From fully stocked kitchens and in-house catered lunches to unlimited vacation, some of Toronto’s most influential companies are packed with perks. And their employees know how lucky they are.
Toronto-based startup League is a game-changing disruptor of traditional workplace benefits and essentially helps companies improve their own perks cause. Essentially, it offers employers an organizational tool to manage wellness programs at a time when a growing number of forward-thinking companies are offering employees things like yoga, meditation and gym memberships in addition to their existing traditional benefit plans. The League app allows employees to decide exactly how they want to allocate their precious benefits and lets them sign up for sessions themselves using their phones, with their company being billed automatically. League-using companies have things like in-office yoga classes and wellness seminars.
Naturally, this sense of a healthy corporate culture is reflected at League and – in addition to ping-pong tables and a bright, view-filled corner office on the MARS building – employees enjoy things like weekly yoga classes, weekly catered lunches, and unlimited vacation. “Our ‘perks,’ such as meditation and yoga classes in our office, are a natural extension of our mission, which is to make employees everywhere happier and healthier,” says Breanna Hughes, a senior project manager at League. “They help me better manage stress that comes with working at a startup and help me focus. If we didn’t live these values every day our company wouldn’t succeed, so they certainly make us all better employees.”
The corporate culture was a major draw for Hughes in choosing to work at the company. “For me, the culture and mission were by far the biggest draw, but the fact that League offers things like healthy snacks, adult colouring, meditation and running and fitness classes (my personal favourite), demonstrated a commitment to the mission that is deeply engrained in the culture and not just lip service. That was important to me. I also love that the perks make me a better person, and are more enriching than just beer and coffee,” she says.
Klick Inc. is known as much for its corporate culture as it is its suite of digital marketing initiatives. Committed to what they call “the relentless pursuit of awesome,” the company regularly orders dinner for any Klickster who works late, offers an on-site health and wellness centre (which has free daily yoga and fitness classes) and hosts a ton of fun events for employees and their families on the regular. Employees are also rewarded for their work with “Klick it Forward” credits, which they can donate to their favourite charities. To bring the program full-circle, the company sponsors philanthropic trips, sending employees to build schools and hospitals in Rwanda, Kenya, Ecuador, Tanzania and India. Finally, we really need to discuss their holiday gifts. This year, many employees received pricey Casper mattresses, and past gifts have included iPad Pros and Apple Watches. These are just a few of the perks.
“It’s hard not to love Klick perks, like Klick Camp and our Star Wars private screenings, but it’s our people-centric culture that makes all the difference for me,” says Arsenia Aidemirska, Senior Manager, Corporate & Legal, Klick Inc. “Participating on Klickster sports teams and in our ‘Random Coffee’ meet-ups gives me the opportunity to form new friendships, reaffirm that I’m part of an awesome community that does great work, and makes me proud to come into work every day.”
Over in Leslieville, Wave employees enjoy some serious perks as well. This includes “The Eat Room,” where employees can take a break from the grind and enjoy a friendly ping-pong match, video games and a fridge that’s always stocked with beer of many varieties. There are also snacks, happy hours, and company outings.
With a work hard/play hard mentality, an increasing desire for balance and the persistent lure of the freelance world, the reality is that today’s employees seek more than a steady pay cheque in their 9-5 grind.
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Do you think it’s important for companies to offer unique benefits? What perks would you like to have at your job? Let us know in the comment section or tweet us at @ViewtheVibe.