Nominate your company to be Lehigh Valley’s Top Workplace in 2021
The Lehigh Valley is in the midst of a worldwide pandemic that has shuttered businesses and schools and laid off thousands of workers. Through it all, many businesses have demonstrated real leadership and innovative ideas.
This is your chance to nominate your place of employment.
Does your company empower its employees to make decisions and appreciate their contributions beyond the bottom line? Does your company foster a culture of collaboration and go the extra mile to support its employees and the community? Does your company routinely adapt to the needs of its customers and employees in any circumstance?
The Morning Call’s ninth annual Top Workplaces program is under way. It’s time to let the entire region know why they should work for your company.
If you offer your employees the ideal combination of good salaries, managers who listen, flexible schedules and work that means something, this is your chance to share your story.
The challenges facing Lehigh Valley businesses are real and widespread. In a labor force of 441,200 in our four-county region, an estimated 60,700 were unemployed in May, according to data released by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. The 13.8% rate was below April’s revised 16.7%, the highest rate recorded in almost four decades.
As companies continue to do what they must to keep their employees safe, effective and happy, and now that the Lehigh Valley has entered the green phase, businesses are striving to reestablish themselves. As they work their way back to normal operations, innovation, creativity and resourcefulness will lead the way to success.
At some companies, like the ones that participate in The Morning Call’s annual Top Workplaces program, the message has a receptive audience. Workers at these businesses report that they feel like they “actually matter,” and are “part of something meaningful.”
The winners of the 2020 Top Workplaces were unveiled in March at SteelStacks in Bethlehem in front of more than 500 people in the Lehigh Valley business community, with Uline Shipping Supplies, Catasauqua Area School District, Amada Senior Care-Lehigh Valley capturing the top honors in the large, midsize and small categories, respectively.
Other employers winning Lehigh Valley Top Workplaces accolades over the years include Hotel Bethlehem, Parkland School District, Stitch Fix, Fellowship Community, Yocco’s, Victaulic, Moravian College and many others.
Will your company make the list next year? With many firsttime Top Workplaces expected to participate in the 2021 program, the competition will likely be intense.
The Morning Call teams with a Philadelphia-area research company, Energage, to conduct surveys July through October. These questionnaires will be used as the foundation for the newspaper’s ninth Top Workplaces magazine, to be published in the spring.
Anyone — including employees, CEOs or customers — can nominate a potential top workplace. Nominations are open to employers in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe and Berks counties with at least 35 employees. It doesn’t matter if the workplace is for-profit or nonprofit, privately owned, publicly held, or a government agency.
The top employers will be featured in the magazine and recognized at a special event next year.
Workplaces are evaluated by their employees using a confidential, 24-question survey developed by Energage, which conducts Top Workplaces surveys with 51 media partners. Locally, the company surveyed more than 20,000 employees at 69 Lehigh Valley area businesses, part of the millions of workers who respond nationwide.
A Top Workplace is one that operates successfully and provides good pay and benefits. But there’s more to it than that. In a great job environment, the employees are engaged because they have confidence in their bosses, know their mission, feel appreciated and have opportunities for career development.
If those traits describe your company, or one that you know, tell us about it. Here’s your chance to showcase all the hard work that goes into your company every day. For those Lehigh Valley companies that haven’t yet participated, or were uncertain how to get involved, this is your opportunity to join the 2021 program.
There is no fee to participate, and there is no application process. Every organization that takes part will receive confidential feedback about its workplace.
How to nominate
To nominate a company, go to themorningcall.com/nominate or call 610-628-0921. Deadline for nominations has been extended until Oct. 2, 2020.
See the 2020 winners and coverage at themorningcall.com/ topworkplaces.