Governor Helps Promote “Best Places to Work in Maine” Program

Contact: Adrienne Bennett, Press Secretary, 207-287-2531

Project offers resources for employers to retain and attract top talent

PORTLAND – 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. The program, endorsed by, The Maine Department of Labor, The Department of Economic and Community Development, Best Companies Group, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, Maine HR Convention and Mainebiz recognizes companies that have established and consistently fostered outstanding workplace environments.

“This program, for the past nine years, has been successful because of the great companies who recognize that 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 May 22nd. 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 their most valuable resource, which is the people who work for them,” 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 the state of 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 May 22, 2015 and all registered companies will be surveyed simultaneously following the deadline date.

Media Contact:
Angie Helton (207) 653-0365
nema@maine.rr.com
Maine Contacts:
Dave Vasconcelos, ProSearch Inc., dvasconcelos@psicareers.com, 207-699-4383
Jodie Griffith, InterMed P.A., jgriffith@intermed.com, 207-523-3721
Best Companies Group Contact: Jackie Miller 1-877-455-2159 ext. 271