT Support Specialist
Starting salary	$40K to $45K
Work benefits	health benefits for new employees, flexible work hours, telecommuting, transit subsidies, employees receive paid time off to volunteer
Vacation allowance	new employees receive 2 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job

Academic fields recruited

Bachelor of Arts
- Graphic / Fine Arts
- Public Relations / Communications
Bachelor of Commerce / Business Administration
- Marketing
Bachelor of Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Mechanical
Bachelor of Science
- Computer Science
- Mathematics
Community College Diploma
- Communications / Public Relations
- Computer Science
- Graphic Arts / Design
- Information Technology
- Marketing / Sales

Recruits at these schools

Fanshawe College

Sheridan College

University of Waterloo

Western University

Digital Extremes Ltd.

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