Millennials Award: Teamwork, transparency ring true for top millennial workplaces

Alarge, gold ship’s bell rings loudly throughout Pacific Companies’ offices in Aliso Viejo, Calif., every time a physician is placed in a job by one of the team’s recruiters. It’s a physical representation of the workplace culture. “We accomplish more together. Everybody celebrates everyone’s success,” said Bernice Voorheis, a talent acquisition specialist at the physician recruitment company. “I think that’s important because it shows that people recognize the work that you’re doing. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Recruiting can be a challenging and fast-paced job, Voorheis said, but having a culture where hard work is recognized and appreciated by leaders and peers makes it easier.

Having a great workplace is about more than keeping a pingpong table in the break room or offering free lunches and gym memberships, she said.

“It’s about how we treat you as an employee,” Voorheis said.

Those who work in companies ranked highest by millennial employees in Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work say the key to creating an attractive workplace is fostering a culture of community, respect and transparency.

Building the culture begins during the hiring process at Wallowa County Health Care District, the governing body of Wallowa Memorial Hospital and Wallowa Valley Senior Living in Enterprise, Ore.

Candidates are asked behavior-based interview questions, then given surveys about their core values.

“We really spend a lot of time making sure new hires are a cultural fit for us,” said Brooke Pace, communications director for Wallowa.

At Wallowa, the core values are compassion, respect, integrity, quality, stewardship and family. And those values have shown through during the pandemic, Pace said. Wallowa offers flexible scheduling for employees, which makes it easier for those with children to manage their schedules.

The organization also plans to open an on-site day-care facility this month for employees’ children and is developing a contingency plan if schools in the area switch to remote learning to offer a safe, technology-equipped space with a proctor where students can do schoolwork.

“Being in a rural area, childcare is a significant issue,” Pace said, adding that the area’s few privately run daycare centers always have waiting lists.

The organization also provides a lot of training and growth opportunities for its employees, as well as strong benefits, such as a 9% retirement match and a $15 minimum wage.

“We want people to live up to their fullest potential and feel very fulfilled in their jobs,” she said.

Part of that involves listening to employees and being transparent about the organization’s financials and strategic plan. Employees meet with their supervisors every month to discuss how things are going and share any concerns. Then, the leaders meet and decide how to best address those issues. Wallowa also holds quarterly open forums where employees can question administrators.

“It’s a really great way to get a pulse on where your employees are and how they’re feeling,” Pace said.

At Texas Orthopedic Hospital, the organization surveys employees and has monthly town hall meetings to solicit feedback. And it operates an employee advisory group to hear from staff directly.

“Leaders are employee-focused and our role is to empower our staff and provide them with tools to succeed,” said Karina Lopez, human resources coordinator for HCA Houston Healthcare, which operates Texas Orthopedic Hospital.

At Pacific Companies, the organization’s leaders directly respond to every comment made on Glassdoor, a website where employees can review their employers and will sometimes implement changes based on those comments.

They also have a 30-day, 90-day and one-year interview with new hires to see how they are doing and look for ways to improve their experience. Leaders also share insights into how the company is performing.

“Transparency is key. When a company is not doing well, you need to tell your employees,” Voorheis said. The same is true, she added, when the company is doing well.

Pacific Companies’ leaders also don’t micromanage employees and instead trust them to get the job done, Voorheis said. Because employees know what is going on in the company, they know how their performance affects the organization.

“We have a metrics system, so they know what they need to do,” Voorheis said.

But they also are well connected. When the company went remote for a few months during the peak of the pandemic, they used Zoom to hold meetings and training together. And the CEO held a virtual happy hour every Friday to keep employees engaged. From sharing baby pictures to talking about their first concerts and their hopes for a post-pandemic world, the sessions served as a way to connect and check in on one another, Voorheis said.

“It made it fun, and it actually made us get to know everybody in a different light,” she said.

Day-to-day operations at J2 Interactive, a software development and IT consulting firm based in Charlestown, Mass., didn’t change much during the pandemic. The remote company was already set up to allow employees to live and work just about anywhere in the world and stay connected using a social platform, said Sonia Byard, a professional services coordinator at J2 Interactive.

“While we use this platform to connect with each other on various business functions, we also encourage channels of communication on life topics ranging from fitness to cooking to woodworking and more,” Byard said. ●

Wallowa County Health Care District staff