Best Places to Work 2017

If you want your company to join them, it will take effort, leadership and consistency over several years to build your employees’ trust in your organization. And you have to re-earn that trust every year to stay on the list – as a pair of companies have done for 13 straight years.

Each year, Hawaii Business partners with the research firm Best Companies Group to administer the Best Places to Work survey. The main part of the survey is a confidential questionnaire sent to all employees or a statistically representative sample at large companies. There are 78 questions and open-ended statements, and the employee responses make up 75 percent of a company’s score. The rest of the score is based on 80 questions answered by the HR department about benefits, working conditions and more.

This year, almost 100 companies and nonprofits in Hawaiʻi nominated themselves; only 72 made the cut as Best Places to Work.

Those 72 have employees who are “engaged.” Peter Burke, president at Best Companies, says engaged employees score high on these factors:

• • Plan to stay with the organization at least two more years, which reduces turnover and ensures stability.
  • Willing to recommend the company to a friend as a workplace, which replenishes the talent pool.
  • Willing to recommend the company’s products and services to a friend, which can attract new customers.
  • Willing to make an extra effort to help the organization succeed, which can yield a culture of excellence.
  • Look forward to going to work most days.
  • Their jobs provide meaning and purpose.
  • They are proud to work for the organization.
  • The organization has created an environment where employees can do their best work.

Hawaiʻi’s Best Places to Work have those kinds of engaged employees. The organizations did not all use the same strategies to create great workplaces, but the following 10 factors were the most common responses among the employees at Hawaiʻi’s Best Places to Work:

1. 1. I feel I am valued in this organization.
   2. I have confidence in the leadership of this organization.
   3. I like the type of work I do.
   4. Most days, I feel I have made progress at work.
   5. At this organization, employees have fun at work.
   6. I’m satisfied with this organization’s benefits package.
   7. This organization treats me like a person, not a number.
   8. My supervisor handles my work-related issues satisfactorily.
   9. There is room for me to advance at this organization.
   10. I feel part of a team working toward a shared goal.

It’s interesting that pay did not make the list of the Top 10 factors. It is also instructive that the top factors from previous years look a lot like this year’s list. For instance, the following three were the only ones on last year’s list but not on this year’s:

8. My supervisor treats me fairly.
9. Quality is a top priority with this organization.
10. The leaders of this organization care about their employees’ well being.

Engaged employees are emotionally connected to their company, and company leaders are vital in creating those connections, says Burke.

Learn about the specific strategies used by Hawaiʻi’s Best Places to Work by reading their profiles in this article. Those profiles show there is no single way to engage your workers.

What About Your Company?

None of the companies on the Best Places to Work started that way.

They all built a workplace full of engaged employees over time, and many used the BPTW survey as a tool to understand their strengths and weaknesses. The confidential survey of your employees reveals the good and the bad, and there is no question that the BPTW is the most useful annual survey in Hawaiʻi.

Take the first step in creating a productive workplace culture. Sign up today for the survey at hawaiibusiness.com/BPTW. By the way, there’s no risk, because if your company doesn’t make the list, no one else will know.

Benefits At-A-Glance

TOP 3 LARGE COMPANIES

(250 OR MORE HAWAII EMPLOYEES)

No.1 – Monsanto Co.

Headquarters: St. Louis
Employees: 626 HI / 10,277 worldwide
www.monsanto.com

Families are supported at Monsanto with either paid or unpaid leave for births or adoptions, financial assistance with adoptions, and lactation facilities for new moms. Employees also enjoy company-sponsored family movie nights and family fun days. Rapid Recognition, Above and Beyond, and Supply Chain Excellence awards all reward both individual and team achievements.

No.2 – Hawaii State Federal Credit Union

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 297 HI
www.hawaiistatefcu.com

Among the benefits for staff at Hawaii State FCU, is a profit-sharing program.

Team bonds are strengthened at after-hour or lunch-hour cookouts in the HSFCU parking lot, and employees help coordinate bake sales or craft fairs to raise money for charities. There’s a fitness gym at the main branch, an annual on-site wellness screening and an annual on-site flu shot.

No. 3 – First Insurance Co. of Hawaii, Ltd.

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 337 HI
www.ficoh.com

FICOH CEO Jeff Shonka, left, and Nick Nagano, CEO of the parent company TokioMarine Group, at a company event.

Employees stay healthy at First Insurance with monthly Balance Life classes on topics such as tai chi and financial management, and they get up to $600 a year to participate in the company’s wellness program. There is two-week paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child, and a paid “transition” program to return to full-time duty

LARGE COMPANIES

(Listed Alphabetically)

American Savings Bank

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 1,138 HI
www.asbhawaii.com

At American Savings Bank, each group of new hires gets to dress up and be photographed. The photo is usually posted on the bank’s Facebook page.

