Business Leaders from Central Indiana Share the Keys to Success

"We want to know their thoughts," said Wright. "We want to know how can we help you, what are your goals?"

IndyStar has published the names of the winning companies in the last 10 years. Last year, Energage surveyed 125 organizations in central Indiana and received nearly 18,000 employee responses.

With the nominations for this year's poll starting September 10th, here's what the leaders of some Top Workplaces had to share about creating a winning work environment.

Invest in employees

Royal United Mortgage began prioritizing leadership training several years ago after its employees expressed their desire for growth through their Top Workplaces surveys. Wright said Royal United is now hiring all new recruits in one-to-one 30-minute meetings with a member of the company's management team to discuss individual career goals.

The Indianapolis Electrical Maintenance Company, ERMCO – ranked first major company in 2017 and recognized for its training during last year's survey – puts the spotlight on training new ones. employees and veterans aged 20 to 30 years old.

Senior Vice President David Peterson said that ERMCO's continuing education and professional training taught non-technical skills, the latest developments in technology and business ethics, among others, to invest in the long-term growth.

"We want to succeed not just in the short term," said Peterson, "but for a career."

Ensure flexibility

At Tendercare Home Health Services, a big winner in 2016 in a large company, employees are attracted to flexible hours and vacations outside the office. The chairman of Tendercare, Leslie Deitchman, said the company allows its home care nurses to choose, when they work, an incentive for some parents who want to work while their children are at home. School, but takes off during the school holidays.

Peterson also said that ERMCO offers flexible work schedules, recognizing the need for a work-life balance, which allows employees, for example, to leave early to play ball. He stated that ERMCO has adopted a progressive technology to allow employees to work from home for a few hours or to work four weeks a week, as needed.

S engage in the community

Engaging with employees outside of work can be just as important as interacting at the office. Mr. Peterson said that much of ERMCO's culture was to know coworkers through summer cooking classes, regular "Lunch and Learn" events and frequent meetings.

"The long-term vision is that as we grow, we continue to maintain the environment and culture we had when we were smaller," said Peterson. "Our goal is to continue to work in a unified team."

Deitchman, of Tendercare, said she was striving to nurture personal relationships with her growing business through regular office-wide health challenges and a party. Annual Christmas. She said the celebration allows large employees of Tendercare – who work in different locations – to meet. Deitchman said more than 1,000 employees and guests had come to last year 's party.

Royal United seeks to develop teamwork by organizing at least one community service opportunity per month. Mr. Wright stated that the company paid four hours of service to its employees each month and that it only completed the service projects proposed by the employees.

Enjoy small gestures

Wright said that it was not enough to bring a ping-pong table to the break room or to recognize employees once a year. Leaders must make a conscious effort to prioritize employees every day, she said. "Culture is a process, it does not happen by accident."

At Royal United, this means birthday balloons for every employee and opportunities to congratulate the public with award pins awarded for work anniversaries, community outreach or help from others in the office. . At Tendercare, employee recognition takes the form of handwritten letters.

Peterson said ERMCO also recognizes the value of public praise, posting professional accomplishments, birthdays and even pictures of babies on TV screens around the desk.

"At ERMCO, we have a good balance of hard work, but also a fun culture," Peterson said. "We work hard with each other, we support each other as teammates."

Listen to the comments

The best managers take the time not only to ask for comments, but to make changes as needed. Deitchman said that she makes it a priority at Tendercare. When the nurses applied for short-term disability benefits, Ms. Deitchman said that she and her management team had worked to make this happen.

"My nurses know I'm fighting for them," said Deitchman. "If your employees give you their opinion, you must listen."

Wright said the Top Workplaces survey was an integral part of Royal United's self-assessment process. She said that each year, after the arrival of Top Workplaces results, each department identifies five strengths and five areas of improvement, and the senior management teams work to make changes. Leaders then issue a follow-up survey of employees to see if these changes have had a positive effect.

All leaders who spoke to IndyStar said that promoting open communication at all levels of the company is essential to creating successful work environments.

"My door is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," said Peterson. "It's just to be completely open and honest with your employees, which shows that you really appreciate this effort every day."

Name your company

Are you an employee with strong opinions about your workplace? Are you a business owner looking for comments? Name your company to take the survey. It is open to all organizations – public, private, non-profit or government – in downtown Indiana with 50 or more employees.

Nominations accepted now until the 19th of October.

Distributed surveys September to mid-October.

Results available Summer 2019 in print and online at indystar.com.

Submit online on http://indystar.com/nominate, or

Call to nominate at 317-288-3410.