Despite virus, nominees are sought

In a year gripped by COVID-19, arguably the worst public health crisis in decades, the South Florida Sun Sentinel is inviting the public to nominate the best employers in South Florida as Top Workplace.

It is the seventh consecutive year that the news organization has recognized companies and nonprofit organizations in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties for their efforts to boost employee engagement, attract and retain top talent and transform the workplace culture.

This year, the exercise is taking place as the COVID-19 pandemic is severely depressing local, state and national economies, and undermining key regional industries such as hospitality and leisure, trade and transportation and others that rely on in-person customer contact. Layoffs and furloughs are dominating the region’s job market. For many who are employed, morale is low.

But Energage, the research firm that is the Sun Sentinel’s research partner in the Top Workplaces project, says it has found an across-the-board increase in overall employee engagement since COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders took effect beginning March 15.

“Since mid-March, we have seen some organizations shy away from c o l l e c t i n g e mp l oye e feedback due to what we have termed, ‘fear of bad results,’” said Doug Claffey, founder and chief strategy officer of Energage.

But a comparison of employee feedback in Top Workplace surveys before and after local shutdown orders show that most managements “are leaning into this crisis, communicating, and listening more” to employ