Our team members come from diverse backgrounds, with each person possessing unique, individual skills that contribute to delivering value across our business. We engage and invest in our people to create a positive, respectful, professional, inclusive and rewarding workplace that is focused on their individual well-being. Our approach generates value through the creation of a thriving workplace that supports Bell’s business operations.
We engage and invest in our people to create a sustainable future. A thriving workforce is a productive and creative workforce, comprised of enthusiastic team members who can develop innovative services to accelerate growth and who can personally champion the customer experience.
How we monitor impact and progress:
Topic |
2022 performance |
YoY change |
2022 third-party verification |
Trend |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team member well-being | 90% of people leaders to complete mandatory base training on mental health footnote 1 | 91% | –1 percentage point | PwCfootnote 2 | Achieved |
| Health and safety | Report annual time lost accident frequency rate in our workplace by injuries per 200,000 hours worked | 1.11 | Improved by 0.01 | PwC | Improving |
| Gender diversity footnote 3 | 35% gender diverse Directors on the Board | 36% | No change | Data not available | Achieved |
| 35% gender diverse representation in executive positions (vice president level and above) by the end of 2023 | 32% | –1 percentage point | PwC | Decreasing | |
| BIPOC representation | 25% BIPOC representation in Bell senior management (director level and executives) by 2025 | 23% | +3 percentage points | PwC | Improving |
| 40% BIPOC representation in new graduate and intern hires | 52% | +7 percentage pointsfootnote 4 | PwC | Achieved | |
| Team member engagement | Reach and maintain an overall team member engagement score of 75%footnote 5 | 76% | No change | PwC | Achieved |
At the end of 2022, our team consisted of 44,610 employees, a decrease of 5,171 employees, compared to the 49,781 employees at the end of 2021, attributable to the sale of a subsidiary, coupled with natural attrition, retirements and workforce reductions.
To learn more about our workforce data, see our 2022 ESG data summary file. GRI 2-7GRI 102-7GRI 102-8GRI 401-1
Team member well-being
Bell team members bring our corporate purpose and strategic imperatives to life every day. To support the Bell team, we strive for a dynamic culture where all team members feel valued and respected in a safe, supported environment. We offer inclusive benefits, ongoing education and awareness programs and a range of progressive initiatives to foster well-being and success.
Our activities and outcomes Fostering a healthy and fulfilling workplace
A diverse, respectful and inclusive workplace is critical to Bell’s culture and our team’s success. We uphold the human rights of our team members and strive to ensure our workplace is free from harassment, violence and discrimination.
Across Bell, we have implemented a robust, respectful workplace program augmented by our Human Rights and Accommodation policy. This includes prevention-focused training, a zero-tolerance approach to workplace harassment and violence, and an internal mediation program and guidance for anyone experiencing family or intimate-partner violence. We also have a team of trained professionals who provide support to team members and investigate complaints of harassment and violence. In February 2023, we launched an enhanced Human Rights and Accommodation policy including new guides to help team members understand their rights, roles and processes.
In 2022, we launched an updated Drug and Alcohol policy and leader guide to support team members struggling with substance use.
To learn more about human rights and internal complaint resolution, see our Ethics and human rights information sheet and Bell’s Code of Business Conduct, which outlines the core values and standards that team members are expected to uphold and commit to on an annual basis. GRI 410-1GRI 412-1GRI 415-1GRI 205-2
Strengthening mental health in the workplace
In 2010, we launched our workplace mental health program alongside the launch of the Bell Let’s Talk initiative. Today, we measure over 90 metrics every quarter to monitor progress and take appropriate actions to support our workforce.
Since the program’s launch, we have hosted almost 1,600 mental health awareness and anti-stigma campaigns and events – with more than 31,000 employees participating in 2022 alone and reporting a 94% satisfaction rate.
All Bell leaders are required to complete the Workplace Mental Health Leadership training, certified by Queen’s University, with 91% footnote 6 of all leaders having completed the training within the required time. In 2022, we launched an updated training curriculum that addresses remote and mobile work situations and reflects the latest practices and trends, including the intersectionality of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging with mental health. We also made in-class mental health training more accessible for union representatives and health and safety committee members, and offered all team members Building Blocks for Positive Mental Health online training.
Following Bell’s workplace mental health initiatives, we have observed a 30% decrease in short-term disability claims related to mental health since 2010, and a decrease of relapse and recurrence rates of more than 50%.
In 2022, we migrated to a new Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) online platform. This platform is easier to use, more accessible, and provides self-guided programs to support team members in building resilience and managing mental health challenges. Other services include unlimited mental health care coverage, virtual telemedicine, online cognitive behavioural therapy and a variety of total-health resources in order to meet team members’ individual and evolving needs.
