Arkansas Business and the Best Companies Group on Wednesday honored 29 Arkansas companies with "Best Places to Work" awards, which honor firms that have exceptional workplace environments.
Among the winners was United Federal Credit Union, which received the 2016 Benchmark Award, given to the company whose workplace goes above and beyond in offering employee benefits, professional development programs and other perks.
The Michigan-based institution operates five locations in Alma, Fort Smith, Van Buren and Springdale. In 2015, the company reported over $2 billion in assets, $17.5 million in income and 140,000 total members.
"That would not happen without a satisfied workforce that advocates for us and the goods and services we offer," Noel Andrew Sanger, the company's market vice president, said of the its growth. "As the Arkansas market vice president, I follow two guiding principles: 'Leadership takes care of the team and the team takes care of the member,' and 'Teamwork divides the task but doubles the success.'"
UFCU’s focus on the employee has driven turnover to just 6 percent in the Arkansas region, well below national turnover rates of between 15 and 22 percent. Sanger credits operational elements that address its 49 local employees as individuals first as one big reason why.
Award winners are determined by a set of criteria set forth in the Best Places program, through which companies survey their employees about workplace satisfaction, corporate culture and company leadership. This year's honorees were recognized at a luncheon at the Embassy Suites Little Rock.
The event recognized two other companies as overall "Best Places to Work" in the small and large company categories.
Saatchi & Saatchi X of Springdale, an advertising firm, won in the small company category.
"We transcend fun to make this a joyful place to work," said Jessica Hill, the firm's talent director. "We celebrate every success, birthday and anniversary. We have a committee that finds different ways for us to give back to the community; we've held fundraising events and internal games or competitions to raise money, as well as donating our time. Additionally, we have a secret committee called X-Files that creatively executes fun activities throughout the year."
Amid the entertainment value of crawfish boils, Halloween costume contests and charity Texas Hold 'Em tournaments, the company is also achieving important team building benefits that show up most clearly during times of stress.
Rockfish, a digital media agency founded in Rogers in 2006, won in the large company category.
The firm, with offices in Little Rock, Dallas, Cincinnati and Atlanta, marked its fourth consecutive year as a Best Place to Work honoree. Lisa Bridgers, senior vice president for talent acquisition and human resources, said Rockfish wants its employees to do their best in the office and at home.
This year, the company deliberately focused on employees' overall well-being. The goal was a happier, healthier and more productive workplace.
Other winners for Best Place to Work in the small category were:
- Braswell & Son Pawnbrokers
- C.R. Crawford Construction LLC
- Clark Contractors
- Delta Dental of Arkansas
- Harrison Energy Partners
- Kimbel Mechanical Systems
- Optus Inc.
- Perks.com
- Rainwater Holt & Sexton PA
- RevUnit
- Team SI
- The Good Earth Garden Center
- Travel Nurse across America LLC
- WELSCO Inc.
Other winners for Best Place to Work in the large category were:
- ABC Financial Services Inc.
- Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp.
- Arkansas Federal Credit Union
- CaseStack
- City of Siloam Springs
- Delta Plastics
- Rockfish
- Rural Sourcing Inc.
- St. Bernards Medical Center
- Total Quality Logistics
- United Federal Credit Union
- USAble Life
- VCC LLC
More information about the Best Places to work program, including profiles of each company and how to register for next year's program, is available here.