Finalists named for Richmond region’s top workplaces

But the top businesses in each of the four size categories won’t be disclosed until May.

Those top winners will be announced at the Sterling Workplace Awards program May 7 and in a special section of The Times-Dispatch to be published May 8.

The Times-Dispatch, along with Richmond SHRM, a chapter of the national Society for Human Resource Management, will honor all 60 companies at the Sterling Workplace Awards event while shining the light on the four top businesses.

The program will be held at the University of Richmond.

The awards are based on company size:

• mega (1,000-plus employees);
• large (400-999);
• midsize (125 to 399); and
• small (124 or fewer).

Five companies are finalists in each of the mega and large categories, 10 businesses are finalists in the midsize category and 40 firms are in the small category.

Thirty-one businesses are finalists for the first time, while 29 companies were in the program during its inaugural year in 2014.

The Times-Dispatch teamed with Workplace Dynamics, a suburban Philadelphia-based company that has conducted workplace surveys for dozens of other newspapers across the country.

Workplace Dynamics surveyed employers and employees about numerous topics affecting workplace life, from pay and benefits to training and work-life balance. Employers who scored the highest locally — and met national benchmarks — made the finalist list.

The company looked at many factors, including how engaged employees are, how employers encourage community involvement, and how businesses promote diversity.

The process was open to any employer — private, public, government and nonprofit — in the region that had at least 35 employees last fall when the surveying was conducted.