For the second consecutive years, Bestech has been named among the 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada.

The innovative firm ranked as No. 23 on the 2013 list, moving up 18 spots from its 2012 position.

The 2013 Best Small and Medium Employer (BSME) list appears in the March issue of PROFIT magazine, which is now available newsstands.

The list is also available online at www.profitguide.ca.

The list of top 50 companies is also available online at www.profitguide.ca.

Employee engagement is defined as “the degree to which employers have captured the hearts and minds of their employees” and it is used as the standard for determining which organizations are the ‘best’ employers, according to a news release from the company.

In this study, feedback is directly received from employees about their workplace and their work experience, which enables the study partners to measure the employees’ level of engagement.

This national awards program recognizes top employers with between 50 and 399 employees.

The rankings are primarily determined by using the results from Employee Opinion Surveys.

The evaluation process also includes the assessment of organizational practices and perspectives from the leadership team. Study partners include Queen's School of Business, Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing and AON Hewitt.

According to BSME research, employees are engaged when they “say, stay and strive”: they “consistently speak positively about the organization to others, have an intense desire to be a member of the organization, and exert extra effort and participate in behaviours that contribute to business success.”

The study assesses the following engagement drivers in order to determine employees’ levels of engagement: recognition, managing performance, career opportunities, organizational reputation, pay and senior leadership.

BSME studies indicate that organizations with high engagement are more likely to experience financial success, low turnover, unsolicited applications for employment, high employee morale and increased productivity.

“We are so proud to be recognized again on the list of 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada,” said Denis Pitre, co-CEO of Bestech.

“One of our priorities at Bestech is high employee engagement. The result of this survey is evidence that our employees are aligned with the company’s objectives. We realize that our employees are the foundation of Bestech's success; therefore, it is important to implement practices that will encourage them to be committed to our team.”