Top Workplaces: Insero, Scott Miller, ConServe win
My manager cares about my concerns.
New ideas are encouraged at this company.
This company operates by strong values and ethics.
Comments such as those were made by employees working at firms honored at Rochester's Top Workplaces, which recognized the local employers doing the best by its employees. Overall, more than 45 area firms made the list with Insero & Company (small business category), Scott Miller salon (mid-sized) and ConServe (large) named as top overall winners.
The sold-out awards ceremony drew about 450 people and was the culmination of an annual survey by the Democrat and Chronicle and Workplace Dynamics, which invited 861 local companies with at least 35 employees to participate. More than 8,700 workers at 77 firms rated their employers on leadership, management, ethics, communication, appreciation and more.
"Organizational health is a journey," said Dan Kessler, president of Workplace Dynamics, who spoke at the event held at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center. "It is not a destination. It requires constant effort and commitment. After all, even the best athletes have trainers."
He said companies that land on the list for treating employees well — not just free yoga classes or taco Tuesday, but through leadership, culture and more — have lower turnover, lower hiring costs and better recruitment.
There is another benefit, Rochester Business Alliance President and CEO Robert Duffy told the audience.
"You are really strengthening the entire economic vitality of the entire region by having great companies, by having companies people want to work for and love working for," he said. "To me, you are attracting people to stay in Rochester. You are attracting young men and women who come out of school to stay here and seek jobs."
Still, the local economy is changing. The old Big Three of Eastman Kodak Co., Bausch + Lomb Inc. and Xerox Corp. are dramatically smaller and have changed. The downtown Rochester area is still in transition. City graduation rates are low. State mandates continue to burden local business.
Even with those challenges, the Rochester area managed to add 3,200 private sector jobs in February when compared to a year earlier, according to figures released Thursday by the state Department of Labor. It was the second consecutive month of positive job growth for the area.
"People are drawn to positive places," Duffy said. "They want to be where people love to be. They want to be at a workplace where it's positive and people feel valued."
TCLAUSEN@DemocratandChronicle.com
