Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.

TMMC's physical workplace is rated as exceptional. Toyota Motor Manufacturing's physical workplace is a custom-built facility includes over three million square feet of manufacturing space and two administrative buildings. Located adjacent to the facility is an impressive 30,000 square foot "Corolla Park" centre that offers a range of health and wellness activities for employees. The head office features an onsite fitness facility (with free memberships, treadmills, stationary bikes, stairmasters, rowing machines, weights, gymnasium, basketball court, volleyball court, squash and racquetball courts, cardio machines, sports leagues, shower facilities, instructor-led fitness classes, and a fully-staffed employee health centre); outdoor 14 acre park with walking trails baseball diamond, basketball court and children's playground; employee lounge (with a quiet lounge area, television and a games room that includes pool tables, foosball, table tennis, air hockey and shuffleboard); religious observance room; onsite cafeteria (with healthy menu items, subsidized meals, Pizza Pizza, Subway and Tim Horton's kiosks); travelling cafeteria cart (called the Pit Stop Café); secure bicycle parking; free parking; nearby highway access; outdoor patio/deck; discounts at nearby restaurants.

TMMC's work atmosphere is rated as exceptional. Depending on their position, employees wear uniforms or may opt for business casual attire. Business casual dress; employee sports teams; organized social events. The company-subsidized social committee (called the TMMC Social Club) organizes a variety of social events throughout the year, including a golf tournament, fun trips (include trips to the theatre, casinos and sports events) and a family Christmas party for employees and their children, with over 7,000 in attendance last year. Through the Carolla Centre, employees also have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of sporting activities, including hockey, soccer, squash, badminton, flag football, floor hockey, basketball, tennis, baseball and volleyball. Employees are kept informed about new developments and can provide direct feedback through a company newsletter; corporate intranet site; traditional suggestion box; email suggestion box.

TMMC's financial benefits are rated as above-average. To keep salaries competitive the company participates in outside salary surveys every 12 months. Individual salaries are reviewed every 12 months. Toyota also provides signing bonuses for some employees; year-end bonuses for all employees; year-end bonuses (to $18,000); defined benefit pension with employer contributions (up to 8% of salary); defined contribution pension plan with employer contributions (up to 5% of salary); life & disability insurance; retirement planning assistance; phased-in retirement program; discounts (to $1,000 off dealer cost) of new Toyota vehicles for employees (and $800 for family members); lottery for discounted purchase of manager-driven vehicles; the use of a white Lexus RX350 on an employee's (or the children of employees) wedding day, complete with a full tank of gas and complimentary cleaning of the exterior and interior.

TMMC's health and family benefits are rated as above-average. The company's health plan is managed by Sun Life. As part of the health plan, the employer pays 100% of the premiums. The health plan is a flexible plan with adjustable premiums and coverage levels. Employees who work 40 hours per week receive coverage. There is no waiting period before coverage begins. Employees receive full family coverage on the health benefits plan. The health plan also includes retiree coverage with no age limit. The basic plan includes routine dental; restorative dental; orthodontics; eyecare ($215 every 2 years); traditional medicine coverage; alternative medicine coverage; massage therapy; medical equipment and supplies; homecare; employee assistance (EAP) plan; travel insurance. As part of the company's flexible health plan, employee can reinvest their unused health credits into a health spending account for additional coverages, into an RRSP plan, or taken as a taxable cash benefit. Toyota's family-friendly benefits include; maternity top-up payments (to 65% of salary for 52 weeks); parental leave top-up for new fathers (to 65% of salary for 37 weeks); parental leave top-up for adoptive parents (to 65% of salary for 37 weeks); health benefits during maternity and parental leave; post-secondary academic scholarships for children of employees; flexible working hours; and time off in lieu of overtime pay.

TMMC's vacation and personal time-off are rated as very good. New employees receive 2.8 weeks of vacation allowance after their first year. Vacation increases after 3 years on the job. Long-serving employees receive a maximum of 4.6 weeks of vacation each year. Employees can schedule 5 personal days off each year, as needed. Employees receive 1 personal day off, as scheduled by their employer. During the Christmas to New Year's holiday break, employees receive an additional 4 days off. Employees can also apply for an unpaid leave of absence.

