Kaiser Santa Rosa Named One of the Best Places to Work in the North Bay
Marcia Simmons
Monday, September 18, 2006
The North Bay Business Journal
The 24 companies featured in this Best Places to Work in the North Bay special section employ nearly 5,800 people in industries as varied as banking, health care, automotive repair, landscaping and hospitality.
But they have one thing in common: Their employees love them.
"From upper management through all levels, people are supported and respected," said one employee in a comment typical for the winning companies. "This company genuinely cares about its staff."
The winners of this inaugural annual contest survived the six-month process from nominations last spring, followed by a mandatory online employee survey that drew 3,400 responses from across the region.
They acted quickly and decisively to encourage employee participation in the anonymous online survey, showing little fear about how their employees might respond.
As a group, they scored consistently higher in the areas of involvement in decision making and the existence of a defined and fair method for dealing with complaints – both the product of the company's leadership.
The other areas where these companies scored above the average were pride in the work produced and ability to be oneself – both the result of personal and emotional connections with the company.
When asked to express in their own words why their company was a great place to work, few employees mentioned big paychecks or flashy high-tech offices. But many mentioned good management and acknowledgement of their value as individuals.
"So many people have told me that, if they had the right environment, they would work for less money. A good work environment is worth a lot of money," said organization development and management consultant Gloria Dunn of North Bay Management Academy.
Happy employees and fast-growing business success can go hand in hand, as shown by the large number of financial institutions – a booming segment of the North Bay economy – that earned five spots on the list of Best Places to Work.
Companies like the Lok Group and Pacific Landscapes navigated language and technology barriers to ensure that their Latino employees with limited English skills and workers without access to computers could participate in the survey, demonstrating that each employee's opinion was important.
One company, E-Myth Worldwide, was rewarded by a thumbs-up from its employees after a significant restructuring carried out by new management.
"The first thing that makes a happy employee is that they feel respected," Ms. Dunn said. "What I often hear from employees who are in an unhappy situation is 'No one respects me; no one treats me fairly.'"
In a word, 'family' came up often.
The word "family" appeared throughout employee responses. As one employee said, "The family feeling is absolutely genuine. Not only the partners but management, too, are so generous and keen to our needs, concerns and improvement ideas."
And the head of the working family is management. High-rated companies scored well in areas such as management's ability to communicate effectively with workers and treat all employees equally.
"It's essential to have a good relationship with your manager or supervisor when you are spending 40, 60 or even 80 hours a week at this place," said Ms. Dunn. "When leadership isn't functioning in a healthy way is when people start quitting, not being productive and staying home to take 'mental health days' because of stress."