Rubber News searches for Best Places to Work

There's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition in the rubber and tire industry. Particularly if it's for bragging rights on where the best place to work is in our business.

To that end, Rubber News has launched its fourth annual search to identify the Best Places to Work in the rubber industry.

You'll want to enter and join the ranks of Specification Rubber Products Inc., Reed Rubber Products and Americas International, the companies that took top honors during the first three years of the contest.

In the latest year, a total of seven rubber industry firms earned the right to be called a Best Places to Work in our industry.

Rubber News, working with the Best Companies Group, is inviting U.S. and Canadian companies doing business in any aspect of the rubber industry to register by Nov. 4 to participate in the program.

Best Places to Work is a survey competition designed to determine which participants are the best employers. The process is managed by Best Companies Group, with winners announced January 2023, and profiled in a special report in the March 6, 2023, issue. At the time, the overall winner also will be revealed.

Best Companies Group is an independent research firm that specializes in identifying and recognizing great places to work. The rules to enter are simple. In order to participate, the business must:

• Be a public or private company with a facility in the U.S. and/or Canada;
• Have a minimum of 15 employees;
• Be in business a minimum of one year; and
• Derive at least 50 percent of revenue from elastomer-related operations, including thermoplastic elastomers and polyurethanes.

Eligibility is open to companies that make tires or end rubber products, as well as suppliers or service providers in the rubber industry. These can include: End rubber goods makers; suppliers of materials, chemicals and fillers used in rubber manufacturing; custom mixers; machinery and equipment makers; mold and tooling makers; testing firms; suppliers of testing machinery and lab equipment; rubber recycling firms; distributor/fabricators of finished rubber goods to end users; and distributors of materials, equipment or services.

The first step in the competition is for a business to register for participation, and the deadline for that is Nov. 4. There is no cost to participate, as long as the surveys are completed online. To view full participation details, visit bestplacestoworkrubber.com.

After registration, the competition includes two surveys to gather detailed data about each participating company. BCG conducts the surveys, analyzes the data and determines the winners and rankings.

The first survey is an Employer Benefits & Policies Questionnaire, where the employer details company policies, practices, benefits and demographics.

The second part is the Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey. The employees answer a series of questions, using a scale ranging from "Agree Strongly" to "Disagree Strongly."

To ensure the credibility of the survey, organizations with 15-24 employees must have an 80 percent response rate or better on the employee survey. Those with 25 or more employees must have a response rate of at least 40 percent.

Companies that meet BCG's benchmarks are named a Best Places to Work, while those not meeting the criteria are not named. A final listing of those named Best Places to Work will be published, and the company with the highest mark overall will be named the industry's top place to work.

While participation is free, participating organizations can receive their Employee Feedback Report for as little as $925, detailing the company's employee responses. The report also includes employee engagement and employer benefits industry benchmarks. There is an earlybird discount of 20 percent for companies that register and pre-purchase reports by Sept. 23 After that date the discount drops to 10 percent.

For more information or to register, visit bestplacestoworkrubber.com. Questions can be directed to: Jessica Zeitler, [email protected], 717-323-5279 or 877-455-2159.