Canada’s Top 100 Employers

The City of Surrey is extremely pleased to have been recognized as a Top 100 Employer/Top 40 Employer in BC for the last 4 consecutive years (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008).  Considered a leader in its industry, without question, the City of Surrey is becoming ‘the’ place to work.

We believe that it is the employees that work here and the contribution they make every day to the community that distinguishes us and puts us in the elite group we find ourselves in.

With new leadership in place, early in 2008, Human Resources spearheaded an internal campaign to re-establish/revalidate the values within our organization.  As part of this exercise, we asked our employees what makes them proud to work here and to give an example of delivering “excellent” service.  Here is a small sampling of what our employees told us . . .

• My elderly father-in-law was lost in Surrey – trying to find his son’s new house in Cloverdale.  He pulled over to ask a City worker how to get to the address and the worker told him to follow his truck and drove him right to the address.
• As a resident of this City, I know first hand that it’s a great place to live and raise a family.  Before I ever came to work for the City of Surrey, I was proud to tell family and new friends about my City and the great opportunities that we can take advantage of here.  Working for the City has only expanded my appreciation so much further.
• I have been employed for 31 years and never regretted one day.  When I was at the very bottom of my life, Surrey did not cast me aside, but guided me and got me to my feet again.
• Our Staff promote our City as “the” employer and it’s their voice that puts is in the community as the employer of choice.
• I believe one of the most fulfilling things you can do as a public service employee is to turn an angry, upset resident into one who better understands the issue at hand and is made to feel that they have people working for them as opposed to against them.  As for an example of excellent service, just take a walk through the hall and watch.
• Staff delivers excellence every day!  Specific examples only serve to diminish and detract from this fact.  A recent article in the Sun was a testimonial to the ‘value’ Surrey residents receive for each tax dollar paid.  Look no further, collectively this organization is already beyond ‘excellence’ in service delivery.
• A few years ago my daughter was riding her bike on the grass at Sullivan Park.  She saw a worker on a grass cutter waving at her.  My daughter thought that she was going to be scolded for riding on the grass but the employee was calling because her baseball hat had fallen off and she hadn’t noticed.  This was a big deal to her as it was a Blue Jays hat that she treasured at the time.
• Surrey is very progressive.  We are not afraid to try new ideas and lead the pack, which encourages staff to be creative with solutions because we know they will probably be implemented.  Surrey is a large City with lots of clout, so other Cities are always following our lead.  I think of us as being mentors to other smaller Cities.
• I am born and raised here and would like to represent my City through my hard work and determination along with my hospitality towards fellow citizens.
• We are such a large entity, that function with staff that gives 110% pretty much all the time.  There is a sense of pride and accomplishment that radiates down from the City leaders to the department managers to the general workforce to the residents.  Surrey has become a desirable City to live and work in over the years.
• I feel I am working on a team that is trying to make the City a better place each and every day.
• Surrey encourages their employees to learn and move forward always offering opportunity to advance, if you are willing to work at it.  This is how I want to be treated as an employee.  Because of this, the people I work with are a pleasure to be around.  They treat the customer with respect no matter how difficult they are.  They try to resolve the customers issue even if it’s not their department.  They are honest enough to admit when they don’t have the answer.  This is how I would want to be treated if I was the customer.  Great people make a great City to be proud to work for.
• It is a place of diversity, cultural and natural wonders and incredible people.
• It is considered as one of the busiest workplaces in BC and considered as one of the best working places in BC!
• I am proud to work for the City of Surrey because . . . of the progressive, leader role we have taken in the lower mainland; Surrey is not afraid to step out of the comfort zone and try something new; Surrey does not just follow the pack and do what all the other municipalities do . . . they are waiting to see what WE do.