10 workplaces out of 40 named Omaha's best Great places to work in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. - (October 15, 2003) - Omaha World-Herald
By Steve Jordon
Sunrise
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
10 workplaces out of 40 named Omaha's best Great places to work in Omaha

Omaha's 10 best places to work - out of 40 companies that applied - include two reservation centers, two hospitals and three financial services organizations, according to the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

During its "Buy the Big O" trade show Tuesday at the Omaha Convention Center, the chamber recognized five companies with 251 or more employees and five with 50 to 250 employees.

Susan Ogborn, vice president for work-force development at the chamber, said the competition identifies "best practices" among employers and fosters healthy competition to improve the overall work climate in the Omaha area.

The top large employers are reservation centers Carlson Hospitality and Marriott International; hospital operators Children's Hospital and Alegent Health; and cable TV franchiser Cox Communications.

The best medium-size employers are investment banker America First Cos., agricultural lender Farm Credit Services of America, animal health products distributor Professional Veterinary Products, information technology company MSI Systems Integrators and Omaha State Bank.

Audrey Sieh, director of distribution services for Carlson, said the Omaha reservation center pioneered some employee programs that later spread to its parent company, Carlson Cos. of Minneapolis.

Through the "aspire" program, for example, managers meet monthly with each of the 400 to 500 employees to discuss their professional and personal goals.

"It's all about focusing on our employees and making sure the employees feel comfortable about getting involved and speaking up and making things better for everyone at the organization," Sieh said.

Mark Hiatt, chief operating officer of America First, said company founder Mike Yanney "recognized early on how important having good people is. We've been on the cutting edge of having these creative benefits.

"It differentiates us from all of the other companies here in town and helps us hang on to the good people that contribute to the success of this place." For example, the company's 55 Omaha employees have a free breakfast and lunch program with an annual grocery budget of $20,000.

The company, now headed by Yanney's daughter, Lisa Roskens, has "very competitive" salaries and health-care benefits, Hiatt said, which help attract employees.

"Once they get in the door and see some of the unique things we're doing - we've got an abnormal retention rate in this company," Hiatt said.

The Baird Holm law firm sponsored the selection process for Omaha, which is the first individual city to hire the Great Places to Work Institute of San Francisco to compile a list. The institute also determines national best-workplace winners for Fortune magazine and similar lists in 24 other countries.

Once nominated, the Omaha companies supplied information about their employment practices and filled out a "culture audit." Randomly selected employees filled out an attitude survey.

The companies cited were:

Large companies, 251 or more employees:

1. Carlson Hospitality, reservation center. Carlson's "great work initiative" encourages employees to talk to supervisors, to ask "why" and to take steps to improve programs and processes.
   
   
2. Marriott International, reservation center. Associate Appreciation Week includes festive events, awards banquets and recognition ceremonies.
   
   
3. Children's Hospital, hospital. Celebrations include patient successes like "no more chemo" parties. Last winter an employee brought in a cooler of snow for a snowball fight in the hallway.
   
   
4. Alegent Health, hospital. The 19-member Employee Relations Council acts as a liaison between employees and senior managment.
   
   
5. Cox Communications, cable television. A Leadership Pledge includes a goal of treating employees "with respect and dignity at all times."

Medium-size companies, 50 to 250 employees:

1. America First Cos., investment banking. On-site amenities for employees include dry-cleaning, concierge service, banking, film processing, oil changes and car washes.
   
   
2. Farm Credit Services of America, agricultural lending. Salaries are pegged to metropolitan benchmarks, meaning cities with higher costs of living than Omaha, and merit pay incentives reflect team and overall organization performance.
   
   
3. Professional Veterinary Products, animal health products distribution. Quarterly all-employee meetings - 30 people at a time - provide direct access to the CEO in a question-and-answer format.
   
   
4. MSI Systems Integrators, information technology. Employees receive bonuses for each $1 million in pretax company earnings, plus extra bonuses for reaching the year-end earnings target.
   
   
5. Omaha State Bank, banking. President Mike Dahir has regular "dine with Mr. Dahir" meetings with employees to answer questions and hear concerns in an informal setting.
   
   

Great places to work in Omaha

Winners in the large category:

• Carlson Hospitality
• Marriott International
• Children's Hospital
• Alegent Health
• Cox Communications

Winners in the medium category:

• America First
• Farm Credit Services
• Professional Veterinary Products
• MSI Systems Integrators
• Omaha State Bank

"Reprinted with permission from the Omaha World-Herald."