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RANKINGS
RANKINGS
2013 Rankings information
GET YOUR FIRM THE RECOGNITION IT DESERVES!
It’s not just about benefits, it’s about who has had superior leadership, strong communication, and well-established values.
How can you get recognized for these characteristics that can really differentiate your firm culture? Find out by entering the 2013 Best Firms To Work For rankings!
These prestigious rankings are based on workplace practices, employee benefits, employee retention rates, and more.
QUESTIONS? Click here to get more information about entering the 2013 Best Firms To Work For rankings! Contact us at awards@zweigwhite.com or 800-466-6275 if you have questions or concerns about the application process.
For more information about the rankings program, read below; for details about the various ranking categories, click the category links above.
WHY APPLY TO BE A BEST FIRM?
Consider what you can take away from this process:
Feedback | Receive insight into how your firm stacks up against others and ways you can improve. You’ll discover exactly how your employees feel about your firm since your entry fee entitles you to a results summary of an employee survey. The more employees that participate in the survey, the more conclusive your results!
Inspiration | Get inspired by new or innovative tactics used by other firms that manage to keep their employees happy while simultaneously maintaining a successful practice.
Recognition | Be recognized for your dedication to creating a successful workplace — a wonderful marketing hook to keep “selling” your firm to your staff, clients, competitors, and new recruits.
Media Attention | Winners will receive favorable media attention from ZweigWhite via press releases, articles in The Zweig Letter, CE News and Structural Engineer’s July issues and on their websites, as well as in other media outlets that pick up this exciting story.
Still not sure if this program is right for your firm? The following might help …
Read testimonials from a 2010 survey of past participants.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: We had a salary freeze last year. Does that mean we wouldn’t make the list and therefore, shouldn’t bother applying?
A: Firms that apply are evaluated against the pool of applicants. This means that just because your firm had layoffs, salary freezes, or other negative events, it doesn't mean that you aren't a contender to make the list, especially in this economy when these events are more common than in years past. The ranking looks at the "big picture" of a firm, how it compares to the other firms that apply, and how it handles workplace issues, whether positive or negative.
Q: How are firms evaluated?
A: Most questions on the Corporate Survey are graded using one of two methods. The first type compares a firm’s response to the median response of the contestant pool. If a firm meets or exceeds the median for a question, then points are awarded. For example, if the median voluntary turnover rate for all the firms that apply is 10 percent, a firm that has a 10 percent or lower turnover rate earns points; firms with a turnover rate greater than 10 percent do not earn any points. For some particularly important questions, bonus points are awarded if a firm meets or exceeds the 90th percentile of all firms.
The second method simply awards points if a benefit is offered or if the affirmative response to a question is given. For example, if a firm offers a flexible medical spending account to staff, it earns points; likewise, if a firm said it has a non-discriminatory culture regarding age, gender, race, and religion, it earns points.
For both grading methods, more important attributes are worth more points; for example, beating the average voluntary turnover rate is worth more points than hosting a company picnic.
All of the Employee Survey questions are graded (other than demographic questions and a few narrative response questions) using a method that compares, for each question, a firm’s average positive response to the average positive response of the applicant pool (referred to as the benchmark). For example, employees are asked to respond on a scale of 1 to 6, where 1 is the most undesirable response and 6 is the most desirable response, how well their firm provided a team environment. If a firm’s average positive response meets or exceeds the benchmark, it earns a point for the question. Additionally, bonus points are awarded for firms that meet or exceed the 90th percentile on specific questions that are the most telling or important of all those asked in the Employee Survey.
Q: Is the Best Firms To Work For Conference only open to applicants of the ranking program?
A: No, all firms are encouraged to attend this fantastic event. No other event focuses solely on the workplace issues of engineering and architecture firms. The awards presentation announcing the results of the ranking program is just the evening activity on the first night of the event — and it is fun for participants and non-participants alike!
Q: What happens if my firm applies but doesn’t make the list?
A: This would be disappointing (and happens to many firms each year) but rest assured that this would be confidential information. Participating firms aren’t privy to who their competitors are and we never release the names of firms that don’t make the list. Your staff will know, since they would have taken the Employee Survey. The process of applying offers so many benefits that if you act upon what you learn, it will likely still be a rewarding endeavor.
QUESTIONS | Contact us at awards@zweigwhite.com or 800-466-6275 if you have questions or concerns about the application process.
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TESTIMONIALS
How did your firm benefit from applying?
“The feedback we receive is very helpful to us as we continually look to improve our firm. For us, it's not so much about winning a contest as it is about making our firm a better place to work. If we do this, there are direct and tangible benefits to our clients.”
- David Pinsky, President
Tighe & Bond
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“Although it is nice to be ranked, the main reason we do this is to get the feedback from our employees. We have been able to make changes and introduce new programs based upon the feedback from this questionnaire. The summary gives you a good sense of what is important to your employees and comparing from year to year helps us see if we have improved.”
