Objective
The Sustained Excellence award was created to provide an added level of recognition to organizations that have repeatedly been identified as one of the Best Places to Work in Omaha. A local organization that meets the following criteria will be recognized as a Sustained Excellence award winner:
- The organization must participate in the Best Places to Work in Omaha survey for a minimum of four consecutive years, AND must rank first, second or third in three consecutive survey years.
Or
- The organization ranks in the Best Places to Work in Omaha survey in eight of the last ten years.
Sustained Excellence award winners will be recognized at the annual Best Places to Work in Omaha luncheon for the year in which they meet the above criteria. If the organization meets the criteria in a year in which they would have also ranked, they receive the Sustained Excellence award and are ineligible to be ranked. In other words, an organization cannot rank in the top five AND received the Sustained Excellence Award in the same year.
Examples
Company X ranks in the top three of their category in 2014, 2015, and 2016 If Company X participates in the Best Places to Work in Omaha Survey in 2017, will they receive the Sustained Excellence Award?
Yes. Company X meets the criteria to receive the Sustained Excellence Award, therefore they would receive the 2017 Sustained Excellence Award.
Company Y participates in the Best Places to Work Survey in 2014, but does not rank in the top five. They participate in 2015, and 2016, and rank in the top three. If Company Y participates in 2017, and receives scores that would rank them in the top three, would they receive the Sustained Excellence Award?
Yes. If Company Y’s 2017 survey scores merit a top three win, they would be eligible for the Sustained Excellence Award. Since an organization cannot rank in the top five AND receive the Sustained Excellence Award in the same year, Company Y would be removed from the top five winner’s list, and the rankings for the top five would be recalculated accordingly.
Company Z participates in the Best Places to Work in Omaha Survey from 2007 through 2016. They ranked in the top five for seven of the years they participated. If they place in the top five in 2017, would they receive the Sustained Excellence Award?
Yes. Since Company Z has ranked in the Best Places to Work in Omaha survey in eight of the last ten years, they would be eligible to receive the Sustained Excellence Award. Since an organization cannot rank in the top five AND receive the Sustained Excellence Award in the same year, Company Z would be removed from the top five winner’s list, and the rankings for the top five would be recalculated accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can more than one organization receive the Sustained Excellence Award each year?
It is possible for more than one organization to receive this award each year, since this award is given to organizations the year they meet the Sustained Excellence criteria.
Why is there not a Sustained Excellence Winner each year?
The Sustained Excellence Award is given to organizations the year they meet the Sustained Excellence criteria. If no organizations meet the criteria, a Sustained Excellence Award is not given that year.
Do I need to do anything else to earn the Sustained Excellence award?
No, there are no additional surveys, fees or requirements required for qualification.
First, second and third place winners in the medium company category and the large company category are eligible.
Can my company rank as one of the top five winners in our respective category and ALSO receive the Sustained Excellence award in the same year?
No, companies that receive the Sustained Excellence Award are not eligible to rank as one of the top five winning companies in either the medium or large category.
How does winning the Sustained Excellence award affect our future survey participation?
During the following three calendar years after you receive the Sustained Excellence award, your organization may choose to continue to participate in the annual survey, however, your organization will not be able to rank as a winner in the Best Places to Work in Omaha survey.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A COMPANY IS SOLD OR MERGES WITH ANOTHER COMPANY DURING THEIR THREE-YEAR SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE RECOGNITION PERIOD?
If a company is sold or merges with another company, resulting in a change of name, the “new company” will be considered a “new participant”, and will be eligible to rank as a winning company in the Best Places to Work in Omaha survey. The “new company” will not be able to promote the “previous company’s” Sustained Excellence designation or use the Sustained Excellence “badge” in any marketing materials.
This scenario does not apply to a company that changes its company name or rebrands for any reason other than a sale, merger, or acquisition.
How can we promote this?
Sustained Excellence Winners are given a special “badge” that can be used in conjunction with the main Best Places to Work logo. The Sustained Excellence badge can be used by a winning company for the three calendar years after the year they received their Sustained Excellence Award. Example: if your organization wins the Sustained Excellence Award in 2017, you can use your Sustained Excellence badge in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. After these three years, your organization is ineligible to use the Sustained Excellence badge anymore, but eligible to participate in the survey and rank again. Please see the examples below for recommended formatting. We will provide each winning company their Sustained Excellence badge. If you are a winning company and did not get your badge, please contact kbelford@bairdholm.com.
As an example for further clarification, if you won Best Places to Work the past three years and received the Sustained Excellence Award for the first time, then you are a three-time Best Places to Work winner and this is your first time as Sustained Excellence Award Winner within the Best Places to Work in Omaha initiative.