What it takes to keep an organization running smoothly with a workforce that feels engaged and treated fairly can sound challenging, seemingly complicated and maybe, for some, unattainable.
But it doesn’t take a trip down the yellow brick road to see the Wizard of Oz for answers on how to create a Top Workplace — numerous organizations have built such an environment right here in the Lehigh Valley, and they’re willing to share their secrets on running companies that are consistently recognized for their commitment to employees.
Trifecta Technologies Inc., Catasauqua Area School District and St. Luke’s University Health Network all ranked as the No. 1 Top Workplaces in their size category in The Morning Call’s annual survey.
Those employers’ leaders, or those that set the tone for the work environment, are proud of their rankings, as are their employees. So what does it take get there?
Representatives from each organization shared some of their thoughts as to what has brought them consistent Top Workplaces success — and much of it comes down to respect and empathy.
Trifecta Technologies Inc.
Melissa Seibert, head of Trifecta’s employee engagement and administrative services, has been employed for five years with the company, which has ranked as a Top Workplace for seven consecutive years.
The role of company leadership is to put forth effective communication, empathy, inclusiveness, integrity, adaptability, collaboration and empowerment policies, she said.
Elaborating on those points and how they are implemented, Seibert outlined them as follows:
- Effective communication: The company achieves this through one-on-one meetings, quarterly companywide meetings, internal chat platforms and team meetings.
- Integrity: The leadership team demonstrates the importance of acting with honesty and building trust by providing a good level of transparency.
- Empathy and inclusiveness: Trifecta strives to foster inclusivity by providing flex time, a focus on each employee’s work/life balance and a commitment to each employee’s well-being.
- Empowerment: Employees get individualized training and development paths, recognition and rewards for reaching milestones.
Those directives, Seibert said, drive a mindset she described as, “At Trifecta you are not just a number. You are a person, a person that matters.”
Trifecta’s management style evolved over more than 30 years and now utilizes what Seibert said is a mix of several styles: strategic, participative, coaching, visionary and collaborative.
Associated with these styles are the methods of implementation, which she explained are “a collection of tools used in carrying out the mix of management style we use.”
“We leverage different communication platforms such as performance management software, learning management systems, employee feedback platforms, peer-to-peer recognition platforms, recognition and reward opportunities, wellness opportunities and lots of virtual engagement events,” she said.
To determine if these styles are working, she said, “Trifecta uses an open door policy, open communication, pulse surveys and the level of engagement of employees at events throughout the organization.”
Seibert said Trifecta deals with adversity, such as the coronavirus pandemic, through “emphasizing open communication, empathy, and flexibility. Having these in the forefront of our minds while pursuing client needs allowed us to balance productivity while seeing to our teams’ needs.”
The company has a multigenerational workforce, which means a collection of people who have different work ethics. Seibert said several strategies are used for all to co-exist and includes work-from-home, work flexibility, clear expectations, team building activities “and lots of engagement opportunities with other teammates.”
For organizations having difficulties with employee performance, retention or developing a sound work environment, Seibert suggests, “Start by finding out why and try to get to the root cause of the challenges. This could be done by requesting feedback, performing stay interviews, or sending out engagement surveys. From there I would also assess the professional development that your organization offers, the types of rewards and recognition that the organization uses and make a more conscious effort to foster open communication.”
Catasauqua Area School District
Catasauqua Area School District has ranked as a Top Workplace for five consecutive years.
Superintendent Christina Lutz Doemling, who has been employed with the district for 20 years, says she believes her leadership role is to inspire and motivate the educational team to work collaboratively toward identified goals while focusing on several key components.
She said those components include, “Community partnerships, educational excellence and lifelong learning. Additionally, at CASD, we value and prioritize relationships. Consequently, collective responsibility, open communication and feedback about workplace challenges and successes consistently drive our efforts toward continuous improvement.”
She says her management style comes from her experience: two decades with the district, growing up as a student athlete; and her time as an athletic coach during graduate studies at Bucknell and Lehigh universities.
During those 20 years, she said, the district has had a consistent leadership team with shared values. “We truly believe in the power of collaboration and working together to provide programs and services to meet the needs of district students and families.”
“As both an athlete and coach, I learned firsthand the importance of feedback, collaboration, communication and motivation,” she said.
To meet these criteria, she said, ongoing communication is crucial and is done in several ways, such as face-to-face meetings, social media, emails, phone calls and text messaging.
