Honor Roll Recognition Recap
Honor Roll Recognition
Presented by Cynthia Cobb, Program Director
May 30, 2013
Thirteen in 2013 – those are the results of this year’s Honor Roll selection process. Hmmm. Thirteen is often thought to be an unlucky number. Not so for the employees, families, communities, customers, and other constituents impacted by the socially responsible workplace practices and community service demonstrated by our current Honor Roll.
Prior to being named to the Honor Roll, each employer submitted a written application outlining how the organization demonstrates the 10 Characteristics of a Caring Company. The applications served as the qualitative segment of the selection process. The applications were reviewed by seasoned business professionals who make up our Independent Review Panel. We also reviewed employee survey data from the applicants for the quantitative segment of the selection process.These 13 employers regularly adhere to all of the 10 Characteristics. There are cards listing these on your tables. For my remaining time, I’ll share specific examples of how these exemplary employers have integrated one of the 10 Characteristics into its daily business practices.
At Convergint Technologies employees can be assured they will be treated with respect and dignity, that leadership strives to walk the talk at all times, and communication occurs frequently and involves listening as well as talking. From its inception, the building systems company’s founders created a list of ten guiding principles known by all employees, customers, and partners as Values & Beliefs. These include:
- I am Convergint – I own my position on the team
- We deliver results – period
- We create a positive work environment – we celebrate and recognize good stuff
- We promote fun and laughter on a daily basis (my personal favorite)
The Values and Beliefs are the foundation of Convergint’s culture and are clearly reflected in the organization’s policies and practices. Congratulations on your 9th year on the Honor Roll!
It would be very difficult to find a single employee at Ryan, LLC who doesn’t have “focus and fire” about the job they perform. All employees have line of sight between what they are expected to do on a daily basis and the organization’s strategic goals. Employees have access to an online dashboard that allows them to monitor their progress against benchmarks relevant to their positions. They are empowered and participate in discussions about the results they are to achieve. Additionally, employees are routinely invited to offer suggestions for continuous improvement and to participate in strategic planning sessions. At the end of the day, Ryan employees know the work they do for this Texas-headquartered corporate tax advisory services firm is important. Way to go, Ryan for your 3rd straight year on the Honor Roll!
Diversity and inclusion are integral to the culture of Bright Horizons, an early childhood education company. To engage all employees in welcoming, understanding, and nurturing each other as they do the children and families they serve, Bright Horizons initiated a “One Thing” Campaign. By encouraging employees to identify just one thing to change, the results were several good ideas being implemented and an increase in ownership of diversity and inclusion at all levels of the company. In an effort to ensure employees don’t think “One Thing” is a one and done, Bright Horizons recently launched its “One More Thing” Campaign. Employees who have already instituted one improvement are challenged to find another way to further Bright Horizons’ quest for employees to be comfortable being who they are so they can do their best work and reach their full potential. Bravo, Bright Horizons for this and for 6 years on the Honor Roll!
CBRE, a global commercial real estate company and another 6-year Honor Roll employer, wrote in their application “We recognize that successful alternative work solutions can lead to higher levels of employee engagement, enhanced performance, improved employee work/life balance, and increased employee retention.” In this age of busy-ness with growing demands on employees’ lives, CBRE’s realization is a very positive signal to its employees. The company has launched an initiative to focus on what work employees do, the results they achieve and not on where the work is performed. Workplace 360, one of CBRE’s newest work strategies, reinforces CBRE’s brand philosophy. It also reflects CBRE’s industry leadership, optimizes work space, and serves as a talent acquisition and retention tool – all without sacrificing collaboration or its organizational culture. Good job, CBRE!
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management is another employer that has embraced alternate work arrangements. In fact 40% of its staff has a non-traditional work schedule and over 60% participate in the school’s Summer Hours Program. Employees are allowed to attend 2 parent-teacher conferences/year or onsite yoga classes during their work day. During the last year, the school made adjustments to even out workloads for employees and to make sure employees interrupt potential stress with official breaks during the work day, the latter an idea resulting from its newly formed FISH! Committee. Both improvements resulted in employees reporting they feel they can better pursue individual work/life balance. We congratulate the school for making these changes and for its 8 years as an Honor Roll employer!
Enterprise Fleet Management enables the well-being of its employees by offering benefits choices to meet their needs. Due to employee input, the company now offers dental insurance as an a la carte option, makes employer Health Savings Account contributions, and has continued offering confidential health assessments to promote wellness and early identification of any health risks. Employees who complete an assessment receive recommendations about what they can do to improve their health as well as a financial discount on their medical premiums. Saving lives and saving money – that’s a win-win for employees thanks to Enterprise Fleet, which has been on the Honor Roll for 7 years. Congratulations!
BCU continues to dedicate time and resources to develop great leaders at all levels of the financial services organization. Its Talent Management team leads the effort by conducting talent reviews, creating succession plans, facilitating 360 degree feedback, and much more to ensure employees (especially those leading people) have the opportunities to become the best leaders they can. This past year, BCU offered a variety of business assignments where employees could try out a different job by working in a different role on a temporary, part-time basis. This enabled skill development, networking with other departments, and employee decision-making about his or her future career moves. Each year high-performing managers get tapped to tackle a business problem and get visibility with Senior Management when they present their possible solutions. Lastly, the BCU management team participated in a new seminar, “Emotional Intelligence for Success”, and plans are in place to further expand their learning and development opportunities this year. Eight years strong, BCU! Kudos to you!
