Best Places to Work survey begins for 2009

For a second year in a row, the Idaho Business Review and POPULUS are looking for the best places to work.

“This is a great way to show off how your company functions at its very core,” said Robb Hicken, managing editor of the IBR. “We’re looking at the heart of the company through the employees’ eyes.”
Employers throughout Idaho with at least 20 employees are invited to apply for recognition as one of the state’s best places to work. The process involves:
• Completing a brief screening at www.bestplacestoworkinidaho.com  
• Allowing POPULUS to conduct a confidential survey among employees
• Having an HR manager for each company complete a separate online survey about their company’s current employment practices.
The 2009 deadline to register for participation is Jan. 9. Surveys will be conducted from mid-January to mid-February 2009.
The employee survey will ascertain respondents’ perceptions about their workplace. The company survey will gather factual information about the benefits offered and other efforts to attract and retain employees.
Survey responses, both for employees and the companies, will be completely confidential.  POPULUS will collect and analyze the data, which will be reported at the aggregate level.  Participating companies will receive a summary of their scores in each of five areas:  Compensation and Benefits, Work Environment, Company Management, Employee Growth and Development, and Work-Life Balance. They will also see a comparison of these scores with the average for top performers in their geographic region.  Additional reporting will be available upon request.
Employers receiving the highest ratings in each of the five areas named above – for both medium and larger businesses – will be recognized at an award event hosted by the Idaho Business Review in the Boise area.  The Idaho Business Review will also publish articles about award winners and describe the programs they have that engender employee satisfaction and loyalty.  POPULUS will identify only the award winners to Idaho Business Review. As previously stated, individual company data will remain strictly confidential.
The Best Places to Work in Idaho focuses on Idaho businesses in a way that allows employees to recognize outstanding employer practices. 
POPULUS, a nationally-recognized marketing and HR research company headquartered in Boise, uses its innovative research technology to gather human resource data from companies to provide quantitative data.
In 2008, more than 5,000 employee surveys were given to Idaho businesses who participated in the Best Places to Work initiative.