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Best Places to Work in Maine Program

Governor helps promote "Best Places to Work in Maine" program

Project offers resources for employers to retain and attract top talent

        The Maine State Council of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) has kicked off the tenth annual "Best Places to Work in Maine" program. Endorsed by the Maine Department of Labor, the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Best Companies Group, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, the Maine HR Convention, and Mainebiz, the program recognizes companies that have established and consistently fostered outstanding workplace environments.

        "This program has been successful for the past nine years because of the great companies that recognize part of their success is based on the importance placed on recruiting and retaining top talent," said Marcia Benner, state director of the SHRM Maine State Council.

        In June, Best Companies Group will survey all the Maine companies that have registered online by the deadline of Friday, May 22. The scientifically validated survey will incorporate a company's employee benefits and policies and responses from a comprehensive employee engagement and satisfaction survey. The data collected from the assessment will be used to determine the Best Places to Work in Maine.

        "I'm pleased to support a program that takes care of the most valuable resource, which is the people who work here," said Governor Paul R. LePage. "Maine's job creators help make our state the best place to live, work and raise a family. I look forward to hearing about who is at the top of the list this year."

        The Best Companies Group "Employee Feedback Report" is presented to each participating company, even if they did not make the list. The report includes the summarized employee engagement and satisfaction data, the Maine Benchmark Report, and the transcript of employee written comments. The report is used by many to make significant improvements in their workplace culture.

        There is a fee to participate in this program that covers the cost to conduct the comprehensive survey and create the "Employee Feedback Report."

        "This is not a pay-to-play program," said Ms. Benner. "Companies only make the list if their employee survey ranks high, so it truly is based on what employees think of the company culture, and this is why the Employee Feedback Report is such a great human resources tool to help companies who don't make the list to improve."

        First place winners of the ninth annual "Best Places to Work in Maine" program in 2014 included Edward Jones based in Belfast in the large company category; Patriot Subaru, located in Saco, took the same honor in the medium category; and #1 in the small company category was TruChoice Federal Credit Union, based in South Portland.

        Any company with at least 15 employees in Maine is encouraged to participate. Companies selected as a "Best Place to Work in Maine" will be announced at a gala event in the fall of 2015. A complete list of top companies will be featured in a statewide publication put out by Mainebiz.

        The Maine State Council is pleased to announce that JobsinME.com is the premier sponsor of Best Places to Work in Maine 2015 program. Interested companies can apply to participate in the program online at www.bestplacestoworkme.com. The deadline for registration is Friday, May 22, 2015, and all registered companies will be surveyed simultaneously following the deadline date.

        For more information, please contact Dave Vasconcelos of ProSearch Inc. (dvasconcelos@psicareers.com; 207-699-4383), Jodie Griffith of InterMed P.A. (jgriffith@intermed.com, 207-523-3721), or Jackie Miller at the Best Companies Group by calling (877) 455-2159, ext. 271. r