From senior care to shipping, here are the inaugural Northeast Wisconsin Top Workplaces
ASHWAUBENON — Twelve northeastern Wisconsin businesses, which span range of industries, earned recognition this week as employers of choice by those who know best: their employees.
The Northeast Wisconsin Top Workplaces 2024 program turned the spotlight on a dozen small, medium and large companies whose employees' survey responses singled them out for recognition.
Top Workplaces expanded into northeastern Wisconsin this year via a partnership between Energage and the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. On Wednesday evening, representatives from the selected companies gathered at The Terrace at Marina Circle, in Ashwaubenon to celebrate an honor they said stands out from most other workplace recognitions because it is based entirely on employee feedback.
John McHugh, Kwik Trip Inc.'s vice president of external relations, said the La Crosse-based convenience store operator considers Top Workplaces "one of the best programs" to gauge how the company's doing because the data comes entirely from its workers at a time when people have a choice in where they work.
Appleton Post-Crescent editor Taima Kern agreed.
"Believing in the mission of your company is integral to bringing your best self to work," she said. "It's reassuring to know that workers in this region have options when it comes to seeking a workplace that can leave them fulfilled."
Top Workplaces also presented 16 specialty awards to the companies during Wednesday's event. The awards included three Leadership Awards to Andrew Harmening, CEO of Associated Bank, Sondra Norder, CEO of St. Paul Elder Services, and Terry Albrecht, CEO of Packer Fastener & Supply. Packer Fastener received three of the 16 awards while St. Paul Elder Services and UFS LLC each received two awards.
Top Workplaces serves as 'a distinctive mark of excellence'
Energage and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin launched Northeast Wisconsin Top Workplaces at a time when companies continue to struggle to find and retain skilled workers. The Federal Reserve's Seventh District, which includes northeastern Wisconsin, found high-skill manufacturing jobs and low-skill small business jobs in particular remain in high demand, according to the May 2024 Beige Book summary of economic activity.
Statewide employment hit a record high of 3,048,000 in May, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The region's major metro areas like Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh-Neenah and Sheboygan all have unemployment rates below the statewide rate of 2.9%.
A Top Workplaces designation can help a business stand out with job applicants and give company leaders a point of pride.
"Being honored with a Top Workplaces award is a distinctive mark of excellence, setting companies apart in a recognizable way," said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. "Top Workplaces embody the highest standards, and this award, rooted in authentic employee feedback, is a point of immense pride for company leaders."
Packer Fastener wanted to put its people-centric culture to the test
Albrecht in 1998 started Packer Fastener & Supply with 10 employees and one location. Now, he runs three companies, employs about 200 people and just moved the headquarters into a new space five times the size of its last base of operations. It's probably easiest to find by the gigantic hex nut out front.
From the beginning, Albrecht always emphasized the company's workplace culture and its "swagger," the company's term for keys to success. So when Top Workplaces was brought to his attention, he jumped at the opportunity to put the company culture, its drive to be an employer of choice, to the test.
"We liked that this was a third party reaching out to our team members and surveying and interviewing them on the organization," Albrecht said, calling it an impartial gauge. "You try to create an environment everyone enjoys coming to everyday. A nod from the team like this reinforces that we’re doing the right things."
Kaukauna-based St. Paul Elder Services wanted to make sure it lives its mission and values
St. Paul Elder Services over the past two years has shifted how it provides aging servings from a person-centered care model to one that puts residents and those who work closest with them in charge of decisions that impact their daily lives.
Top Workplaces gave St. Paul Elder Services the chance to see how the transition was going, to see how it compares and "to brag ourselves up," Norder said. Not only did Norder win a leadership award, but St. Paul also won the Doers Award for doing things efficiently and effectively.
"It’s what I think is resonating with our staff right now. They’re really seeing we’re making such an effort to bring the people who should be making the decisions about daily life and workflow to those decision making conversations," Norder said.
How were Northeast Wisconsin's Top Workplaces determined?
Energage in partnership with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin media outlets in the region, invited 576 companies with more than 35 employees located in an 18-county area to participate in Top Workplaces 2024. There was no cost to participate.
The eligible counties are: Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marquette, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Sheboygan, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago.
Energage selected 26 companies to survey and asked employees to complete a short survey that covered 24 different workplace factors like benefits, direction, leadership and appreciation. In total 10,198 employees completed surveys, almost 59% of those asked.
Energage used aggregated employee feedback to score each business. Those companies with scores higher than national benchmarks earn the Top Workplaces designation. They are divided into small, midsize and large categories based on the number of employees.
In the first year, 12 businesses earned recognition as Northeast Wisconsin Top Workplaces.
And the Northeast Wisconsin Top Workplaces honorees are ...
For a more detailed look at each honoree, watch for expanded coverage in the July 14 print editions of northeastern Wisconsin USA TODAY NETWORK newspapers.
Large, 500+ employees
Associated Bank
Kwik Trip Inc.
Van Horn Automotive Group
Midsize, 150-499 employees
Goodwill NCW
RGL Logistics
Saleytics
St. Paul Elder Services
Small, less than 150 employees
Fox World Travel
I-CAR
Packer Fastener & Supply
Total Energy Systems
UFS LLC
Special awards recognize leadership, meaningfulness, communication and work-life flexibility
Energage also presented 16 special awards to the this year's 12 Northeast Wisconsin Top Workplaces honorees in areas like leadership, management, direction, communication, work-life flexibility, training and sustainability.
The recipients were chosen based on employees' responses to specific questions in the survey. For example, responses to "I have confidence in the leader of this company" was used to identify the small, midsize and large Leadership Award recipients mentioned earlier.
Here are the special award honorees for 2024:
Appreciation: Fox World Travel
Benefits: UFS LLC
Clued-In Senior Management: Goodwill NCW
Communication: Total Energy Systems
Direction: Kwik Trip Inc.
Doers: St. Paul Elder Services
Leadership: Andrew Harmening, CEO of Associated Bank, Norder at St. Paul Elder Services, Albrecht at Packer Fastener & Supply
Managers: Goodwill NCW
New Ideas: Total Energy Systems
Meaningfulness: I-CAR
Social Responsibility: Packer Fastener & Supply
Training: Van Horn Automotive Group
Work-Life Flexibility: Packer Fastener & Supply
Values: UFS LLC
Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Employee input finds 12 Top Workplaces in Green Bay, Appleton
