We want to know how your company stands out from the rest
That means it’s time to show your initiative and nominate your company today!
During our search for the Bay Area’s 2020 Top Workplaces, we asked companies that made the Bay Area News Group’s list to share their stories about how they stand out as a Top Workplace. We also asked them to tell us what it has been like (as a Top Workplace) to navigate the incredibly challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to know what they do for their employees and their customers, and what decisions they had to make. We also wondered how this affected their efforts to engage with the communities they support.
To help encourage employees to nominate their companies as 2021 Top Workplaces, we are providing the insights and strategies in the responses passed along by companies that were ranked on the 2020 Top Workplaces list.
Top Workplaces reveal their stories about what makes them exceptional
1st United Credit Union
1st United is honored to be named a Top Workplace. We work hard to make 1st United a place where people are excited to come to work. With competition for good talent at an all-time high and retaining employees just as important as attracting them, we know that rewarding employees for their hard work and their potential is just as important as attracting new employees. We are putting our employees first — that’s our foundation and our legacy. This award is a testament to our success.
Some of the ways we believe we became a Top Workplace
• Job shadowing: This allows staff to spend time with other departments. It provides inspiration and increases the understanding of our particular business by expanding their professional capabilities; for those looking to grow their careers they gain an understanding of how other departments operate and cross training. In 2020 we implemented a social-distancing job shadow program through videoconferencing that entails several shorter sessions over the course of a few days.
• All-staff training: This is held annually. It brings together staff from all locations for a day of learning, training, recognition and fun.
• Rotation program: With this initiative, we reward employees who want to learn more or try something new by allowing them to work in an area where they might not have prior experience. The program gives employees the opportunity to increase their skill set and challenge themselves while also improving their awareness of the organization’s overall strategy. We have talented employees and this program gives us one more way to engage and retain them.
• Ongoing staff development: Our goal to offer ongoing education and enhancement of skills for staff includes on-premises classes, off-site workshops, self-led education and conferences. Classes include everything from leadership development and learning new software to presentation skills. What’s new for 2020 is that we’re remaining agile during the COVID-19 pandemic and creating short online training sessions, working with staff on remote workplace skills as well as change management strategies.
• Commitment to volunteer: As a company, we want to build upon a rich history of supporting the community through giving and service; 1st United Credit Union encourages our employees to volunteer on company time a minimum of four and up to 20 hours per year during work hours. Volunteering is an excellent employee benefit and a great team-building opportunity for our staff. Plus, it’s fun. Our staff gives back at local schools through our Adopt-a-school program, at the Food Bank, teaching financial education to young people and at-risk individuals, and more.
• Benefits: We recognize that 1st United Credit Union’s most valuable resource is its employees, and that the health and wellness of our employees has a direct impact on the continued success of the company. 1st United invests in our staff with a robust benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, basic and voluntary life insurance, AD&D, STD and LTD. Additional benefits offered are Flexible Spending and Commuter Accounts, Employee Assistance Programs, Discount Tickets Program, Continued Education, Tuition Reimbursement and our 401(k) plan with an exceptional employerpaid match.
BKF Engineers
Because our firm has been consistently named a Bay Area Top Workplace over the past few years, we at BKF Engineers realize that other local companies look to us as a leader in providing top-notch technical work in a healthy environment where employees enjoy coming to work every day. Our high retention rate is a testament to the fact that our staff is encouraged to flourish both professionally and personally. Our firm is still small enough to really get to know one another and work collaboratively together, but large enough that we have the resources to pursue and win stimulating, exciting projects. Some of the values which permeate our work culture include: encouraging, welcoming, and sharing innovative ideas; appreciating and recognizing hard work and the people behind it; communicating across all departments with complete transparency; and providing the best technology, tools, and training available to empower our staff to do the very best work. We are proud that our employees are loyal and committed to BKF, our mission, and these values.
We often refer to our employees and staff as “Team BKF” because we are serious about wanting everyone who works at BKF to feel as if they are part of one big team. Team BKF, through all of the interruption during these months of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, is still successfully maintaining the traditional business operations of our company. We are incredibly grateful to be able to perform our work remotely. And even given the multiple challenges at hand, our firm is still conducting business as usual including: billing and accounts receivable through our Accounting Department, chasing new pursuits with the help of our Business Development and Marketing Department, and obviously maintaining IT functions so we can all communicate effectively with one other and with our clients. We haven’t skipped a beat. We are continuing to adapt and refine our strategies to remain flexible; and through this diligence, Team BKF is wellpositioned to maintain our service levels, as needed, through this unfortunate situation. We are confident that the measures we have taken to date will ensure the long-term success of BKF Engineers when this is all over.
There is no doubt that the emotional roller coaster of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shelter-in-place order has impacted all of us in one way or another. As part of our company-sponsored benefits program, we have confidential resources available to assist our staff and family members, if needed.
Our leadership team has been very proactive and diligent in reviewing, analyzing and implementing the appropriate federal, state and local public health guidelines for reoccupying our offices when shelter-in-place mandates begin to lift. As a Top Workplace, it is of utmost importance to us that we can ensure the health and safety of our team
members and their families in transitioning back to a traditional office setting, while keeping our company thriving.
How to nominate your company
Now that you’ve read about the advantages of being a Bay Area Top Workplace, here’s how you can nominate your company today:
• All organizations with 35 or more employees in the Bay Area are eligible to enter. This includes public, private, nonprofit and government sectors.
• Each workplace is assessed by its employees via a brief 24-question survey.
• Each company will be surveyed from November through February of 2021. Nomination deadline
Because you’re in it to win it, here’s how to enter:
• Nomination deadline is December 18, 2020.
• Please submit online nominations at mercurynews.com/nominate.
• Phone nominations can be submitted at ( 408) 841-7554.
• The entire process — from nomination to survey — is completely free of charge.
• The winners will be revealed in June.
Energage, our Top Workplaces research partner, will conduct the employee surveys. They have surveyed more than 2.6 million employees at nearly 7,500 organizations last year alone. Energage, based in Exton, Pennsylvania, conducts this survey in partnership with Bay Area News Group. The Top Workplaces list is entirely based on employee feedback through the survey process. Last year, the survey generated responses from more than 16,000 employees in the Bay Area.
Employees are asked 24 questions, and the employer may add five more. The questions measure employee opinions in the areas of engagement, organizational health and satisfaction. The identity of employees is kept anonymous. When the results are complete, each participating company receives a free summary report.