University of the Fraser Valley

UFV named one of BC’s Top Employers for eighth year in a row

UFV named one of BC’s Top Employers for eighth year in a row

Awards and recognition, Current, HR Highlights, Human Resources, Newsroom
UFV employees at a Professional Development event in pre-pandemic times.

The University of the Fraser Valley has once again been named one of BC’s Top Employers.

This marks the eighth straight year that UFV has been selected.

BC’s Top Employers is a competition that recognizes employers in British Columbia that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.

Mark Pearson, UFV’s Manager, Recruitment Services, says that throughout two years of the pandemic, UFV has continued to focus on creating a positive work environment that will attract and retain excellent faculty and staff members.

This includes helping employees transition back to working on campus after an extended period of home-based work; the launch of a hybrid remote work pilot program that lets participating staff members continue to work from home part-time; launching Strive to Thrive, a revival of the employee fitness challenge retooled for a hybrid setting; and the creation of UFV at Work, a blog focused on human resources news and events.

UFV employees at an outdoor event celebrating the retirement of Dean of Arts Jacqueline Nolte. UFV has adapted events and celebrations to adhere to limitations imposed by the pandemic.

 

“We also saw a lot of employees and departments really ‘pull together’ during the challenge of the pandemic to keep a sense of unity and community while we were physically apart,” he noted.

Ravinder Kaur enjoys the benefits provided by her employer, particularly professional development funding.

Ravinder Kaur joined UFV as a full-time employee two and a half years ago, working as a network analyst II in Information Technology Services.

“I am glad that I am a part of UFV,” she notes. “I love UFV culture and I enjoy working with my colleagues. I was a fresh graduate and UFV gave me a chance to prove myself and grow in my career. UFV provides great benefits to the employees. My favorite one is Professional Development, which helps employees to expand their expertise.”

Reasons cited by the judges why UFV was selected as one of BC’s Top Employers (2022) include:

  • As part of the university’s flexible benefits plan, UFV employees receive a $1,000 health spending account that can be used to cover additional medical or dental expenses or transferred to their personal registered savings accounts.
  • UFV supports employees through various stages of life, from maternity and parental leave top-up payments for parents-to-be to flexible work options to help balance personal and family commitments, to phased-in retirement work options for those in the latter stages of their career.
  • UFV recognizes exceptional performance and achievement through internal awards for a variety of categories, including community service, research and teaching excellence, employee excellence, and long service.

    Whitney Fordham of UFV Alumni in her home office. Many staff employees have transitioned to a hybrid model, where they work part of the week and home and part on campus.