To learn more about our leadership in workplace mental health, see our Empowering voices and fostering a space for all information sheet and our Mental health policy.
Providing competitive compensation, benefits and resources
Bell’s compensation package includes a competitive base salary, strong performance incentives, and retirement plans managed under a comprehensive governance structure including a responsible investing policy – representing a total compensation package well above the Canadian median compensation.
We recognize our team members’ performance by aligning their compensation with progress on Bell’s six strategic imperatives and financial performance, as well as their individual achievements. The majority of team members participate in the Achievement Incentive Plan, which in recent years has paid out near or above targets.
Team members also have comprehensive, employer-paid group health plans, paid sickness and disability leaves, vacation days and a new flexible holiday policy.
Additionally, we offer savings and wealth-building opportunities, such as an employee stock purchase plan (ESP) with company matching contributions, a group tax-free savings account (group TFSA) and a group retirement savings plan (group RSP). Team members receive discounts on their Bell services and purchases at The Source stores.
We modernized our benefits program in January 2023 to offer more flexibility and enhanced wellness support. This includes new life insurance, disability and health plan options. We also introduced a new lifestyle account that can be used to cover wellness and other lifestyle spending, such as fitness and recreation expenses, or educational and daycare costs. These initiatives are in line with Bell’s goal to continually improve its benefits offerings to better meet the health and wellness needs of Bell team members and their families. We also introduced a new gender affirmation benefit to increase access and provide financial support to plan members in their transitioning process. This supplements provincial health care plans up to a lifetime maximum of $20,000.
We provide equitable compensation based on skills, role, performance and the external market, regardless of age, disability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, cultural heritage or creed. We perform frequent wage-gap analyses to seek to ensure alignment with our diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging commitments.
To seek to maintain our market competitiveness, we conduct ongoing market reviews using best-in-classfootnote asterisk compensation surveys.
To learn more about our family-friendly workplace, watch our Bell for Better video.
To learn more about pay equity, benefits, retirement and savings, see our Benefits, retirement, savings and pay equity information sheet. GRI 201-3 GRI 401-2GRI 401-3
Maintaining strong health and safety practices
Our occupational health and safety management system aligns with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 45001 standard. All our business units have designated health and safety coordinators. This structure seeks to ensure continuous reporting to the Health and Safety governance team and compliance with operational requirements.
Working in partnership with team members and union representatives, we established two types of committees: Local Health and Safety Committees (LHSCs) and Corporate Health and Safety Committees (CHSCs). In compliance with occupational health and safety regulations, these committees cover our operations throughout Canada with representation from operational and clerical functions. The committees meet periodically to address health and safety challenges, perform workplace inspections and collaborate with the corporate Health and Safety team on the development and implementation of prevention programs.
We maintain our focus on prevention by continually improving hazard-prevention programs and assessing the company’s various functions for potential risks. This enables us to create synergies and align practices across all our business lines to evolve our health and safety programs.
Prevention plans, pre-work hazard assessments, wellness programs and extensive communications related to safe work practices continued throughout 2022. Operational measures this year included an increase in health and safety training hours and an increased leader presence in the field. As a result, our overall lost-time accident frequency rate in 2022 was 1.11 footnote 7, and total reportable health and safety cases remained consistent year over year. We are implementing a safety qualification program specific to higher-risk activities that will evolve throughout 2023.
While the health and safety of our team members is of the utmost importance at Bell, we regrettably experienced a workplace fatality in 2022 involving a Bell Technical Solutions Inc. (BTS) technician who fell from a ladder. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is currently conducting an investigation, and the official cause has not yet been determined. Bell’s objective is to minimize workplace accidents and avoid fatalities.
To learn more about health and safety programs, see our Health and safety information sheet. GRI 403-1GRI 403-2GRI 403-4GRI 403-6GRI 403-7GRI 403-9
Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
At Bell, we are proud of our focus on fostering a diverse, inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace where all team members feel valued, respected and supported. We are dedicated to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, where every team member has the opportunity to reach their full potential. The integration of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging programs within Bell fosters the innovation and creativity of our team members.
Our activities and outcomesDemonstrating organizational leadership and commitment
Our Diversity Leadership Council (DLC) champions DEIB across the organization. The DLC defines Bell’s DEIB strategy and develops company-wide implementation plans for specific actions. The DLC is comprised of 19 diverse senior leaders, including vice presidents, who represent each business unit and the markets we serve across Canada. We work with these leaders to ensure our business strategy and human resource policies align with our DEIB goals. In addition to the DLC, our governance framework includes a dedicated DEIB team, business unit committees and Employee Resource Groups to support our DEIB strategy. Employee Resource Groups at Bell include Black Professionals at Bell, Pride at Bell and Women at Bell. In 2022, we launched Diversability at Bell through which team members with a disability and their allies can connect, learn and work to influence change and promote accessibility.
