Highlights:

• has made major investments in alternative energy production, including wind power
• offers apprenticeship training programs with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
• has a distinguished history of community support. donating $200 to local charities where you donate 50 volunteer hours
• lets you schedule up to five personal days off each year in hourly increments so you can take care of those day-to-day errands
• host huge summer barbeques and Christmas parties with over 1,400 employees and guests

Epcor Utilities Inc. provides electricity and water to customers in Western Canada, Ontario and the USA. The company's core business is selling the "essential elements for living" power and water to customers in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Washington State. Founded in 1995 through the amalgamation of Edmonton's power and water utilities, Epcor was the first strategic coupling of power and water utilities in Canada.

Epcor's generating division operates major electricity generating facilities in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, as well as Washington and New York states. In addition to using fuels such as natural gas and coal, the company is looking to the future and using non-traditional fuels to generate electricity. At its large Clover Bar generating station in Edmonton, a portion of the plant uses methane gas from a nearby landfill to generate electricity. Epcor recently began generating power at its new Kingsbridge wind power facility in Ontario, which includes 22 massive wind turbines located near the shores of Lake Huron.

The company's water services division supplies drinking water to nearly one million people in Edmonton and 40 surrounding communities. Last year, Epcor completed the installation of the world's largest ultraviolet water treatment system in Edmonton. This state-of-the-art technology has been the subject of considerable interest from municipalities across North America.

Epcor recently acquired TransCanada Power Limited Partnership, which now operates as Epcor Power L.P. The merger included the integration of 11 new power generation facilities located in Ontario, New York, British Columbia and Colorado. The new publicly-traded subsidiary is the largest publicly-traded company based in Edmonton.

Workforce at a Glance:Number of full-time employees: 2352. At this location: 2208. Worldwide: 2403. New jobs created across Canada last year: 176. Voluntary employee turnover across Canada last year: 8%. Percentage of employees who are women: 33. Of managers: 29. Resumes received by their HR staff in past year: 25617. Weeks of vacation their HR manager took last year: 4. Average employee age: 42. Years longest-serving employee has worked there: 41.

Epcor's physical workplace is rated as above-average. Epcor's work environment varies considerably, depending on the employee's area of responsibility. Employees who work in operations, construction or maintenance are often outside or work in plant settings. At all sites, workplace safety is paramount. Epcor's head office is located in a modern 20-storey office tower that offers spectacular views of the North Saskatchewan River and is connected to the city's LRT network as well as an enclosed pedestrian walkway. The building also features state-of-the-art solar roof panels that help generate heat for the building.

Physical Workplace at a Glance:Their employee lounge and rest areas feature: comfortable couches; television; outdoor patio. For food and refreshment, Epcor offers: free coffee and tea; outdoor eating area. Nearby amenities include: variety of restaurants; new Tim Hortons and Starbucks across the street; major shopping mall; fitness facility; park/wilderness area (the North Saskatchewan River Valley and Trail System Canada's longest urban park); recreation centre (YMCA). For commuters, Epcor offers: nearby public transit; free onsite car parking; secure bicycle parking; shower facilities; organized car pools.

Epcor's work atmosphere is rated as above-average. Employees at Epcor enjoy business casual dress daily and can listen to radio or music while they are working. There is also a company-subsidized social committee, which has operated since 1958.

The social committee hosts a variety of events, including two huge Christmas celebrations for employees and their guests in Edmonton and Calgary (over 1,500 attended last year) and summer barbeques (with over 1,400 attending events in Calgary, Edmonton and Richmond). Epcor also subsidizes employee golf games, bowling nights, family canoeing and skiing trips.

Epcor also sponsors employee teams in Edmonton's annual Corporate Challenge, which includes over 6,000 participants representing 170 companies competing in 22 different sports (Epcor employees won medals in pool, slow-pitch and lawn bowling last year). The company also sponsors a community curling club with 16 teams, 8 of which comprise Epcor employees and retirees. The company also sponsors an employee hockey team in the annual 'Alberta Power Industry Goodwill Hockey Tournament' with Epcor winning the tournament two years in a row and boasting an undefeated record.

Epcor's health benefits plan is managed by Sun Life and is rated as above-average. Their health benefits plan is flexible, meaning that employees can tailor individual plans to their personal circumstances. As part of the flexible health plan, employees can direct unused flex-credits to a health care spending account to purchase additional coverage. Epcor pays 100% of the core health premiums associated with the plan, including family coverage. Full-time and part-time employees who work more than 20 hours per week are covered by the plan. There is no waiting period before new employees are eligible for coverage.

