Top Employer: Kinaxis Inc.

Recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2022) and National Capital Region's Top Employers (2021):

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

Here are some of the reasons why Kinaxis Inc. was selected as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2022) and National Capital Region's Top Employers (2021):

Over the past year, Kinaxis doubled the amount of its counselling benefit and ensured that employees had access to mental health training -- additionally, the company hosted at-home exercise challenges to encourage employees to stay fit and maintains an in-house Kinaction program for health and wellness programming
Kinaxis offers a variety of financial incentives, including a share purchase plan (available to all employees), signing bonuses for some, year-end bonuses for all and generous referral bonuses for employees who recruit candidates from their personal networks (up to $2,500)
Along with considering previous work experience for new employees, Kinaxis offers a no-limit paid vacation policy for new and existing employees -- and provides additional time off during the Christmas and New Year's holidays

A Kinaxis founder and employees partner up to solve a team building challenge

Employer Background

Industry	Software developer
Established in Canada	1984
Publicly traded	yes
Major Canadian hiring locations	Toronto ON, Ottawa ON
Full-time employees in Canada	579
Full-time employees worldwide	999
Workforce engaged on a contract basis	2.97%
Average age of employees in Canada	39.38 years
Longest serving employee	36 years

COVID-19

Pandemic response

doubled coverage for mental health services and offered mental health training, hosted at-home exercise challenges and shared resources on working from home, staying connected, education, health and well-being, sent snack boxes with healthy treats to employees' homes, offered a reimbursement of $100 to encourage employees to enjoy a meal at a local restaurant, instituted Kinaxis Days to provide employees with an additional day off each month

Physical Workplace Rating: A

Editorial note	due to the pandemic, some workplace amenities may be temporarily unavailable
Commuter amenities	free parking, secure/sheltered bicycle parking
Workplace features	telecommuter workstations, sit-stand workstations, private phone booth, nap room, religious observance room, outdoor patio, outdoor barbecue, new head office set to open in 2022 (will feature rooftop patio, cafeteria with healthy dining options, a fully equipped gym and a gaming area)
Employee lounge amenities	comfortable seating, music, television, video games, foosball table, board games, table tennis
Snacks available	weekly fresh fruit delivery
Onsite fitness facility	for employees only, free membership, treadmills, stationary bikes, instructor-led classes (yoga, workstation stretches, indoor cycling, strength training express, posture and movement), elliptical trainers, rowing machines, weights, shower facilities
Other nearby amenities	Kanata Leisure Centre, Richcraft Recreation Complex, Walter Baker Park, Movati Athletic, Bell Sensplex

Work Atmosphere & Communications Rating: B

Employee social committee name	Social Committee (est. 1986)
Past social events	board game night, lunchtime trivia, Halloween costume and pumpkin carving contest, hackathon activities such as a video game tournament, ugly holiday sweater contest, end-of-year virtual team events (such as a virtual escape room, cooking class, murder mystery, and holiday attire competitions)
Cultural aspects	business-casual dress daily, casual dress (e.g. jeans) daily, employee sports teams
Employee communications	traditional/email suggestion box, internal social media
Other in-house communications	Kinect intranet features Say Hey Thursday (monthly article welcoming new hires), an employee showcase, and monthly diversity, equity and inclusion articles, virtual town halls, Condecco app (allows employees to book a workspace in the office)

Financial Benefits & Compensation Rating: B+

Outside salary surveys	participates in outside salary surveys every 12 months
Employee salary reviews	individual salaries are reviewed every 12 months
Long-term savings	matching RSP
Long-term planning	retirement planning assistance, phased-in retirement work options, life & disability insurance
Share purchase plan	available to all employees
Year-end bonuses	available to all employees
Referral bonuses (max)	new employee referral bonuses (up to $2,500) for some positions
Signing bonuses	available for some positions
Additional financial benefits	corporate discount program (e.g. retail, services, travel, etc.), discounted home insurance, discounted auto insurance, subsidized home internet

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	20 hours per week
Waiting period	there is no waiting period for coverage
Family coverage option	yes
Dental coverage	routine, restorative, orthodontics
Paid sick days	employees receive 10 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 $1,000 each year
Health spending account	up to $300 each year
Wellness initiatives	Kinaction health and wellness program, virtual fitness classes such as yoga, strength training, workstation stretches, breathing and indoor cycling, motivational challenges such as push up challenges, wall-sit challenges and 5-minute meditation videos, health and wellness learning resources (topics include back pain and the work office, nutrition 101, yoga for runners, and meditation), and mental health training
Maternity top-up (mothers)	up to 100% of salary for 12 weeks
Parental top-up (fathers)	up to 100% of salary for 12 weeks
Adoption top-up	up to 100% of salary for 12 weeks
Additional family-friendly benefits	phased-in return to work for new parents
Flexible work options	flexible work hours, shortened work week (fewer hours with less pay), telecommuting

