BusinessTN

METHODOLOGY
Ranking the Best Employers in Tennessee begins with an open invitation for any qualifying organization in the state to enter the pool of nominees. Each organization is asked to complete the Infrastructure and Practice Inventory, a questionnaire created by ModernThink, a research and consulting firm that focuses on workplace excellence. This document captures detailed information regarding the organization’s human resource practices, organization policies and procedures, organization culture and a wide range of demographic information.

Then, most importantly, employees chosen at random from across the candidate organization are asked to complete the ModernThink Organizational Assessment. This survey instrument assesses the overall quality of the employee experience by looking at critical relationships and key behaviors in the organization. The survey also includes a section for employees to share their comments.

A panel of researchers at ModernThink then analyzes the survey data, Infrastructure and Practice Inventory and the employee comments to determine the final rankings. While all three elements are critical to the assessment, the most weight is given to the actual survey responses from the employees.

#1 AMERICAN HEALTHWAYS
2004 gross revenue: $163 million
Number of employees: 1,175
Number of CEOs in past five years: 2
Average hourly wage, non-exempt: $23.30
Average annual salary, exempt: $76,240
Minimum hours required for benefits eligibility: 30

•Offers a bonus plan for every employee
•Tax-deferred, company-supported children’s education fund
•Colleague Connection newsletter

Nashville-based American Healthways consistently delivers strong results for its investors (revenue increased 56% for the quarter ending Aug. 31, 2004). Don Taylor, executive vice president and chief operating officer, says the company’s solid performance is just one of the reasons its employees are happy to show up for work.

“Success breeds success,” Taylor says. “We’re a company doing really good work. We’re helping people lead their lives in a more meaningful manner. From an entrepreneurial perspective, it’s exciting.”

American Healthways provides disease management, care enhancement and high-risk health management services to improve health care and lower costs.

Word of mouth brought Peter Tappen to American Healthways. Tappen knew people who worked for the company and heard about its reputation for promoting employees from within. Tappen had worked in the music industry for several years and wanted to make a move into health care, so he took a temp job as a mail clerk at American Healthways.

“I plugged away for about a year and was promoted when a position came open in proposals,” says Tappen, who now has worked for two years as a content developer in knowledge management and proposals. “This particular company I find to be extremely progressive and entrepreneurial. By saying that, I mean that people really matter here and at the end of the day, the product we provide really touches people’s lives. That comes from the top-down, from [chief executive officer] Ben Leedle all the way down to the mailroom.”

Laura Petty is a registered nurse and member case manager. Her job is to counsel patients on how to best control their diseases. She, too, knew people working for the company before she applied. She also credits the supportive culture for her happiness at work.

“It’s just a really comfortable, modern work environment,” Petty says. “As a nurse, we’re incredibly well-staffed. We always have more than enough nurses to meet needs.”

Petty says an excellent benefits package is another bonus. In addition to pay she calls “great” compared to the average in Nashville, she gets three weeks of vacation every year and continuing education.

“You get a minimum of three, but as many as five weeks of training. You’re assigned a mentor. The training is ongoing, even after you’re hired. It’s quarterly and helps us remain current on issues and treatments our patients need to know about.”

Every year, American Healthways administers the Campbell Survey of employee satisfaction. Taylor says employees rank the company high and consistently indicate that the cooperative culture of the organization is more important than money.

“We’re humbled by that,” Taylor says. “People are engaged, and we’ve given people a clear tool to be critical.”

Taylor says people are “energized and thoughtful.” One reason for that, he says, is how customer issues are handled. He says resolving problems for customers quickly also leads to happier employees.

“We are conscious about this, and how much more productive would our entire work force around the U.S. be if we thought about this stuff more often? As I tell my children, it’s way easier to be nice to people.”

#2 THE REGIONAL EYE CENTER
2004 gross revenue: $7 million
Number of employees: 69
Number of CEOs in past five years: 1
Average hourly wage, non-exempt: $12.89
Average annual salary, exempt: $227,419
Minimum hours required for benefits eligibility: 30

•Senior management routinely visits departments at all locations with “no agenda”
•Offers paid volunteer time—provides a senior level manager to administer a paid volunteer program and full-time exempt employee to serve as a paid volunteer to support programs such as a formal community outreach program to assist senior citizen centers, assisted-living facilities, long-term care facilities and various localized projects of neighborhood community groups. These programs are not necessarily medical or medical education programs
•Hosts Employee Recognition dinners with awards starting for those with one-year tenure

When Priscilla Little started looking for a new job, the registered nurse had a tough list of criteria, considering her profession: no shift work, no holidays and no weekends. She found the Regional Eye Center in Kingsport. Eight years later, she is director of nursing for the clinic.

