For a third consecutive year, the company is one of the highest-scoring businesses with standout employee engagement
SHIFT, a Baltimore headquartered consulting, executive membership, and venture capital company, has been named one of Inc. magazine’s Best Workplaces for 2019, the publication’s fourth annual ranking in the fast-growing private company sector. SHIFT joins two Baltimore-based companies on the list.
“The secret to our winning, high-performing and healthy culture is investing in potential,” said Joe Mechlinski, founder and CEO of SHIFT. “With a team of powerful minds and diverse interests, our progress has no limit. That’s why this year we launched a personalized employee learning program to give our team a space to explore their passions. This has helped us elevate our collective expertise, take on new client challenges, and win this honor for a third year in a row.”
Since founding SHIFT in 2001, Mechlinski’s team has worked with more than 600 companies in Boston, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. Last year, SHIFT released the bestselling book, Shift the Work, designed to help workers engage with their lives at work and home.
Hitting newsstands in the June 2019 issue, and as part of a prominent Inc.com feature, the list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of private American companies that have created exceptional workplaces through vibrant cultures, deep employee engagement, and stellar benefits. Collecting data on nearly 2,000 submissions, Inc. singled out nearly 350 finalists.
Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Omaha’s Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. This year, 74.2 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their work—besting last year’s 72.1 percent.
The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. It’s a different playbook from a decade ago, when too many firms used the same template: free food, open work environments, and artifacts of “fun.”
While researching the finalists, Inc. and Quantum saw distinct themes:
- 99 percent provide health insurance—and some cover the cost.
- 49 percent allow employees to bring pets to work.
- 65 percent take employees to offsite retreats to relax and recharge.
- 16 percent offer paid sabbaticals to reward length of service.
"With today's tight labor market, building a great corporate culture is more important than ever,” says Inc. magazine editor in chief James Ledbetter. “The companies on Inc.'s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from."
About SHIFT
SHIFT is a collective of three distinct businesses on a mission to shift the engagement crisis in the American workforce. SHIFT helps businesses, ranging from Fortune 500 to mid-sized companies, solve their most pressing issues, achieve ambitious goals, and capitalize on their greatest opportunities to grow regardless. SHIFT’s core businesses are: SHIFT Consulting, SHIFT Society, and SHIFT Ventures.
To learn more, visit shiftthework.com.
About Inc. Media
Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today's innovative company builders. Winner of Advertising Age’s “A-List” in January 2015, and a National Magazine Award for General Excellence in both 2014 and 2012, Inc. has a monthly audience reach that’s grown from two million in 2010 to more than 20 million today. For more information, visit Inc.com.
About Quantum Workplace
Quantum Workplace is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com.
