How the Top Workplaces are determined
How does a company make the Top Workplaces list?
How does a company make the Top Workplaces list? By inspiring employees.
“Top Workplaces put the employee at the center of things, and focus on creating the right environment to unleash potential and inspire performance,” said Doug Claffey, CEO of Energage, the research partner for Top Workplaces.
This is the 10th year that The Philadelphia Inquirer has partnered with Exton-based Energage to determine the Delaware Valley’s Top Workplaces. The results are based solely on a scientific employee survey process.
Starting in September, The Inquirer welcomed anyone to nominate companies as Top Workplaces. Energage also reached out to companies. In all, 2,257 employers in the region were invited to take part in the process. Any employer was eligible, as long as it had at least 50 employees in the Delaware Valley. Employers could be public, private, nonprofit, or governmental. There is no cost to enter the Top Workplaces program.
This year, 169 organizations agreed to take the survey. Combined, they employ 75,254 people in the Delaware Valley. Of those employees who received questionnaires, 37,745 responded, either on paper or online. For this year’s winners list, 125 Philadelphia-area employers earned recognition as Top Workplaces based on the employee 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
Connection – employees feel appreciated, their work is meaningful
Effectiveness – doing things efficiently and well, sharing different viewpoints, encouraging new ideas
My Manager – cares about concerns, helps employees develop
Engagement – motivation, retention, and recruiting
Leadership – confidence in company leaders
The Basics – pay, benefits, flexibility, training, expectations
Employees consistently rate issues of “Connection” and “Alignment” most important to them, while statements related to pay and benefits rate less important.
Employers are ranked among groups of similar size to most accurately compare results. Within those size groupings, companies are ranked, and those that score high enough are recognized as Top Workplaces. Energage also determines special award winners based on standout scores on specific survey topics.
If you wonder why a particular company is not on the list, it might be because it chose not to participate in the survey, or because it did not score well enough in the survey process. Sometimes, Energage disqualifies employers based on questionable results detected through statistical tests it runs to ensure organizations are accurately administering the survey.
To participate in the 2020 program, just go to philly.com/nominate.