TMMC's employee engagement program is rated as above-average. Employees receive individual performance reviews every 12 months. Managers receive training in how to conduct effective performance reviews. As part of the review process employees can provide confidential feedback on their manager's performance. Exit interview provided for departing employees. In addition, all managers receive semi-annual evaluations and contract employees also receive reviews before the end of their contracts. The company also operates a unique suggestion program that awards points for suggesting and implementing cost saving suggestions -- employees can accumulate and cash-out their points when they wish. In a unique demonstration of responding to employee feedback, the redesigned 10th generation Corolla (first launched in 2009) has many uniquely Canadian-inspired features that are the result of employee feedback, from door pockets to accommodate hand-held ice-scrapers to adequate spacing between the clutch and brake pedals for winter boots (men's size 10 1/2 specifically) to cup holders large enough to accommodate a large coffee for the longer Canadian road. TMMC hires an outside consultant to conduct confidential employee satisfaction and engagement surveys. (These surveys are held every 12 months).

TMMC's training and skills development program is rated as very good. Employees receive tuition subsidies for courses related to their position. In support of ongoing training and education, TMMC provides subsidies for professional accreditations; in-house apprenticeship and skilled trades programs; in-house training programs; online training programs; formal mentoring program.

TMMC's community involvement program is rated as exceptional. Toyota Motor Manufacturing actively supports a variety of local charitable initiatives every year. Employees take part in the selection of charitable groups assisted each year. Approximately 188 charitable and community organizations were supported last year. Toyota Motor Manufacturing also encourages employee volunteerism through financial donations to local charitable and community initiatives last year where employees volunteer, from coaching minor league sports leagues to charitable fundraising work. Through this program TMMC donates $250 for every 50 hours of volunteer work completed during the year. Every year, employees also organize a number of charitable fundraising drives (with the company helping to fund up-front costs and providing matching donations), such as the Children's Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and the W. Ross MacDonald School for the Blind. Employees have recently developed a unique "Charity Garden" onsite where employees volunteer to tend to the gardening chores, with the goal of donating proceeds to a local soup kitchen. The company also donates new cars and parts to shop classes at local schools. In a thoughtful initiative, the company donated a 1,000 square metre executive home to the Oxford County Victorian Order of Nurses. Located on the Woodstock site, Toyota chose not to demolish the structure but to find a community partner and donate the building. Today, the former residence (called Sakura House) operates as a 10-bed palliative care facility for residents of Oxford County.

As part of an ambitious environmental initiative, Toyota Motor Manufacturing set a goal in 2004 of sending zero waste to the landfill. Impressively, the company met this goal through extensive recycling, reusing, reducing and composting programs. The remarkable accomplishment has raised the bar for every manufacturer (and perhaps make the average householder reflect on their recycling efforts a little more). The company has introduced completely compostable plates, cups, cutlery straws and stir sticks at its onsite cafeteria and sets new environmental goals every year. Not resting on its laurels, TMMC has also introduced heat reclamation technology to reclaim previously waste heat energy to heat water used in its manufacturing processes (saving enough water to fill 300 residential swimming pools and enough energy to heat 65,000 homes each year) and water saving processes to dramatically reduce its water use in the painting process (saving the equivalent of the usage of 280 households each year). The company and its employees are also strong supporters of Earth Day every year, with TMMC publishing an informative newsletter to highlight upcoming initiatives and events. As part of past celebrations, employees and their families gathered at TMMC's facilites in Cambridge and Woodstock and planted over 1,000 trees on the grounds. In addition, the company sponsored the development of the "Toyota Living Roof" at the nearby Laurel Creek Nature Centre. The green roof is a feature attraction for visitors to the centre, highlighting the benefits of green roof technology, such as reduced heating and cooling costs, filtering air and water and absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.