Reviewers really liked WellStar Health System’s new and enhanced recognition program – SHINE – Sharing – Healing – Inspiring – Nurturing – Enriching. Hearing from employees that one of the things they want most from their jobs is recognition for a job well done and knowing there’s a strong correlation between team member commitment and customer experience, WellStar offers a wide variety of awards employees of all levels can receive or give. Information about award criteria, application or nomination, and how to claim awards are just a few essential pieces of information that can be found on the SHINE website. As one manager said, “Being able to go to one place and find everything I need makes it much easier to take the time to say thank you to my team.” The enhancements WellStar made now allow it to track participation and to analyze performance in organizational areas where recognition is given, thus enabling this healthcare organization (which has been on the Honor Roll for 6 years) to assess impact. Continuous improvement at its best!
Alliant Credit Union, celebrating a 2nd year on the Honor Roll, believes its sound corporate governance has facilitated its success. The Alliant Board of Directors established standards of integrity and ethical behavior. This Code of Business Ethics promotes honest and ethical conduct, sensitivity to conflicts of interest, and compliance with all relevant rules and regulations. The Code is reinforced with training, surveys, and other practices to ensure employees clearly understand the expectations. Based upon recent survey results, we’d say what Alliant does is working. Either all or nearly all employees believe Alliant is committed to ethical business conduct and that the Code is a useful tool for understanding the behavioral expectations. Great job, Alliant!
As a community hospital, Sherman Health is staunchly committed to helping others in their geography. Its first focus is access to health care and Sherman provides medical services to low-income, uninsured, or underinsured Kane County residents. Sherman also supports local education. Employees volunteer their time for McKinley Elementary’s reading program. Sherman supplies snacks during standardized test-taking and celebrates students making good grades by providing breakfast, lunch, and a small gift to them. High school and college students can attend Sherman-hosted career exploration events. Lastly, each Sherman leader models the expectation of community involvement by performing at least six hours of community service annually. Let’s have a round of applause for Sherman Health and its 6 years on the Honor Roll!
Over its 5 years on the Honor Roll, Sysmex America, Inc. has expanded its community service efforts. The medical device and diagnostic company promotes volunteerism for educational, environmental, and health charities. In fact, the company received a community participation award for its support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The company is also one of the original mentors and sponsors for AIM High. When disaster strikes, Sysmex employees rally to bring relief to affected people and geographies. Lastly, Sysmex America is an active member of AdvaMed, an industry association advocating for global patient access to the benefits medical technology offers. Community service and public advocacy – two great ways to strengthen communities. Thanks, Sysmex!
Falcon Camp, our Honor Roll employer with the smallest number of employees ~ just 35 of them, takes into account the needs of its customers and staff when making business decisions. Due to the changing demographics and needs of its campers, Falcon now offers ESL classes and tutoring during camp sessions. To make sure it preserves a productive and desirable work environment, Camp executives effectively manage performance and takes action as needed to balance the interests of customers, employees, and the business. It also takes steps to reduce its carbon footprint to save the planet . Congratulations, Falcon Camp, for your 2nd year on the Honor Roll!
Last, but certainly not least, one of our employers reached a big milestone this year. 2013 marks the 10th consecutive year UHC (University HealthSystem Consortium) has been on the Center for Companies That Care Honor Roll! No other organization has reached this impressive milestone. UHC demonstrated in its 2013 application how a strong organization can become even stronger. Over the years, our Independent Review Panel has consistently regarded the near monthly and varied community service this non-profit’s employees does as outstanding. Having more than 90% of employees engaged in volunteerism throughout the year is top-notch. Additionally, our reviewers have noted the consistent practice UHC leadership takes in considering the impact on people when making business decisions. This undoubtedly stems from the organization’s collaborative, respectful and service-oriented culture. Since last year, UHC took steps to further enhance its organizational culture by ensuring employees are “emotionally safe” to speak up on matters of interest and concern. To ensure leaders fully support this aspect of open communication, they are evaluated on this in their performance appraisals. Their performance reviews also assess how well they have engaged their teams to do the important work they do each day. A final example of how UHC has become even stronger, and largely due to its move from suburban Chicago to downtown Chicago, is its expanded work/life initiatives that include “work from home” options for many more employees. You’ve stayed focused on social responsibility, continuing to improve over time, and your employees, their families, and communities have thrived for at least a decade. Outstanding and congratulations on this significant accomplishment!!
So would you agree 13 is a lucky number if you’re associated with any of our Honor Roll employers? We wish we could quantify the full impact they make. We have no doubt employees and their families benefit. We are confident the communities they serve benefit now and that the caring shown today can positively affect future generations. Maybe one of these years we’ll have the magic equation to find an answer. For now, we’re content to know and to be inspired by these “best in class” organizations. May others follow your example!