In line with our objective to improve gender diversity, we are a signatory to the Catalyst Accord 2022 and a member of the 30% Club. Our current gender diversity target is a minimum of 35% gender diverse Directors on the BCE Board, and at least 35% of Bell leaders at the vice president level and above by the end of 2023. By the end of 2022, we were at 32% for executivesfootnote 8 and 36% for Board members. Bell is committed to developing women talent in our leadership pipeline. We achieve this through mentoring, coaching and sponsorship, with a focus on women in succession planning and within Bell’s NextGen high-potential talent program. In 2022, female representation has increased by 13 percentage points within the Executive Office and by nine percentage points at the senior vice president level. In addition, BIPOC representation has increased by 17 percentage points at the senior vice president level and by two percentage points at the vice president level.
To learn more about our gender diversity initiatives, see our Empowering voices and fostering a space for all information sheet.
Bell was awarded the Platinum Parity Certification by Women in Governancefootnote asterisk, reflecting our leadership and progress in gender parity and the effectiveness of key enablers we have put in place including governance, data analysis, talent development and leadership.
In 2022, Bell continued to take meaningful actions to address the impacts of systemic racism on Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour. We set a target for BIPOC representation in our senior management team (director-level and executives) of at least 25% by 2025. As of the end of 2022, we were at 23% footnote 8. We exceeded our target of 40% BIPOC representation in our new graduate and intern hires, achieving 52% representation footnote 8.
Gender diverse Directors on the BCE Board (in %) footnote 8
BIPOC representation in senior management (director-level and executives) (in %) footnote 8
In 2022, Bell signed on to the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program established by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB). PAR is a program that supports progressive improvement in Indigenous relations with a certification program that confirms corporate performance and commitment. Bell plans to be certified by 2025.
To learn more about our diversity composition, see our 2022 ESG data summary file which provides numerical data on our key ESG topics. GRI 405-1
Engaging with teams on diversity
As part of our effort to advance our DEIB strategy, we consult with members of various identity groups to understand their experiences at work. In 2022, we held a series of consultations to encourage discussions around workplace experiences and inclusion at Bell. In conjunction with our Team Survey results, we analyzed the insights of these consultations to identify areas of opportunity.
Our DEIB strategy and self-disclosure rate of 77% have significantly increased our understanding of the representation of women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities in our workforce.
Attracting diverse talent
Bell continues to advocate for more women and other underrepresented groups to take on roles in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). We work with organizations such as Women in Communications and Technology (WCT), the WIT Network, WomenHack, and Black Professionals in Tech Network (BPTN).
In 2022, Bell continued to prioritize hiring more people from underrepresented groups. We partnered with organizations to connect us with high-potential talent from diverse communities, including Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ individuals, and military reservists and veterans. We also worked with new partners who connected us with refugees and newcomers to Canada. We developed internal processes to help find opportunities for these individuals and to support expedited hiring.
To learn more about our initiatives, see our Empowering voices and fostering a space for all information sheet.
To learn more about how we welcome newcomers, see our Bell for Better video.
Team member engagement and development
Bell is made of highly skilled, dynamic and engaged individuals who we want to see grow and succeed. We believe we are better when we invest in our team’s development through learning programs, recognition and engagement to ensure each team member feels a sense of belonging with unparalleled opportunities to grow and make an impact.
Our activities and outcomesListening to ensure we adapt
Our annual Team Survey is a key tool in capturing both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate the degree of team member engagement with questions about communication, recognition, trust and respect.
We had 83% of team members participate in the 2022 survey. The overall engagement score was 76% footnote 9, one point above our target. We had 79% of team members report that they are proud to work for Bell and 81% were pleased to see how their individual work contributes to the company’s success.
In 2022, the CEO Dialogue initiative invited team members from various levels in the organization to participate in one of eight focus groups with Mirko Bibic, our CEO. This direct dialogue creates a better understanding of internal challenges and fosters discussion with executive leadership that goes beyond traditional reporting structures.
Connecting to our employee values
In developing our Employee Value Proposition, we conducted focus groups and interviews with team members across the company. Three distinct themes emerged through the focus groups: Bell is a place where they can make an impact, where they can immerse themselves in opportunities, and where they feel a sense of belonging.
