Winners are based on survey of employees

Who determines Top Workplaces? The best judges: the employeeswho work there.

For the 12th year, the Express-News has partnered with Philadelphia-based Energage to rank the Top Workplaces in the San Antonio metro area. The process is based on a scientific survey of employees who rate their workplace culture. It also gives the companies insights about what makes them unique.

“In times of great change, it is more important than ever to maintain a connection among employees,” said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “When you give your employees a voice, you come together to navigate challenges and shape your path forward based on real-time insights into what works best for your organization.”

The process started in March, when the ExpressNews began news coverage and promotions inviting people to nominate companies as Top Workplaces. Energage also reached out to companies in the region. Throughout the process, 1,032 employers in the region were invited to have their employees take the survey.

Any organization was eligible to participate, provided it had at least 35 employees in the region. Employers could be public, private, nonprofit or governmental. There is no cost to enter the TopWorkplaces program.

Combined, the companies surveyed in 2020 employed 28,870 people in the region. Of the employeeswho received questionnaires, 18,792 responded, either on paper or online. For this year’s list of winners, 85 employers earned recognition as Top Workplaces

and were ranked based on their employee survey feedback.

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, clued in to each other.

Engagement: Productivity, retention, recruiting. Leadership: Confidence in company leaders. Performance: Execution, open-mindedness, innovation, clued-in leadership. The basics: Pay, benefits, flexibility, training, expectations.

Employers that score high enough are recognized as Top Workplaces. Employers are categorized by size, and they are ranked within those size groups to accurately compare results. Energage also determines special award winners based on standout scores on specific survey topics.

Did you look over the list and wonder why a particular company was not on it? It might be because it chose not to participate, or because it did not score well enough in the survey process.

Energage occasionally disqualifies employers based on questionable results detected through statistical tests it runs to ensure organizations are accurately administering the survey.

Want your organization to participate in the 2021 program? Just go to mysan antonio.com/nominate to submit a nomination.

8. PEDERNALES ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC.

Sector: Electric distribution

S.A.-area employees: 510

Interesting facts: The history of PEC, now more than 80 years old, is closely linked with the history of the American cooperative. It is the largest distribution cooperative in the U.S. with over 340,000 active accounts and a service territory nearly the size of New Jersey.

Benefits: 401(k), with an employer match of 10 percent;

12. TASKUS

Sector: Digital support for emerging businesses

S.A.-area employees: 2,500

Interesting facts: TaskUs provides next-generation customer experience. It has adopted two parks, Columbus Park and Dellview Park, and a highway in New Braunfels.

Benefits: Enhanced virtual health services with online primary care; family medical insurance with lower premiums for 90 percent of company; employer contribution to health savings account; employer-paid short- and longterm disability; on-site mental health services through licensed clinicians; wellness breaks; and lounge areas and game systems/rooms.

13. KAHLIG AUTO GROUP

Sector: Auto dealership

S.A.-area employees: 1,441

Interesting facts: Founded and operated on a Christian

14. SCHERTZ-CIBOLOUNIVERSAL CITY ISD

Sector: Public education

S.A.-area employees: 1,937

Interesting facts: The Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School district is a fast-growth district with a small-town atmosphere. It has eight elementary schools, three intermediate schools that house the district’s fifth and sixth graders, two junior high schools, two traditional high schools and one alternative high school.

Benefits: Health, vision and dental insurance; life insurance; accident plus disability and specified disease plans; prepaid legal and employee assistance; and tax-sheltered annuities.

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