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AWB Awards 25 Companies for Providing the Best Places to Work |
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Written On: February 13, 2008 |
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Written By: Richard Davis |
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OLYMPIA—The Association of Washington Business presented 25 members with its annual Better Workplace Awards on Feb. 6 at its 2008 Legislative Day held at St. Martin’s University in Lacey. The award honors AWB member companies that demonstrate innovation in the areas of workplace safety, job training and advancement, and benefit and compensation programs.
AWB's Better Workplace Awards recognize member businesses, both large and small, that go the extra mile in providing a family-friendly work environment, promote safety and enable their employees to excel. "These awards are given to dispel the myth that most businesses don’t care about their employees," said AWB President Don Brunell. "With so many companies providing extra services for their employees, it is almost too difficult to award only 25 of them."
An independent panel of judges reviews nominees and decides who receives the award based on numerous factors.
AWB’s 2008 Better Workplace Award winners are:
Damar Machine Co., Monroe (Overall Winner)
The Damar Machine Co. does a superb job of providing a better workplace for its employees. In 2007, Damar made a continuous effort to creatively revitalize its safety efforts, assigning an employee to coordinate their safety program. The company also encouraged continuing education for its staff, offering enhanced internal educational opportunities to increase their safety knowledge. Damar sends its employees to outside seminars that teach topics including time management, FSLA updates, Microsoft Excel software, legal issues and leadership skills. Damar also offers comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans. Though the cost of health care insurance increased by 5 percent last year, the company absorbed the increase rather than pass it on to the employees. Damar also offers a flexible savings account, allowing employees to contribute pre-tax dollars to cover childcare or health care expenses not covered by the medical plan. Other benefits at Damar include an employee assistance program and flexible scheduling for those with special child care needs.
Kinross Gold, Republic (Workplace Safety)
Kinross Gold’s K-2 Mine, near Republic, maintains a very strong safety record throughout the arduous extraction of gold ore in the unforgiving underground mining environment. As of Dec. 31, 2007, the mine had worked 1,373 consecutive days without a lost-time accident. This accomplishment earned K-2 national recognition by both the federal Mine Safety Health Administration and the National Mining Association. K-2 received Sentinels of Safety awards from MSHA and NMA in 2005 and 2006, and will likely receive one in 2008. Safety at the K-2 Mine is a constantly nurtured component of the work culture and ethic. Every day, safety is the primary concern as K-2 performs the difficult task of extracting valuable ore from deep beneath the ground.
Sonoco Products, Sumner (Workplace Safety)
At Sonoco’s Sumner mill, safety is the number-one priority. Key components of the mill’s safety program include first-week mandatory safety training for new employees prior to going on the floor; assignment of a “safety buddy” for two months; 30-, 60- and 90-day work safety evaluations from peers; annual employee training in first aid and CPR; safety awareness activities for employees; employee safety captains and coordinators; recognition of excellent safety records for groups and individual employees; and employee accountability for following safety rules.
Sakuma Brothers, Burlington (Workplace Safety)
The core of Sakuma Brothers Farms’ safety program is their safety committee, representing all levels within the company. Early on, the group developed a written accident prevention program and an emergency response plan. It conducts monthly safety training and quarterly safety walk-throughs, taking notes and pictures of identified hazards so they can be followed up. Supervisors and employees investigate safety issues with the safety committee reviewing accidents and near misses. As a result, the number and severity of accidents has declined. Knowing that the company cares and will take care of identified hazards—and knowing that a reported accident will not cause employees to lose their jobs—all contribute to higher productivity and morale.
Pacific Power, Yakima/Sunnyside/Walla Walla (Workplace Safety)
In an inherently high-risk industry, Pacific Power constantly strives to improve its safety practices and working environment to support safety of their employees at all times. Pacific Power won AWB’s 2006 Workplace Safety award. In 2007, the company made significant enhancements to its safety programs, progressing even further from the high standard it set in the past. The company focused on improving its employee safety program by raising awareness and increasing safety training, taking action to address the root cause of incidents, and focusing on establishing accountability. As a result of its efforts in 2007, the company reduced the number of OSHA-recordable incidents in Washington by 14 percent.
Max J. Kuney Co., Spokane (Workplace Safety)
The Max J. Kuney Company emphasizes “safety first” for all work tasks. The company believes that safety never sleeps and that constant observation, oversight and reinforcement are paramount to a successful safety program. All employees learn safe work practices and have the authority to stop a work activity if they deem it to be unsafe. The company encourages open communication practices that are beneficial to everyone when it comes to safety. In addition to weekly safety briefings, the company holds monthly management safety team meetings. The company’s impressively low experience modification rates are the result of their commitment to zero injuries.
