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Learn more about what went into weighing Westchester County businesses and deciding our first-ever 914INC. Best Places to Work.
The 17 firms that were honored in our January-February 2022 issue as part of our first-ever look at the Best Places to Work in Westchester have one thing in common: a strong sense of community and family among employees in their respective workplaces.
The final rankings were based on survey results from employees across 29 different organizations in the county. The survey asked employees to rate their overall satisfaction with various aspects of their work life and environment, and polled top executives and managers at each company regarding benefits and perks afforded to each employee.
While the quality of benefits offered by employers seemed to correlate a great deal with employee satisfaction, the top honorees distinguished themselves by creating a sense of community in the workplace through events that boosted morale and created a sense of family and connection.
The company that received top honors, Kings Capital Construction Group in Tarrytown, was the only one that offered full or part-time childcare services to its employees – as well as backup child or elder care if a family caregiver suddenly became unavailable. But employees also ranked the firm highly due to myriad social events that led to greater employee bonding, such as summer happy hours, a summer barbecue and an annual holiday party.
Other notable characteristics among our 17 winners included the following:
A commitment to diversity
A total of 76 percent of honorees employed formal programs and practices to actively recruit and retain employees of varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds – and the same number provided ongoing diversity training. In total, 71 percent of our winners celebrated cultural holidays, while 59 percent established a Diversity and Inclusion task force or committee.
A wide array of health and other benefits
Overall, 94 percent of the winners offered employees some form of retirement plan, while 29 percent offered them a profit-sharing plan. A total of 65 percent offered employees additional paid time off (PTO) for community service activities and volunteer work. Seventy-one percent of our winning organizations provided fitness and wellness programs within their workplaces, and 71 percent provided cafeteria or meal subsidies as well as free daily snacks and beverages.
Family-friendly services
A whopping 94 percent of our honorees provided employees flexible working hours to accommodate family responsibilities such as school events or family member doctor visits. Eighty-eight percent provide full or partially paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child, and 71 percent provided employees with free discounted tickets to local family entertainment or sporting events.
These benefits and services made a huge difference in how employees ranked their work experiences. An impressive 94 percent of employees at the companies who made our list said they were very satisfied with their employer. Ninety-seven percent of the surveyed employees at these companies said they like their co-workers, 96 percent said they like the work that they do and 96 percent said their supervisor treats them fairly and with respect. Meanwhile, 83 percent of employees at our featured companies said they were satisfied with the benefits packages they were offered – while 78 percent said their salaries were fair for the work they perform.
If you think your company has what it takes to make the 2022 Best Places to Work in Westchester – which will be published in the magazine next January – be sure to register your organization today. The deadline for all registrations is May 13, 2022.
Read More: These Are the Best Places to Work in Westchester County in 2022