Want to know what makes a great company? Almost 35,000 local employees told us the secrets. Meet some of the workers and the three winners. They are all a part of the Tampa Bay's Top 100 Workplaces.
4/19/13Tampa, hillsborough, pinellas,
TAMPA Grow Financial Federal Credit Union couldn't avoid the Great Recession. Members struggled to keep up with mortgage payments; new loans dropped as regulatory requirements tightened; expansion plans were shelved. At least one thing was left virtually unscathed through the downturn: Grow's employees. There were …
What nuggets of wisdom are hiding in the year's Tampa Bay Times Top Workplaces report, a metrowide ranking of 100 top workplaces? This is the Times' seventh annual look at what some companies, big and small, are doing better than others in this area to instill in their employees a real sense of mission and …
![Top Golf associates gather together with morale building wristbands and pose for a team photo. Top Golf International is listed as one of the top Tampa area workplaces, pictured is the Brandon, FL location. [Saturday, February 27, 2016] [Photo Luis Santana | Times]](/resources/images/dti/2016/04/top_topgolf41016c_16958752.jpg)
To say T-Mobile's batting 2 for 2 this year is an understatement.
CLEARWATER
Phishing. Ransomware. CEO fraud. ¶ These are the cybersecurity scams awash in the world start-up company KnowBe4 was created to defend against. Its business — providing security awareness training to banks, businesses and organizations — is booming as hacker attacks continue to …
Florida may not be known for its manufacturing industry, but two companies in the Tampa Bay area are making a mark with clients, due in part to their employees. Both companies make electronic components used in a wide variety of products.
LAND O'LAKES
Working in an environment where terminal or degenerative diseases are commonplace is not an easy task, but employees at two such Tampa-area facilities — Gulfside Hospice and Pasco Palliative Care in Land O'Lakes and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa — maintain professionalism while …
A stronger economy is good news for workers, offering more employment options. But business leaders are likely to face some daunting HR challenges in 2016 if they haven't already.
ST. PETERSBURG
Ever dream of working in the hospitality industry in Florida? It's not always what it's cracked up to be in advertisements, but for those working in a few select hotels, it can be fun and rewarding, according to this year's annual employee workplace survey.
TAMPA
When Bay Area Legal Services chief Richard C. Woltmann talks about the skills he looks for in new employees, he points to one that he believes sets applicants apart:
A high "emotional IQ."
CLEARWATER
Tucked away in the back of the gymnasium, Marreen Majer's office is covered with pictures of her students. ¶ There are photos of cheerleading squads she's coached, her former student's newborn child and countless more from weddings and yearbooks and confirmation ceremonies, reminders of nearly a …
Bristol-Myers Squibb's office here is just a sliver of the global pharmaceutical behemoth, but it's not so different from the company as a whole. ¶ The staff of about 450 in Tampa — expected to approach 600 by the end of the year — work in research and development, IT, human resources and finance, among …
TAMPA
Along the hallways at Healthesystems, teams announce their goals on posters and publish metrics that show whether they are meeting them.
LUTZ
As a boy growing up on New York's Long Island, Phil Petresky used to push a lawn mower around his Levittown home.
Jennifer Johnson didn't know what to expect when she walked into an interview at a recruiting event for Topgolf International in November 2014. She did not think she'd spend part of her afternoon dancing to hip hop. "I remember sweating my butt off," said Johnson, 38, who added she spent the better part of the …
The 2015 Top Workplaces in Tampa Bay show great diversity in size and sector. There's healthcare system BayCare Health System Inc., with more than 19,000 employees, and The Container Store, with 50.
ST. PETERSBURG
Let's just get this out of the way first: There is very little daily drama at bustling J.CON Salon and Spa.
No, really.
The special awards
In creating a top workplace, it helps to be outstanding in one area. The companies on this page scored highest in particular categories critical to keeping employees happy.
DIRECTION
T-Mobile
Communication
1,090 employees
We started the Top Workplaces section five years ago during the turmoil left by the worst recession in decades.
Big or small, any company must be pretty special to qualify as a "Top Workplace" on the 2014 Tampa Bay Times annual survey. So imagine the strength of culture, discipline and sense of mission a business must share with its employees to make the list every year.
Top 100 workplaces: By the numbers
FACT FACTS
"So it's all about the perks, right?" I get this question all the time. Espresso machines, pingpong tables, massage chairs, beer. Surely these perks make the difference between a Top Workplace and an average workplace.
Here's how the survey was done
WorkplaceDynamics, project partner with the Tampa Bay Times, invited 1,055 companies to participate in an examination of the best places to work and then surveyed the 176 that accepted. The surveyed companies employ 56,121 people in the Tampa Bay area.
In a Partnership with Workplace Dynamics, the Tampa Bay Times presents the top 100 places to work in the Tampa Bay area. To determine the Tampa Bay area's best companies to work for in 2013, the project involved surveying 170 bay area companies and the 57,866 employees who spend their day-to-day working lives in these employment environments.
Some companies are back on the list for a fourth straight year, including Raymond James Financial, T-Mobile, American Strategic Insurance, Bouchard Insurance and DITEK Corp. Others made it for the first time like Franklin Street, FairWarning and Mattress Firm. They made the list because of superior leadership, solid pay and benefits and a genuine sense of direction.
