Nominations continue to roll in for Top Small Workplaces 2009. If you haven't nominated your organization yet, you may do so here. Hurry, though – the nominations window closes on Friday, January 30.
Once again, I have pulled essays from some of the latest nominators that speak to the employee engagement and team building within the workplaces they have nominated for this year's award. The 2009 winners will be named in The Wall Street Journal on September 28, 2009, and honored at a conference in Chicago (location TBA) on October 1-2, 2009. You can access an award process timeline here.
Before reading the new essays below, you can catch up on past essays in this series with the following links:
For privacy I've removed the company name and any other revealing wording from the descriptions below.
Nominee from the communications industry, based in Illinois:
When you get an esoteric team of designers, writers and strategists focused on building brands, and put them in an environment that focuses on collaboration and partnership wonderful things can happen. And that’s a day in the life around here. [The company] is a communications design firm that helps clients articulate their brand stories. We work with big corporations as well as small companies and nonprofit organizations to create lasting, emotional connections to their most important audiences.
Nominee from the consumer goods industry, based in Oregon:
We were acknowledged for [sustainability] practices that have been part of our core principals since we started brewing beer 21 years ago. Over the years we have been committed stewards of the environment and have remained dedicated to operating our brewery in the most responsible manner possible. As an employee owned company we share this recognition with our employees who take pride in ownership and participation. Open communication and suggestions from employees have contributed greatly to the success of managing and maintaining socially and environmentally fair business practices.
Nominee from the technology/software industry, based in California:
At [the company] the work environment is always fun and energetic. (There's a basketball goal right behind my desk!) Management has an open door policy, and are easy to talk to about anything. They also encourage personal growth, and love to reward employees for their hard work with parties, bonuses, and promotions. Need I say more?
Nominee from the professional services industry, based in Ohio:
The managerial strategy is well-tailored to achieve both high employee morale and maximum business results. Examples include casual dress code for employees outside of client meetings, purchasing lunch for all employees if weekly sales goals are met, and a willingness to hire smart people and train them rather than requiring a business/finance major or background. This makes them one of the few workplaces creating jobs in the economically battered ... area.
Nominee from the construction industry, based in Maryland:
As we move forward in this challenging economy, our company is focused on building the most valuable element of any business – the people. The future success of [the company] rests in the hands of everyone within the organization. The deeply rooted culture of coaching team members to make empowered decisions to "do the right thing" is a fundamental ingredient of our success in achieving customer satisfaction and employee retention.
Do any of these descriptions reflect the employee engagement activities present in your organization? If so, and it meets our criteria, nominate it as a 2009 Top Small Workplace today!