A survey, study and award program to identify the best places of employment in Pennsylvania for the benefit of the Commonwealth, its workforce and businesses.
Why was this program developed?
To develop definitive information to help existing companies in Pennsylvania retain their workforce.
To promote Pennsylvania's best employment opportunities to attract new workers.
To distinguish businesses in the Commonwealth that attract and retain Pennsylvania's talented workforce.
Who organized the program?
Central Penn Business Journal Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Team Pennsylvania Foundation Best Companies Group
How will the top 100 companies be determined?
After a company has completed the entire Assessment Process, Best Companies Group will determine which companies make the final list. Best Companies Group manages the process and will evaluate all surveys submitted by companies.
If I register, what happens next and when?
Please refer to the Timeline for a detailed list of important dates and deadlines for the program. All registered companies will be notified regularly via email of upcoming deadlines. We highly recommend that you white-list
so that the email address will be an approved sender. You may also want to regularly check your spam or junk folder to make sure that important updates are not missed. It is of vital importance that you read all communications, updates and instructions thoroughly.
Our company has employees in many states; will the survey apply to those who are out of state?
No, only those employees working in PA will be surveyed to be included in the analysis for the Best Places to Work in PA. However, Best Companies Group does offer the option to survey employees outside of PA for an additional fee. This data will be removed from the analysis for the program, but could be included in your Employee Feedback Report. Please contact Jackie Miller at
for further information and visit the Timeline to view the deadline to request this additional service.
My company has employees working in the state of PA but we do not have a physical office location in PA. Are we eligible to participate?
Yes, as long as you have employees working in the state of PA and are able to provide an in-state mailing address for your business, you are eligible to participate. Only employees working in or directly reporting into the state are eligible to participate in the survey.
Our company has employees that work for our operations within the state of PA but technically do not reside nor perform the majority of their duties within PA. Are they eligible to participate in the survey process?
For an out-of-state employee to be eligible to participate, the individual must report directly into the state of PA. If the out-of-state employee reports to an out-of-state regional manager, the employee would not be eligible to take part in the survey process. However, the regional manager is eligible to participate if they report directly to the office within PA.
If you are uncertain about any employee’s eligibility to participate in the survey we encourage you to contact Best Companies Group for a final determination, as surveying ineligible employees may lead to disqualification from the competition.
Our parent company is located outside of PA. Are we still eligible to participate?
As long as you employ at least 25 full-time and/or part-time employees in PA (excluding seasonal employees, temporary employees, per diem employees, PRN, non-employee real estate agents, independent contractors, volunteers, interns or consultants), you are eligible.
We have several companies under one parent holding company. Each company has its own FEIN and each has its own set of benefits and working environments. Do I need to register each company?
Yes. Since each company is its own entity with its own benefits and working environment, we will treat each company as a separate employer and send each location a separate set of surveys, etc. Each subsidiary company must have at least 25 full and part-time PA employees to be eligible.
We have several offices/facilities in the state of PA that operate using the same FEIN and same set of employee benefits and procedures. Should I register each company separately?
No. If you are one company with multiple locations, facilities, factories, stores, etc., you should submit only one registration for all locations. We will then conduct a survey of employees that are randomly selected from the various business units that you operate in PA, up to a total of 400 employees.
We are a personnel placement company with associates who are technically our employees, but they work for other companies. Are we still eligible to participate?
Yes. However only those "in-house" employees will be counted and surveyed. The employees who are "placed" with other companies are not counted and will not be surveyed. There must be a minimum of 25 "in-house" PA employees to be eligible.
What if our workforce contains unions?
This is OK. We make no distinction between union vs. non-union employees. Union employees must be included in the survey process.
Our company employs seasonal, temporary, per diem and independent contractor employees. Should they be included in the survey?
No. Seasonal employees, temporary employees, per diem employees, PRN, non-employee real estate agents, independent contractors, volunteers, interns or consultants should not be included in the survey process. We only want to survey the permanent full-time and part-time PA employees.