Health Benefits at a Glance:Epcor's health plan includes the following coverage: routine dental; restorative dental; orthodontics (50% of eligible costs with a lifetime maximum of $2000); eyecare (to $200 every 2 years); prescription drug; physiotherapy; chiropractor; podiatry; naturopathy; offsite fitness club subsidy (to $200); personal and family counselling; employee assistance plan (EAP) for substance abuse/mental health; travel medical insurance; medical equipment and supplies; semi-private hospital room; home care; onsite health and safety specialist.

The company's salary and financial benefits are rated as above-average. To keep pay-levels competitive, Epcor participates in outside salary surveys every 12 months. Individual salaries are reviewed every 12 months. The company operates a traditional pension plan. Epcor has a traditional pension plan where it makes contributions from 7.4% to 10.6% (for salary above pensionable earnings) of each employee's salary.

Financial Benefits at a Glance:Epcor provides a variety of financial benefits, including: life and disability insurance; discounted products through local businesses, including software, hotel rooms, theatre tickets and car rentals; signing bonuses for some employees; year-end bonuses (to $120000 for non-executives).

Epcor's family-friendly benefits are rated as above-average. Employees with pre-school children have access to a daycare facility located nearby. For mothers who take maternity or parental leave, Epcor provides a generous top-up to 95% of salary for up to 6 weeks. Other family-friendly benefits include: flexible start and finish hours; shortened work week (fewer hours); compressed work week (same hours, fewer days); free family coverage on health plan.

Epcor's vacation and time off are rated as above-average. New employees receive 3 weeks of vacation allowance after their first year, which increases to 4 weeks after 7 years of service. The maximum vacation allowance is 6 weeks for long-serving employees. Depending on their position, employees at Epcor receive from 3 to 5 paid personal days off each year. The company's "personal days off" program is interesting in that it provides the time off in the form of 24 hourly increments. Rather than take a whole day off, employees can take an hour or two at various times to run errands or deal with personal emergencies. Employees at the company can also apply for unpaid leaves of absence. (One employee recently combined his vacation with a leave of absence to compete in 6 triathalons in 60 days, raising money for cancer research along the way.)

Epcor's internal communications program is rated as exceptional. To keep employees informed about new developments, Epcor publishes an in-house newsletter (called The Essential Spirit). The company also has a well-developed intranet site, which keeps employees informed about news and human resource policies that affect their work. The company's intranet also offers a wealth of other information (over 16,000 web pages), including weekly news updates, employee classified ads and current job postings from across the company. Epcor also conducts an employee satisfaction survey every 12 months. An outside consultant reviews and compiles the results for Epcor's management team.

Epcor's performance management program is rated as above-average. The company operates a well-designed performance management program. Every 6 months, employees and managers meet for review sessions. (Managers receive training in how to conduct effective reviews.) At the reviews, employees and managers jointly develop individual performance plans that focus on technical, behavioural and operational competence. Employees and managers meet during the year to monitor progress and develop an overall performance rating, which contributes directly to each employee's salary review. Employees can also provide confidential feedback on their manager's performance through an annual online leadership development survey.

Epcor's training and skills development program is rated as above-average. The company provides tuition subsidies for courses related to an employee's current position. Commendably, Epcor also offers subsidies for courses not related to an employee's current job (to an annual maximum of $500). The company assists employees' career development with: reimbursement for professional association dues; in-house training; mentoring; online training; apprenticeship and skilled trades training. (Epcor's apprenticeship training program is run jointly with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology).

Epcor's community involvement program is rated as exceptional. An outstanding corporate citizen, Epcor actively supports a variety of local and national charitable initiatives. Employees take part in the selection of charitable groups assisted by the company. Last year, the company contributed to approximately 200 charitable groups. The company primarily focuses on initiatives that focus on education and building healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities. As part of this focus, Epcor supports several unique initiatives, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Citadel Theatre, the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival, and the Science Alberta Foundation's "Science in a Crate" program, which provides science workshops at elementary schools across the province.

Epcor also operates one of the first programs of its kind in Canada (called Essential Volunteers) to encourage employees to volunteer their time with charities and community groups of their own choosing. For every 50 hours an employee volunteers, Epcor donates $200 to the charitable organization. Under the innovative program, hundreds of organizations have received support over the years, including Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Edmonton, Cochrane District 4-H Club, Habitat for Humanity, Chestermore Volunteer Firefighters, St. Albert Minor Hockey Association, Williams Lake Theatre Society, Scouts Canada, and The Stollery Children's Hospital, to name a few.