By Sanam Islam

Each week, the Financial Post profiles one winner of Waterstone Human Capital's 2008 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures program. This week, Don Schroeder, chief executive of The TDL Group Corp., explained to Sanam Islam how the company demonstrates excellence in the five criteria used to evaluate companies nominated for the program.

Company: The TDL Group Corp.

CEO: Don Schroeder

Number of employees: 100,000-plus

Annual revenue 2007: $1.9-billion

Vision and Leadership

Since Tim Hortons was founded in 1964, the 'Can Do' spirit fostered by co-founder Ron Joyce has been a key part of the company's corporate culture, suggesting there isn't anything it can't accomplish.

More recently, Tim Hortons leaders committed to becoming a "lean" enterprise, which emphasizes respect for people, focuses on the customer and works to eliminate waste to ensure time spent at work adds value.

"It's a continuous improvement. People embrace the culture and love the opportunity to improve operations, which brings greater job satisfaction," Mr. Schroeder says.

Cultural alignment, measurement and sustainability

Communication is key to sustaining and aligning corporate culture. Tim Hortons does that through regular all-employee meetings, store owner meetings, newsletters and electronic messages. In addition, Mr. Schroeder regularly meets at random with 20 people within the organization to answer questions and listen to ideas for improvement.

Tim Hortons also conducts employee and franchisee surveys, and uses a strategy map to outline goals across the organization.

Rewards and Recognition

"Every member of the team is key to the overall success of the company," Mr. Schroeder says. That is why all employees participate in Tim Hortons's profit-sharing program.

In addition, employees and store owners are recognized for milestone service and achievement. Store owners are also awarded for the top operation scores at the regional and national level. Corporate employees are eligible for the Humanitarian Award program, in which they are nominated by peers for their community service involvement.

Corporate performance

In 2007, Tim Hortons's annual revenue increased 14.2% to approximately $1.9-billion, and profits increased by 13.2% to $408-million from a year earlier.

In the past 10 years, the company's average same-store sales growth has consistently been above 8%. Tim Hortons has also been increasing its global market share; it now has more than 260 outlets in Ireland and England, and recently celebrated its 500th store in the United States.

Corporate social responsibility

"As a corporation, a key part of our culture is giving back," Mr. Schroeder says.

Ron Joyce created the Tim Hortons Children's Foundation in 1975. The foundation offers a fun, educational camp environment for underprivileged children. In 2008, 13,000 children attended the camps.

Aside from helping children, Tim Hortons raises funds for hospitals and other local charities through in-store programs.

In addition, the company runs a sustainable coffee program that assists farmers in growing and marketing coffee in Central and South America.