Best Places to Work in Maine

B E S T P L A C E S TO W O R K 2 0 2 0 5 Letter from MESHRM G reetings All! MESHRM wanted to take a moment to thank this year's participants and winners in the 2020 Best Places to Work in Maine program. This year has been challenging for us all. A global health crisis, human rights issues, and the general upending of all our lives in the face of unprecedented change. And yet, the Best Places pro- gram in Maine endured and had a healthy number of participants with 84 companies making the winning list! This is a testament to the value it brings to the organizations in our business community. The Best Places to Work in Maine program is more than a contest to determine which are the best compa- nies to work for in our glorious state of Maine. This program provides valu- able survey data that sheds a light on your employee's experience, provided by those very employees who experi- ence the culture of your organization directly. It provides insights that are easy to overlook while we all work so hard to provide the products and services our respective companies of- fer to our client and customer bases. It gives us an opportunity to pivot if we see missteps in our approaches, celebrate our victories, and chart a path forward that ensures excellence in our work and empowering employees in our workplaces. And yes, in the end, if you are chosen as a winner, you get the bragging rights to tout your place of business as one of the best places to work (a wonderful recruiting tool we might add!). However, as is often said, it is the journey, not the destina- tion, that leads us to grow and learn and become our best selves. The Best Places to Work in Maine program is the one of many steps along that path to greatness. We cannot think of a more challeng- ing time to be an employer. Employees require more support these days then ever before. Listening to them and their needs will be more critical than ever in the coming year. Employees will be looking to see if you are listening and make decisions about their em- ployment based on how you respond. Participating in the Best Places to Work program, and executing change based on your results, is a sure-fire way to show employees you are. Stay safe, Be Well, Mask up, MESHRM Manny, Kevin, Kate and Jodie We cannot think of a more challenging time to be an employer. Employees require more support these days then ever before. Listening to them and their needs will be more critical than ever in the coming year. Letter from Best Companies Group T here is no doubt that COVID 19 has had huge impact on every area of our lives. That is certainly true for our businesses and the people we all work with day in and day out. As you may know, preventative caution has prevented us from celebrating The Best Places to Work in Maine in person. But, fret not!! We are still in the presence of greatness, we still want to celebrate these awesome employers. Our firm, Best Companies Group, was once again the research partner for this designation, now in its 15 th year. If we were at the gala dinner event, I would be saying something like, "The Best Places to Work in Maine are in the house, are you ready to celebrate? C'mon, WOO HOO!" Well, that won't be happening, but I am still super excited to celebrate the winners being recognized in this publication. This award is un-like any other. Simply put, these winners are be- ing recognized for creating workplaces where their employees love to come to work. But beyond that, they are being honored for being the "best of the best" in Maine. Our research is teaching us that many organizations, these days, are focusing on increasing employee engagement, which is awesome. It is re- ally great to see the increased emphasis on the employee experience. However, even though many are getting better, only a select few will receive this kind of recognition and that includes the winners in these pages. Our firm, conducted the two-part assessment process for all who ap- plied. 25% of the evaluation was based upon the benefits you offer and the cool things being done for the employees. This part is fun. Each year I find new and fun things employers are doing. Some of my favorites include: beer cart Fridays, wear whatever you want-dress code, bring your parent to work day, solar eclipse celebration day (yup that is a thing) and office closures between Christmas and New Year's. Will closing between Thanksgiving and New Year's be next? I don't know. Probably. But, these are the kinds of benefits that make a huge difference. The other 75% of the evaluation was from part two of the assessment, the employee engagement survey. To recognize workplace greatness credibly, you must ask the employ- ees directly and anonymously what they think…and that is exactly what we did. According to most research firms, between 35% - 40% of U.S. Em- ployees are considered "engaged" or "connected"' to their employer? How good are the Best Places to Work in Maine compared to that 35%? Well, the answer is "very good!" How about 92% good? Ah, can I get a WHOOP WHOOP? So how about that? All companies that applied received their Employee Feedback report which is a detailed account of the data we collected, including the anonymous employee feedback data, the "Best" benchmarks, and the anonymous em- ployee comments. So, even if an orga- nization applied and did not make it, the report is certainly a huge benefit. As a result of this remarkable work, these winners' brands as employers are getting stronger! They will win the battle for talent, they will enjoy reduced turnover, and they will receive better qualified job candidates. Where is the bad news in all of that? As I conclude, I just want you to realize that while many organizations are struggling to find excellence in this "new normal", you are different. Excellence has been "normal" for you, for a long time. So, congratulations again to all of our winners. Check out www.BestPlacesToWorkME.com for details about the 2021 program! Registration will be open in January. Peter B. Burke President & Co-Founder Best Companies Group As a result of this remarkable work, these winners' brands as employers are getting stronger!

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