Benchmark Electrical Solutions’ Post

📅 As 2023 comes to a close, Thomas & Company will take a look back on the year in a series of posts, focusing first on our most important asset: our people. Thomas & Company believes that the success of our organization lies in the success and fulfillment of our incredible people. This year has been one of exciting company achievements and growth, marked by external onboarding, internal advancements, and exciting career milestones.   We are thrilled that Thomas & Company was named a Top Workplace in Tennessee for the 3rd year in a row. These awards are especially important as they are awarded by an independent third party and are based on the feedback from our employees. We were also recognized with awards for our work-life balance, purpose and value, professional development. leadership, innovation, employee well-being, and employee appreciation. We know that when our employees feel valued and are happy, they spread that joy to you and your teams.   Our unwavering dedication to our employees is evident as we celebrate milestone anniversaries for more than 20 colleagues. From those who've been with us for half a decade to those marking two decades of service, these individuals exemplify what it means to be dedicated to personal growth, Thomas & Company's success, and the satisfaction of our clients. 5 Years = 13    10 Years = 5    15 Years = 1    20 Years = 2   Throughout the year, we also saw a lot of exciting changes. We have introduced five brand new roles at Thomas & Company: Tax Manager, Client Marketing & Insights Specialist, Internal Training Specialist, Chief Revenue Officer, and Senior Data Architect. We were able to fill these roles with a combination of our unbelievable internal talent and subject matter experts. Moreover, we are thrilled to share we had an additional 30 internal promotions and progressions in addition to welcoming 28 new hires to the company! The growth and recognition we've experienced this year stands as a testament to our unwavering commitment to our people at Thomas & Company. It is through their dedication and excellence that we are able to extend our commitment to our valued clients. Together, we continue to set new standards of achievement and service excellence. #thomasandcompany #enablesuccess #peoplefirst #culture #promotions #newhires #anniversaries

After weeks of consideration, evaluation, and an intense pilot stage, we are celebrating the winners of our SPARK program! This year’s judging was particularly challenging, as the judges from our Senior Executive Team were impressed with the finalists. The result? They were ALL recognized and rewarded for their innovative thinking! 🏆 Grand Prize Winners 🏆 ($15,000) Taylor Borges, PSW, and martina leimgardt, Associate Director of Care at Creedan Valley: Reference tools for falls prevention. 🥈 Second Place Winners ($10,000) Matt Pinsky and Alexandra Turner, Talent Acquisition Specialists: Recruitment initiatives to attract and hire staff quickly, provide consistency in our approach, and market our company as an employer of choice. 🥉 Third Place Winners ($5,000) - Lynne Hooper, Concierge at Aspira Rosewood Retirement Living: A Lean Memo Board to empower team members, enhance communication, and streamline processes in our homes. - Meg McManus, General Manager at Orchard Valley Retirement: Create visual aids for housekeeping tasks to bridge communication and improve workflow for team members. - DANIEL A. Business Admin Partner, and Laurieanne Simard, Team Member Experience Coordinator at Owen Hill Community: Improving our invoicing systems to streamline administrative processes. We couldn’t be more proud of their innovative ideas and willingness to bring them forward for consideration with the SPARK program. Well done to all! And we are ready to accept new ideas from team members. So why wait? Let’s do this! 💡 #SiennaCelebrates #SPARKProgram #Innovation #Teamwork #SeniorLiving #ProudMoment

😰 50% of young people state that lack of work experience is their biggest barrier to finding work*. If you don’t know someone on the inside, like a parent or mentor, it can be especially hard to gain access to a company. And if you don’t have access to experience, how do you prove your experience to land more experience? 🤯 We want to help change all this, and our company visits are a great first step. By throwing open their workplaces' doors, our brilliant corporate partners are giving our trainees from The Spear Programme their (often first) experience of the working world: demystifying the workplace, and offering the opportunity to practise presenting and networking in a real-life professional environment. This is super valuable in helping our trainees feel confident, prepared and at ease in the world of work, and that they do belong there 💪 Huge thanks to our Corporate Partners from Hayfin Capital Management LLP, Kreston Reeves, Findlay Park Partners LLP, Guidehouse, TJX Europe, Euromonitor International, & MAPP for hosting company visits this week and supporting our trainees in this way. 📸 Our Spear Kennington trainees and coaches at Findlay Park Partners LLP. #workexperience #ESG #youthemployment * [Youth Voice Census, 2023]

