As employers take extraordinary steps to meet the needs of workers and customers during the pandemic, the Top Workplaces awards are recognizing those efforts.
Survey feedback from employees is the sole basis for determining Top Workplaces. And that feedback serves as the ultimate test of how employers are responding in the age of the coronavirus.
“If COVID taught us anything, it’s that asking questions and listening to employees is critical to navigating this new world of work,” said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “More than ever, you need to be more intentional about your culture.”
This marks the eighth year The Salt Lake Tribune has partnered with Philadelphia-based Energage to rank the Top Workplaces in Utah. The foundation of the program is a scientific survey of employees who rate their workplace culture.
Surveying began in March, when news articles and promotions encouraged nominations for Top Workplaces consideration. In all, 1,775 employers in the state were invited to have their employees take the survey. Any organization was eligible to participate, provided it had at least 35 employees in Utah. Employers could be public, private, nonprofit or governmental. There is no cost to enter the Top Workplaces program.
Combined, the companies surveyed for the 2021 program employed 59,244 Utah workers. Of employees who received questionnaires, 33,579 responded, either on paper or online. For 2021, 147 employers earned recognition as Top Workplaces.
The employee engagement survey of 24 questions gathers responses regarding issues relating to workplace culture:
• Alignment — where the company is headed, its values, cooperation, effective meetings.
• Coaching — managers care about concerns, are helpful, encourage employee development.
• Connection — employees feel appreciated, work is meaningful, working at full potential, feel informed.
• Engagement — productivity, retention, recruiting.
• Leadership — confidence in company leaders.
• Performance — execution, open-mindedness, innovation, clued-in leadership.
• The Basics — pay, benefits, work/life flexibility, training, expectations.
Employers that score high enough are recognized as Top Workplaces. They are ranked by size (large, midsize, small) to accurately compare results. Energage also determines special award winners based on standout scores on specific survey topics.
Wonder why a particular company was not on the list? Perhaps it chose not to participate, or it did not score well enough in the survey.
Energage sometimes disqualifies employers based on questionable results detected through statistical tests it runs to ensure organizations are accurately administering the survey.
To nominate an organization for the 2022 program, go to sltrib.com/nominate.