We implement various initiatives to respond to team members’ desire to engage in environmental initiatives, including tree planting activities and the installation of 200 rechargeable electric vehicle stations in workplaces nationwide. This builds on our initiatives to introduce low-carbon investment options for employees, including the Low Carbon Global Equity Index Fund that aims to minimize carbon exposure by over-weighting companies with lower carbon emissions. We also adopted a new Responsible Investing policy for our pension plans.
Our annual Bell for Better Team Giving campaign allows team members to provide ongoing support to causes that matter to them. They can donate through a payroll deduction, by credit card, or by volunteering their time to the charity or not-for-profit organization of their choice. In 2022, the Bell team’s combined efforts raised a total of $4.4 million for charities all over Canada with more than 100,000 volunteer hours logged to support community organizations big and small.
Fostering a culture of continuous learning and development
Bell offers many resources for continuous learning, helping team members develop new skills, expand their knowledge and broaden their outlook beyond essential training and on-the-job learning.
In April 2022, we launched a new career and learning intranet site. The site is a one-stop inventory of enterprise learning options with the aim of guiding team members as they explore training options and pursue new opportunities to advance their careers.
To support Bell’s high-tech transformation, we added new technical content from our preferred vendors in September 2022. This tool provides a personalized learning experience with recommendations based on career goals and pre-selected areas of interest. It also provides job recommendations for advancement within our company.
In 2022, our team members once again surpassed 1 million videos viewed for the third consecutive year (1.1 million), spending an average of 3.5 hours per user on learning. This put us over the 75th percentilefootnote asterisk among similar organizations with this type of offering. We also have mobile-friendly, micro-learning platforms for our frontline team members who are in the field. These platforms attract more than 14,000 users and 1,500 custom learning sessions annually.
Bell’s virtual university, Bell U, includes the Bell U Academy re-skilling program and the Bell U Community up-skills program. Our Bell U Academy offers both online and on-the-job learning, allowing pre-qualified team members to redirect their careers toward software development, artificial intelligence/ machine learning, cloud architecture, cybersecurity, and business intelligence. The program has been highly successful.
Our Bell U Community provides access to online high-tech learning resources to our 4,500 highly-technical team members. The top 15 focus areas are aligned with our main skills gaps. We continue to promote the platform throughout the company and achieved a 200% increase in participation in 2022.
To learn more about team member learning and development, see our 2022 ESG data summary and Engagement, learning and development information sheet. GRI 404-2GRI 404-3
Preparing future leaders
Our Leadership Pathways program plays an ongoing, integral role in positioning our leaders for success, with topics including leadership foundations, coaching, feedback, building resilience, among others. In 2022, we saw an annual participation rate increase of 30%.
Our Next Generation program identifies high-potential leaders at the manager, senior manager, and director levels. These individuals then participate in structured, corporate-wide learning development programs and in tailor-made sessions aimed at preparing them for their next challenge. These opportunities accelerate individual growth, build a strong personal brand, and promote networking and leadership skills. The success of our high-potential development and succession planning is evident. Since 2018, 100% of promotions at the vice president level have come from our high-potential leadership pipeline.
Bell’s new mentoring platform maximizes exposure and engagement by building human connections in our hybrid work environment. In 2022, 16,000 leaders were invited to become mentors, and we expect to meet our target of 10% of leaders in mentoring relationships by Q4 2023.
To learn more about these initiatives, see our Engagement, learning and development information sheet.
Encouraging a culture of team member recognition
In 2021, we launched Better Together, a new unified recognition program for all team members. Since the launch, over 90% of team members are engaged in the platform and 74% of our leaders are active in the tool each month, facilitating over 161,000 peer-to-peer recognition gestures. Better Together transforms how we recognize team members and provides a meaningful and fun way for Bell teams to connect and celebrate milestones.
The Bravo Award is the most prestigious award at Bell, recognizing outstanding performance by individuals and teams. We also celebrate service anniversary milestones and we honour our retirees to recognize and thank them for their contributions. These programs contribute to thousands of tangible awards for Bell team members.
To learn more about our recognition initiatives, see our Engagement, learning and development information sheet.
Building strong relationships with labour unions
Our employees have the inherent right to associate with labour unions and enter into collective bargaining. Approximately 43% of all BCE team members were represented by labour unions in Canada. Throughout Canada, unionized team members belong to more than 60 different bargaining units represented by 13 different labour unions. Our various collective agreements reinforce the importance of having a fair, inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and supported.
Different collective agreement provisions include:
- Joint labour-union committees that provide an opportunity to discuss important matters while improving relationships between the parties;
- A well-defined grievance procedure;
- Transfer and job posting procedures to facilitate professional mobility;
- Advance notice and discussion with unions prior to implementation of significant changes impacting team members.
To learn more about labour unions, see our Engagement, learning and development information sheet.