Vacation & Personal Time-Off Rating: A+

Unlimited vacation allowance	offers a no-limit vacation policy
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
Company paid days off	employees receive 12 personal days off, as determined by their employer
Unpaid leave of absence option	yes

Employee Engagement & Performance Rating: A

Employee performance reviews	employees receive individual performance reviews every 12 months
Managers receive performance review training	yes
Confidential employee feedback	employees can also provide confidential feedback on their manager's performance
Exit interview	exit interview option is available for departing employees
Performance recognition	online recognition platform, individual performance bonuses, on-the-spot rewards, #HighFive peer-to-peer recognition program (employees receive 100 points they can award to others, which can be redeemed for gift cards, hotel getaways, an Amazon purchase, or donated to one of the company's charities of choice), Spirit of Kinaxis award (monetary award of $1,500, winners are selected by the executive team), patent program (monetary bonuses for employees who submit patent applications or have applications approved)
In-house survey period	in-house surveys are conducted every 12 months
Outside survey period	outside consultant surveys are held every 12 months

Training & Skills Development Rating: B+

Career planning	online employee skills inventory
In-house training initiatives	apprenticeship/skilled trades programs, mentoring, in-house training, online training, 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
Unique training & development programs	annual week-long hackathon with finalists presenting live to a panel of executives, internal Biztalks and Techtalks for knowledge transfer and sharing

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, (up to 4 paid days)
Total number of charities supported last year	approximately 60 charitable and community organizations were supported last year
Some of the community organizations supported	Quickstart, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Interval House of Ottawa
Charitable giving	matches employee donations, matches employee volunteer hours with company donations
Pandemic-related community initiatives	In 2020, the company made corporate donations to various organizations supporting COVID-19 relief efforts, including the United Nations Foundations, the Ottawa Hospital, and Kanata Food Cupboard. Additionally, employees were given the option to donate some or all of their unused work-from-home benefit to a charity of their choice (with Kinaxis matching the donation, dollar for dollar).

Recognized as one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2022):

By Kristina Leung, Stephanie Leung, Chantel Watkins, and Jing Wang, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Jan 17, 2022)

Here are some of the reasons why Kinaxis Inc. was selected as one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2022):

Students on Kinaxis's machine learning team are provided with a unique opportunity to work on a predefined project during their term that covers different areas of technology based on the student's strengths -- students test their creativity and innovation as they progress through their project, presenting and demonstrating their final product to senior leadership
Kinaxis hosted its sixth annual week-long hackathon, challenging employees to utilize their skills and creativity to improve and innovate on the company's products and processes -- after the week is complete, employees vote for the finalists, who then present their ideas live to a panel of senior-level judges (winners receive High-Five points)
Kinaxis offers co-op placements and internship opportunities to approximately 60 students per semester, managing a number of initiatives to encourage networking and connections such as social events and communication channels -- and also runs a dedicated intern and co-op directory to encourage connections among students

Kinaxis employees attended one of the organization's hackathons (Photo credit: Thai Duy Cuong Nguyen)

Highlights

Industry	Software developer
Major Canadian hiring locations	Toronto ON, Ottawa ON
Full-time employees in Canada	579
Student opportunities	summer jobs, co-op opportunities, paid internships
In-house training programs	orientation program, in-house training, online training, online employee skills inventory, mentoring, leadership training, apprenticeship/skilled trades programs
Related tuition subsidies	employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year
Unique training and development opportunities	in-house certification program for administrators, authors, and contributors of Kinaxis' RapidResponse platform, monthly Biztalks and Techtalks (lunchtime presentations to help facilitate connectivity and knowledge sharing across departments)
Additional highlights	onboarding for new hires (includes a welcome note with an onboarding checklist, online training, and a designated buddy who shares advice), student-led social activities held weekly or biweekly, communication channels exclusively for students, intern and co-op directory document (encourages connections among students), departure meeting at the end of students' term (departing students recap their work term highlights and experiences)
Unlimited vacation allowance	offers a no-limit vacation policy

The Career Directory

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

Kinaxis employees collaborate

Highlights for New Grads

Industry	Software developer
Full-time employees in Canada	251 to 500
Major Canadian hiring locations	Toronto ON, Ottawa ON
Student opportunities	paid internships, summer jobs, co-op opportunities
Training	subsidies for professional accreditation, orientation program, online training, in-house training, mentoring, in-house career planning services, leadership training
Tuition subsidies (related to job)	yes
Typical new grad positions	Software Developer, Analytics Developer, Data Server Developer, Web and Mobile Developer, Software Quality Assurance Specialist, Product Support, Technical Business Analyst
Starting salary	$60K to $65K
Work benefits	health benefits for new employees, flexible work hours, telecommuting, employees receive paid time off to volunteer, (up to 4 paid days)
Unlimited vacation allowance	offers a no-limit vacation policy

Academic fields recruited

Bachelor of Engineering
- Computer Engineering
Bachelor of Science
- Computer Science
Community College Diploma
- Computer Science

Recruits at these schools

Algonquin College

Carleton University

University of Ottawa

University of Waterloo

Kinaxis Inc.

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