Manitoba's Top Employers is an annual competition that recognizes the best places to work in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

. Published annually since October 2006, the designation singles out the employers in the province that lead their industries in creating forward-thinking workplaces with progressive human resources policies. Winners are chosen by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers

Canada's Top 100 Employers

Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions and progressive human resources policies. Winners are...

 and announced in an editorial feature published each fall by the Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press

The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....

, the largest newspaper in Manitoba.

Applicants for the award are compared to other employers in their industry, using eight main criteria: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. The winning employers are the ones that offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. An academic advisory board, composed of four distinguished professors from across Canada, oversee the competition's selection criteria each year.

Any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Manitoba may apply to be considered for the award, which is made for one calendar year. The competition is open to public-sector and private-sector employers alike. Employers complete a single application to be considered for both the annual Manitoba's Top Employers and the Canada's Top 100 Employers designation.