Honeywell, Redmond (Workplace Safety)
Honeywell seeks to protect the safety and health of its employees through prevention of illness and injury. All employees are personally involved in this objective. Honeywell trains employees to act as evacuation assistants and building commanders, giving them the opportunity to provide feedback on the site evacuation and emergency management processes. The company trains medical first responders to provide basic first aid and operate the site’s portable automated external defibrillators and oxygen units. Hazardous waste handlers may act as the focal point and field questions for employees who have questions regarding handling of spent materials. By encouraging their employees to bicycle to work, Honeywell promotes a healthy exercise regime and contributes to a reduction in pollution. In addition, Honeywell established a monthly wellness seminar to help employees cope with everyday stresses, including balancing work and personal life, caring for aging parents and effective parenting. This effort builds happier and healthier employees who are better able to concentrate on their jobs.
McKinstry Co., Seattle (Workplace Safety)
Workplace safety is one of the McKinstry Company’s most important values and is one of the foundations upon which it builds its business practices. Through a combination of training, incentives and communication, the company strives to keep its employees safe every day. Safety training and auditing of safety practices are critical to the success of its program. McKinstry offers OSHA training as well as ongoing courses in many relevant to its many trades. The company awards Safety Bucks for attending safety training, making a safety suggestion and, most importantly, working safely. McKinstry holds an annual Safety Breakfast to promote safety awareness and recognize strong safety performance by its employees. All of these strategies are effective, as can be seen in the company’s Experience Modification Rating, which decreased from .580 in 2005 to .450 in 2006—well below the industry standard.
CH2M HILL, Richland (Workplace Safety)
For CH2M HILL Hanford Group Inc., safety and results go hand-in-hand. The company engages in extremely hazardous work at the Hanford Site, the nation’s most complex environmental cleanup project. CH2M HILL integrates its safety program into all aspects of the project to create a safe working environment at every level. For this reason, Occupational Hazards magazine named CH2M HILL one of America’s safest companies in 2007. CH2M HILL’s safety programs are employee-owned. As a result, employees at CH2M HILL are responsible for and expected to participate in the safety process of their working environment. The company also has a well-developed ergonomics program, which is essential to keeping employees safe in the Hanford environment where many employees work in protective gear with self-contained breathing equipment, providing many opportunities to slip, trip, fall or otherwise suffer injuries. CH2M HILL recognizes employees for achieving goals, giving extra effort, reaching milestones and going above and beyond in meeting integrated safety management system goals. In addition, CH2M HILL has an exemplary employee wellness program that encourages exercise and good nutrition.
Nucor Steel, Seattle (Workplace Safety)
In 2006, Nucor Steel implemented a new safety strategy. The company added wellness to its safety program, opened an on-site clinic, redefined safety roles, initiated a new management system and set Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) certification as its goal. Nucor’s new safety regime was a tremendous success. In 2007, the company received VPP certification through the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. The VPP certifies only the best performers in worker safety and protection. Nucor’s certification letter states, “As a result of Nucor Steel Seattle’s commitment and employee involvement, your achievements have made your company a leader in safety and health programs and a positive model for others.”
Goodwill Industries, Spokane (Workplace Safety)
Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest strongly emphasizes both overall and job-specific safety practices. The program involves every employee, including supervisors, trainers and managers. The goal is to have no accidents or injuries. The belief is that each employee makes a difference in achieving a safe workplace. Supervisors and managers set the example by working safely and continually monitoring their work areas for the highest standards of workplace safety. Continuous training in emergency plans, CPR, first aid, and emergency equipment are all part of the program. A company safety committee provides information to employees and receives feedback on safety concerns. Safety inspections and security alarm systems also play an important role in keeping Goodwill a safe place to work. The results have been impressive. From 2006 to 2007, reportable accidents at Goodwill decreased by 25 percent and the number of workers’ compensation claims decreased by 30 percent. Goodwill’s Experience Modification Rating is also decreasing from .84 in 2007 to .78 in 2008.
Nob Hill Water Association, Yakima (Job Training and Advancement)
Nob Hill Water Association offers incentive programs with tuition assistance and opportunities for employees to attend educational seminars for career advancement. Through educational opportunities afforded by the company, employees are able to grow, learn new skills and advance to new levels of skill and responsibility. The Nob Hill Water Association helps its employees be all they can be.
Kinross Gold Corporation, Republic (Job Training and Advancement)
The Kinross Gold Corporation’s Kettle River operation offers training in three areas: Safety, interpersonal relationships and leadership. The goal is to achieve increased job satisfaction, work knowledge, responsibility and productivity. From an advancement perspective, Kinross Gold Corporation is currently rolling out a new succession management process for leaders in the organization. The process focuses on growth and finding the right talent and leadership to drive and support the growth plan. Thus, enabling employees’ capabilities to grow as the company sets an ambitious and exciting course for its future.