Meet Peggy Birk, the employee with the longest tenure at MasterBrand, Inc. While I can't predict if I'll match her remarkable 50-year milestone – considering I might be like 90 by then 🫣 – meeting her was truly inspiring. When questioned about her enduring commitment, Peggy's answer was refreshingly simple: "I love my job!" Reflecting on this, its the essence of pursuing what you're passionate about. When asked for advice on work longevity, her response was clear: "Create an environment where people love their job, and they won't miss." #CareerInspiration #PassionInWork #bestcompanytoworkfor #bestadvice #bestplacestowork #lovemyjob #anniversary #workanniversary

On the first day of resumption for the year 2024, January 8th, I decided to surprise my team. Instead of waiting till April to recognize and appreciate their hard work, I brought forward our recognition and appreciation day. I didn't want it to be simple so I added some spice by asking them to vote while also reading out uniquely crafted P.S letters. I know that working for owner-managed businesses can be challenging at times, especially with some of the unwholesome practices but I truly believe that we can change the narrative by treating people right and creating a positive work environment. At the end of the day, it's not just about the tangible rewards and recognition. The intangible things also matter. Things like respect, empathy, paying salaries on time, providing work tools, having clear job descriptions, and open communication are all crucial in creating a healthy and productive work environment. So, on this day, I want to appreciate all hard working professionals, you would be celebrated soon. This is Onyinye Uzor in her traditional dance steps 😀. Permit me for some days as I will be showing you the faces of my wonderful team members. #employeerecognition #employeeexperience #teamdevelopment

With new graduates joining the workforce and giving their opinions on how they want to see their careers unfold, we now have four generations of employees, from boomers to Gen Zers, all working together. What works for one person may not work for another, but how can we all try to achieve a common goal? Chris DeSantis shares his experience in this PLI Chronicle article. Read it here: https://bit.ly/3SSwspV

Associates Week Day 4 wrap up - We are common people doing uncommon things Today I participated in the most bizarre business meeting of my career. We (Canadian team) had a 2.5 hours meeting with our C-level team, part of it dedicated to a Q&A session. I was expecting shop talk. Oh boy, I was wrong. The meeting was about personal histories. They shared theirs, a bunch of us shared ours. A reminder of what we all are - people trying to do their best, succeeding sometimes, failing sometimes, needing encouragement when we feel afraid, feeling the pressure of multiple demands and the excitement of helping other people grow; we are in paths that are not the result of a well defined plan, but are forged as we go and life happens. #shareholders2024 #shareholdersCA2024

Check out this opinion piece on the skills-first movement from our grantee  Elyse Rosenblum from Grads of Life. For nearly ten years, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have been investing to help people in hourly positions build skills they need to advance in their careers. At Walmart, under the leadership of Donna Morris and Lorraine "Lo" Stomski, we have removed degree requirements, expanded Walmart Academy and Live Better U to include more training and credentials relevant for jobs, and defined new career paths for associates based on demonstrated skills. And through the combined philanthropy of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation, we have invested over $200 million in grants intended to innovate on-the-job training programs, strengthen the availability and quality of non-degree credentials, develop tools to help working adults connect to advancement opportunities, and encourage employers to take a skills-first approach to hiring, development and advancement decisions. Building skills in America’s workforce is good for everyone: working people and their families, communities, businesses, and customers. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gzJvNcRF

Informative and thought provoking seminar today with 55/Redefined . Highlighting there is still so much we can do to attract, nurture and engage talented experienced hires. Especially enjoyed listening to Helen Tupper on squiggly careers. Made me reflect on my own career and some of the biggest learnings have been in role diversification rather than promotion. A secondment into wellbeing was not necessarily seen as the best career move by some of my peers at the time but this move paid dividends in early 2020 when well-being suddenly became a hot topic! Also a good reminder today that age is just a number, age brings with it a few more wrinkles but let’s not forget it also brings with it a wealth of work and life experience, knowledge and skills that can help us in an era of skills shortages. #ageism #opportunitiesforall

Sinead Borgersen shares her vision for creating a comprehensive work-to-retire program. Discover how this innovative approach supports employees through every stage of their career journey. 🌟👩💼 #WorkToRetire #EmployeeSupport #CareerDevelopment Watch the full discussion here: https://lnkd.in/dJcFpEid