Not only do ASB teammates get paid every Friday, they also get a birthday holiday, keiki leave and an annual mahalo party. There’s even insurance for pets. Employees enjoy cash bonuses and incentives, profit-sharing and payouts for employee referrals. Paid time off includes 10 holidays and 19 personal days. ASB matches employee donations of up to $100,000 in its Kahiau Giving Program.

Bank of Hawaii

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 2,067 HI / 2,134 worldwide
www.boh.com

The bank, founded in 1897, promotes team health with three onsite fitness centers, weekly fitness and nutritional workshops, online wellness resources and healthy-eating choices at two cafeterias. Team-building competitions are rewarded with tailgating, dinner, games and prizes. The College Assistance program provides tuition reimbursement. The downtown office features ergonomic desks, a full kitchen and a ping pong table for breaks.

Central Pacific Bank

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 850 HI
www.centralpacificbank.com

Community-minded CPB workers can use a company van and distribute free ice cream at events, plus they get 24 paid hours for community service. There are employee Appreciation Day and Employee Club events for workers and their families. Generic drugs are free, and no co-pay is required for diabetic insulin or supplies

City Mill Company, Ltd.

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 402 HI
www.citymill.com

A family atmosphere is fostered with the celebration of birthdays, babies and retirements. Team and individual awards recognize safety, longevity and customer service with cash and gifts. City Mill’s wellness program emphasizes exercise and provides fresh fruit and veggies throughout the year, culminating in a “Biggest Loser” challenge. Team members get free chair massages, nine paid holidays and 15 personal days off

First Hawaiian Bank

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 2,052 HI / 2,202 worldwide
www.fhb.com

Every FHB employee is appreciated from beginning to end: Each worker or retiree receives a holiday gift selected by the CEO. ShareCare matches employees’ childcare or eldercare expenses on a pre-tax basis. Commuters receive pre-tax parking perks, and a 50-percent discount on bus passes. A funeral wreath comforts the family of a deceased employee.

Island Palm Communities

Headquarters: Schofield Barracks
Employees: 364 HI
www.islandpalmcommunities.com

As the military’s largest private-public housing partnership, Island Palm provides immediate and quarterly recognition awards, as well as monetary service-year awards and safety awards. There are “communication screens” for those without computer access, and biweekly company “huddles.” Workers have a blast at holiday parties and Ohana Day events. Full-time employees get 11 paid holidays and 18 personal days off.

Na Hoku, Inc.

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 314 HI
www.nahoku.com

The retailer and manufacturer of Island jewelry keeps team members healthy with Zumba workouts at the corporate office, and Kaiser members get a discounted membership at 24 Hour Fitness. Employees are recognized during the holidays and at other times during the year with lunches, breakfasts, snacks and ice cream. Bonuses are offered for sales incentives and meeting sales quotas, and there are safety awards.

Panda Restaurant Group Inc.

Headquarters: Rosemead, CA
Employees: 577 HI / 30,363 worldwide
www.pandarg.com

Panda first made the list of Hawaii’s Best Places to Work in 2014, and has been on the list of large companies ever since.

Managers from the restaurant chain’s nearly 2,000 locations worldwide are flown to a biennial leaders conference. Associates can advance their education with a tuition reimbursement program. The Support Center has an onsite gym, and employees get a discount on gym memberships. Panda sponsors eldercare assistance for those with aging family members. Employees relax with free or discounted tickets to entertainment or sporting events.

Parents And Children Together

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 303 HI
www.pacthawaii.org

Team-building and wellness  are emphasized at this social-service nonprofit’s Magical Mystery Days retreats. Half days off are given for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and upon successful completion of agency events. There’s pet insurance, flex spending accounts, multiple supplemental income plans and credit union membership. A gym is available for staff use, and several locations have walking paths and trails.

ProService Hawaii

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 253 HI
www.proservice.com

Employees of the HR management service score big with Breakfast on Fridays, parental leave and student-loan payment assistance. Benefits include performance incentives, and cash payouts for internal employee referrals and business referrals. Stress gets released during on-site, monthly yoga classes. Full-time workers get nine paid holidays and 15 paid days off, with up to eight hours of paid volunteer time off.

Servco Pacific Inc.

Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 1,118 HI / 1,182 worldwide
www.servco.com

Employees and their guests have a blast at Servco Family Fun Days, when venues such as the 50th State Fair and Sea Life Park are reserved for them. Health is the theme at the company Wellness Center, featuring exercise classes, basketball, ping pong and cable TV. Sales incentives include trips to Australia and Japan and visits to the Toyota Factory and Car Museum.