ACTIVE INTERNATIONAL NAMED ONE OF CANADA’S MOST ADMIRED CORPORATE CULTURES

Active delivers high employee satisfaction, low turnover and 60%+ top line growth during a disruptive time in the media industry

TORONTO (November 28 2019) — Active International today announced it has been recognized for having one of the most admired corporate cultures in Canada.

“At Active, we invest a lot of energy into nurturing a high trust, high performance culture.  This underpinning of trust builds an environment where people feel safe; where people have the courage to lead, be creative and innovate for the customer, all while maintaining healthy work life balance.” says President, Andrew Bulmer, “We believe that this type of culture helps us attract and retain the right talent and that it has been instrumental to our high performance. As a result, our people stick around, grow as our company grows, and we all celebrate and share in our success along the way.”

Culture Highlights

Active’s flexible work policy is an important demonstration of the integrity and trust that exists within the team. The policy allows employees to work from home up to two days a week, and to alter the timing of their work schedules to support their lives outside of work. Among internal communication initiatives, President and Managing Director Andrew Bulmer schedules 1:1 informal coffee chats with every single team member at least once a year, and Tim Horton gift cards are made available to anyone who wants to do the same with any other member of the Active team. Active’s Culture Club is dedicated to igniting engagement across the organization through social initiatives, charitable giveback programs as well as strategic program and policy development. All initiatives are based on direct feedback from employees through the wide variety of feedback mechanisms Active relies on. Their peer-to-peer recognition program, PROPS, gives a formal platform to reward leadership. Employees play an active role in recognizing behaviours of colleagues that align with company values. Employees that give and receive PROPS are awarded points that can be redeemed for gift cards and other incentives.

High trust, high performance

“At Waterstone, we believe corporate culture drives performance and that it’s an organization’s greatest asset,” said Marty Parker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Waterstone Human Capital and Chair of Canada’s Most Admired™ CEO Awards. “What’s remarkable about this year’s group of winning organizations is their commitment to corporate culture and their success in leveraging that culture as a competitive advantage. They each set a high bar when it comes to building great, high performance cultures that ultimately drive organizational growth and power the performance of their teams.”

Active is proud not only to have achieved 60%+ topline growth over the past 3 years, but to have attracted and retained a talented team during a disruptive time in the media industry. Just shy of half of Active’s staff have been with the company 5 years or more, and 8% of the organization has a tenure exceeding 10 years.  Active team members volunteer to share their #lifeatactive stories on their personal social media accounts, which in turn support recruiting efforts for top talent.  Active employees rate the company culture at 97% in their annual satisfaction and engagement survey.

Team Engagement

“Quantitative surveys aside, we measure our team’s engagement by the way they step up.” says Bulmer, “They volunteer to fundraise for community giveback programs such as motionball or Food Banks Canada. They volunteer their weekends to take part in creative competitions such as the Young Lions. They create artwork and donate it to industry charity auctions, host weekend BBQs to raise funds for Active Cares charity efforts. They endure weeks of intense physical training and put themselves on the line to participate in the Agency Wars boxing tournament. They raise their hands to play an active role in shaping the culture.”

Industry Recognition

Externally, Active International has received recognition from a number of other programs, including the Employee Recommended Workplace Award, Great Place To Work Canada Certification, Best Workplaces Places for Millennials List, and recently scoring an impressive 92% on the Great Place to Work Trust index score.

“This award is only given to 40 organizations nationwide each year, so as a team we are incredibly proud,” says Kimberly Presnail, VP Marketing & Culture “We all know that culture is far more complex than fun perks and social outings. It’s about the micro decisions every person makes day-to-day, and the environment in which those decisions are influenced. This award is a credit to our entire team of 50 individual leaders in culture.”

-30-

About Active International:

Active International is a global commercial innovation company, media expert and leader in corporate trade. With 35 years of experience, Active creates innovative solutions in the media and supply chain ecosystem that unlock value and help businesses Achieve More. Purchasing close to 2 billion dollars in advertising each year globally, Active is a data-driven company with media expertise at the core of its operations.  For more information, visit activeinternational.ca     

About Waterstone Human Capital
Waterstone Human Capital is a human capital management consulting firm specializing in retained executive search, cultural measurement and assessment, and leadership training and development. The company has successfully helped hundreds of entrepreneurial-minded, high-growth organizations across North America recruit, measure and train for fit. Waterstone is also the founder of the Canada’s Most Admired™ Corporate Cultures and Canada’s Most Admired™ CEO programs. These national programs annually recognize best-in-class Canadian organizations and CEOs, for fostering cultures that enhance performance and help sustain a competitive advantage. For more information please visit waterstonehc.com or canadasmostadmired.com.

Media Contact:

Kimberly Presnail

VP Marketing & Culture | Active International

647-880-5624 | Kimberly.Presnail@activeinternational.com