Stephanie Calvert
Talent Acquisition Lead - Australia
Back in 2019, I led the project to create our employer value proposition (EVP) for CGI in Australia. After a significant discovery phase reviewing our member satisfaction survey data and conducting focus groups with our Australian business, we landed on six key pillars that we felt best represented what we offered as an employer, and what stood us apart.
It was important that these pillars characterised what it’s really like to work for CGI and truly illustrated the employee experience. However, it was equally as important to make sure our benefits, policies and processes that underpin our employee experience aligned with our EVP.
Today I want to focus on our employee benefits and how they help support our EVP and what we stand for.
Our ownership culture
Key to our EVP is our ownership culture. At CGI we refer to our employees as ‘members’, as we are all invited to become owners in the company. This was a decision that Serge Godin, our founder, made very early on. He wanted every member to be a shareholder in CGI and feel invested in the growth of the company. Across our business unit, 95% of permanent members are shareholders.
CGI matches member contributions to the share plan, so there is an added financial bonus of being a shareholder. But perhaps more importantly, the program helps foster a sense of ownership that is woven through all aspects of the employee experience. This extends to the management approach and the encouragement to ‘own our careers’, as well as the fact that we all feel motivated to deliver for our clients and contribute to our common goal of building a company we can be proud of.
We also have the Profit Participation Plan, which distributes a portion of CGI profits, against financial and qualitative goals, to CGI members.
These two benefits, along with our processes and policies, really help bring our EVP to life.
An empowering environment
Stemming from our ownership culture is the empowerment we all have to build our careers. Personally, I have continuously pushed myself to take on new projects outside of my comfort zone, which has given me the opportunity to transition from talent acquisition into employer branding.
So which employee benefits enable empowerment?
I’m sure every company offers learning and development to some degree, but at CGI our global learning platform allows every member to truly take control of their progress. The platform is available 24/7 and includes every business and technology topic you could think of (not just generic e-learning courses). CGI is aware that every member learns differently, so we have access to eBooks, audiobooks and podcasts, mock exams and training material, and even online coaches and mentors across different areas of expertise. Whether it’s listening to a recording on your phone on the way home or reading an eBook down at the beach, our members can make learning fit in with their lives.
Genuine work-life balance
Flexibility is a common theme when we survey our members. Members continuously provide feedback that they are grateful for the autonomy they are given to manage their time and workload, meaning that they can arrange work around their lives and find the right balance.
We ensure that a healthy work-life balance is supported through activities and services in our global health and wellbeing program, Oxygen. The Oxygen team is made up of multidisciplinary health experts who support our members in their efforts to adopt a healthier lifestyle through a variety of preventive and awareness activities and services.
In Australia, this includes activities such as webinars and workshops with thought leaders, health and wellbeing consultations, complimentary flu vaccines and skin checks, and education on key health and wellbeing topics through our monthly Oxygen newsletter.
Ultimately, it’s all about making your EVP, employee experience and culture align and having employee benefits in place to support this.
I’d love to hear more about how your organisation brings your EVP to life – and if you’re interested in working at CGI, please check out our careers page for more information.