- Kim Hansen, Human Resources Manager
Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group
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“It's an important gauge for us on how we're doing. Having anonymous feedback from employees is very valuable as we work hard to improve our business and the working environment.”
- Clint Hoppes, Director of Human Resources
Scott &Goble Architects
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"… provided us with yet another opportunity to assess the quality of our company as a great place to work and build one's professional career.”
- Paul J. Bennett, Human Resources Director
Tighe & Bond, Inc.
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“It is a good, direct peer-based benchmarking tool and it provides us with employee feedback in a positive setting but that is honest and forthright."
- Pam Gower, Human Resources Manager
Pond & Company
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“The employee survey lets us know the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
- Anonymous
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“We learned a lot about our company through the process and the employee survey results were very valuable. Benchmarking ourselves against other top firms was great.”
- Jessica Nyce, Human Resources
SSR
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“It's important to us to know how we compare to other firms. Having entered for several years, we're able to see how much progress we're making. I know we're a better company just for having challenged ourselves to do better the next year.”
- Alex Cabezon, Human Resources Manager
BKF Engineers
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“Simply by asking questions of ourselves, it helps us assess what we value.”
- Greg Kingsley, President & CEO
KL&A Inc.
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“We have been able to promote our title as a Best Firm. We are constantly getting comments from clients, vendors, potential hires, and competitors who notice the designation. In addition, we get invaluable information about where our employee programs are lacking or excelling — often in areas we weren't expecting. The third-party survey helps obtain feedback that employees wouldn't normally be comfortable sharing with the bosses.”
- Leah Boltz, Marketing Director
CRW Engineering Group, LLC
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“Everyone was very excited when we received the award, but it was nice to see how important it is to the firm to be counted among the best in this category. Employee satisfaction is a core value of our firm, and this reinforced that message.”
- Kate Mullaney, Director of Business Development
Primera Engineers, Ltd.
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How did your firm use the employee survey responses and benchmarking data?
“We shared them with the entire staff, reviewed them for opportunities to strengthen our policies, benefits, communication, and culture.”
- Clint Hoppes, Director of Human Resources
Scott &Goble Architects
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“We created action plans for internal improvements. We used this data to pinpoint specific areas for change.”
- Sally Wehrman, Human Resources Manager
Steven Schaefer Associates, Inc.
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“We analyzed the data we received which resulted in our addressing several employee concerns and issues that we felt we could definitely improve upon. We also shared all of the actual results with our employees.”
- Paul J. Bennett, Human Resources Director
Tighe & Bond, Inc.
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“We have implemented a formal Employee Assistance Program, Health & Wellness Program, added an employee award and expanded recognition efforts, and added/expanded a few benefits all to continue and support our most valuable asset during a down economy when they are already stressed in their personal lives.”
- Pam Gower, Human Resources Manager
Pond & Company
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“We have reviewed with our management and executive team and noticed that while we scored well, we had some areas we could improve on and created new processes and procedures from this feedback.”
- Jessica Nyce, Human Resources
SSR
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“We used [the data and responses] to look back at previous years to see how much we've improved and where we still need to get better. We've made significant strides in improving. Management is able to see where we stand against other firms. That makes it easier to point to our goals, where our emphasis should be, to improve our company.”
- Alex Cabezon, Human Resources Manager
BKF Engineers
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“We looked for general areas of weakness — like philanthropic and charitable activities — and targeted those for improvement. We asked individuals during reviews to elaborate on their responses, good and bad.”
- Greg Kingsley, President & CEO
KL&A Inc
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“We are always looking for improvements in our benefits, flexibility, and overall appreciation methods for our people and we have implemented several measures that were suggested.”
- Jacqueline L. Patterson, President
J.L. Patterson & Associates
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“We looked for areas where we had lower scores and brought teams together to determine what we could do differently to address these needs. We instituted some specific programs (e.g., recognition, mentoring, University of Provost) as well as improved communication on benefits we had, which our employees were not as familiar with as they should be.”
- Kim Hansen, Human Resources Manager
Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group
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“Our management reviews the data to help choose their employee program focus for the following year. We are then able to show the employees that we've improved their work environment as a result of this feedback.”
- Leah Boltz, Marketing Director
CRW Engineering Group, LLC
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“The survey was used to help redefine people strategies. New benefits, removing/adding value-add benefits, cost-saving ideas generated by asking our employees. Engaging the employees through their feedback and actually doing something with it! It was huge.
- Shelly Gompf, Senior V.P. of Human Resources
Ulteig
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“We've used the data to prioritize those areas where we want to pay more attention and potentially make some changes or additions to our already excellent employee programs and practices.”
- David Pinsky, President
Tighe & Bond |
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