This year, Karo has received recognition from two separate organizations as one of Canada’s best places to work.
The 2009 Alberta Venture Best Workplaces program, created specifically to honor leaders in corporate culture and human resource development, awarded Karo in two separate categories.
Karo was recognized as the Best Overall Workplace in Alberta (under 100 employees) and was also recognized as Best Workplace in Alberta for Community Support. “The Karo vision has always been to create a place where people are excited about coming to work,” explains President Chris Bedford. “This philosophy centres around the idea that people who feel their best will do their best, a belief that results in superb work for a wide variety of clients from everyone in the multidisciplinary tribe.”
Karo was also recognized in April as one of the top workplaces in Canada by the Great Place to Work® Institute Canada, a global research and management consultancy that surveys the top Canadian organizations each year and publishes a special report in The Globe and Mail. The competition process goes through a series of measures, including employee surveys, in-depth interviews and an evaluation of HR policies and procedures before developing an overall portrait of the workplace culture.
So what makes Karo so special? Many things, including company initiatives such as lending out the company Smart Car or mountain bikes during the week and on weekends, a health and wellness program that includes a massage therapist, the freedom to pursue interesting creative initiatives and the opportunity to give back to the community through a number of pro bono projects.
Karo is very involved with its community. In 2008, Karo donated over $500,000 in creative service fees to the community, including helping The Boys and Girls Club in Calgary and Potluck Café Society in Vancouver. In 2009, The Karo Kaus, a new program, will donate $50,000 worth of design strategy and multidisciplinary creative work to each of two not-for-profit organizations, one in Calgary and one in Vancouver.
These awards add to a growing list of accolades, including being recognized as one of the top 10 employers in Canada in 2007 and 2008, and Marketing magazine naming us one of Canada’s top ten agencies in 2007.
Our thanks to the entire team for creating the kind of workplace that receives this kind of recognition.