Doemling knows if these strategies are working through evaluations that include feedback from students, parents and employee engagement surveys, she said. Coupled with that, she said, “It is important to listen and learn from the experiences of others.”
When faced with adversity, the district has a collection of support units that range from a close-knit educational team to community partners.
“We are extremely fortunate to have so many organizations willing to assist us with our efforts to meet students’ academic, emotional and social needs,” she said.
The district has a multigenerational workforce, which she said is a benefit. “Employees with years of experience find it rewarding to share their knowledge and skills with employees just starting out. … Novice employees value the guidance and support of their mentors.”
Doemling has been superintendent for about a year, but said her transition into the role was seamless.
District Business Manager Lindsey Wallace explained, “Our administration is also newer. We all have taken the ‘no colleague left behind’ approach when planning or facing challenges. We coordinate, collaborate and accomplish what we set out to do as a team.”
As to suggestions about how other organizations can create a high-performing workplace, Doemling said, “Focus on relationships and common goals. Positive relationships are the key to effective teams working collaboratively toward common goals, which are extremely powerful.”
St. Luke’s University Health Network
Evan Ochs, senior vice president of human resources, said the leaders at St. Luke’s — which has been ranked as a Top Workplace for two consecutive years — believe people are the health network’s greatest asset, because they’re the ones who deliver health care.
Ochs, who’s been employed with St. Luke’s for 12 years, said, “We believe in a flat organization that empowers employees to complete their jobs. We try to remove obstacles for employees to make their jobs easier whenever possible. We have a supportive environment where we encourage employees to find new and novel solutions when they arrive.”
On the flip side, he said, employees are expected to treat each other with respect, compassion, and kindness.
That style of management comes from the hospital’s president and chief executive officer, Richard Anderson, who Ochs said, “charges our senior team with the responsibility of maintaining our culture, and that effort comes out in the way our leaders lead and care for their employees.”
To provide a caring and efficient workforce, she said electronic communication is liberally used but, “We refuse to allow technology to drive or dictate our jobs.”
Much of that includes being available in person and to arrange meetings only when needed instead of “for the sake of having a meeting.”
Ochs said a key metric to measure whether the management style is resulting in a high performing workforce is employee engagement.
“Our most recent [employee] engagement survey found caring and empathy from leaders as well as an environment that promotes belonging were identified as pivotable strengths,” she said.
When the coronavirus pandemic took hold, she said, St. Luke’s leadership met challenges by remaining nimble. “We made decisions rapidly in response to constantly changing facts and issues. We did not panic.”
She said communicating often and in various ways is vital in adverse conditions. “Caring and empathy were part of each and every communication during that critical time [the pandemic] and it continues to be our focus even now.”
St. Luke’s multigenerational workforce poses no issues with employees who are recruited through various educational partnerships and placed in clinical and nonclinical positions.
Once a person is hired, they receive additional training and once completed, she said, “We focus on career progression in an effort to ensure every new hire feels and remains challenged and continually grows during their career at St. Luke’s. The result is a workforce with tremendous retention rates and a great understanding of our culture.”
If there were a toolbox with devices to help a struggling organization, the first item in there would be something to examine leadership, Ochs said. For St. Luke’s, she said, that leadership comes from Anderson.
“Everything cascades from his strong vision, strategic direction and also his empathetic and compassionate persona,” Ochs said.
Ochs also suggested that an effective way to develop better employee performance, retention or job satisfaction is to “work on developing a culture and formalizing a mission. Those are foundations of a solid culture with deep roots and future stability.”
Ochs said St. Luke’s is unique in that its work environment of caring and quality is almost palpable and developed over the course of 150 years.
It’s also something, she added, that’s been “handed down from one generation of employees to the next … it’s special and it cannot be replicated.”
Charles Malinchak is a freelance writer.
Trifecta Technologies Inc.
No. 1 small employer
Founded: 1991
Ownership: Private
Sector: Custom Software Development and Consulting
Employees: 49
Website: trifecta.com
Catasauqua Area School District
No. 1 midsize employer
Founded: 1868
Ownership: Government
Sector: Education
Employees: 291
Website: cattysd.org
St. Luke’s University Health Network
No. 1 large employer
Founded: 1872
Ownership: Nonprofit
Sector: Hospitals and health systems
Employees: 16,692
Website: slhn.org
This story has been updated. Evan Ochs is a woman. She was interviewed via email, and was incorrectly referred to using masculine pronouns.