“What attracted me initially were the friends working there who spoke highly of the environment,” Little says. “I did not know much about eyes at the time, but just the basic eight-to-five opportunity was what I was looking for.”

She says she was intrigued also by the continuing education advocated by the physician-owned company, which employs 72 people.

“There are many opportunities for learning and growth professionally, which is important,” Little says. “I’m a firm believer in continuing education for whatever area of expertise you’re in. They encourage new employees to become certified and make a concerted effort financially or with their own programs to help us attain that certification.”

Chief Executive Officer John Williams says the company pays 100% of the cost for employees to maintain certifications.

“That includes the licensing fee and the cost of continuing education to remain current,” Williams says. “We think it is critical that our staff be at the highest level they can be. That is something that is not particularly common in medical facilities.”

Williams says the physician owners of the eye center have made it clear they want their employees to be good at what they do and happy in their work. He says the company tries to provide a good environment, training and an atmosphere that makes people want to come to work every day.

“Being a health care service gives us good feelings about what we do,” Williams says. “We are in a company and business that lets us see great rewards for what we do for our patients. It’s easy for us sometimes to kind of forget that we’re working.”

Little says the attitude and desires of the eye center’s owners are made clear by the fact that people work together to find solutions.

“The people here, the employees from top management on down, are genuinely friendly and cooperative,” Little says. “Everyone makes an effort to get along and that makes it easier to come to work.”

Williams says it’s important to keep employees happy because they are ambassadors to potential new employees.

“Employees who go to work for a company usually know very little about it,” Williams says. “Most of the time, they’re going by the public image of the company.”

#3 MID-AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES
2004 gross revenue: $233 million
Number of employees: 1,112
Number of CEOs in past five years: 2
Average hourly wage, non-exempt: $11.07
Average annual salary, exempt: $47,980
Minimum hours required for benefits eligibility: 30

•Sick hours can be used to take care of ailing children
•”Ask the Expert” e-mail system where employees can get any question answered

“Everybody wants to be associated with a winning company and a winning situation,” says Eric Bolton, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Memphis-based Mid-America Apartment Communities.

“We just celebrated our tenth year as a public company,” Bolton says. “We’ve had 10 years of growth and 10 years of very strong performance. The success we’ve had as a public company allows us an opportunity to perform well for all of those people we serve.”

Mid-America Apartment Communities is a real estate investment trust with ownership interest in more than 36,000 apartment homes and with a portfolio of more than 130 apartment communities in 21 states. Total market capitalization is about $800 million.

“Speaking specifically to the employee base, we offer great benefit programs and give back to them in multiple ways,” Bolton says. “All of them participate in our employee stock option plan.”

For 10 years, they’ve received about 16% return, compounded annually.

Bolton, a native of Memphis, started with Mid-America overseeing new development just before the company went public. He is known for his open door policy, and employees praise him for his involvement in on-the-ground operations.

“When I interviewed for a position, I talked to several people who worked for the company. Everyone who works for Mid-America takes such pride in it,” says Cara Mober, area manager for the company. “When you talk with other associates, you can tell how much they love their jobs.”

Mober says all employees are treated with respect, from regional vice president to housekeeper.

“There’s the concept that people at the front lines—at the apartments—make our success,” Bolton says. “But you can’t just say it. You have to mean it.”

Since the bulk of the company’s employees work in leasing offices, corporate leaders stay involved by spending much of their time traveling to the different locations, says Tom Grimes, senior vice president and director of property management.

“The senior leadership of the company—Eric, myself and the department heads—are on site weekly visiting the properties and looking for ways to help the property associates,” Grimes says. “It’s an open and supportive environment.”

Bolton holds monthly roundtable discussions with employees selected at random. Leasing associates get support through training programs when they join the company and follow-up training to help them improve their marketing, conflict and leadership skills.

“We have classroom training, Web-based training and Certified Apartment Manager (CAM) training, a very prestigious designation,” says Mober. “Mid-America has a goal of achieving that for all of its apartment managers.”

Company leaders who came in together on the ground floor contribute to the company’s atmosphere of camaraderie.

“Many of our leadership folks were hired at about the same time 10 years ago,” Bolton says. “That’s another strength of the company that helps us nurture the company and the environment.”