Do the employee surveys go to everyone?
If you have 250 or fewer PA employees in your company, then the answer is yes. If you have more than 250 employees, a random sample of up to 400 employees will be asked to complete the survey. Please see the Assessment Process for more information. Best Companies Group does offer the option to survey more employees than the random sample calculated and/or include additional employees in the survey process who work in locations outside of PA. Please contact Best Companies Group for details and pricing and see the Timeline for the deadline to submit your request.
Are managers included in the employee survey?
Yes. All employees will be asked to complete a survey unless the company has more than 250 PA employees. Companies employing over 250 associates, a random sample will be chosen, and even then, managers are not excluded. Employees from all job levels should be included in the survey process - including founders, partners, and executive management to line-level employees.
We have more than 250 PA associates to be surveyed. Who decides which employees will receive the surveys and how they are distributed? Do we have to give you a list of who is being surveyed?
The random selection will be conducted by Best Companies Group for companies choosing the online survey process. Companies choosing the online survey process will be asked to upload a list of all employee email addresses into an online portal shortly after registration has closed. Best Companies Group will then randomly select the appropriate amount of employees (based on company size) to receive the survey. Companies choosing the paper survey process will be required to tell Best Companies Group how they conducted the random selection of their employee population. Please see the Timeline for these deadlines.
How does the online survey process work?
To conduct the online survey process, companies submit a list of employee email addresses to Best Companies Group via our upload portal. Employees are then directly sent an email invitation containing unique access information from Best Companies Group. The invitation directs employees to a unique web page where they can submit their confidential responses. We can only send email invitations to company email accounts.
Not all of our employees have email addresses. Can we still utilize the online survey?
Yes! You can still use the online survey provided that at least 70% of your PA employees have company email. If you have some employees without email addresses, they will still be included in the survey. We can provide access codes for those employees, if they represent 30% or less of your employee population. Employees receiving access codes will need to be able to access the Internet at work. Click to learn more about Access Codes.
In order to maintain the integrity of the survey process, if fewer than 70% of your employees have company email addresses, you will have to utilize the paper survey process for all employees.
How does the paper survey process work?
Best Companies Group will mail your company a box of paper surveys and postage-paid return envelopes via UPS that must be distributed to employees. Employees complete the survey, place it in the envelope, seal it and then drop the completed surveys in the US mail. Completed surveys are mailed back to our processing facility by each employee.
If we elect to do paper surveys, what does the employee do with the survey once it's completed? Will the return envelopes be postage-paid?
The employee will put their completed survey in an envelope (provided), seal it and place the envelope in the US postal mail back to our processing facility. The return envelopes are postage-paid.
What if not all of the employees complete and return the surveys? Is there a minimum response rate?
We are looking for a response rate of approximately 65% or greater. Therefore, it is not absolutely necessary that all who receive a survey fill it out. While companies who have not reached 65% may still be considered, response rates are taken into account during the analysis process. The higher the response rate the more representative it will be of your company as a whole and the more valuable your company's data will be at the end of the process.
Can I see the surveys before I sign up to participate?
Yes, please visit the Assessment Process page for samples of the surveys.
How long will it take to complete the employee survey?
It should only take about 10-15 minutes for each associate to complete the employee survey.
How long will it take to complete the employer questionnaire (EQ)? Will it require a lot of research?
The employer questionnaire may take between 8-10 hours to complete, depending upon how easy it is to retrieve your company's information regarding company policies, practices and demographics. Some research may be necessary. The EQ is completed and submitted online. A list of questions can be found on the Survey & Report Samples page. You may begin gathering the information requested on the EQ prior to the survey start date. That way when the actual invitation is sent, you can simply enter the requested information online.
Should the participation fee be submitted with our registration?
