Click here to view the winners
Employees like open communications, the feeling that they can make suggestions and be heard, and the knowledge that their job makes a difference to the company and the communities in which they take part.
Each year, the Best Companies Group offers Alabama businesses a chance to evaluate how well they measure up as great employers — both in the eyes of their employees and in comparison to other companies across the state.
Best Companies Group surveys officials and employees at participating companies, then evaluates the responses and helps management learn their strengths and weaknesses.
Employers are asked to provide basics about their company, such as average salaries, jobs added recently, layoffs and voluntary departures by staff members, benefit plans and policies regarding vacation time, sick days and personal leave days. The company also answers questions on topics like incentives, community service initiatives, fitness facilities, telecommuting, business dress and training.
Employees take a shorter survey, ranking their reactions to statements such as, “The leaders of this organization are open to input from employees, ” or “Safety is a top priority with this organization.” Employees are asked about benefits, plans for staying with the company and whether they would recommend the company to a friend.
Employees also have open-ended questions that cover such ground as “What makes this a good place to work?” and “What would you do to make working here more satisfying?”
The results of the survey go back to the businesses, so company officials can compare their results — based on anonymous surveys of employees and leaders — to benchmarks for the region and make sure managers and employees are on the same wavelength.
More than a learning process for participating firms, the evaluations are also used to select “The Best Companies to Work for in Alabama, ” and awards are presented to the companies in August in a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel. Business Alabama introduces this year’s winners here.