Grimes says the “most important cultural touchstone” for the company is the Open Arms Foundation, a charity the company started when it went public. Open Arms offers fully furnished apartment homes within the company’s communities free of charge to families who have to travel away from their own homes to receive medical care.

“We felt like we needed to give back,” Grimes says. “The employees chose how we should do that.”

Currently, 28 homes operate through the company’s communities in the southeast and southcentral United States. Mid-America Apartment Communities remains the primary source of funding for Open Arms. Through employee-run events and a payroll deduction plan, employees of the company are the second largest contributors.

“Associates practically adopt the families that are there,” Grimes says. “They share the ups and downs. I think that’s an important part of our company.”

Mober says she has been with the company for five-and-a-half years and hopes to retire with the company years down the road.

“Mid-America is a great company to work for and anyone who has the opportunity should definitely take it.”

#4 MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS
2004 gross revenue: $781 million
Number of employees: 2,702
Number of CEOs in past five years: 2
Average hourly wage, non-exempt: $11.75
Average annual salary, exempt: $63,342
Minimum hours required for Benefits Eligibility: 19

•Corporate Values: Reverence…Integrity… Compassion…Excellence
•In 2003, provided $21 million in benefits for the poor and community
•Publishes A Chicken Soup magazine mailed to 70,000 residents annually free of charge

Memorial Heathcare Systems in Chattanooga is the first of two faith-based companies to be named among the state’s best employers for 2004. Ruth Brinkley, president and chief executive officer of the hospital system, says the company’s Christian affiliation is key to employees’ job satisfaction.

“First of all, I think we have the best employees in the world, I really do,” says Brinkley. “We call them associates here, and they make the place what it is. They like the fact that we are faith-based and that they can express their faith at work.”

Memorial employs 2,702 people and is licensed for 365 patient beds.

Brinkley has been in her position for two-and-a-half years. During that time, she says she has observed strong relationships between physicians, nurses and other health care providers within the health care system.

“They work well together, and there is a professionalism you don’t often see elsewhere,” says Brinkley, who has been with Memorial’s parent organization, Catholic Health Initiatives, for six years.

Jenny Patterson, a registered nurse, works in the surgical intensive care unit at Memorial. She says the atmosphere, both in administration and in the various departments, promotes cooperation.

“It’s been wonderful. I don’t want to leave,” Patterson says. “There are three ICUs at Memorial, and we all work really well together for patient care. All of our directors are concerned that we’re happy where we work.”

Brinkley says promoting a positive work environment is one of the best ways to ensure quality patient care.

“We try to provide a work environment where nurses and health care professionals feel good about what they do,” Brinkley says. “We try to treat our associates well and take care of them, so they can pass that onto patients.”

Brinkley says “servant leadership” is vital to nurturing strong relationships with employees.

“They ask really good questions,” Brinkley says. “And we try to tell the truth, as we know it at the moment. As things change, we tell them that as well.”

Patterson says she started working at Memorial six years ago as a phlebotomist in the lab. As she grew professionally, working at the hospital while she finished nursing school, her opportunities at the hospital grew.

“After working in the lab for a while, I transferred to the ICU while I worked my way through school,” Patterson says. “I stayed in the same unit once I graduated.”

Patterson says the job also keeps up with her needs on a personal level.

“It’s very flexible, which is important because I have two small children,” she says.

“I’m able to work and keep up my skills, but I still have a homelife and Memorial promotes that, as well.”

#5 LIFEWAY CHRISTIAN RESOURCES
2004 gross revenue: $414 million
Number of employees: 2,039
Number of CEOs in past five years: 1
Average hourly wage, non-exempt: $13.48
Average annual salary, exempt: $56,688
Minimum hours required for benefits eligibility: 20

•Telecommuting is popular—provides office set up/assistance for those working from home
•Pet insurance with payroll deduction
•Encourages recognition by giving every manager a budget for on-the-spot rewards
•Two weeks off with pay for a corporate sponsored mission trip, plus funding support for up to 50% of the cost of the trip

LifeWay Christian Resources, producer and supplier of Christian literature and other media, lists employees as number two in its core values. (The Bible is number one.)

“Our employees are our most important resource and are our means of building customer relationships to meet needs with biblical solutions that spiritually transform individuals and cultures,” the company Web site states.