When completing the registration online, you will have the option to pay for your fee with a credit card or you can request an invoice from Best Companies Group. If you submit your registration via the PDF option, Best Companies Group will send you an invoice once it is determined that your company is eligible to participate.
When will I find out if our company made the list and where we rank?
You will receive a letter notifying you whether or not your company has made the list approximately one month after the survey completion deadline. If you make the list, you will find out where you rank either at the gala event or in the special publication. See the Timeline for more information.
What information is included in the Employee Feedback Report and when will we receive it?
The Employee Feedback Report comes in a folder and will contain large spreadsheets detailing and summarizing your employees' responses to the 72 survey questions (in percentage form). It will also include detailed instructions on how to interpret the results. The reports will be mailed to each company shortly after the companies are notified whether or not they made the list. Companies will also receive the responses from the two open-ended questions on the survey. These comments will be transcribed exactly as submitted by employees. State benchmarking is also included so companies can compare themselves to the "Best Places to Work in PA" list-making companies as well as against the overall participation. This portion will be sent after the awards event. If you would like to see samples of the report content, please see the Employee Feedback Report page.
A portion of our employees do not speak English. Do you offer employee surveys in alternate languages?
We do offer employee surveys in a variety of additional languages! There will be an additional $195 fee to cover the cost of translation (flat rate) per language. If your company needs an additional language please select the "Languages" button on the registration form. Only Spanish surveys are available online. Please see the Timeline for the deadline to request alternate language surveys.
Can the job role and department demographics on the employee survey be customized to more closely align with our organization?
Yes, for a standard fee of $695, the job role and department demographic categories can be customized. Please call Best Companies Group at 877-455-2159 for more information or select the "Customization" option on the registration form and someone will contact you with more information. Please see the Timeline for the deadline to request the optional employee survey customization. What's this?
I am concerned about the confidentiality of the survey responses.
We will make every effort to maintain the anonymity of the employees completing the survey as well as protect the summarized data of all participating companies. Please note, that in order to maintain respondent anonymity, we do not report any response data for less than five (5) individuals in any one demographic category on the Employee Demographic Report. Please see our Statement of Confidentiality for more information.
How will my company be notified throughout the survey process? Will I receive regular updates?
Yes, you will receive periodic updates regarding the survey timeline. However, we do recommend that your company place the program dates that we send to you in your calendars. Best Companies Group primarily works through email. It is important that you read all instructions and details sent to you from Best Companies Group.
We highly recommend that you white-list
so that the email address will be an approved sender. You may also want to regularly check your spam or junk folder to make sure that important updates are not missed.
What if my company registers for the program and then needs to withdrawal? Is it possible to be removed from the process?
All companies that submit a registration form are considered active participants in the "Best Places to Work in PA" program. If your company wishes to withdrawal from the survey process, Best Companies Group must be notified immediately. Once the survey process has begun (after June 7, 2013), a $250 withdrawal fee will be applied in addition to the total fees incurred for any special requests (customization orders, language translations, paper survey processing, etc.) and the registration fee. Please contact a Best Companies Group representative to withdraw from the process.
Who can I contact with additional questions?
Please call Best Companies Group toll-free at 877-455-2159 or email Jackie Miller at
What will the Best Places to Work in PA look like?
The 100 "Best Places to Work in PA" will be made up of two groups of companies: small/medium-sized companies (25-249 US employees), and large-sized companies (over 250 US employees). Each company will be for profit or nonprofit, publicly or privately held, have a facility in PA, and have at least 25 full-time and/or part-time employees working in PA.
How can my company be considered for this year's list?
Simply submit a registration form for your company. Any company or nonprofit organization with 25 or more full-time and/or part-time employees who work in PA is eligible. Information provided on the registration form may appear on this web site if your company is named to the 100 "Best Places to Work in PA" list.
Where can I find career/job listings for PA companies?
Visit PA
CareerLink or NewPA.com for one-stop delivery of career services to job seekers, employers, and others.
