Carleton University is the first Canadian post-secondary institution to receive three awards for excellence in recognition of its commitment to providing a safe, healthy and supportive work environment on its campus, Excellence Canada announced Monday.
President Alastair Summerlee will accept the Platinum Level Award in Healthy Workplace and Silver Level Award in Mental Health at Work at the 2017 Performance Excellence Summit and Canada Awards for Excellence. As well, Carleton will receive the Gold Level Award in the Excellence, Innovation and Wellness for the Finance and Administration division.
The awards will be presented in Toronto on Thursday, Nov. 9. The Canada Awards for Excellence recognize outstanding achievements by organizations in private, public and not-for-profit sectors across the country.
Carleton is a leader and role model for organizations that want to implement the Healthy Workplace/Mental Health culture. The Carleton approach provides guiding principles for creating a healthy workplace culture where faculty and staff feel valued, motivated and engaged. It is understood as a wide-ranging initiative that encompasses recognition, respect, psychological health and support, safety, and personal and professional growth.
The university’s Finance and Administration division is also committed to implementing the Excellence, Innovation and Wellness standard, which focuses on developing of strong leadership, the customer experience, staff engagement and continuous improvement in the way the division works. The division has demonstrated its commitment to service excellence by being people focused and excellence driven.
The journey to excellence has been 10 years in the making and its success has been supported by a long-term strategic approach to these standards to ensure they are embedded in the campus culture.
For details about the 2017 Performance Excellence Summit, please visit www.excellencesummit.ca.
Quotes:
“Carleton stands out as an organization that focuses on the health of its people, including their mental health and places a high priority on creating a culture that values wellness. Their systematic approach to wellness has proven successful in making workplace wellness for staff and faculty a way of life – embedding wellness into all aspects of the organizations operations,” Karen Jackson, senior advisor, Healthy Workplace Strategies, Excellence Canada.
“Since the beginning we have had three areas of focus, health promotion, work life balance and mental health. We have done a lot of work in each of these areas and certainly, the interest in mental health from the community has been very encouraging. We believe that a “healthy workplace” translates into a great experience for both our faculty and staff, and ultimately, our students. Carleton University is now recognized as a leader in these areas and is being sought out by other organizations because they have been inspired by our achievements.” Ed Kane, assistant vice-president (University Services), chair of the Healthy Workplace committee.
“Excellence, Innovation and Wellness is not just a program. Over the years, it has become part of our culture within the Finance and Administration division. It is not something we simply did, achieved and then moved on. The criteria within Excellence, Innovation and Wellness Gold Level certification are linked to our strategic goals and have guided us, and will continue to guide us, through our continuous improvement journey. We are proud to be the first university to reach this level of certification.” Michel Piché, vice-president (Finance and Administration).
Excellence Canada’s Standards serve as roadmaps for organizations in any sector that wish to encourage, support and implement exemplary programs in the workplace.
Healthy Workplace® and Mental Health at Work® were developed by Excellence Canada in association with health and work safety professionals from across Canada, including mental health specialists. The standards are based on research and knowledge pertaining to success factors of employee well-being in the workplace and the experiences and outcomes of successful organizations. Importantly, the requirements align to and support the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, of which Excellence Canada was part of the Advisory Committee.
The Excellence, Innovation and Wellness® Standard serves as a roadmap for organizations in any sector that wish to improve performance in all aspects of the organization. Developed by Excellence Canada in association with partners and professionals from across Canada. The standard’s design is based on research and knowledge pertaining to success factors in the workplace and the experiences and outcomes of successful organizations. It has also been reviewed against other standards such as the Malcolm Baldrige (U.S) and Deming (Japan/Australia) Awards Programs, and Canada’s National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety.
Excellence Canada
Excellence Canada (formerly National Quality Institute) is an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to enhancing Canada’s national well-being and global leadership through the adoption of management principles and practices that reinforce and sustain excellence in all sectors of our economy. The Excellence Canada Board of Governors is comprised of a diverse group of leaders from all sectors across Canada.
For more than 20 years, EC has helped thousands of organization from all sectors and industries, from coast to coast, adopt a holistic approach to continuous improvement. This is achieved through rigorous strategic planning and implementation of Standards developed by Excellence Canada.
Excellence Canada is the custodian of, and adjudication body for, the Canada Awards for Excellence that was established by Industry Canada in 1984 to recognize and celebrate world class organizations. This is the most prestigious award program for organizations in Canada and is proof of the high level of commitment to quality, innovation, and healthy workplaces being demonstrated by enlightened leaders, manager, and employees at over 500 recipient organizations during the past 29 years.
Media Contact
Steven Reid
Media Relations Officer
Carleton University
613-520-2600, ext. 8718
613-265-6613
Steven_Reid3@Carleton.ca
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Tuesday, November 7, 2017 in News Releases
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