Freshii, a global leader in the health-casual restaurant business, was awarded The Ultimate Software Award for Best Workplace Culture at this year’s Canadian HR Awards. The Toronto-based corporate team’s cultural DNA has been built on bringing together like-minded people who share common traits and behaviors, and the judges saw this as best-in-class.
Freshii CEO and founder Matthew Corrin opened the first Freshii in 2005 without any restaurant or retail experience. Today, Freshii operates nearly 300 restaurants across 20 counties. Matthew was able to do this by hiring a hardworking team and building a culture at headquarters. The Freshii team lives by shared values, are guided by Corrin’s founding principles and are motivated to change the way the world eats.
Corrin shares his sentiment on accepting the highly respected accolade, “As Freshii has gotten bigger, our culture has grown stronger. I am proud of our 98 percent millennial head office that is building a global brand with a startup vibe.” The culture at Freshii is energetic, healthy, innovative, hard-working, committed to giving back and driven to be better. The workplace collectively participates in and enjoys a weekly run club, spin and sushi nights, annual same store sales roadmap planning, unlimited paid vacation and standing desks in a shared workspace.
Canadian HR professionals were invited to nominate qualified candidates that made an outstanding contribution to the human resources industry throughout 2016. Finalists completed a thorough submission, outlining unique and impactful traditions, programs and initiatives and how each strategy is being carried out. Out of the 10 finalists, Freshii’s application left the seven judges feeling the most energized about the magic being created within the four walls of their head office.
As Tim Duce, CEO of KMI publishing and events, told to HRM Canada, “The entries have been of an incredibly high caliber this year and I know the judges have deliberated long and hard.” Duce’s company organizes the annual gala dedicated to recognizing high-quality companies that are executing HR on the next level.