Brown & Caldwell, Seattle (Job Training and Advancement)
Brown and Caldwell offers a collaborative work environment where each employee is encouraged to learn, grow and have fun. The company fuels each employee’s ambition with the tools needed for daily development. The company’s business strategy and programs reflect this ongoing commitment to help employees explore strengths and find new ways to apply talents and skills. The company’s programs include a Progression Path emphasizing technology, project management and delivery, client service, and business management; the Young Professionals Forum, focusing on entry-level staff; health and safety training; technical writing seminars and much more. In addition, the company offers a strong set of human resources policies that help support the job training and advancement programs and provides financial assistance to employees.
Burgerville, Vancouver (Job Training and Advancement)
Burgerville recognizes that the personal and professional growth of its employees will enable the company to grow and prosper, and that meeting these needs is essential. Burgerville demonstrates its commitment to employees through its professional growth programs, which inspire employee dedication to the company. The company believes that that a commitment to each employee’s leadership development allows for an employee to fully contribute to their creativity and passion in their daily work. It is this investment in personal development that allows Burgerville to innovate in ways that create business value and are good for the community.
Columbia Bank, Tacoma (Job Training and Advancement)
Columbia Bank places its highest emphasis on providing exceptional customer service to both internal and external customers. To provide this level of service, all employees must be knowledgeable about Columbia Bank’s products and services, culture and expectations. For this reason, the first step in employee development is Columbia Banking School, a two-day course offered on a monthly basis where new employees learn about all aspects of Columbia Bank’s operations. The school is just the beginning of employee development at Columbia Bank, and in-house resources abound for employees to advance their career. This is in keeping with Columbia Bank’s philosophy that “Your career is an open book and you have an open door.”
NRG::Seattle (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
NRG::Seattle is a brokerage and insurance agency with a unique and innovative approach to benefit and compensation programs. Overtime is discouraged and is an extremely rare practice; all employees work 37.5 hours per week. Every employee earns a four-week paid sabbatical after four years of employment — in addition to annual vacation — and can take up to two months off. The owner works with employees to help with personal goal setting and to see if the company can help in the realization of those goals. If people need time off for babies or surgery they can take unpaid leave, and the company is flexible with work hours to accommodate child daycare requirements. With its unique benefits NRG has a loyal and happy workforce with minimal turnover.
Sound Options, Tacoma (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Sound Options provides a wide range of benefits for its employees. The company offers nine paid holidays, paid time off and bereavement pay. In addition, there are great insurance medical and dental insurance benefits for Sound Options’ employees. Aflac supplemental insurance and medical malpractice insurance are also available, and the company provides educational assistance, a fitness discount, and assistance for employees who need counseling or legal advice.
The Rants Group, Olympia (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
The Rants Group works hard to meet its employees’ individual needs, resulting in a flexible approach to scheduling and telecommuting to accommodate childcare arrangements and pregnancies. The Rants Group is concerned about its employees’ health and pays for fitness center membership. The company also encourages and supports employee involvement in the community through monetary donations and the donation of employees’ time to organizations and institutions like Rotary Club International, Lions Club International, Saint Martin’s University, South Sound Community College, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Providence St. Peter Hospital and employees’ schools and churches.
Kinross Gold, Republic (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Kinross’ Kettle River Operations offers employees an excellent, competitive compensation benefits. Compensation is a combination of base pay, incentives, stock and benefits. As a basis for wage levels, Kettle River actively participates in industry-wide full-wage surveys every two years. The goal is to ensure and sustain a competitive position by targeting compensation levels that attract, retain and motivate talent. Within each wage classification are opportunities for pay increases and training for the next classification. A quarterly bonus program establishes production, safety and environmental incentives, and an employee stock purchase plan helps advance the interests of the company by encouraging employee participation through the acquisition of company stock. Employees also receive medical, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, a retirement plan, flexible spending accounts, paid time off, holidays, a 401(k) plan, educational reimbursement, employee assistance, business travel accident insurance, and employee training programs.
Acme Concrete Paving Inc., Spokane (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Acme’s field employees receive health and welfare benefits through their union locals, but the non-field employees don’t have the opportunity to belong to a labor union. To address this, Acme provides health and dental benefits. The company not only pays 100 percent of employee health and dental benefits, but pays for employee dependents as well. To keep the deductible at the same level as five years ago, Acme chose a plan with a higher deductible, but directly reimburses the employee the difference in the deductible. Acme also has a 401(k) plan, annual bonuses, vacation and sick leave. Employees also get the benefit of using the sky box at the Spokane Arena for concerts, special events and baseball games. In addition, Acme offers reimbursed tuition for educational activities and supports paid employee participation in charitable or community activities.