LifeWay employs 1,637 people in Tennessee, many of whom work at a corporate facility that encompasses more than one million square feet in downtown Nashville. Along with the home office, LifeWay also operates two LifeWay Conference Centers—one in Glorieta, N.M., and the other in Ridgecrest, N.C. At the Nashville location, LifeWay uses the Church Leadership Training Center for a variety of conferences. The corporation also operates 115 LifeWay Christian Stores in 21 states nationwide.

Mike Harry is director of logistics and the chief supply chain officer for the corporate office. Harry, who has been with the company for 10 years, says the benefits to working for a company like LifeWay are “spiritual, material, too many to list.”

“Where to begin?” Harry responds, when asked which benefit attracts him most to LifeWay. “First of all, our mission is much larger than just making money for someone.”

Bruce Krapf manages LifeWay’s flagship store at 10th and Broadway in downtown Nashville, where he started as a manager-in-training 20 years ago. He managed stores in Orlando, Fla., and Greensboro, N.C., before returning to Nashville more than 10 years ago.

“I believe in the mission of the company that I see every day,” Krapf says. “Since I’m in the store, I get to see people every day who we have an opportunity to help. We may have one-on-one opportunities to help people if they’re hurting or are in a difficult situation.”

Beyond the mission, Harry says the company is progressive in the business realm, “constantly trying out new processes and new technologies to make things better.”

Krapf says the pay scale is “fair and equitable for the work we do” and that he appreciates the company’s commitment to offering a pension benefit, as well as a 401K plan. He also applauds the company’s choices in health care plans.

Both men say above any financial benefit, it is the spiritual support and opportunities that keep them at LifeWay.

“We see other managers coming in who have been in other retail environments, and they can tell a difference here opposed to other retailers,” Krapf says.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
The following four companies, representing a variety of industries, were not among the ultimate winners in the 2004 Best Employers in Tennessee. However, because all generated intriguing subsmissions and admiration from employees, they merit recognition.

Marvin Windows and Doors of Tennessee (Ripley) offers customers standard and made-to-order windows and doors. It offers its employees a safe, secure work environment. Ken Laumer has been with Marvin four years. He says a commitment to safety was the first thing he noticed when he started work.

“Other places where I worked talked about safety, cleanliness and quality, but they always put production first,” Laumer says. “But at Marvin, they really put safety and these things ahead of production. If it wasn’t safe, they stopped production. They not only spoke it, they meant it.”

Marvin employs 662 people in Ripley, Tennessee.

Knoxville-based Sea Ray Boats is the largest employer to be noted in this year’s Best list. They employ 3,481 people across the state. The benefit to such size, says technical service representative Mike White, is the opportunity to explore different areas of the company. White has been with Sea Ray for 18 years, while taking full advantage of the possibilities for advancement and new experiences.

“Within Sea Ray, you have an opportunity to do different jobs. I used to be an orientation trainer,” White says. “In that job, I told the new people I was training that one of the best things about Sea Ray is the chance to pursue other jobs and do something different after a period of time.”

White says he also has taken advantage of Sea Ray’s continuing education benefit, which allows employees to take job-related classes at the University of Tennessee and Pellissippi State.

“It’s always something different,” White says. “Opportunities to do new jobs and opportunities to advance. By taking classes, you can further your education and be promoted within the company.”

T-Mobile USA’s customer service center on Grassmere Park Rd. in Nashville earns kudos for providing employees with a modern, airy facility not typically associated with call centers. A few of the amenities include an on-site cafeteria, a workout/fitness area, a pool table and a “quiet” room with computers, recommended motivational books and a relaxation area.

“People we hire as customer service representatives are our most important employees,” says Don Beach, human resources manager at the call center. “We ask our customer service reps to ‘delight’ our customers. We think if we value employees, they’ll generate a good experience.”

The T-Mobile call center employs just over 900 people. While Beach says he appreciates his place in the Best Employers list, he’s working on a higher position.

“We really do believe we’re one of the premier employers in Tennessee, and next year we want to be in the top five.”

Walden Security in Chattanooga is counting on its continuing education to set it apart for customers and employees.

“We think what will separate our employees from the other security companies is training,” says Michael Walden, company president. “So, we’re spending money and energy to make sure we have the best trained security force available.”

Walden says the company has initiated Walden University, which makes thousands of training courses available to employees through the company Web site 24 hours a day.

“It has a built-in, automatic tracking system,” Walden says. “Plus, it’s more interactive than just training and watching videos. Anything we can do to make our employees more successful at work and home—from quality of uniforms to e-learning—we want to do it.”