How to take your company to the next level
Start the process by showing initiative and nominating your employer today
In an effort to encourage employees to nominate their companies as 2021 Top Workplaces, we thought these insights from a few of the companies that were ranked as 2020 Top Workplaces might be the best motivation.
During our search last year for the Bay Area’s Top Workplaces, we asked companies that made the Bay Area News Group’s list to tell us 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 these especially challenging circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to know what they do for their employees and their customers as well as the communities they serve. We asked them what decisions they had to make and how these made a difference in them becoming a Top Workplace. We also wanted to know how the pandemic shaped their efforts to engage with the communities they support.
If you work for a Top Workplace that has a valuable story to tell like these companies mentioned below, we would like you to let us know by nominating your employer today.
Companies share their stories about what makes them a Top Workplace
Kensington, ACCO Brands
We are excited to be ranked as a Top Workplace in the Bay Area for the second year. This honor indicates that employees enjoy working at Kensington and they value our work culture. Constantly listening to our employees’ feedback and ideas inspires us to continue to have a positive work environment.
It has been an amazing experience to be ranked as a Top Workplace since 2019 — our employees have been very proud of the award. We will continue to work collaboratively to foster the best culture and strive toward continued excellence.
We invited employees to share their feedback on working from home, returnto-office arrangement and company communication via a short survey. Leadership at the company made decisions based on the survey results to best accommodate the needs of the employees. Additionally, our people managers constantly check in with their employees. We also utilize technology to share fun pictures and stories when we are working from home.
Service Champions Heating and Air Conditioning
Service Champions Heating and Air Conditioning has five locations throughout Northern California and has been in business for more than 16 years. We are honored and proud to be a Bay Area Top Workplace for five consecutive years!
Our team is our family and they are the reason we have an award-winning culture. Being recognized as a Bay Area Top Workplace puts businesses like Service Champions Heating and Air Conditioning in the best position to hire and retain the right employees. These are people that have passion, dedication and an interest in growth. Service Champions takes pride in growing our teammates to be the best version of themselves both professionally and personally, we even created our own university called Champions University, where we can train, educate, and help our team develop life skills. We invest in their future because all aspects of their lives matter to us!
During this pandemic our team has adapted and pivoted quickly, recognizing that we are an essential business and now that our clients were stuck inside, we needed to show up when they needed us the most. We took all aspects into consideration, but the most important was being safe for our team and for our clients. Our team has never been stronger and we admire their dedication to truly serving our clients. Service Champions is all about the community and going above and beyond on every service call while keeping everyone safe. It’s not about servicing your AC or furnace, it’s about the experience and what we can do to help our clients. You need a couch moved, lightbulbs changed, or a bat chased out of your home? We are here to assist you!
Xactly Corporation
During all-hands meetings, Xactly CEO Chris Cabrera regularly reminds employees that of all the awards our company has won, it’s the Top Workplaces awards that he’s most proud of. These awards are not for purchase, but instead, they are a symbol of our vibrant culture that has been built over the last 15 years.
By consistently winning Top Workplaces awards we’ve been able to recruit the best performers, even in competitive job markets, and retain those outstanding employees who recognize what a unique company they work for. In addition, our employees are proud that Xactly continuously works to put programs and policies in place that are aligned with our core values and make our company a great place to work.
Our leadership team has supported our employees in a variety of ways over the past few months. Each member of the senior leadership team has recorded a video for the company, sharing personal stories and being vulnerable about how they are managing the “new normal” in addition to the silver linings they have experienced during this time. These regular check-ins have fostered an environment of openness and safety for all employees.
As our founder and CEO says, “We are all in the same storm, but we are in different boats.” By acting from an empathetic point of view, our leadership team has encouraged employees to take time off when they need to, maintain work-life balance and feel comfortable asking for help and resources.
Xactly has also had mandatory days off to further encourage employees to take a pause, reset and understand that we are all human beings trying to navigate unprecedented times and challenges.
Last but certainly not least, all employee managers have taken an empathy training workshop to increase their ability to understand the varying circumstances we are all experiencing and to be better prepared to lead during this time and in the future.
How to nominate your company
Now that you’ve read about the advantages of being a Top Bay Area Workplace, here’s how you can nominate your company today:
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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 has been extended to February 12, 2021.
• 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.