Gibbs & Olson, Inc., Longview (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Gibbs & Olson provides a supportive work environment for its employees. The firm’s benefit program features substantial flexibility and choice. Its benefit program allows employees to consider what best meets the needs of their family and this ultimately benefits the company because employees are more productive and secure knowing that Gibbs & Olson values the individual and family — sometimes to the detriment of their bottom line. Gibbs & Olson’s employee benefits include flexible work scheduling, a generous leave policy that offers employees up to 200 hours of paid leave to use for their own purposes, bereavement leave, a program that allows eligible employees to donate a portion of their paid leave to an employee whose paid leave is in danger of being exhausted due to catastrophic illness, professional licensing and continuing education, generous discretionary bonuses, health insurance, a flexible spending account, a retirement savings plan and profit sharing.
Landau Associates, Edmonds (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Landau Associates provides a comprehensive package of benefits and employee flexibility. The firm’s traditional benefits package includes a strong medical, dental, and vision plan that is paid in full for employees and compensated at 50 percent for families; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; paid life insurance with a policy value of twice the employee’s salary; short- and long-term disability insurance; a 401(k) plan with company matching; and a flexible spending program that allows employees to pay medical expenses with pre-tax dollars. On the more innovative side, Landau Associates’ benefits package offers employee stock ownership allocations to individuals for retirement, merit bonuses paid annually, dividends paid on employee stock ownership, holiday bonus paid annually in December, two days paid leave per year for employees to participate in charitable pursuits, flexible work hours and telecommuting opportunities, compensatory time off for salaried employees who work more than the standard 40-hour work week, makeup of any shortfall in salary for employees on active duty in armed services or National Guard, two paid leave days per year for employees who don’t use sick leave, reimbursement of expenses incurred in commuting via ride-sharing or public transportation, paid technical training with time off and selective tuition reimbursement, and company-sponsored financial and health training.
Brown & Caldwell, Seattle (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Brown & Caldwell has excellent human resources policies. Employee benefits include cash incentives that recognize employees’ professional achievements like publication in trade journals, reimbursing costs associated with professional development activities, individual career planning, offsite retreats that provide valuable networking opportunities and intensive training sessions, and great extracurricular activities ranging from softball to golf.
Skils’kin, Spokane (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Skils’kin, a community-based 501(c)3 nonprofit agency in Spokane, provides effective support and services to people with disabilities and other disadvantages and offers innovative benefit and compensation programs for its employees. The benefits for Skils’kin employees include: Medical, dental and vision coverage; company-paid life insurance; short-term and long-term disability insurance; a 401(k) program; and 11 paid holidays and sick time accumulations for full-time employees. For faster benefits administration, Skils’kin handles all benefits administration in-house. Skils’kin encourages its employees to contribute to 401(k) plans by contributing to these accounts. To remedy employees’ lack of knowledge about their life insurance benefits, Skils’kin notifies its employees of life insurance increases with their pay increases. Other benefits at Skils’kin include extended bereavement leave, domestic violence leave and a substance abuse treatment program, including voluntary self-referral.
Burgerville, Vancouver (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Thriving communities and employees are a key to the success of Burgerville. Recognizing the importance of happy, healthy employees for the future of the company, Burgerville’s parent company, The Holland, introduced a new health care package in 2006 for hourly employees and their families. Under this unique plan The Holland will contribute more than 90 percent of the cost for both its employees and their dependents’ health care plans. In addition to health care, Burgerville recognizes that the personal and professional growth of its employees will enable the company to grow and prosper. The innovative implementation of an advanced job training and leadership development program, in addition to the health plan, shows that Burgerville is committed not only to its customers but also to each employee and their families, as well.
Inland Northwest Health Services, Spokane (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
Inland Northwest Health Services launched health@work, a comprehensive health, wellness and productivity program for employees, developed by employees. This customized program provides a complete, cost-effective wellness program for all employees, including part-time, full-time, and on-call employees. Each year, health@work conducts onsite employee health screenings. Inland Northwest Health Services employees are also encouraged to participate in individualized education classes on diabetes, smoking or tobacco cessation, physical activity, weight management and ergonomics.
Harris Group, Seattle (Innovative Benefit and Compensation Programs)
The Harris Group’s wellness program is a wonderful benefit for its employees. The program focuses on assisting employees with their fitness and tobacco cessation goals. Employees and their dependents who are full-time or part-time, working 25 or more hours per week, are eligible for these benefits, including: a 24-hour-a-day, seven days-a-week licensed nurse hotline; health risk assessments; assistance with hospitalizations, and chronic conditions; a gym subsidy program; tobacco cessation – paid entirely by the Harris Group; a tobacco-free premium discount for health insurance; and a $50 incentive for participation in tobacco cessation, the gym program, or if they complete a health assessment.
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