More than 80 New Orleans area businesses were named “top workplaces” as part of an annual Times-Picayune program that culminated with an awards ceremony Wednesday at the Higgins Hotel downtown.
The annual competition identifies exemplary companies via independent, anonymous surveys of their employees. This year, more than 41,000 workers were surveyed.
Nearly 300 attendees gathered for the winners’ celebration, hosted by Damon Singleton, a native New Orleanian, former Navy commander and meteorologist at Nola.com.
The top three winners in the small company division, in order, were LAMMICO, a medical professional liability insurance company; Restech, an IT and cybersecurity provider; and Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers.
Mid-size winners were Stoa Group, a Hammond-based multifamily developer; the commercial contractor RNGD; and MSB Consulting Engineers.
Top honorees in the large company category were Gallo Mechanical, a construction and service company; the manufacturer Laitram; and the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center.
The large businesses category is reserved for organizations with 400 or more employees. The midsize category includes those with 125 to 299 employees. The small businesses category is reserved for outfits with fewer than 125 employees.
This is the 12th year that The Times-Picayune has partnered with Energage, a 20-year-old employee research and consulting firm based in Philadelphia, to administer the program. In email surveys, the researcher asks employees if they feel valued, respected and aligned with their employer’s mission.
“We’re here to celebrate work done well,” Bob Helbig, Energage media partnerships director, told the crowd, which was in a celebratory mood boosted by free food and drink and dozens of blue and yellow balloons suspended over tables. “Every workplace has a culture, whether accidental or purposeful, and the great ones are purposeful.”
Helbig encouraged companies to celebrate and publicize their awards.
“People want to work for and do business with top workplaces,” he said.
Click here to nominate a company for next year’s program.
The large employer category included 25 companies recognized as Top Workplaces, led by a mix of health care, hospitality, engineering, education and industrial firms. Winners include:
- Ampirical
- Boardwalk Pipelines
- Capital One Financial Corp.
- ChenMed
- Cox Enterprises
- Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts
- Crescent City Schools
- EisnerAmper
- FirstLine Schools
- Gallo Mechanical
- Harvest Midstream
- Hotel Monteleone
- Kloeckner Metals
- Laitram
- Loews Hotels & Co.
- Marsh McLennan Agency
- The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
- Ochsner Health
- Panda Restaurant Group
- PENN Entertainment
- PT Solutions
- Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
- ReNEW Schools
- Sonesta International Hotels Corp.
- The Freeman Co.
The midsize employer category honored 29 organizations spanning health care, engineering, construction, hospitality, financial services and technology. Recognized companies were:
The small employer category recognized organizations ranging from nonprofits and professional services firms to contractors, financial institutions and technology companies. Winners include:
- Agenda for Children
- Bellwether
- Blue Williams
- Bridge House Corp.
- DelRicht Research
- ECM Consultants
- Edge Financial Services
- EPIC Federal Credit Union
- Forman Watkins & Krutz
- Infinity Engineering Consultants
- Karl Senner
- Kean Miller
- LAMMICO
- Landis Construction
- The Louisiana Public Health Institute
- Louisiana Technology Group
- Magnolia Physical Therapy
- Metairie Bank & Trust
- New Orleans & Company
- New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union
- NOLA Hotel Group
- Restech
- Ryan Gootee General Contractors
- Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers
- Star Service New Orleans
- Stokes & Associates
- Stryker Orthopaedics
- Total Quality Logistics
- VIA LINK
